1972 Cup Winners' Cup Final
Encyclopedia
The 1972 European Cup Winners' Cup Final was contested between Rangers
and Dynamo Moscow
on 24 May 1972. The match was played at the Camp Nou
in Barcelona
where Scottish team Rangers defeated their Soviet
opponents 3–2. This was the first time a Soviet team had reached a European final and the players could have been awarded the coveted title Master of Sport, had they won in Barcelona. Before the event, many concerns were expressed for possible troubles between Spanish police and Russian supporters. Due to the political background of the time in Spain, with the last years of Francisco Franco
's right-wing dictatorship
, it was clear that the Russian players and supporters would have found themselves in a very hostile environment.
, the referee was overruled, the result overturned and Rangers were heading into the next round. Rangers then played Torino, Italian league leaders at the time, and won 2–1 on aggregate. In the semi final Rangers played Bayern Munich, who had beaten Rangers in the final five years previously in Nuremburg. Rangers progressed 3–1 on aggregate to reach their third European final.
Dynamo Moscow began their campaign by defeating Olympiakos 3–1 on aggregate, before beating another Turkish side Eskişehirspor 3–0. Moscow’s quarter final was against Red Star from Yugoslavia, who had reached the semi final of the European cup the previous year. Moscow made it through 3–1 on aggregate again. In the semi final Moscow played Dynamo Berlin from Germany. Scores were drawn 1–1 after both the first and second leg. Dynamo Moscow went through after a penalty shootout to become the first Russian club to reach a European final.
. The second was scored by Willie Johnston
after he headed in a David Smith
pass with six minutes to go before half time.
. Dynamo Moscow came back into the match when with thirty minutes left for play Eshtrekov scored. They continued to pressure Rangers and scored again with three minutes left with a goal from Makhovikov
. Rangers held on to secure their only trophy in Europe in front of almost 25,000 people.
Dinamo Moskva and the Soviet FA demanded a replay on the grounds of the pitch invasion, arguing that the actions of the Rangers fans was intended to influence the result by ensuring the Russian team did not equalise. While UEFA initially seemed sympathetic and some neutral commentators agreed that the game should be replayed, no replay was ever scheduled and Rangers were allowed to keep the trophy. Rangers did however lose the possibility of defending the trophy as they were fined and handed a two year ban from European competition following their fans' behaviour, which was later reduced to a one-year ban.
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DYNAMO MOSCOW:
|
GK
1
Vladimir Pilguy
DF
2
Vladimir Basalayev
DF
3
Yozhef Sabo
(c)
DF
4
Valeri Zykov
DF
5
Vladimir Dolbonosov
MF
6
Yevgeni Zhukov
MF
7
Oleg Dolmatov
MF
8
Aleksandr Makhovikov
MF
9
Anatoly Baidachny
FW
10
Andrei Yakubik
FW
11
Gennady Yevriuzhikin
Substitutes:
MF
12
Vladimir Eshtrekov
FW
13
Mikhail Gershkovich
Manager:
Konstantin Beskov
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
and Dynamo Moscow
FC Dynamo Moscow
Dynamo Moscow is a Russian football club based in Moscow, currently playing in the Russian Premier League. Dynamo's traditional kit colours are blue and white...
on 24 May 1972. The match was played at the Camp Nou
Camp Nou
Camp Nou , sometimes called "the Nou Camp" in English, is a football stadium in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The stadium, located in the west of the city, has been the home of FC Barcelona since its construction in 1957....
in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
where Scottish team Rangers defeated their Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
opponents 3–2. This was the first time a Soviet team had reached a European final and the players could have been awarded the coveted title Master of Sport, had they won in Barcelona. Before the event, many concerns were expressed for possible troubles between Spanish police and Russian supporters. Due to the political background of the time in Spain, with the last years of Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
's right-wing dictatorship
Dictatorship
A dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator. It has three possible meanings:...
, it was clear that the Russian players and supporters would have found themselves in a very hostile environment.
Route to the final
Rangers began their route to the final by beating Renne 2–1 on aggregate. The first leg was drawn 1–1 with Willie Johnston scoring for Rangers. Rangers won the return leg 1–0 through Alex MacDonald. The second round saw Rangers play Sporting Lisbon from Portugal. Rangers led the first half of the first leg 3–0, but lost two goals in the second half to lead 3–2 going into the second leg. The second leg finished 3–2 to Sporting, 5–5 on aggregate. Willie Henderson scored for Rangers in extra time but Rangers then lost a goal with six minutes left to make it 6–6 on aggregate. What followed has been described as being one of the most bizarre incidents in the history of any European tournament. The Dutch referee Laurens van Raavens failed to recognise that Rangers, having scored three away goals to Sporting's two, had won the tie. But the referee made both teams take five penalties each, with Rangers losing the shootout. After Rangers manager Willie Waddell pointed out the away goals rule to UEFAUEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
, the referee was overruled, the result overturned and Rangers were heading into the next round. Rangers then played Torino, Italian league leaders at the time, and won 2–1 on aggregate. In the semi final Rangers played Bayern Munich, who had beaten Rangers in the final five years previously in Nuremburg. Rangers progressed 3–1 on aggregate to reach their third European final.
Dynamo Moscow began their campaign by defeating Olympiakos 3–1 on aggregate, before beating another Turkish side Eskişehirspor 3–0. Moscow’s quarter final was against Red Star from Yugoslavia, who had reached the semi final of the European cup the previous year. Moscow made it through 3–1 on aggregate again. In the semi final Moscow played Dynamo Berlin from Germany. Scores were drawn 1–1 after both the first and second leg. Dynamo Moscow went through after a penalty shootout to become the first Russian club to reach a European final.
First half
Rangers had a two goal lead by half time. The first was scored by forward Colin SteinColin Stein
Colin Stein is a former Scottish football player.-Career:Stein began his career with Armadale Thistle, and went on to play for Hibernian, Rangers and the Scottish national team during the 1960s and 1970s. He also had a spell in England with Coventry City...
. The second was scored by Willie Johnston
Willie Johnston
William McClure "Willie" Johnston is a Scottish former professional football player, best remembered for his time at Rangers and West Brom.-Career:...
after he headed in a David Smith
Dave Smith (footballer born 1943)
David "Dave" Bruce Smith is a former professional football player and manager.Primarily a left sided midfielder, Smith started his playing career for Aberdeen and moved to Rangers in August 1966 for a fee of £50,000...
pass with six minutes to go before half time.
Second half
Rangers went 3–0 up minutes into the second half as Willie Johnston scored his second after a long kick out by goalkeeper Peter McCloyPeter McCloy
Peter McCloy is a retired football goalkeeper who played for Motherwell and Rangers. He was a member of the Rangers team which won the 1972 Cup Winners Cup, and was Rangers' first-choice goalkeeper for most of his 16-year spell at the club despite competition from players such as Gerhardt Neef and...
. Dynamo Moscow came back into the match when with thirty minutes left for play Eshtrekov scored. They continued to pressure Rangers and scored again with three minutes left with a goal from Makhovikov
Aleksandr Makhovikov
Aleksandr Fyodorovich Makhovikov is a retired Soviet football player.-International career:Makhovikov made his debut for USSR on April 30, 1972 in the UEFA Euro 1972 quarterfinal against Yugoslavia. He did not play again for the national team until 1976...
. Rangers held on to secure their only trophy in Europe in front of almost 25,000 people.
Pitch invasion
The end of the contest was overshadowed by a third pitch invasion by hundreds of Rangers supporters minutes before the final whistle, which held the game up for several minutes. In the sixties and seventies it was common to see pitch invasions at matches, including European finals. While it was argued that the pitch invaders may simply have been celebrating victory prematurely due to the misinterpretation of the final whistle, others – including the Dinamo Moskva team as well as some neutral observers – believed that the pitch invasion was a calculated action by the fans designed to stop the Soviet side's momentum. In the final minutes, Dinamo were pressing hard to equalise but the sudden pitch invasion gave the Rangers defenders respite and deeply unnerved the Soviet players.Dinamo Moskva and the Soviet FA demanded a replay on the grounds of the pitch invasion, arguing that the actions of the Rangers fans was intended to influence the result by ensuring the Russian team did not equalise. While UEFA initially seemed sympathetic and some neutral commentators agreed that the game should be replayed, no replay was ever scheduled and Rangers were allowed to keep the trophy. Rangers did however lose the possibility of defending the trophy as they were fined and handed a two year ban from European competition following their fans' behaviour, which was later reduced to a one-year ban.
Match details
| style="font-size: 90%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> | RANGERS: | ||
| GK | 1 |  Peter McCloyPeter McCloy Peter McCloy is a retired football goalkeeper who played for Motherwell and Rangers. He was a member of the Rangers team which won the 1972 Cup Winners Cup, and was Rangers' first-choice goalkeeper for most of his 16-year spell at the club despite competition from players such as Gerhardt Neef and... |
|
| DF | 2 | Sandy Jardine |
|
| DF | 3 | Willie Mathieson Willie Mathieson Willie Mathieson is a Scottish former professional footballer who played in the left-back position for Rangers, amongst other clubs. He was included in the Rangers F.C. Hall of Fame on February 5, 2007.... |
|
| DF | 4 | John Greig John Greig John Greig MBE is a Scottish former professional football player who, despite his boyhood allegiance to hometown team Heart of Midlothian, spent his entire career in Glasgow with Rangers as a player, manager and director.Greig was voted "The Greatest Ever Ranger" in 1999 by the Rangers supporters... (c) |
|
| DF | 5 | Derek Johnstone Derek Johnstone Derek Joseph Johnstone is a former Scottish association footballer.Johnstone played mainly for Rangers during his career. He also had a spell at Chelsea and a brief stint in management with Partick Thistle. He mainly played as a striker but could also perform in central defence, and in midfield... |
|
| MF | 6 | David Smith Dave Smith (footballer born 1943) David "Dave" Bruce Smith is a former professional football player and manager.Primarily a left sided midfielder, Smith started his playing career for Aberdeen and moved to Rangers in August 1966 for a fee of £50,000... |
|
| MF | 7 | Tommy McLean Tommy McLean Thomas "Tommy" McLean is a Scottish former professional footballer who played for Kilmarnock and Rangers.... |
|
| MF | 8 | Alfie Conn Alfie Conn, Jr. Alfred James "Alfie" Conn is a Scottish former professional footballer who was the first post-World War II player to play for both Rangers and Celtic.- Life and career :... |
|
| FW | 9 | Colin Stein Colin Stein Colin Stein is a former Scottish football player.-Career:Stein began his career with Armadale Thistle, and went on to play for Hibernian, Rangers and the Scottish national team during the 1960s and 1970s. He also had a spell in England with Coventry City... |
|
| MF | 10 | Alex MacDonald |
|
| FW | 11 | Willie Johnston Willie Johnston William McClure "Willie" Johnston is a Scottish former professional football player, best remembered for his time at Rangers and West Brom.-Career:... |
|
| Substitutes: | |||
| GK |  Gerry NeefGerhardt Neef Gerhard "Gerry" Neef, often known as Gerhardt Neef was a German professional football player. -Club career:... |
||
| DF | Alex Miller Alex Miller Alex Miller is a Scottish association football coach and former player. As a player, he had a 15 year career with Rangers. As a manager, he won the 1991 Scottish League Cup with Hibernian... |
||
| FW | Derek Parlane Derek Parlane Derek Parlane was a former professional football striker who played for Rangers for 10 years, from 1970 until 1980.... |
||
| Manager: | |||
| William Waddell |
|||
Vladimir PilguyVladimir Pilguy
Vladimir Mikhailovich Pilguy is a former Ukrainian and Soviet footballer.-Honours:* Soviet Top League runner-up: 1970.* Soviet Top League bronze: 1973, 1975.* Soviet Cup winner: 1970, 1977.* UEFA Cup Winners' Cup finalist: 1972....
Vladimir BasalayevVladimir Basalayev
Vladimir Sergeyevich Basalayev is a retired Soviet football player.-International career:Basalayev made his debut for USSR on June 16, 1968 in a friendly against Austria.-External links:...
Yozhef SaboYozhef Sabo
Yozhef Yozhefovich Sabo is a former Soviet football player of Hungarian ethnicity-Club:Szabó made his name as a player at Dynamo Kyiv, appearing at the club from 1959 to 1969...
(c)
Valeri ZykovValeri Zykov
Valeri Borisovich Zykov is a retired Soviet football player. Since 1991 he works in FC Dynamo Moscow, taking care of retired Dynamo players.-International career:...
Vladimir DolbonosovVladimir Nikolayevich Dolbonosov
Vladimir Nikolayevich Dolbonosov is a retired Soviet professional footballer. He made his debut in the Soviet Top League in 1967 for FC Dynamo Moscow.-Honours:* European Cup Winners' Cup 1971–72 finalist.* Soviet Top League runner-up: 1967, 1970....
Yevgeni ZhukovYevgeni Zhukov
Yevgeni Panteleimonovich Zhukov is a retired Russian professional footballer. He made his professional debut in the Soviet Top League in 1969 for FC Dynamo Moscow.-Honours:* Soviet Top League runner-up: 1970....
Oleg DolmatovOleg Dolmatov
Oleg Vasilyevich Dolmatov is a former Russian footballer and a current manager.- Honors :* Soviet Top League winner: 1976 .* Soviet Cup winner: 1977....
Aleksandr MakhovikovAleksandr Makhovikov
Aleksandr Fyodorovich Makhovikov is a retired Soviet football player.-International career:Makhovikov made his debut for USSR on April 30, 1972 in the UEFA Euro 1972 quarterfinal against Yugoslavia. He did not play again for the national team until 1976...
Anatoly BaidachnyAnatoly Baidachny
Anatoly Nikolayevich Baidachny is a Russian football manager who managed the Belarus national football team from 2003–05...
Andrei YakubikAndrei Yakubik
Andrei Aleksandrovich Yakubik is a retired Soviet football player.-Honours:* Soviet Top League winner: 1976 .* Soviet Cup winner: 1977.* Olympic bronze: 1972.* UEFA Cup Winners' Cup finalist: 1972....
Gennady YevriuzhikinGennady Yevriuzhikin
Gennady Yegorovich Yevriuzhikin was a Russian footballer.-Honours:* Soviet Top League winner: 1976 .* Soviet Top League runner-up: 1967, 1970.* Soviet Cup winner: 1967, 1970.* UEFA Cup Winners' Cup finalist: 1972.* Olympic bronze: 1972....
Vladimir EshtrekovVladimir Eshtrekov
Vladimir Khazrailovich Eshtrekov is a Russian football manager and former Soviet international player. He played 163 games in the USSR championships and scored 17 goals.-International career:...
Mikhail GershkovichMikhail Gershkovich
Mikhail Danilovich Gershkovich is a retired Soviet football player and a current Russian coach.-Honours:* Soviet Top League winner: 1976 .* Soviet Cup winner: 1968, 1977.* UEFA Cup Winners' Cup winner: 1972....
Konstantin BeskovKonstantin Beskov
Konstantin Ivanovich Beskov was a Soviet/Russian football player and manager.Beskov was born in Moscow. He played for Dynamo Moscow as forward, scoring 126 goals, and after finishing his playing career he became a successful manager who coached Dynamo and their rivals Spartak as well as the USSR...
See also
- European Cup Winners' Cup 1971–72
- 1972 European Cup Final1972 European Cup FinalThe 1972 European Cup Final was a football match held at De Kuip, Rotterdam, on 31 May 1972, that saw Ajax of the Netherlands defeat Internazionale of Italy 2-0. Two second-half goals from Johan Cruyff gave Ajax their second success in the competition, after their 1971 victory...
- 1972 UEFA Cup Final1972 UEFA Cup FinalThe 1972 UEFA Cup Final was the final of the first ever UEFA Cup football tournament. It was a two-legged contest played on 3 May and 17 May 1972 between two English clubs, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur....