spain: real doesn't dominate europe, but sure does dominate la liga...
real zaragoza wins two trophies
real madrid had won the league every year since 1961, the first year they lost the european cup. they made it four in a row in 1964, keeping barcelona behind them once again. real betis did very well and placed third, while the other good spanish teams didn’t have a very good season. ferénc puskas was the top goal scorer of the season, having also scored the most goals in the european cup campaign that only ended in the final.
real zaragoza managed to win the copa generalisimo, beating atletico madrid in the final and making it two trophies in the season. that was their first national trophy in the ec era.
real zaragoza managed to win the copa generalisimo, beating atletico madrid in the final and making it two trophies in the season. that was their first national trophy in the ec era.
italy: fc bologna surprises northern rivals
playoff exciting
inter and milan had good seasons once again, slowly taking the league domination from juventus hand, but at the end, surprise champions fc bologna beat european champions inter 2-0 in a playoff after they were tied in points. bologna had done very well in the two previous seasons, so the title did not come as a complete surprise. herald nielsen, bologna’s danish striker, scored 21 goals, the most in the season. second place was also a foreigner, legendary swede kurt hamrin for fiorentina.
in the cup, roma won their first ec era cup, beating torino in the final; the minor team from turin had therefore lost their second consecutive coppa italia.
in the cup, roma won their first ec era cup, beating torino in the final; the minor team from turin had therefore lost their second consecutive coppa italia.
portugal: the eusebio era continues...
golden era for benfica...
for only the second time in the european cup era, benfica managed to defend their national title and made it 7 champions from lisbon in the last 9 seasons. fc porto placed a distant second, ahead of cup winner’s cup champions sporting. vitoria de guimaraes also had a pretty presentable season. not as good as benfica, though, who won 21 out of 26 matches and had one of the greatest campaigns ever.
and they also took the cup, to complete their first double since 1957. porto suffered through a 2-6 ordeal in the final.
and they also took the cup, to complete their first double since 1957. porto suffered through a 2-6 ordeal in the final.
germany: fc köln wins first ever bundesliga
deutscher meister fc köln
first bundesliga season, and the first champions were also the favorites: 1.fc köln was the bayern münchen of the time, way ahead of the others in terms of structure and professionalism. meidricher sv, the msv duisburg of today, were the first runners-up in a bundesliga, frankfurt placed third.
the german cup was won by 1860 münchen, who were representing the bavarian capital in the bundesliga, while bayern were trying to ascend. the final in stuttgart was won against eintracht frankfurt.
the german cup was won by 1860 münchen, who were representing the bavarian capital in the bundesliga, while bayern were trying to ascend. the final in stuttgart was won against eintracht frankfurt.
england: finally, liverpool!
first title in the european cup era!
out of no where. after eight seasons of doing nothing in league or fa cup, liverpool fc continued the tendency: sixth english champions in six seasons! since the followed everton, the trophy stayed in town. man united, everton, spurs and chelsea all had strong seasons and at some time hoped for the title, but liverpool took it with a good margin at the end.
and always filled wembley stadium saw londoners west ham united beat preston north end in a final of underdogs, so typical for the oldest football competition of the world.
and always filled wembley stadium saw londoners west ham united beat preston north end in a final of underdogs, so typical for the oldest football competition of the world.
the others: dukla, esbjerg, gornik, benfica and dinamo bucharest dominate domestically
rangers dominate
albania: that’s six out of seven for partizani, who also made it three in a row. dinamo placed second, but completed three seasons without a trophy after winning 5 in the first six seasons. in the meanwhile, partizani won their fourth cup in the ec era, the tenth in total. that made it 4 doubles in the last seven seasons.
austria: rapid finally made it! after three years of austria wien domination, the purples took the championship back in style and made it four wins in nine seasons. the three-time defending champs were runners-up with a respectful point difference. linz had another good season, wiener sc did well and it was the best ever for fourth placed 1. schwechater sc. admira wien won the cup, beating austria in the final – runners-up again!
belgium: standard, anderlecht, standard… and now back to anderlecht! for the eight time, the reigning champion was not able to defend their title, even though it was rsc’s 4th title in the 9 european cup seasons. beringen fc placed second for their best ever finish, ahead of the two clubs from liege. for the first time after 8 years, belgium had a cup competition – won by la gantoise, now known as kaa gent, who beat the unknown kfc diest 4-2 in extra time.
bulgaria: which was the biggest surprise – a second season in a row without cska sofia on the top, or lokomotiv sofia’s second league title? cska ended the season 11th, completely humiliated. levski ended second. slavia sofia played botev plovdiv played their second final in a row, with the same outcome – slavia took it!
cyprus: anorthosis did win the cup, but the league was suspended due to unrests on the island. until then, omonia nicosia was having a perfect season.
czechoslovakia: supported by the government (and maybe some referees), dukla continued their run. fourth league title in a row, sixth in the last eight seasons. tartan presov’s season is also worth a mention. slovan came in second, while sparta prague took their first trophy in the european cup era, beating kosice in the final.
denmark: the new dominators of the scandinavian country are esbjerg – not only did they defend their title for a second year in a row, but this time they even won the danish cup, completing their first double – a smaller odense club had no chance in the final.
faroe islands: hb torshavn won the double in 1955, and no other club could repeat that feat. until now – although not quite, since it was hb torshavn again.
finland: reipas lahti won their first ever title in the european cup era, winning the league. fc haka, who came second to reipas in the league, won the cup final against the champions. it was their fourth cup win in the ec era.
france: saint-etienne claimed their second league title after their 1956 triumph, and their second trophy in three years, following their cup win in 1962. defending champions monaco came in second, while rc lens had their first good season since 1956. in the coupe de france, last year’s defeated finalists olympique lyon went one better and beat girondins bordeaux in the final. for girondins, this was their first appearance into the national spotlight since the beginning of the european cup competitions in 1955. and it was lyon’s first title in that time.
east germany: chemie leipzig, a new team coming from sachsen leipzig, won the championship for the first time, ousting empor rostock and the other, more traditional sc leipzig (formely lok leipzig). that leipzig club also lost the final, to aufbau magdeburg, soon to be known as 1.fc magdeburg.
greece: panathinaikos won it four the fourth time in five years, leaving olympiacos without a league title since 1959. on a curious note, aek won the greek title without playing the final. olympiacos and panathinaikos played a semifinal and the match ended in riots, causing the greek football association to expel both teams.
hungary: in an autumn season with only 13 matches, it was a very close fight until the end. gyor eto made the best of the situation and secured their first title in the ec era. ferencvaros, honved and kolmoi banyasz were close, but missed the title by one or two points.
iceland: for the fifth season in a row, kr reykjavik won at least one trophy – it was their fourth league title in the ec era. they completed their second double in three years to make it 4 cup wins and 8 titles in total.
israel: and then it happened – hapoel petah-tikva lost the league after five consecutive champions. hapoel ramat gan were crowned israeli champions, with the defending champions in third. maccabi jaffa finished second. maccabi tel aviv won their fifth title, first one since 1959.
liechtenstein: fc vaduz out the final again, so time for a new champion: fc balzers beat fc triesen in the final.
luxembourg: aris bonnevoie won the title in luxembourg in front of union, with stade dudelange in third. jeunesse esch had a quiet season in fifth. in the cup, union ended up beating aris to defend their title.
malta: sliema wanderers managed to win 13 out of 14 matches, winning their first title since 1957. valletta, the defending champs, finished a good second. the two met in the cup final, this time valletta making the best of it.
netherlands: the defending champions psv finished a close second to new champions dws amsterdam! actually, psv were the best of the teams which had played in the previous year, since dws came straight from the second division to clinch the title. sc enschede and feyenoord had some pretty decent seasons, too. the cup was won by fortuna sittard, second time in the ec era – ado den haag lost the final for the second year in a row.
northern ireland: glentoran and derry city were the teams of the season. the former won the league, their first title in the ec cup era; the latter won the cup, beating glentoran in the final, and placed a good 3rd in league; derry would later play in the league of ireland, as only club from northern ireland. coleraine were runners-up in the leage, while linfield and portadown also had decent campaigns.
norway: brann bergen defended their title from 1962 and won ahead of lyn oslo, while fk skeid won their fourth cup in the ec cup era, beating frederikstad in the final.
poland: fifth polish champions title in seven years, and third in a row: gornik zabrze are now the dominating force in the eastern european country. fourth placed legia warsaw won the cup, and zaglebie were the runners-up in the league, in front of odra opole. polonia bytom reached the cup final.
republic of ireland: after two years without winning any trophies, the rovers were back in style: shamrock won ireland’s first ec cup era double, winning the league ahead of dundalk and limerick, and beating cork city in the fai cup final.
romania: three clubs dominated the season. dinamo bucharest beat steaua to win their second cup after 1959, and they defended their league title for the second year in a row, making it four in total. rapid bucharest were runners-up in the league, ahead of steaua.
scotland: kilmarnock, celtic, hearts, dundee fc, and dunfermline had really good seasons, but no one could beat the rangers, who won their sixth title in the nine ec era years, defending the title for only the second time after 1957. rangers even repeated last season’s double by winning the cup for the third season in a row, defeating dundee fc in the final. that means the rangers only had one titleless year (1958) and now has 10 seasons.
sweden: five out of nine for norrköping, one can almost call this display dominating. degerfors did well to secure second. aik göteborg, malmö ff and ifk göteborg also did pretty well.
switzerland: la chaux-de-fonds finally crowned their good performances with the league title in 1964. after nine ec cup era years, they were second only to young boys bern, and even reached the cup final, which they lost to lausanne sports – who won it for the second time in three years. lausanne also had a strong season in a league, behind servette, grenchen and defending champions fc zürich, who finished second.
turkey: while fenerbahce won the league, interrupting two seasons of galatasaray glory, their rivals won the the second edition of the turkish cup, defending their title by defeating altay in the final. besiktas were runners-up in the league, while ankaragücu had their best season to date.
soviet union: dinamo won the league, spartak, runners-up in the league, won the cup, defeating the two-time champions shakhtar, who had reached their third consecutive final.
wales: cardiff city clinched their third cup by beating bangor in the final.
yugoslavia: after three titles in a row, partizan had a weak season. red star took advantage to clinch their fifth title in the era and taking back the number one spot in national league history. they even went one better and won the cup, beating dinamo zagreb in the final. that constituted the second double in the ec era, both won by crvena zvezda.
austria: rapid finally made it! after three years of austria wien domination, the purples took the championship back in style and made it four wins in nine seasons. the three-time defending champs were runners-up with a respectful point difference. linz had another good season, wiener sc did well and it was the best ever for fourth placed 1. schwechater sc. admira wien won the cup, beating austria in the final – runners-up again!
belgium: standard, anderlecht, standard… and now back to anderlecht! for the eight time, the reigning champion was not able to defend their title, even though it was rsc’s 4th title in the 9 european cup seasons. beringen fc placed second for their best ever finish, ahead of the two clubs from liege. for the first time after 8 years, belgium had a cup competition – won by la gantoise, now known as kaa gent, who beat the unknown kfc diest 4-2 in extra time.
bulgaria: which was the biggest surprise – a second season in a row without cska sofia on the top, or lokomotiv sofia’s second league title? cska ended the season 11th, completely humiliated. levski ended second. slavia sofia played botev plovdiv played their second final in a row, with the same outcome – slavia took it!
cyprus: anorthosis did win the cup, but the league was suspended due to unrests on the island. until then, omonia nicosia was having a perfect season.
czechoslovakia: supported by the government (and maybe some referees), dukla continued their run. fourth league title in a row, sixth in the last eight seasons. tartan presov’s season is also worth a mention. slovan came in second, while sparta prague took their first trophy in the european cup era, beating kosice in the final.
denmark: the new dominators of the scandinavian country are esbjerg – not only did they defend their title for a second year in a row, but this time they even won the danish cup, completing their first double – a smaller odense club had no chance in the final.
faroe islands: hb torshavn won the double in 1955, and no other club could repeat that feat. until now – although not quite, since it was hb torshavn again.
finland: reipas lahti won their first ever title in the european cup era, winning the league. fc haka, who came second to reipas in the league, won the cup final against the champions. it was their fourth cup win in the ec era.
france: saint-etienne claimed their second league title after their 1956 triumph, and their second trophy in three years, following their cup win in 1962. defending champions monaco came in second, while rc lens had their first good season since 1956. in the coupe de france, last year’s defeated finalists olympique lyon went one better and beat girondins bordeaux in the final. for girondins, this was their first appearance into the national spotlight since the beginning of the european cup competitions in 1955. and it was lyon’s first title in that time.
east germany: chemie leipzig, a new team coming from sachsen leipzig, won the championship for the first time, ousting empor rostock and the other, more traditional sc leipzig (formely lok leipzig). that leipzig club also lost the final, to aufbau magdeburg, soon to be known as 1.fc magdeburg.
greece: panathinaikos won it four the fourth time in five years, leaving olympiacos without a league title since 1959. on a curious note, aek won the greek title without playing the final. olympiacos and panathinaikos played a semifinal and the match ended in riots, causing the greek football association to expel both teams.
hungary: in an autumn season with only 13 matches, it was a very close fight until the end. gyor eto made the best of the situation and secured their first title in the ec era. ferencvaros, honved and kolmoi banyasz were close, but missed the title by one or two points.
iceland: for the fifth season in a row, kr reykjavik won at least one trophy – it was their fourth league title in the ec era. they completed their second double in three years to make it 4 cup wins and 8 titles in total.
israel: and then it happened – hapoel petah-tikva lost the league after five consecutive champions. hapoel ramat gan were crowned israeli champions, with the defending champions in third. maccabi jaffa finished second. maccabi tel aviv won their fifth title, first one since 1959.
liechtenstein: fc vaduz out the final again, so time for a new champion: fc balzers beat fc triesen in the final.
luxembourg: aris bonnevoie won the title in luxembourg in front of union, with stade dudelange in third. jeunesse esch had a quiet season in fifth. in the cup, union ended up beating aris to defend their title.
malta: sliema wanderers managed to win 13 out of 14 matches, winning their first title since 1957. valletta, the defending champs, finished a good second. the two met in the cup final, this time valletta making the best of it.
netherlands: the defending champions psv finished a close second to new champions dws amsterdam! actually, psv were the best of the teams which had played in the previous year, since dws came straight from the second division to clinch the title. sc enschede and feyenoord had some pretty decent seasons, too. the cup was won by fortuna sittard, second time in the ec era – ado den haag lost the final for the second year in a row.
northern ireland: glentoran and derry city were the teams of the season. the former won the league, their first title in the ec cup era; the latter won the cup, beating glentoran in the final, and placed a good 3rd in league; derry would later play in the league of ireland, as only club from northern ireland. coleraine were runners-up in the leage, while linfield and portadown also had decent campaigns.
norway: brann bergen defended their title from 1962 and won ahead of lyn oslo, while fk skeid won their fourth cup in the ec cup era, beating frederikstad in the final.
poland: fifth polish champions title in seven years, and third in a row: gornik zabrze are now the dominating force in the eastern european country. fourth placed legia warsaw won the cup, and zaglebie were the runners-up in the league, in front of odra opole. polonia bytom reached the cup final.
republic of ireland: after two years without winning any trophies, the rovers were back in style: shamrock won ireland’s first ec cup era double, winning the league ahead of dundalk and limerick, and beating cork city in the fai cup final.
romania: three clubs dominated the season. dinamo bucharest beat steaua to win their second cup after 1959, and they defended their league title for the second year in a row, making it four in total. rapid bucharest were runners-up in the league, ahead of steaua.
scotland: kilmarnock, celtic, hearts, dundee fc, and dunfermline had really good seasons, but no one could beat the rangers, who won their sixth title in the nine ec era years, defending the title for only the second time after 1957. rangers even repeated last season’s double by winning the cup for the third season in a row, defeating dundee fc in the final. that means the rangers only had one titleless year (1958) and now has 10 seasons.
sweden: five out of nine for norrköping, one can almost call this display dominating. degerfors did well to secure second. aik göteborg, malmö ff and ifk göteborg also did pretty well.
switzerland: la chaux-de-fonds finally crowned their good performances with the league title in 1964. after nine ec cup era years, they were second only to young boys bern, and even reached the cup final, which they lost to lausanne sports – who won it for the second time in three years. lausanne also had a strong season in a league, behind servette, grenchen and defending champions fc zürich, who finished second.
turkey: while fenerbahce won the league, interrupting two seasons of galatasaray glory, their rivals won the the second edition of the turkish cup, defending their title by defeating altay in the final. besiktas were runners-up in the league, while ankaragücu had their best season to date.
soviet union: dinamo won the league, spartak, runners-up in the league, won the cup, defeating the two-time champions shakhtar, who had reached their third consecutive final.
wales: cardiff city clinched their third cup by beating bangor in the final.
yugoslavia: after three titles in a row, partizan had a weak season. red star took advantage to clinch their fifth title in the era and taking back the number one spot in national league history. they even went one better and won the cup, beating dinamo zagreb in the final. that constituted the second double in the ec era, both won by crvena zvezda.