cup winner's cup 1962/63: northern europe defies southern dominance
this season started with a somewhat three favorites, two brits and a spanish club. the spurs, two-time fa cup champions, were now a good bet for a title run in the competition's third season. british rivals rangers fc were also serious contenders, but defending champions atlético madrid were the favorites to uphold the southern european dominance, with spain, portugal and italy having clinched all continental titles up to then. nürnberg were also contenders on the northern side. italy sent ssc napoli into the race, while spanish cup winner sevilla also was considered a possible champion; and ujpesti dosza, ranked 19th in europe at the time, were eastern europeans best option.
the preliminary round already saw the match-up between two favorites, and this time north beat south: rangers fc beat sevilla 4-0 at home, which ended up being enough to eliminate the spanish side. as saint-etienne, representing france, eliminated portuguese cup finalist vitoria setubal.
the round of 16 saw napoli eliminate eastern european favorites ujpesti after two 1-1 ties and a play-off victory by the italians. slovan bratislava, botev plovdiv and ofk belgrade still upheld that region's presence in the tournament, making up 37,5% of the quarterfinal lineup. in the battle of britain, favorites spurs and rangers entertained europe with 12 goals in two matches - and two victories by the londoners. at the end of the round, atletico madrid and napoli were representing southern europe.
emphasis on still. napoli went to belgrade and lost 0-2 to the yugoslavians, and although they managed a 3-1 home win to tie it all up, ofk won the playoff to make the semifinal, their best ever performance in a european competition up to this date. tottenham went to bratislava and lost 0-2, which seemed to suggest a power shift towards the european east, and even botev tied 1-1 against atlético in their home match. nürnberg took care of the danish representatives b 1909 easily to make their second european semifinal in a row, with a 6-0 win. the same result ended doubts over the spurs ability to go for the title, eliminating slovan. and atletico madrid won 4-0, making the semis. it was looking good for spurs or atlético, but nürnberg seemed to have great momentum, while ofk belgrade were the complete outsiders ahead of the semis.
the decisive semifinal was between the german challengers and the spanish title holders. nürnberg won 2-1 at home, coming back from 0-1, but almost 90,000 spectators in the bernabeu saw atlético turn it around with a 2-0 win. the spaniards were in the final once again, and they would face the spurs, who beat ofk twice to reach their place in the rotterdam final.
there, former chelsea striker jimmy greaves, who had a semester-long sting in milan in 1961, was the hero of the night. a very good crowd of now continental-football loving dutch saw the englishman score first. winger terry dyson had the night of his life and scored the important 3-1 at 67 minutes; both of these men added a second to complete the surprisingly clear 5-1 scoreline. the anticipated final had an unanticipated outcome, and for the first time ever, a non-southern club had won a european trophy. that club is tottenham hotspur!
4 trophies in 3 seasons - those were the days for the spurs!
the preliminary round already saw the match-up between two favorites, and this time north beat south: rangers fc beat sevilla 4-0 at home, which ended up being enough to eliminate the spanish side. as saint-etienne, representing france, eliminated portuguese cup finalist vitoria setubal.
the round of 16 saw napoli eliminate eastern european favorites ujpesti after two 1-1 ties and a play-off victory by the italians. slovan bratislava, botev plovdiv and ofk belgrade still upheld that region's presence in the tournament, making up 37,5% of the quarterfinal lineup. in the battle of britain, favorites spurs and rangers entertained europe with 12 goals in two matches - and two victories by the londoners. at the end of the round, atletico madrid and napoli were representing southern europe.
emphasis on still. napoli went to belgrade and lost 0-2 to the yugoslavians, and although they managed a 3-1 home win to tie it all up, ofk won the playoff to make the semifinal, their best ever performance in a european competition up to this date. tottenham went to bratislava and lost 0-2, which seemed to suggest a power shift towards the european east, and even botev tied 1-1 against atlético in their home match. nürnberg took care of the danish representatives b 1909 easily to make their second european semifinal in a row, with a 6-0 win. the same result ended doubts over the spurs ability to go for the title, eliminating slovan. and atletico madrid won 4-0, making the semis. it was looking good for spurs or atlético, but nürnberg seemed to have great momentum, while ofk belgrade were the complete outsiders ahead of the semis.
the decisive semifinal was between the german challengers and the spanish title holders. nürnberg won 2-1 at home, coming back from 0-1, but almost 90,000 spectators in the bernabeu saw atlético turn it around with a 2-0 win. the spaniards were in the final once again, and they would face the spurs, who beat ofk twice to reach their place in the rotterdam final.
there, former chelsea striker jimmy greaves, who had a semester-long sting in milan in 1961, was the hero of the night. a very good crowd of now continental-football loving dutch saw the englishman score first. winger terry dyson had the night of his life and scored the important 3-1 at 67 minutes; both of these men added a second to complete the surprisingly clear 5-1 scoreline. the anticipated final had an unanticipated outcome, and for the first time ever, a non-southern club had won a european trophy. that club is tottenham hotspur!
4 trophies in 3 seasons - those were the days for the spurs!
inter-cities fairs cup 1962/63: eastern europe defies southern dominance
in the four competitions held up to then, there had been three spanish winners - and last year's final was a spanish affair altogether, with valencia surprising fc barcelona. the title holders weren't necessarily the pre-tournament favorites; actually, roma and barcelona were once again the favorites, with the spaniards clearly number one. other then top 20 clubes included red star belgrade and rapid wien, and based on geography, one would have to take italian side sampdoria, portuguese sides porto and belenenses, scots hibernian, celtic and dunfermline and spanish team real zaragoza. dinamo zagreb, the last of five top 30 clubs, also deserved a mention. and by the way, representing england there was everton, and representing germany, bayern münchen. qualifying to this tournament was not well defined at all around the continent.
the first round already cleared the field slightly. porto lost out to zagreb, celtic fell to holders valencia, everton lost to dunfermline and rapid wien was the first top 30 exit, as they lost to red star in belgrade. and then there were four top 30 clubs.
the round of 16 saw sampdoria crash out to ferencvaros, and dinamo eliminated yearly belgian representatives and ex-semifinalists union st-gilloise in a play-off. in a spain vs italy duel, zaragoza lost out to 1961 champions as roma. two match-ups deserve special attention, though:
holders valencia cf gave dunfermline a 4-0 beating at home and were counting on the quarterfinals, but the fighting scots were 3-0 at home after only 16 minutes. valencia responded, but two more goals gave the home-side a much needed 5-1 scoreline. valencia scored once again in the second half, but the scots made it 6-2. the two clubs had to wait almost two months for a replay after the winter break, which the spanish holders decided in their favor, but december 19 was still dunfermline's most exciting european night ever.
the other mentionable duel was between red star and barcelona; the yugos won their home match 3-2, but barca failed to overcome this completely by "only" winning 1-0 at home. red star then won the play-off 1-0 and caused the biggest upset in the tournament.
at the time the quarterfinals came up, only two northern european clubs were still in the running. and they both got eliminated: hibernians lost to valencia, who seemed on route to repeat their title; and bayern münchen suffered a 1-4 home loss to dinamo zagreb, who had really worked to deserve their semifinal spot. it was a great phase for eastern european football, since ferencvaros also made the semis beating romanian side petrolul. the third candidate, barcelona slayer red star, almost made up for a 0-3 defeat in rome, but only managed a 2-0 home win.
so the semis had the last two fairs cup winners and two eastern european clubs. the favorites were clear. but luckily, each region would have one finalist, since valencia had to play roma. and they played well, showing a great amount of love for this tournament. up to then scarcely successful in the domestic competitions, valencia made the finals by beating roma 3-0 at home. on the other had, dinamo zagreb won two highly disputed matches against ferencvaros and confirmed their favoritism in that match-up.
40,000 people filled the maksimir stadium in zagreb for the first leg of the final, and zambata scored first for a half time lead. but alejandro scopelli's valencia side, with two brazilians and one argentinian compatriot, hit back and won the match 2-1, with one goal by fluminense legend waldo. valencia then clinched their second consecutive fairs cup with a solid 2-0 home win in front of 55,000 at the end of june. still quite a feat for dinamo zagreb, the first eastern european finalist in a continental competition.
the first round already cleared the field slightly. porto lost out to zagreb, celtic fell to holders valencia, everton lost to dunfermline and rapid wien was the first top 30 exit, as they lost to red star in belgrade. and then there were four top 30 clubs.
the round of 16 saw sampdoria crash out to ferencvaros, and dinamo eliminated yearly belgian representatives and ex-semifinalists union st-gilloise in a play-off. in a spain vs italy duel, zaragoza lost out to 1961 champions as roma. two match-ups deserve special attention, though:
holders valencia cf gave dunfermline a 4-0 beating at home and were counting on the quarterfinals, but the fighting scots were 3-0 at home after only 16 minutes. valencia responded, but two more goals gave the home-side a much needed 5-1 scoreline. valencia scored once again in the second half, but the scots made it 6-2. the two clubs had to wait almost two months for a replay after the winter break, which the spanish holders decided in their favor, but december 19 was still dunfermline's most exciting european night ever.
the other mentionable duel was between red star and barcelona; the yugos won their home match 3-2, but barca failed to overcome this completely by "only" winning 1-0 at home. red star then won the play-off 1-0 and caused the biggest upset in the tournament.
at the time the quarterfinals came up, only two northern european clubs were still in the running. and they both got eliminated: hibernians lost to valencia, who seemed on route to repeat their title; and bayern münchen suffered a 1-4 home loss to dinamo zagreb, who had really worked to deserve their semifinal spot. it was a great phase for eastern european football, since ferencvaros also made the semis beating romanian side petrolul. the third candidate, barcelona slayer red star, almost made up for a 0-3 defeat in rome, but only managed a 2-0 home win.
so the semis had the last two fairs cup winners and two eastern european clubs. the favorites were clear. but luckily, each region would have one finalist, since valencia had to play roma. and they played well, showing a great amount of love for this tournament. up to then scarcely successful in the domestic competitions, valencia made the finals by beating roma 3-0 at home. on the other had, dinamo zagreb won two highly disputed matches against ferencvaros and confirmed their favoritism in that match-up.
40,000 people filled the maksimir stadium in zagreb for the first leg of the final, and zambata scored first for a half time lead. but alejandro scopelli's valencia side, with two brazilians and one argentinian compatriot, hit back and won the match 2-1, with one goal by fluminense legend waldo. valencia then clinched their second consecutive fairs cup with a solid 2-0 home win in front of 55,000 at the end of june. still quite a feat for dinamo zagreb, the first eastern european finalist in a continental competition.