The 1980–81 season of the European Cup

UEFA Champions League

The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

 football club tournament was won for a third time by Liverpool

Liverpool F.C.

Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...

 in the final against Real Madrid

Real Madrid C.F.

Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...

. In the 11 seasons up to and including this one, there were only four winners of the European Cup (Ajax, Bayern Munich

FC Bayern Munich

FC Bayern Munich , is a German sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional football team, which is the most successful football club in Germany, having won 22 national titles and 15 cups....

, Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest F.C.

Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...

 and Liverpool), but there were eleven different runners-up. This record would have continued into the next year as well, but Bayern lost to first-time finalists Aston Villa

Aston Villa F.C.

Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...

.

Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest F.C.

Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...

, the defending champions, were eliminated by CSKA Sofia

PFC CSKA Sofia

PFC CSKA Sofia , commonly known as CSKA or CSKA Sofia is a professional football club based in Sofia, Bulgaria. The club was officially founded on May 5, 1948. CSKA's abbreviation stands for Central Sports Club of the Army...

 in the first round.

Preliminary round

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First leg

Second leg

Budapest Honvéd won 11–0 on aggregate.

First round

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First leg

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Second leg

Aberdeen won 1–0 on aggregate.
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Liverpool won 11–2 on aggregate.
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CSKA Sofia won 2–0 on aggregate.
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Szombierki Bytom won 4–2 on aggregate.
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Bayern Munich won 7–2 on aggregate.
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Ajax won 3–0 on aggregate.
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Baník Ostrava won 2–1 on aggregate.
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Dynamo Berlin won 4–2 on aggregate.
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Spartak Moscow won 9–0 on aggregate.
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Esbjerg won 3–2 on aggregate.
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Real Madrid won 7–2 on aggregate.
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Budapest Honvéd won 3–0 on aggregate.
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Nantes won 3–0 on aggregate.
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Internazionale won 3–1 on aggregate.
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Basel won 5–1 on aggregate.
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Red Star Belgrade won 7–3 on aggregate.

Second round

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First leg

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Second leg

Liverpool won 5–0 on aggregate.
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CSKA Sofia won 5–0 on aggregate.
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Bayern Munich won 6–3 on aggregate.
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Baník Ostrava 1–1 Dynamo Berlin on aggregate. Baník Ostrava won on away goals.
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Spartak Moscow won 3–2 on aggregate.
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Real Madrid won 3–0 on aggregate.
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Internazionale won 3–2 on aggregate.
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Red Star Belgrade won 2–1 on aggregate.

Quarter finals

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First leg

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Second leg

Liverpool won 6–1 on aggregate.
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Bayern Munich won 6–2 on aggregate.
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Real Madrid won 2–0 on aggregate.
Internazionale won 2–1 on aggregate.

Semifinals

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First leg

Second leg

Liverpool 1–1 Bayern Munich on aggregate. Liverpool won on away goals.
Real Madrid won 2–1 on aggregate.

Final

Top scorers

The top scorers from the 1980-81 European Cup are as follows:

Rank	Name	Team	Goals
1	Terry McDermott Terry McDermott Terence "Terry" McDermott is a former football midfielder and current coach. He is currently the assistant manager at League One side Huddersfield Town.He is the father of Newcastle United player Greg McDermott and Marsaxlokk player Neale McDermott-Early career:McDermott joined Bury as a youngster...	Liverpool Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...	6
	Karl-Heinz Rummenigge Karl-Heinz Rummenigge Karl-Heinz "Kalle" Rummenigge is a German former football player.He had his greatest career success with German club Bayern Munich, where he won the Intercontinental Cup, the European Cup, as well as two league titles and two domestic cups.A member of the German national team, Rummenigge won the...	Bayern Munich FC Bayern Munich FC Bayern Munich , is a German sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional football team, which is the most successful football club in Germany, having won 22 national titles and 15 cups....	6
	Graeme Souness Graeme Souness Graeme James Souness is a Scottish former professional football player and manager.Souness was the captain of the successful Liverpool team of the early 1980s and player-manager of Rangers in the late 1980s as well as captain of the Scottish national team. He also played for Tottenham Hotspur,...	Liverpool Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...	6
4	Tsvetan Yonchev	CSKA Sofia PFC CSKA Sofia PFC CSKA Sofia , commonly known as CSKA or CSKA Sofia is a professional football club based in Sofia, Bulgaria. The club was officially founded on May 5, 1948. CSKA's abbreviation stands for Central Sports Club of the Army...	5
5	Alessandro Altobelli Alessandro Altobelli Alessandro Altobelli is a former professional Italian footballer.Nicknamed Spillo for his slender build. Altobelli was one of the most effective Italian forwards of the late 1970s and 1980s...	Internazionale F.C. Internazionale Milano Football Club Internazionale Milano, often referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Italy. Outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan. They are the reigning FIFA Club World champions and Coppa Italia holders.Inter have always...	3
	Yuri Gavrilov Yuri Gavrilov Yuri Vasilyevich Gavrilov is a Russian football manager and a former midfielder who played for Dynamo Moscow and Spartak Moscow. He made 46 appearances for the USSR national football team and scored 10 goals. He also competed for the Soviet Union at the 1980 Summer Olympics and the 1982 FIFA...	Spartak Moscow FC Spartak Moscow FC Spartak Moscow is a Russian football club from Moscow. Having won 12 Soviet championships and 9 of 19 Russian championships they are one of the country's most successful clubs. They have also won the Soviet Cup 10 times and the Russian Cup 3 times...	3
	Dieter Hoeneß Dieter Hoeneß Dieter Hoeneß is a former German footballer, who played as a striker.In his playing career, he was mainly associated with Bayern Munich...	Bayern Munich FC Bayern Munich FC Bayern Munich , is a German sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional football team, which is the most successful football club in Germany, having won 22 national titles and 15 cups....	3
	Santillana	Real Madrid Real Madrid C.F. Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...	3
9	Vagiz Khidiyatullin Vagiz Khidiyatullin Vagiz Nazirovich Khidiyatullin is a former footballer who played as central defender...	Spartak Moscow FC Spartak Moscow FC Spartak Moscow is a Russian football club from Moscow. Having won 12 Soviet championships and 9 of 19 Russian championships they are one of the country's most successful clubs. They have also won the Soviet Cup 10 times and the Russian Cup 3 times...	3
	Srebrenko Repčić Srebrenko Repcic Srebrenko Repčić is a Bosnian Serb football manager and former player....	Red Star Belgrade Red Star Belgrade Red Star Belgrade is a football club from Belgrade, Serbia. The club is a part of the Red Star Sports Society.Red Star Belgrade is the most successful Serbian club, with a record of 25 national championships and 23 national cups in both Serbian and ex-Yugoslav competitions...	3

External links

• 1980–81 season at UEFA website
• European Cup results at Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation