Matt Busby was back in the competition that had come to define him. There have been managers who have won more than him. Managers who have who have competed more than him. But none surely for whom the competition held more significance. 11 years previously, he had defied the wishes of the Football League, to expose his youthful English champions to the cream of European football. A year later, he was inches from losing his life, as the heart of his team lost theirs. He rebuilt and returned in 1965, lighting up Benfica’s stadium with a performance to shake the continent only to lose with a whimper in the semi-finals, again. Three campaigns, three semi-final exits.

And now, he had seen his beloved Celtic, the team he had dreamed of playing for as a boy, lift the trophy led by another product of the West of Scotland coal mining industry. Stein, had proven what Busby knew all along, that British teams could win the ultimate prize. That attacking football could triumph.

Though he was seen as one of the first tracksuit managers, Busby had now been at the coalface of football management for over twenty years “Matt wasn’t a great tactician but nobody had a keener eye for real talent and how it could be used best.”^

They had won the 1966/67 League title without losing a game at home, but it was their away results that had cost them in previous years in Europe and indeed they would not win a single game outside of England this season. In the first round they played Hibernians of Malta, coached by local priest Father Hilary Tagliaferro. The Maltese were delighted to have the opportunity to play against United although one member of the squad got lost in London prior to the match after they’d gone to watch Arsenal. In the home leg Law got a double and David Sadler, a center back by trade but capable of playing all over the field, showed his proficiency in front of goal by claiming himself a brace. The biggest issue in Malta was avoiding injuries due to the playing surface which was made up of sand, gravel and lime. United received a rapturous welcome on the island and the game, an exhibition for all intents and purposes finished 0-0 with searing temperatures aligned with the pitch, not presenting the ideal conditions for the Red Devils to put on a show.

The Second Round would see them return to Yugoslavia for the third time in four campaigns. FK Sarajevo, like Vojovodina the year previous, were surprise Champions, becoming the first Bosnian team to win the First League, and breaking Serbian dominance of the title. In Sarajevo, the game finished 0-0. United rode their luck in the opening period when a Musemic shot appeared to cross the line, but Alec Stepney scrambled to grab it and the officials waved play on. 10 minutes later, the bad luck for the home side continued when Boško Prodanović went off injured. Sarajevo’s attacking intent was stymied. It was at this point their approach switched from creation to destruction. Their display of tackling was according to Busby ‘disgraceful . . . worse than anything we have ever experienced in this competition.’^ United, burnt on their last visit to Yugoslavia, were happy to go home knowing a win at Old Trafford would put them through.

The ‘physical’ approach of the Bosnians continued into the second-leg but United avoided getting dragged into a knock-down-drag-out war, going ahead early through John Aston Jr. another product of the youth system. Aston’s father, John Sr. had been a part of Busby’s first great side, winning the F.A. Cup in 1948. Aston Jr was born the year previous and it showed Busby’s longevity that his tenure had spanned two generations of one family. George Best, put on another tremendous performance and was at the centre at the game’s most controversial moments when Prljaca was sent off for kicking him on the hour mark. Best was a marked man, after he had got into a scuffle with the Sarajevo keeper, Mufitc who had dug his nails into the winger’s hand in what appeared to be a friendly help up.

From the resulting free-kick, following the sending off, Foulkes hit the bar with a header that appeared to loop out of play but it was headed back across the goal and Best volleyed it home from six yards. Sarajevo were furious, insisting the linesman had raised his flag and surrounded the referee, forcibly being returned to the field in some cases by their manager. They got a goal back near the end but the antagonism spilled over into the tunnel. As Muftic made a bee-line for Best, Pat Crerand intercepted, and ‘gave him such a clout I nearly broke my hand.’^

Celtic’s reign as holders was over before the clocks changed. They were drawn against Soviet Top League Champions, Dynamo Kyiv. The Ukranians were in the competition by virtue of their 1966 league triumph and at the time were well on the way to winning the 1967 title. Four months after Lisbon, Jock Stein named the same team that defeated Inter and there was a familiar face in the middle in Kurt Tschener. The game was broadcast across the Soviet Union with an audience in the millions.

Stein had hoped for a 3-0 win to take to Russia but he had to quickly readjust his calculations as Dynamo went 2-0 up inside a half-hour. This was doubly concerning as, for the first round only, UEFA had implemented the away goals rule in the European Cup. It was two of the heroes of Lisbon who were at fault for the goals. For the first on the fourth minute Gemmell slipped and then on the 29th minute, McNeil miskicked. Anatoliy Puzach and Anatoliy Byshovets respectively, took advantage. Lennox would pull a goal back on the hour and McNeill came close with a header before the end, but Celtic would require two goals in Ukraine to go through.

Whilst the game itself is perhaps not a milestone, it certainly provides a yardstick in the evolution of the game. Celtic who had so impressed the World with their carefree attacking against Inter, prior to the summer, found themselves up against a different tactical challenge. Most of the press coverage focuses on Celtic not performing to their best which neglects that, as often the case in sport, when teams are unable to play their natural game it is precisely because the opposition does not let them. Dynamo were coached by Viktor Maslov, considered by tactical historian Jonathan Wilson as having the best claim to be considered ‘the father of modern soccer.’^ Maslov adapted the Brazilian 4-2-4, into the 4-4-2, implemented zonal marking and instituted an aggressive pressing system so much so that ‘(b)y the time Dynamo won their first title under Maslov in 1966, their midfield was hunting in packs, closing down opponents and seizing the initiative in previously unexpected areas of the field’.^ Little wonder then, that the Glasgow Herald reported that ‘times without number last night the ball went from a Celtic to a Russian’s boot as often as a Celtic player was left stranded without visible means of support from a colleague.’^

Celtic’s performance in the second leg was much more impressive and they were unlucky not to recover the tie. Prior to the game they had to negotiate some Cold-War shenanigans as the Soviet Football Federation insisted on handling all the travel logistics as opposed to Dynamo Kyiv themselves. This led to them requesting Celtic travel on a Soviet plane and fly via Moscow. Celtic managed to avoid that fate but their return home was delayed by 30hrs and they arrived in Scotland the night before a league match away to Hearts.

In the match itself, the Hoops suffered a blow as Bobby Murdoch was sent off with a half-hour left via two shows of dissent towards the Italian referee Antonio Sbardella. Despite being a man down, Lennox scored again to give Celtic the lead, sliding in at the back post to meet a cross. Sbardella then controversially chopped off a John Hughes goal for a foul on the goalkeeper and Byshovets subsequently, levelled things up with a minute to go to send Dynamo through. Byshovets would coach the USSR to Olympic Gold in 1988 and would return to Scotland in 2004, as sporting director of Heart of Midlothian.

Kyiv would be knocked out by Górnik Zabrze in the next round, 3-2 on aggregate, like Celtic, crucially losing the first leg 2-1 at home. The Russian season typically ended in November and it became a pattern for teams to struggle to make it through the opening rounds. The Poles were playing in the tournament for the fifth time in six seasons and after some early humiliations (8-1 loss to Spurs in 1962), they had built up good experience of European football and were unlucky not to have got further with the previous season seeing them throw away a 3-0 home lead to eventual semi-finalists CSKA and in 1964/65 they exited to Dukla via a coin toss.

The standout tie of the first round was Ajax versus Real Madrid. This tie occupies a special place in history. Madrid were entering their barren years, Ajax about to embark on their abundant period. One on the way down, the other on the way up. In Amsterdam, Cruyff, the ballboy in ‘62 who marvelled at Di Stéfano and Puskás, put Ajax ahead with a volley from the edge of the box, which was dismally mishandled by Junquera in the Madrid goal. Pirri scored a superb equaliser before half-time to gain Real a draw.

It was a similar story in Madrid. Gento putting the home side ahead, De Groot, pegging them back with a wonderful header which forced extra-time. Both sides had numerous chances to win it, and Cruyff came especially close, but it was José Luis Veloso who scored the winning goal in the 99th minute of the game, with a superb shot from 25 yards to put Real through.

Sparta Prague had wrestled the Czechoslovakian First League back from Dukla Prague and equalled their performance of 66/66 by making the Quarter-Finals. Sparta had been defeated in the epic 6-4 aggregate tie by Partizan on that occasion and they were involved in another classic this season in their second round tie against Anderlecht. The first leg went Sparta’s way, 3-2. Václav Mašek scoring a hat-trick. In Brussels he looked to have put Sparta through when he made it 1-0 before half-time. A quick double from Paul van Himst and then an 83 minute strike from Johan Devrindt turned the tie on its head and looked to be sending Anderlecht through (5-4). In the 85th minute Mašek leveled the tie on aggregate, setting up a replay but Ivan Mráz had other ideas and made it 3-3 in the 89th minute and it was Sparta who advanced, 6-5.

Elsewhere in Central Europe, Vasas had retained their Hungarian crown and breezed into the Quarter-Finals with convincing victories over Dundalk and Valur. They would be joined by the West German Champions Eintracht Braunschweig who would make their only appearance in the competition. Braunschweig from the Lower Saxony region in North West Germany, had only needed to play one-tie to progress as Dinamo Tirana withdrew. They overturned a 1-0 deficit in West Germany against neighbours Rapid Vienna going through 2-1 on aggregate. They would face Juventus, back in the competition for the first time since 61/62. Their path to the last eight was solid and unspectacular. A 2-0 aggregate win over Olympiakos was followed by the slimmest of victories (1-0) against Rapid Bucharest.

Benfica would be the final team in the quarter-finals but they nearly succumbed to what would have been the biggest shock in tournament history when they scraped past Northern Irish Champions Glentoran in the first round. They made history of a different kind, becoming the first team in the European Cup to go through on the away goals rule.

Glentoran had spent their summer in the USA, as the Detroit Cougars in the United Soccer Association. The experience had not only bonded the team but allowed the semi-professional squad to train as a professional outfit. In front of 40,000 at the Oval in Belfast, they went ahead by virtue of their Scottish player-manager, 29-year old John Colrain’s 10th minute penalty. Colrain was a former Celtic player whose best man was Pat Crerand. Eusébio bagged a crucial equalizer in the 86th minute, striking it so hard that it got stuck in the stanchion. In Lisbon, Benfica could not break the deadlock and Glentoran joined the very short list of teams to come away unbeaten from the stadium. Unfortunately they were not able to find the goal that would have secured an historic victory although they did become the first team to stop them scoring at home.

In the next round, Benfica defeated Saint-Ettiene, who were now in the midst of a golden age. Les Verts had been embarrassed in the 1964/65 season, knocked out by La Chaux-De-Fonds but benefited from UEFA’s decision to seed the draw. One criterion was based on countries who had reached the final before, and thanks to Reims exploits in 1956 and 1959, Saint-Ettiene faced Finnish part-timers KuPS. They would win, 5-0 on aggregate with future World Cup winning coach, Aime Jacquet, getting on the scoresheet. Benfica would be too much however in Lisbon, and goals from Augusto and Eusébio gave the Eagles a 2-0 lead going to France. A 10th minute goal gave Saint-Ettiene genuine hope at home but like Glentoran, they could not find the vital goal to force a third match.

The quarter-final draw kept the big guns apart with United facing Zabrze, Real playing Sparta, Juve v Braunschweig and Benfica against Vasas. Illustrating the sporadic nature of fixture scheduling, Juventus and Braunschweig played their second leg on the night of Manchester United v Gornik Zabrze first leg (February 28th 1968), and before the other two matches had played a game. As it turned out they would be the last to finish as they required three games and nearly two months to determine a winner.

The Old Lady looked to be heading for another ignominious exit in the competition they so badly wanted to win, only forcing the third match via an 88th minute penalty at the Communale. They had lost 3-2 in West Germany, and had needed an 81st minute strike to get out of there at 3-2. The third match was held in Bern, and surprisingly had the largest attendance of the three games, with nearly 45,000 inside the Wankdorf. Roger Magnusson, the Swedish right winger, who would only play six games for the club, made his biggest contribution, scoring the only goal of the game and Juventus were in the semi-finals for the first time.

They would play Benfica who took care of business in the home leg against Vasas in classic fashion. A gritty result on the road, 0-0 in this case, and then a comprehensive win back in Lisbon, 3-0. Eusébio scoring twice and Torres adding the third. It would be the same combination of scorers that would do for Juventus. A goal from each, in a six-minute spell in the second half gave Benfica a 2-0 lead to take to Turin and Euesbio settled the tie in Italy as Benfica won 1-0. Eusébio would be top scorer in the competition and Benfica were back in the final, their fifth in eight years.

The other semi-final was a repeat of 1957 at the same stage. There was a sense of destiny for United meeting Real Madrid. That first meeting inspired the players and staff, giving them belief their time would come. It may well have happened a year later, were it not for Munich, and Milan made the final instead. It certainly should have been in ‘66 when United fell to Partizan. Now they would need to do it over two-legs. Until this point in the competition, United’s campaign had failed to set the pulses racing, but here was a name to excite. For the first time in eleven years, Real Madrid were coming to England.

Both teams had survived small scares in the quarter-finals. Real took a three-goal lead to Prague, Amancio scoring a hat-trick at the Bernabéu, but found themselves 2-0 down in the second leg. A goal by Gento in the 57th minute settled the nerves and ensured a 4-2 aggregate victory.

Manchester United v Gornik Zabrze was a tighter affair. Zabrze were led by their 21 year-old forward, Włodek Lubański, still to this day the youngest goalscorer in European Cup history, and until a guy named Robert Lewandowski showed up, Poland’s all-time top scorer. United kept him quiet at home with 2-0 win, however it was only achieved because of an own goal and a 90th minute strike from 18-year-old Brian Kidd. This was largely down to an outstanding performance from Hubert Kostka, the Zabrze goalkeeper, who was given a standing ovation by the home crowd.

The return leg in Poland, was played on a bitterly cold March night. The freezing temperatures, led to some of the 77,000 fans in the Silesian Stadium, lighting bonfires to stay warm. The pitch markings were blown away by a blizzard but it was the snow, hard packed into the ground that created the biggest challenge for the players. Busby demurred about whether to ask for a postponement, but the referee Concetto Lo Bello could not be found. Charlton and Crerand were of the opinion that it would make it harder for two teams and since United were leading 2-0 ‘it was they who had to force the issue, get the ball into our net at least twice, and when you tested the pitch you realized immediately that it was a virtually hopeless task, even for a player of Lubanski’s skills.’^ For most players, the goal of trips to Eastern Europe was to get in and out as quick as possible, due to the unfamiliar and often, spartan, surroundings. Crerand went so far to bring his own tea and tea pot with him. United were on the backfoot throughout but defended stoutly, in a 5-3-2 formation. Lubański, grabbed a goal with 20 minutes left, a fantastic left foot finish but United held out and completed the job.

The England contingent of the United side would have been delighted to see the aforementioned Tofik Bakhramov as the man in the middle for the home leg against Real Madrid. The Spaniards were missing Amancio who was suspended, and United had Law back in the line-up. Law had missed the Sarajevo games after being handed a six match ban for clashing with fellow Scot Ian Ure, in the 1-0 win over Arsenal in October, and didn’t make the Gornik Zabrze games due to an ongoing knee injury. This game would be his last appearance in the campaign. It was determined he needed knee surgery to clear up an earlier operation that had been botched during his Huddersfield days.

Real sat off from the kick-off, allowing United to come on to them. Crerand hit the bar and then Best broke the deadlock, smashing the ball home with his left foot after John Aston had dribbled and harried to get to the byline and find the mercurial front man with a cut-back. Best was all alone on the penalty spot and wasted no time or touches to set himself, rifling the ball in on his weaker foot. It would be the only goal of the game, and such was the aura of Madrid and the Bernabéu and the intimidation of playing away in Europe, that there was a sense of missed opportunity despite United’s victory. Prior to the match Busby had declared: ‘If we can go to Madrid for the second leg with a two-goal lead, I believe we shall be on our way to the final,’^ and Kenneth Wollstenholme, on the BBC, urged the need throughout the second half for that desired second goal. When the two goal advantage was not attained, the press were in no mood to remain upbeat. Ken Jones in the Daily Mirror wrote that the ‘glitter has gone from Manchester United’s European Cup challenge,’^ while in The Times, Geoffrey Green wrote ‘that one wondered whether the sun had also gone down once more on their effort to scale the Everest of European club football.’^ that United hadn’t scored a goal away from home, in three ties, and that no English side had reached the final, there was certainly cause for concern but it is remarkable to think in the modern day that a 1-0 win in the first-leg of a semi-final could not be seen as a positive result.

United lost the English title in between the Real games, with cross-town rivals Manchester City pipping them. It added extra emphasis to the game, United would not get another crack at the cup unless they won this season. Given the competitiveness of the English league, with Liverpool and Shankly, and the growing strength of Leeds under Don Revie, and now City, passage to the European Cup was harder than ever. Law was proof that the toils of the last decade were wearing on the players. There was a sense it was now or never.

At half-time in Spain, it seemed like the latter. United were 3-1 down to a rampant Madrid. The dressing room was shell-shocked. Pirri with a powerful downward header from a free kick, opened the scoring after a questionable decision from the linesman. United’s concentration went and Shay Brennan, recalled to the side to provide added experience, let a speculative long ball slip under his foot, which Gento latched on to and smashed through Stepney’s legs to put Real 2-1 up on aggregate.

United had been unfortunate, but they had a huge slice of luck, literally, within a minute of going two behind as Zoco’s failed clearance from Tony Dunne’s speculative cross went into his own net. With United counting their blessings and preparing for half-time, a goalmouth scramble fell to the clinical Amancio, and he made no mistake. Real were now ahead 3-2 on aggregate.

‘We were desperate at half time, really quite distraught,’^ said Charlton. Busby ‘kept pointing out that on aggregate we were only one goal down. His encouragement wasn’t all that comforting when we thought about what faced us: a Real side made confident by their goals and the extraordinary level of support from the vast crowd.’ Stiles would take matters into his own hands. After Amancio had escaped unpunished for kicking him, Stiles threw a punch whilst the referee was not looking. It had the desired effect, and Amancio who had had the run of Bernabéu in the first half was not nearly as effective in the second.

United got their lifeline on the 73rd minute. Busby had put Sadler in the line-up as an extra defender, with United playing a 5-3-2 type system again. At half-time he pushed him forward. Whether that affected the goal he scored is not certain, but a free-kick was flicked on by Best and Sadler reacted quickest to steer the ball past Betancort. A hush descended around the Bernabéu. Five minutes later, Best who had largely been kept quiet over the two legs by Sanchis, made a run down the right, twisted through a defensive challenge, and cut the ball back to the edge of the box, where an unlikely figure steadied himself to shoot. It was Bill Foulkes: ‘unquestionably the last man any of us wanted to see running on to a George Best cross twelve minutes from the end of a match that could possibly destroy, one last time, our chances of ever winning the European Cup’^ according to Charlton. The 36 year-old Foulkes, a former miner, and survivor of the Munich crash, strode on the ball and placed it cooly into the far corner.

‘Foulkes! He’s Scored’ proclaimed David Coleman on commentary, his voice cracking in surprise as much as celebration. Naturally so. Foulkes played 688 times for United and scored only nine goals. A ratio of one in 76.4 games. Stunned, Madrid had no answer and United finally had made it to the final.

Though it had been a long journey to get to this stage, they did not have to travel far for the final, held at Wembley. The venue gave United a clear advantage but it also brought back bad memories for the Portuguese, the 1963 loss to Milan and the 1966 World Cup semi-final defeat to England. Otto Gloria had been the coach of Portugal that day and was now back in charge of the club for which he had set so much in motion at the end of the 50s. Busby was not the only one on a personal quest.

United would field the same team as they did in Madrid although Sadler would find himself across the midfield as Stiles was given the familiar task of man marking Eusébio. In turn, Fernando Cruz would marshall Best. The most crucial dual however would occur on the United left-side. John Aston was up against Adolfo Castillo and early on it became clear that it would be a fruitful source of opportunities for United. ‘I ran him – and straight away knew I’d got him.’ said Aston. ‘So I ran him two or three times more and he became very nervous.’^. The Benfica man was suffering from an injury and Aston’s exploitation of this would see him named man of the match. Little separated the sides until Charlton scored an iconic flashing header on the 53rd minute, meeting a Sadler cross which he ‘just helped into the back of the net.’^

It looked like that would be enough but Jaime Graça levelled with ten minutes to go. His goal came from a Torres knock down and he controlled his half-volley across his body into the far corner. Graça had played a major role in saving the lives of many of his teammates in December 1966. Benfica had a new jacuzzi installed and it short-circuited with a number of first team players in, or around the pool. A trained electrician, he was able to turn off the power supply despite convulsing at the time. Graça, along with Eusébio and Santana would suffer burns whilst Domiciano Cavem would be knocked unconscious, later recovering in hospital. Tragically, defender Luciano Fernandes, the only player fully submerged in the water would be killed.

Eusébio should have won it for Benfica late on. Stiles was sucked in towards the ball allowing António Simões to slip a perfectly weighted pass in behind the United defence. With pressure coming from either side, Eusébio opted for power on his left foot. Stepney, who had been signed in the summer of 1966, the most expensive goalkeeper in the world, stood firm and held the shot which was, in truth, fired straight at him. Eusébio, famously applauded the United number one who was more interested in getting the ball forward than to acknowledge the gesture.

In extra-time it was Best who had his moment. Recently voted Player of the Year in England, he had just celebrated his 22nd birthday a week before. Stepney launched a punt upfield, Kidd flicked it on an Best nipped in ahead of Jacinto, nudging the bouncing ball through his legs. One on one with José Henrique with what seemed all the time in the world, he shaped to shoot with his right and cut past the keeper onto his left foot and slid the ball into the empty net. Two minutes later the game was over. Birthday boy Kidd had his initial header saved at point blank range from Henrique but on the rebound looped the ball over him and under the bar. Charlton rounded off the scoring on the 99th minute with a sublime finish after Kidd cut it back. United were Champions of Europe, ten years after Munich and for Busby it was ‘the proudest night of my life, and the end of an ambition I have held for 11 years.’^

It had taken a while but maybe, even Gabriel Hanot could not argue if an English team claimed themselves to be ‘Champions of the World’.