It may just be the effect of watching the European Cup final in colour, the rich green turf of the Santiago Bernabéu, the white ball contrasting with the grass, the red and black stripes of Milan and the white of Ajax all popping from the screen, but the last final of the swinging sixties, just feels like the beginning of a new era.

The two teams and clubs in question represented the past and the future. Milan the last remnants of the dominance of the Latin era, would not play in another European Cup Final for 20 years, Ajax would play (and win), three of the next four. Following this season, Dutch, German and English clubs would share the trophy for the next 15 years.

It was a demonstration of the changes that the European game had undergone in the preceding decade since Real had defeated Eintracht in Glasgow in a match of limited tactical schemes. Since then we had the power and pace of Eusébio and Benfica, the defensive revolution in catenaccio, the response of the British sides of Stein, Busby and Shankly which married style with substance and now the beginnings of Ajax Total Football and organised high pressing.

The 68/69 season was the most politically affected since the competition began. The structure we most commonly associate with the European Cup was instituted this year. Games were to be held on Wednesdays and matches held concurrently on a specific date with a two-week gap between first and second legs. The draw for the first round was completed on July 10th, with the opening games to be played on September 18th. Additionally teams could now make two substitutions. This was a progression from the previous two seasons that allowed for a substitute goalkeeper in the event of injury. There were now no restrictions and teams could make tactical changes if they so chose to do so.

On August 20th four Warsaw Pact nations; Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia. The invasion was a response to the ‘Prague Spring’ which saw several reforms instituted by President Alexander Dubček including decentralisation, the division of the country into a federation of two republics (Czech and Slovak) and a liberalisation of media, freedom of speech and travel. Such reforms were not well received in Moscow and after negotiations failed between the two parties, over 500,000 troops were sent in to occupy Czechoslovakia. The invasion, which would last for eight months was widely condemned in Western Europe.

Naturally, the European Cup Draw had thrown up clashes between Warsaw Pact Nations and Western European teams. Levski Sofia would face AC Milan, Dynamo Kyiv v FC Zurich, Polish Champions Ruch Chorzow drew Saint-Étienne, Spartak Trnava v Malmo, Steaua v AB and Celtic v Ferencváros.

It was the Glasgow side who decided to make a stand. Celtic had longstanding links with Czechoslovakia with former player John Madden (mentioned in Chapter 1), a key figure in developing the game in the country. Celtic chairman Bob Kelly had made visits to Prague twice in the 60s and his father and brother were part of touring parties in 1904 and 1911.

On August 24th Kelly sent a telegram to UEFA stating:

‘In view of the illegal and treacherous invasion by Russian, Hungarian and East German forces of Czechoslovakia, and in support of the Czech nation. We of Celtic Football Club do not think any western European football club should be forced to fulfil commitments in any of these countries.’^

Kelly would then add that he hoped other western European clubs would follow suit, although initially the only takers were his fellow Scottish clubs, Rangers, Hibs and Aberdeen, who were competing in the Fairs Cup, a competition still under the auspices of FIFA. The 1968 edition of that tournament was still to be concluded and at the time of the invasion the second leg of the final (scheduled for September 7th), was still to be played. Leeds United were 1-0 ahead against, as fate would have it, Ferencváros.

The English response to the statement was at odds with the Scottish stance. Leeds secretary Keith Archer stating: ‘the club’s attitude is that sport should not be involved in politics, certainly at this level’ whilst his counterpart at the FA, Denis Follows told The Times: ‘We cannot afford to have political opinions. If you are members of an international football community, you must obey the rules or get out’.^

To quell tensions and kick the can down the road, UEFA decided on August 31st to keep the East and West sides apart and redraw based on geographic (and political) lines. The adjusted draw saw Milan face Malmo, AB v Zurich, and Saint-Étienne v Celtic on the Western side. On the other half, Dyanmo Kyiv would play Ruch Chorzow with Spartak Trnavna facing Steaua. The intention being to ensure the first round went off without a hitch and hope the political tensions would ease in the coming month. Things did not go according to plan.

Following the decision, criticism in the ensuing days was fierce. In The Sunday Mirror, Russian commentator Anatoli Kachalov accused Celtic of being motivated to make the change as they had little chance of winning their game against Ferencváros.^ Jock Stein countered with the fact they could have drawn Milan. 21st century readers would find it hard to fathom that a Scottish club were favoured over the French champions, themselves seen as a much easier draw than the Hungarians. Sandor Bares a Hungarian and Vice President of FIFA, argued that with the division created ‘(t)here is no reason why now we should not have two European Unions and two European Cups.’^

Following the second-leg of the Fairs Cup Final, which saw Leeds grind out a 0-0 draw in front of 76,000 at the Népstadion to win the tournament, the Polish FA withdrew their teams from the European Cup. This was followed swiftly by the Hungarians, East Germans and Bulgarians. Then on September 16th, two days before first round, the Soviet Football Federation announced that Dynamo Kyiv and Dynamo Moscow (scheduled to play in Cup Winner’s Cup) would not be competing in UEFA competitions. Notably, the other Communist states: Yugoslavia, Romania and Czechoslovakia, all kept their teams in the competition.

In his response to the accusations, Celtic had benefited from protesting, Jock Stein had made the point that no team from the Warsaw Pact had won the competition. This was true but his team had been knocked out the previous season by Dynamo Kyiv. Ferencváros their original opponents, had also achieved consistent success in the Fairs Cup, winning it in 1965. Polish and Bulgarian teams had also been making a bigger impact with Manchester United lucky to get past Górnik Zabrze the previous year and CDNA Sofia losing to Inter in a playoff in the semis in 1967.

This is not to question Celtic’s motives in making their protest, it was very clear that they would be willing to pull out of the competition entirely themselves, on a point of principle. However it did certainly devalue the strength of the European Cup for the 1968/69 season. After a decade which had seen the continent come together to compete both in club and International formats, and had seen football largely triumph over politics, this was the first major schism. At the time the very future of that alliance looked to be in danger. Following the withdrawal, Valentin Granatkin, chairman of the Soviet Football Federation, in an interview with Soviet Sport threatened that their current protest ‘can be expanded right up to withdrawal from the European Union, if UEFA continues its present line.’^ In the end, from a football perspective at least, things would turn out fine and the Warsaw Pact nations would return to the fold for the following season.

This meant that only 13 of the 16 first round ties were played. Red Star’s decision to remain in the competition saw them receive a bye to the second round as they had been paired with Carl Zeiss Jena. The other two teams from the ‘Eastern’ section who remained in the competition were the Czech and Romanian representatives, Spartak Trnava and Steaua Bucharest, respectively. They were drawn against each other and it was Trnava of the Slovak republic who would start a memorable run by winning 5-3 on aggregate.

Milan and Benfica would be the other beneficiaries and advance straight to the Quarter-Finals following their first round victories. Milan had lost 2-1 to Malmo in the first leg but won 4-1 at the San Siro. As a sign of things to come, Pierino Prati would score a double. Prati was one of five Milan players who had been part of the victorious Italian squad in the summer’s European Championship. Prati and Giovanni Lodetti would start the final against Yugoslavia (1-1) but would be dropped for the replay which the Italians won. Gianni Rivera would miss both final matches games after getting injured in the ‘coin-toss’ semi-final against the Soviet Union. Inter’s Facchetti choosing tails correctly to put Italy into the final.

Things were altogether much easier for Benfica who began their quest to return to the final for the sixth time in nine seasons with a trademark poor away performance (0-0) followed by a commanding home win (8-1) against the Icelandic outfit Valur. Both sides could now focus on league duties with no European Cup match until mid-February.

Celtic who had been at the centre of the controversy, needed a thrilling second-half at Parkhead to overcome their ‘easier’ game against Saint-Étienne. Trailing 2-0 from the first-leg, a Tommy Gemmell penalty just before half-time turned the tie around and Celtic hit three in the second-half to book their passage into the last 16.

Returning Champions Manchester United had little trouble against Waterford, in a tie that is remarkable for the fact the higher attendance of the two games was in Ireland. Waterford elected to play their home leg in Dublin at Landsdowne Road and drew a crowd of 48,886, 7000 more than would see the return game at Old Trafford. The match, remains Waterford’s record attendance. Denis Law got a head start in the race to be top scorer, bagging seven goals across the two games. In the event he would get to nine, but had he stopped after the first round, he still would have been the top marksman.

The shock of the first round saw the English Champions Manchester City knocked out by Fenerbahce. Ahead of the tournament, flamboyant City assistant (and future boss) Malcolm Allison, was in an ebullient mood regarding their chances in Europe:

‘I think a lot of these foreign people are cowards. They play with a fear of defeat. I promise you that next season City will attack these people as they haven’t been attacked since the old Real Madrid.’^

Allison may have benefited from keeping his own counsel on this occasion.

The first leg, a goalless draw at Maine Road, was a far cry from the previous European Cup tie held at the ground, United’s famous comeback win over Athletic Bilbao in 1957. In Istanbul, City scored a crucial goal early on after a mistake from Ercan Aktuna, the Turkish International centre-back allowed Tony Coleman an easy finish to make it 1-0. With away goals now in play City took their lead into the interval, knowing a 1-1 tie would be enough.

In front of an intense Turkish crowd with fans lighting bonfires in the stands, City collapsed under a second-half onslaught. Abdullah Çevrim pulled Fenerbahce level just after half-time and City hung on until a quarter of an hour to go. The hero of the hour was Ogün Altıparmak, who was on loan to the Washington Whips of the North American Soccer League. Ogün had been flown back especially for the game and he showed no signs of jet lag to scramble home a rebound following a Fenerbahce free-kick.

‘It was a culture shock going out to Fenerbahçe,’ said City legend Colin Bell in an interview with the club’s website in 2020.^ ‘We’d never heard of them and thought it would be a piece of cake, but everything backfired’ added Bell, displaying a naivety common to the British clubs in the earlier years of the European competition. City would learn from their mistakes and the following season win the Cup Winners Cup.

Because of the Eastern European withdrawals, there were only six matches in the second round. City’s neighbours, United, almost made the same mistake in their away leg versus Anderlecht, but were saved an early exit thanks to the advantage they had built up at home. The Red Devils who had memorably beaten the Belgians 10-0 in their first European Cup tie, had won 3-0 at Old Trafford and went 4-0 up in the tie after scoring early in Brussels through Italian-Mancunian Carlo Sartori. Anderlecht responded through their Dutch stars Jan Mulder and Gerard Bergholtz before half-time to go 2-1 up, and the latter’s goal 12 minutes from time created panic for the holders but United progressed to the Quarter-Finals for the fourth time.

They were denied (or spared) a meeting with their former foes Real Madrid who were sensationally knocked out by Rapid Vienna. The Austrians had pushed Real close in the 1956/57 season, losing a third game 2-0 at the Bernabéu. On that occasion, the away goals rule was not in play, but, give them long enough and the football gods will dose out their own version of Karmic justice and Rapid would have their day, 11 years later.

The second-leg was delayed and took place a week after all the other matches. As such the winners knew they would face United in the quarter-finals. Rapid took a 1-0 lead from the first-leg that they planned to defend at the Bernabéu but they were pegged back by half-time thanks to a strike from Manuel Velázquez. Whether it was the lack of exciting opponent, the early rounds of the competition or familiarity breeding contempt, the Bernabéu was half-full, but it made no difference to the sound of silence that greeted Johnny Bjerregaard’s crucial away goal for the Austrians to level the scores. With eight minutes left, a half-fit Pirri put Real back in front on the night with a tremendous header ensuring a grandstand finish, but there would be no third goal and no and no third game and no reunion for United and Real. As much as we have all accepted the away goals as a key part of European football (up until 2022) the away goals took some getting used to and Francisco Gallardo in La Vanguardia wrote of Real being ‘undone by regulations.’^

Joining Rapid in the last eight were Spartak Trnava, Ajax and Celtic, all of whom had convincing victories over FC Lahti, Fenerbahce and Red Star respectively. The growing impact of away goals was also illustrated as AEK Athens led by the outstanding Mimis Papaioannou, knocked out AB of Copenhagen. Until now, a 0-0 tie at away from home would have been an excellent result, but AEK showed the dangers of not gaining an away goal. A 26th minute strike from Andreas Stamatiadis gave the Greeks the crucial advantage before Papaioannou added a second, with ten minutes remaining.

The mouthwatering clash of the Quarter-Finals saw Celtic meet Milanese opposition again, but this time it was the Rossoneri who stood between them and a place in the semi-finals. To illustrate the importance of the tie, both managers (Rocco and Stein) announced in the build-up that they expected the winners advanced to go on and lift the trophy.

Rocco was back in charge of Milan after a four-season stint with Torino where he enjoyed relative success, leading them to the Coppa Italia final in 1964 and a third-place finish that same season. At Torino, he employed as one of his assistants, the recently retired Enzo Bearzot, who would win the World Cup as Italy coach in 1982.

His return had an immediate impact with Milan winning the title comfortably with a seven point margin over Napoli and defeating Hamburg to win the Cup Winners’ Cup. Trappatoni and Rivera were still mainstays of the team, but there were few other remaining hold-overs from the ‘63 winning side. In midfield, Giovanni Lodetti, a Milan youth product, was the perfect foil for Rivera, with his stamina, defensive capabilities and technique. The rest of the team was picked-up from other Serie A sides. World Class West German left-sided defender, Karl-Heinz Schnellinger signed from Roma and he was joined by former Giallorossi teammates goalkeeper Fabio Cudicini (father of Carlo) and forward Angelo Sormani, like Altafini, a Brazillian-Italian. Sormani had been the most expensive footballer in the world, when he moved from Mantova to Roma, in a deal that also saw Schnellinger make his way to Rome. Also upfront, Prati joined from Salernitana in 1965 but had struggled for game-time and spent the 66/67 season on loan at Savona. Rocco made him an important part of the side on his return and he would be rewarded as Prati would win the Capocannoniere as top scorer in the league. Prati’s 15 goals are the lowest winning total in the history of Serie A, although they came across 30 games, the league having been reduced from 17 to 16, for that season. The pacey Swedish goalscoring winger Kurt Hamrin, who had enjoyed great success with Fiorentina, added experience and quality to the frontline and it was Hamrin who scored a double against Hamburg in the Cup Winners’ Cup Final.

The first-leg in Milan was overshadowed by a major snowstorm the night before the game. Milan employed a team of 200 workers to clear the pitch, but further snow and sleet during the game created farcical conditions. Celtic had been reunited with the German referee Kurt Tschenscher yet again and the officials allowed the game to go ahead. One factor may have been Milan’s bid to bring in a world record for gate receipts. In the end, 63,000 braved the conditions, delivering £90,000 to the club but £30,000 short of the record set by Inter’s semi against Real Madrid in ‘66. although who knows how many could follow the action, as Tschenscher elected not to use an orange ball for the occasion.

With players losing their footing throughout, a flip-reversal of the identities of both clubs were known for took place. Milan, masters of defence, attacked for most of the 90 whilst Celtic were happy to curb their attacking instincts hoping to take something back to Glasgow. In the end, it was the Scots, who were most adept at the volte-face, as the game, unsurprisingly, ended 0-0. Hamrin missed the best chance, heading against the post from two yards out.

Stein declared the performance ‘quite a satisfactory result’ but the Scottish Press were inclined to see it as a bit more than that with the Aberdeen Evening Express declaring that ‘Celts Look Set for the Last Four’ and the Glasgow Evening Times installing them as ‘red-hot favourites’ to progress. It was no surprise given their formidable home form in the competition this far. Following the Saint-Etienne 4-0 win, Celtic had destroyed Red Star Belgrade, 5-1 at Celtic Park in the second round.

Both teams had injury concerns ahead of the second-leg with Celtic’s key forward Bobby Lennox failing a late fitness test. Trappatoni and Angelo Sormani had not even travelled for Milan and they required the assistance of Kilmarnock physio Hugh Allan to ensure Prati was fit to play. The forward was carrying an ankle injury he picked up against Atalanta on the Saturday prior.

Whether it was mind games or a genuine fear of the Celtic’s formidable home record, Rocco was not in a positive frame of mind in light of the injuries. ‘The situation looks desperate now and we can’t do more than hope to force a play-off.’^ Rocco did his best to throw Celtic off the scent, naming several different teams in the run up to the match but there was no doubt, Milan were very worried. They had already rejected an offer from Celtic to toss a coin for Scotland or Italy in the event the game was tied and instead the potential third game was set for Brussels. It was not required.

It would prove to be another victory for the away goal. Celtic captain Billy McNeil, normally an assured figure in the heart of defence, failed to control a throw-in and in a flash, Prati had seized on the opening, stealing the ball and accelerating away from the recovering defenders and finished past John Fallon (deputising for the injured Ronnie Simpson). It was a classic second-leg away goal. A minor error, a clinical finish, and the deafening silence of a hushed crowd. In a first-leg game, these can be recovered or at least the negativity put off for a couple of weeks but in the deciding match, there was nothing to suck the joy and enthusiasm out of a group of players and fans, like the goal Prati and countless others would score over the years.

Celtic huffed and puffed but they chose the wrong house to try and blow and down. As Gair Henderson wrote in the Glasgow Evening Times, the Milan players ‘not only locked, bolted and barred their door, they put a roomful of furniture behind it.’^ The British clubs had adapted their approach to away games, as illustrated in this tie, and abandoned their gung-ho attitude of the early seasons, but the away goals rule forced a new rethink. Caution was needed to be exerted at home as well.

Press reports in the UK featured snippets from their counterparts in Italy, an interesting by-product of the tournament and a nice departure from the isolationism of a decade earlier. In Italy the reaction was jubilation and showed the standing Celtic were held in at the time. ‘Miracle by Milan in Glasgow’ was the headline in the Corriere Della Sera the following day and it was reported that the game received 20M viewers on the Eurovision television station.

Celtic were in the middle of their famous 9-in-a-row series of title wins, so would remain fixtures in the tournament for some time and they would come back stronger in 69/70.

The tie of the round and, in fact, the entire season was Benfica’s clash with Ajax. Benfica had received the bye in the second round, but Ajax had a tricky task against City’s conquerors Fenerbahce. By now the Amaterdammers were adding experience to their undoubted quality and they managed that tie exceptionally, building up a two goal cushion at home with a clean sheet and then striking early in the second half of the second leg to extinguish the hopes of another famous result for the Turks.

When Benfica arrived in Amsterdam they must have wished they were still on a winter hiatus as Amsterdam was covered in snow. Photos of Ajax preparing for the match show the thick snow at their team hotel in Amersfoort and the Olympic Stadium was not in much better shape. The Dutch media questioned whether Benfica, notably poor travellers, could perform in such conditions. Their questions were answered emphatically. Benfica showed why they had been such a formidable competitor through the decade, with an outstanding display of slick passing and clinical finishing. After going ahead on the half-hour from a penalty by Jacinto Santos, they doubled their lead five minutes later. Eusébio’s pressure led to a blocked clearance, and the ball bounced favourably to Jose Torres who made no mistake. Michels brought on the Swedish forward Inge Daniellson at half-time and he got Ajax back in the game within three minutes, with another excellent finish. It would be a temporary glimmer of hope. On the hour Jose Augusto met a Eusébio corner at the back post and his diving header found the net. The winger landed in the snow piles behind the goal and as he celebrated, he picked up a large snowball and throw it in the air. The snow fell to the ground and crashed into pieces, much, it seemed like Ajax’s European Cup hopes.

3-1 down and on their way to Lisbon, the Dutch media gave them little hope and the return leg, which kicked off at 10pm local time, was not broadcast in the Netherlands. With little pressure on their shoulders, Ajax were free to express themselves and what followed was a scintillating display of high pressing, technical, attacking football. They were 2-0 up inside twelve minutes and had a goal chopped off for a marginal offside. Cruyff was at the heart of it all. For the first goal, he gave away possession with a poor crossing attempt but then presses the ball, fooling Humberto by feigning to showing him outside, before quickly changing direction to extend his left leg and cut out the pass. It is a shake of the hips he would use many a time to fool a defender with the ball but on this occasion turns it into a defensive action. He then delivered a much better cross with his left foot, which Danielsson met at the front post and guided into the far corner.

For the second, Piet Kiezer made a driving run on the left channel ending with a shot that was spilled by Jose Henrique and Cruyff reacted quickest to slide home the rebound. The two linked again to make it 3-0 and have the Estadio Da Luz pinching themselves to check this wasn’t 1966 and Cruyff wasn’t George Best. Keizer floated a ball in behind from half-way and Cruyff jinked inside the frantic Henrique and a recovering defender before firing the ball into the net.

Michels had man-marked Eusébio with the tall Ton Pronk and the ‘Black Panther’ endured a frustrating evening as he struggled to shake him off. The game ebbed and flowed in the second half with Gert Bals excellent in the Ajax goal, but he could do nothing to stop a trademark header from Torres that crashed in off the underside of the bar with twenty minutes remaining. The two teams headed to Paris for a decider. In echoes of 1962 when Puskás had handed Eusébio his shirt, the ‘Black Panther’ embraced Cruyff, handing the baton of Europe’s best player to the Dutchman. The moment was captured by the photographers. There is a third man in the picture, checking his shoulder to ensure Eusébio is still there. Ton Pronk was diligent to his task right until the end.

Michels saw the game as a pivotal stepping stone in Ajax’s ascension to Europe’s elite, telling journalists:

‘I believe that we have finally opened the door to top football. Behind that door is an area where we encounter the biggest clubs. Clubs that are a household name. Manchester United for example. If the English had played here tonight, the stadium would have been sold out, because Manchester is a household name and Ajax is not. We would like that and in Amsterdam they may think so, but we are not there yet. We opened the door and now we have to go inside.’^

Ajax took 30,000 fans to the decider in Paris held at the Stade Colombes. After the 90 minutes finished goalless, the two teams were thirty minutes away from a coin-toss. Thankfully, a tie of such quality was spared such an ignominious ending as Ajax scored three times to put themselves into the semis. In such a tense occasion, the difference is often a moment of quality, an unfortunate mistake or a bit of luck. It was the latter two on this occasion as Cruyff’s shot spun up off of Henrique in the Benfica goal and looped into the net. Daniellson would add two more to round the victory off, his third and fourth goals of the tie. He would not score against anyone else that season.

In the semis it would not be a ‘household name’ for Ajax but Spartak Trnava, the unlikely heroes of the competition who had progressed past AEK Athens, 3-1 on aggregate. Ajax won the home-leg 3-0, a goal from each of their forward stars, Cruyff, Swaart and Keizer. It had been Czechoslovakia where their dreams in 1967 had ended with a late turnaround from Dukla Prague in the Czech side of the country and it was another nervous occasion in Slovakia. A brace from Ladislav Kuna, the first a tremendous 30-yard dipping volley, had Trnava within a goal of forcing a playoff with plenty of time left on the clock but Ajax were able to hang on and progress to their first European Cup final. Trnava may have had the benefit of a favourable draw, but given the upheaval in the country, it was a remarkable performance to reach the last four. They would win four of the next five Czech titles, becoming a regular fixture in the tournament, but they would never reach such heights again.

Michels would get his opportunity to test his side against one of Europe’s big hitters in the final as AC Milan and Manchester United met for the first time since 1958. United were certainly happier to be facing Rapid Vienna in the quarter-finals instead of Real Madrid and took care of business in Manchester. Encountering a stubborn resistance from Rapid, Best was the difference, grabbing a double either side of a Willie Morgan strike. Morgan, another Scot, had joined United at the start of the season adding another wing talent to the side.

Domestically, United were struggling. The season would wrap up on the Saturday following the first-leg and United would finish 11th, twenty-five points behind Don Revie’s Leeds United and they would be knocked out of the FA Cup by Everton at the quarter-final stage. Busby, now approaching 69, and having achieved his long-fulfilled dream of lifting the European Cup had decided this was his final season. In January he had announced he would step down from the day-to-day duties and take up a new role as General Manager and in early April it was announced that Wilf McGuinness, a Busby Babe and current reserve team manager would step up to take over the first team. Thus not only was the Milan game the chance for United to rescue their season, it became the final opportunity for Busby and his core group of players. Charlton, Crerand, Brennan were all over 30, Stiles, Stepney and Law in their late twenties and Bill Foulkes, now 38, had been cajoled by Busby to delay retirement.

British sides had a little success in the San Siro with Rangers, Dundee, Celtic, Ipswich, Liverpool and Everton, as well as United themselves in 1958, failing to win. In fact, only Celtic had avoided defeat. Despite this, nearly 23,000 fans made their way to Old Trafford to watch a beam back of the game in Manchester, ever hopeful that United might be the team to unlock the bolt of the Milanese defence.

Though Busby remained in charge, McGuinness’s impact was felt with the surprise selection of Jimmy Rimmer, the reserve keeper, ahead of Alex Stepney in the United goal, but the replacement had a strong game in Milan. Law had been assigned the Rivera detail and his enthusiasm to the task saw him relieve himself of those duties in the first half after his heavy tackle on the midfield maestro rendered him largely incapacitated and he was substituted on 22 minutes. United could not take advantage of Rivera’s absence, however, and Milan, in their lucky White shirts, went ahead before half-time through Sormanni, a terrific volley after some head tennis on the edge of the box. His strike was followed quickly, on 49 minutes, by Hamrin, who swept home after a clever dummy from Prati. Hamrin, was another Milan player on the receiving end of another heavy boot from an Aberdonian in Red, as John Fitzpatrick took out his frustration on the Swede and was summarily dismissed with a quarter of the match remaining.

The deficit was the same as United’s semi-final appearance in 1966, against Partizan and the match followed a similar pattern, with United leaving it too late to grab their first goal, although it was widely considered to be one of their finest performances of the season. Charlton scored from a tight angle on 70 minutes, firing past Cudicini. The goalkeeper could do little to stop the shot but it did not help that he had been struck by a missile from the Stretford End at the beginning of the second half. As he recovered an announcement was made over the PA system, warning the game would be abandoned if the missiles continued. The fans responded by singing ‘We want a riot’.^ It looked like they might get their wish as controversy engulfed the fixture on the 78th minute. Law got the slightest of touches to a Crerand cross and the ball trickled slowly in the muddy goalmouth towards the goal-line. Angelo Anquiletti, somehow managed to clear and avoid hitting the ball off the advancing United forwards who were enclosing, and that was good enough for the French referee Roger Mâchin. Law was adamant the ball was at least six inches over the line, and television footage supported his claims, but it was not to be. As for Law, his time in Italy had won him few admirers there with Milan President Franco Carraro stating:

‘Manchester United are a very big club and we are still friends with everyone there except this Denis Law. To us he is not regarded as a footballer. He was boxing all this game.’^

United’s days as European heavyweights were over. The post-Busby transition did not go to plan and McGuinness was back coaching the reserves within 18 months. His successors (Frank O’Farrell and Tommy Docherty) had little more luck and United were relegated to Division 2 in 1974, barely six years after the Wembley victory. Their next appearance in the competition would be in 1993.

There were some simple parallels ahead of the final with Inter’s defeat to Celtic two years prior; Defense versus attack; Southern Europe v northern Europe; experienced hands versus naive upstarts. Asked whether he was afraid of Ajax, Rocco responded that he ‘did not know them well enough’ but made comparisons to his time playing and managing Triestina and the ability for smaller teams to raise their game against those with greater resources and reputations. Adding fuel to the fire was that Milan did not view Ajax as a serious threat was Cesare Maldini’s scouting report, for which the major takeaway was that ‘they (Ajax) run a lot.’

Yet for all their perceived confidence, Italian journalists noted Rocco’s nervousness at the Press Conference ahead of the final. Unlike in London in ‘63, his team were heavy favourites and after knocking out Celtic and Manchester United, the expectation was that they had done the bulk of the heavy lifting required to win the European Cup. To get through those ties and then lose to Ajax would have been a major anti-climax. Inter’s defeat to Celtic hurt, but they were at least of the British Isles. Until this point Dutch football had made little to no impact on the European game.

Ajax suffered a pre-game scare when Wim Suurbier collapsed in training. As the Spanish press attempted to capture the moment, Ajax players formed a wall around the full-back with Cruyff throwing a ball at one particularly over-zealous photographer and then aiming shots at the assembled press-pack. The incident happened at Ciudad Sanitaria de la Seguridad Nacional sports centre after an agreement Ajax had to access to the Bernabéu had been reneged on. All of this created an edgy atmosphere at the Dutch press conference with Cruyff purporting to not understand English after getting into an altercation with a Spanish press man. It would not be his last run-in with the Madrid media.

Yet when the game began, the traditional hierarchy was quickly established. Milan came out all guns blazing and hit the post within a minute after Prati struck from the edge of the box. It would not take long for him to find the net. Sormani beat Hulshoff on the left side, drove into the penalty area and cut a cross back which Prati met with his head and guided it into the top right corner in off the post. It was a beautiful, unique goal. Bals in the Ajax goal was well off his line but it’s debatable whether he would have stopped it regardless of his positioning.

Ajax responded well to Milan’s opening goal, establishing possession and probing at the Rossinerri back every time a suitable opening presented itself. On most occasions it was Cruyff who instigated the opportunities in his classic languid slow-quick style, sprinting into gaps when defenders were off balance. Twice he forced Cudicini into strong saves. His influence on the game forced Milan to switch Trappatoni onto man-marking duties. The topic had been one of concern for Milan. Pre-game Rocco had identified Rosato as his marker, but when the game started, it was Anquilletti. Indeed Cruyff’s performance was so impressive to the Italian newspaper La Stampa that they advocated for a lift on the ban on foreign imports to Serie A to bring talent of his level to the league.

If Cruyff was making his impact at one end, Milan’s talisman, Gianni Rivera, had a more telling contribution at the other end, five minutes before the break. Starting a counterattack, he received possession back from Sormani, evaded the challenges of the Ajax defenders and back heeled the ball into the path of the overlapping Prati. The forward set himself and smashed the ball into the top corner from 20-plus yards. The Ajax defending was lackadaisical at best, with little pressure on the ball and Bals again off his line, but it was another pure strike from Prati and a hammer blow to Ajax right before half-time.

Ajax gave themselves life on the hour after Lodetti brought Keizer inside the box. Vasovic dispatched the penalty after a game of chicken with Cudicini which saw the Serb stutter in the run up and the keeper advance three yards of his line, with both players pointing figures at each other whilst the ball remained on the spot. The Serb eventually slotted it into the far corner, scoring for the second time in a European Cup Final. Unfortunately, he would pick up his second runner’s up medal to go with it following two Milan strikes in seven minutes.

The first came from Sormani, a fine individual effort and just reward for an excellent performance. The second (Milan’s fourth), saw a Rivera one-two on the half-way line dissect the high Ajax defensive line and leave him clean through. He was pushed wide after rounding Bals but composed himself and chipped the ball onto the head of the arriving Prati who nodded home to become the first man not named Alfredo or Ferenc to score a hat-trick in a European Cup final. He remains the last man to do so.

The opinion in Italy was that of a routine victory over a team lucky to reach the final. La Stampa declaring Ajax ‘a mediocre team, even amateur in various stages. A lot of spirit, a lot of running, great enthusiasm and endurance, but almost nothing else.’^ The Cup had been won in Glasgow and Manchester.

For Ajax it was a valuable lesson. They possessed and probed against a deep lying defence not unlike Inter’s in 1967. Yet Milan’s threat on the break was much greater and the Dutch were not allowed to bring wave after wave of pressure with little regard for the consequences and as the first 20 minutes of the game showed, they could mix up approach and attack in numbers when they wished.

Barry Hulshoff, who would win three European Cups with Ajax, expressed this sentiment in an interview with David Winner in the seminal Brilliant Orange:

‘We had such a young team then. They say sometimes you have to lose a final to win a final, and it’s true. Later we learned that if it was not going well for us, we could change ourselves in the game — we could change tactics. Against Milan we could change nothing. They were too experienced. We were overwhelmed in every way. In every way they were better.’^

Ajax would be back and would go to become standard bearers for football’s evolution and create one of the tournament’s lasting legacies. Yet Milan themselves were also an illustration of the games development over the past decade. They had the technical players in the midfield who could retain the ball and combine with power and pace in the front line fused with the defensive solidity of catenaccio. They were not the team of the decade but in all their elements they contained many of the finest attributes of those which had came before. And of course, an iconic coach to go with it.

Thus the end of the decade, would, fittingly, see the Cup end up in Latin Europe, where it had presided in all but two years of the European Cup’s history. It would not return until 1985.