1968–69 European Cup

1968–69 European Cup
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid hosted the final.
Tournament details
Dates18 September 1968 – 28 May 1969
Teams32 (27 competed)
Final positions
Champions AC Milan (2nd title)
Runners-up Ajax
Tournament statistics
Matches played52
Goals scored176 (3.38 per match)
Attendance1,738,847 (33,439 per match)
Top scorer(s)Denis Law (Manchester United)
9 goals

The 1968–69 season of the European Cup football club tournament was won by AC Milan, who beat Ajax 4–1 in the final, giving Milan its first European Cup title since 1963, and its second overall. A number of Eastern Bloc clubs withdrew from the first two rounds when UEFA paired up all of the Eastern Bloc clubs against one another in the aftermath of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia.

Substitutions of two players at any game time were allowed; obligatory match dates were introduced (two weeks between the legs) and fixed on Wednesdays; the away goal rule was extended to the first and second rounds.[1]

Manchester United were the defending champions, but were eliminated by eventual champions Milan in the semi-finals.

Teams

A total of 32 teams participated in the competition.

Thirty-one leagues were represented, with England being represented by its most recent champion, Manchester City, as well as defending European champion, Manchester United.

Real Madrid made their 14th consecutive appearance in the competition, while Anderlecht and Benfica each made their ninth appearances. Nürnberg and Steaua București both made their first appearances in the competition since the 1961-62 European Cup.

This year's competition included only five debutants: Denmark's AB, Cyprus's AEL Limassol, England's Manchester City, Norway's Rosenborg, and Czechoslovakia's Spartak Trnava. This was the smallest number to date.

Rapid Wien (1st) Anderlecht (1st) Levski-Spartak (1st) AEL Limassol (1st)
Spartak Trnava (1st) AB (1st) Manchester City (1st) Manchester United (2nd)TH
Reipas Lahti (1st) Saint-Étienne (1st) Carl Zeiss Jena (1st) Nürnberg (1st)
AEK Athens (1st) Ferencváros (1st) Valur (1st) Waterford (1st)
Milan (1st) Jeunesse Esch (1st) Floriana (1st) Ajax (1st)
Glentoran (1st) Rosenborg (1st) Ruch Chorzów (1st) Benfica (1st)
Steaua București (1st) Celtic (1st) Real Madrid (1st) Malmö FF (1st)
Zürich (1st) Fenerbahçe (1st) Dynamo Kyiv (1st) Red Star Belgrade (1st)

Bracket

First round Second round Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
                  
Malmö FF 2 1 3
Milan 1 4 5
Milan Bye
Dynamo Kyiv (w)
Ruch Chorzów (o)
Milan 0 1 1
Celtic 0 0 0
Saint-Étienne 2 0 2
Celtic 0 4 4
Celtic 5 1 6
Red Star Belgrade 1 1 2
Red Star Belgrade (w)
Carl Zeiss Jena (o)
Milan 2 0 2
Manchester United 0 1 1
Waterford 1 1 2
Manchester United 3 7 10
Manchester United 3 1 4
Anderlecht 0 3 3
Anderlecht 3 2 5
Glentoran 0 2 2
Manchester United 3 0 3
Rapid Wien 0 0 0
Rosenborg 1 3 4
Rapid Wien 3 3 6
Rapid Wien 1 1 2
Real Madrid 0 2 2
Real Madrid 6 6 12
AEL Limassol 0 0 0
Milan 4
Ajax 1
Nurnberg 1 0 1
Ajax 1 4 5
Ajax 2 2 4
Fenerbahçe 0 0 0
Manchester City 0 1 1
Fenerbahçe 0 2 2
Ajax 1 3 4 (3)
Benfica 3 1 4 (0)
Valur 0 1 1
Benfica 0 8 8
Benfica Bye
Levski Sofia (w)
Ferencváros (o)
Ajax 3 0 3
Spartak Trnava 0 2 2
Floriana 1 0 1
Reipas Lahti 1 2 3
Reipas Lahti 1 1 2
Spartak Trnava 9 7 16
Steaua București 3 0 3
Spartak Trnava 1 4 5
Spartak Trnava 2 1 3
AEK Athens 1 1 2
AEK Athens 3 2 5
Jeunesse Esch 0 3 3
AEK Athens 0 2 2
AB 0 0 0
Zürich 1 2 3
AB 3 1 4

First round

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Malmö FF 3–5 Milan 2–1 1–4
Dynamo Kyiv (w/o) Ruch Chorzów
Saint-Étienne 2–4 Celtic 2–0 0–4
Red Star Belgrade (w/o) Carl Zeiss Jena
Waterford 2–10 Manchester United 1–3 1–7
Anderlecht 5–2 Glentoran 3–0 2–2
Rosenborg 4–6 Rapid Wien 1–3 3–3
Real Madrid 12–0 AEL Limassol 6–0 6–0
Nürnberg 1–5 Ajax 1–1 0–4
Manchester City 1–2 Fenerbahçe 0–0 1–2
Valur 1–8 Benfica 0–0 1–8
Levski-Spartak (w/o) Ferencváros
Floriana 1–3 Reipas Lahti 1–1 0–2
Steaua București 3–5 Spartak Trnava 3–1 0–4
AEK Athens 5–3 Jeunesse Esch 3–0 2–3
Zürich 3–4 AB 1–3 2–1

First leg

Malmö FF 2–1 Milan
Olsberg 45'
Elmstedt 50'
Report Rivera 58'
Attendance: 23,118
Referee: Heinz Siebert (West Germany)

Saint-Étienne 2–0 Celtic
Keïta 15'
H. Revelli 36'
Report
Attendance: 34,403
Referee: Aníbal da Silva Oliveira (Portugal)

Waterford 1–3 Manchester United
Matthews 65' Report Law 8', 41', 55'

Anderlecht 3–0 Glentoran
Bergholtz 18'
Peeters 23'
Nordahl 87'
Report
Attendance: 18,963
Referee: Bruno de Marchi (Italy)

Rosenborg 1–3 Rapid Wien
Iversen 16' Report Bjerregaard 28'
Kaltenbrunner 65'
Grausam 86'
Attendance: 22,321

Real Madrid 6–0 AEL Limassol
Pirri 10', 14', 63'
Amancio 17'
Pérez 27'
Bueno 75'
Report
Attendance: 15,995
Referee: William Gow (Wales)

Nürnberg 1–1 Ajax
Volkert 6' Report Cruyff 80'
Attendance: 45,090[2]
Referee: Gilbert Droz (Switzerland)

Manchester City 0–0 Fenerbahçe
Report

Valur 0–0 Benfica
Report
Attendance: 18,243
Referee: Patrick Graham (Republic of Ireland)

Floriana 1–1 Reipas Lahti
Galea 37' (pen.) Report Aalto 28'
Attendance: 10,162
Referee: Jim Finney (England)


AEK Athens 3–0 Jeunesse Esch
Papaioannou 27'
Papageorgiou 58'
Karafeskos 60' (pen.)
Report
Attendance: 16,205
Referee: Fabio Monti (Italy)

Zürich 1–3 AB
Winiger 50' Report Hansen 22'
Wiberg 25'
Petersen 62'
Attendance: 17,000

Second leg

Milan 4–1 Malmö FF
Prati 32', 69'
Sormani 62'
Rivera 88'
Report Ljungberg 16'
Attendance: 61,932
Referee: Roger Mâchin (France)

Milan won 5–3 on aggregate.


Celtic 4–0 Saint-Étienne
Gemmell 44' (pen.)
Craig 59'
Chalmers 66'
McBride 87'
Report
Attendance: 73,059
Referee: Zdeněk Valeš (Czechoslovakia)

Celtic won 4–2 on aggregate.


Manchester United 7–1 Waterford
Stiles 37'
Law 41', 47', 60', 71'
Burns 68'
Charlton 84'
Report Casey 69'
Attendance: 41,750
Referee: Joaquim Fernandes Campos (Portugal)

Manchester United won 10–2 on aggregate.


Glentoran 2–2 Anderlecht
Morrow 27'
Johnston 55'
Report Devrindt 24'
Bergholtz 58'
Attendance: 12,384
Referee: Jacques Colling (Luxembourg)

Anderlecht won 5–2 on aggregate.


Rapid Wien 3–3 Rosenborg
Lindman 10', 80'
Kaltenbrunner 17'
Report Iversen 21', 34', 87'
Attendance: 1,570
Referee: Andreas Kouniaides (Cyprus)

Rapid Wien won 6–4 on aggregate.


AEL Limassol 0–6 Real Madrid
Report Velázquez 7', 10'
José Luis 9'
Veloso 84'
Ortega 86'
Zunzunegui 87'
Attendance: 20,075
Referee: Aníbal da Silva Oliveira (Portugal)

Real Madrid won 12–0 on aggregate.


Ajax 4–0 Nürnberg
Swart 22', 51'
Groot 86' (pen.)
Cruyff 89'
Report
Attendance: 54,579
Referee: John Adair (Northern Ireland)

Ajax won 5–1 on aggregate.


Fenerbahçe won 2–1 on aggregate.


Benfica 8–1 Valur
Simões 4'
Jacinto 7'
Torres 11', 47', 79'
Eusébio 20'
Coluna 27'
José Augusto 48'
Report Gunnarsson 68'
Attendance: 24,389
Referee: Joseph Cassar-Naudi (Malta)

Benfica won 8–1 on aggregate.


Reipas Lahti 2–0 Floriana
Holtari 56' (57) Report
Attendance: 2,212
Referee: Curt Nystrand (Sweden)

Reipas Lahti won 3–1 on aggregate.


Spartak Trnava 4–0 Steaua București
Švec 4'
Adamec 58', 76', 80'
Report
Attendance: 11,879

Spartak Trnava won 5–3 on aggregate.


Jeunesse Esch 3–2 AEK Athens
Hoffmann 6'
Drouet 40'
Langer 77'
Report Ventouris 16', 33'
Attendance: 3,213
Referee: Joseph Hannet (Belgium)

AEK Athens won 5–3 on aggregate.


AB 1–2 Zürich
Petersen 53' Report Künzli 42', 80'
Attendance: 9,557
Referee: Malcolm Wright (Northern Ireland)

AB won 4–3 on aggregate.

Second round

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Milan Bye
Celtic 6–2 Red Star Belgrade 5–1 1–1
Manchester United 4–3 Anderlecht 3–0 1–3
Rapid Wien 2–2 (a) Real Madrid 1–0 1–2
Ajax 4–0 Fenerbahçe 2–0 2–0
Benfica Bye
Reipas Lahti 2–16 Spartak Trnava 1–9 1–7
AEK Athens 2–0 AB 0–0 2–0

First leg

Celtic 5–1 Red Star Belgrade
Murdoch 3'
Johnstone 46', 81'
Lennox 48'
Wallace 74'
Report Lazarević 39'
Attendance: 65,248
Referee: Alfred Ott (West Germany)

Manchester United 3–0 Anderlecht
Kidd 52'
Law 70', 78'
Report
Attendance: 51,008[4]
Referee: Aníbal da Silva Oliveira (Portugal)

Rapid Wien 1–0 Real Madrid
Kaltenbrunner 55' Report
Attendance: 44,799[5]
Referee: Josip Drago Horvat (Yugoslavia)

Ajax 2–0 Fenerbahçe
Nuninga 14'
Muller 74'
Report
Attendance: 54,812

Reipas Lahti 1–9 Spartak Trnava
Hyvärinen 88' Report Hagara 14'
Kabát 20', 80'
Švec 23', 61'
Kuna 52'
Martinkovič 57', 65'
Adamec 64'
Attendance: 6,000

The home leg of Reipas Lahti was played in Vienna just before the Rapid WienReal Madrid match.[7]


AEK Athens 0–0 AB
Report
Attendance: 8,161

Second leg

Red Star Belgrade 1–1 Celtic
Ostojić 90' Report Wallace 72'
Attendance: 17,625
Referee: Francesco Francescon (Italy)

Celtic won 6–2 on aggregate.


Manchester United won 4–3 on aggregate.


Real Madrid 2–1 Rapid Wien
Velázquez 41'
Pirri 83'
Report Bjerregaard 48'
Attendance: 39,228[8]
Referee: Gilbert Droz (Switzerland)

Rapid Wien won 2–2 on away goals.


Fenerbahçe 0–2 Ajax
Report Keizer 55'
Nuninga 88'
Attendance: 33,863

Ajax won 4–0 on aggregate.


Spartak Trnava 7–1 Reipas Lahti
Hagara 15'
Dobiaš 20', 49' (pen.), 64'
Kuna 27'
Adamec 37'
Hrušecký 53'
Report Niskakoski 75'

Spartak Trnava won 16–2 on aggregate.


AEK Athens won 2–0 on aggregate.

Quarter-finals

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg Play-off
Milan 1–0 Celtic 0–0 1–0
Manchester United 3–0 Rapid Wien 3–0 0–0
Ajax 4–4 Benfica 1–3 3–1 3–0
Spartak Trnava 3–2 AEK Athens 2–1 1–1

First leg

Milan 0–0 Celtic
Report

Manchester United 3–0 Rapid Wien
Best 44', 70'
Morgan 70'
Report
Attendance: 62,726
Referee: Božidar Botić (Yugoslavia)

Ajax 1–3 Benfica
Danielsson 48' Report Santos 31' (pen.)
Torres 36'
José Augusto 61'

Spartak Trnava 2–1 AEK Athens
Jarábek 25'
Kabát 44'
Report Sevastopoulos 60'
Attendance: 10,747
Referee: Gilbert Droz (Switzerland)

Second leg

Celtic 0–1 Milan
Report Prati 12'

Milan won 1–0 on aggregate.


Rapid Wien 0–0 Manchester United
Report
Attendance: 50,234

Manchester United won 3–0 on aggregate.


Benfica 1–3 Ajax
Torres 70' Report Danielsson 9'
Cruyff 12', 32'
Attendance: 31,019[9]

4–4 on aggregate. Tie is decided by a tie-breaker match on neutral ground.


AEK Athens 1–1 Spartak Trnava
Papaioannou 77' Report Švec 23'
Attendance: 29,842

Spartak Trnava won 3–2 on aggregate.

Tie-breakers

Ajax 3–0 (a.e.t.) Benfica
Cruyff 93'
Danielsson 105', 108'
Report
Attendance: 63,638
Referee: Roger Mâchin (France)

Ajax win the tie-breaker.

Semi-finals

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Milan 2–1 Manchester United 2–0 0–1
Ajax 3–2 Spartak Trnava 3–0 0–2

First leg

Milan 2–0 Manchester United
Sormani 33'
Hamrin 49'
Report
Attendance: 80,050
Referee: Josef Krnávek (Czechoslovakia)

Ajax 3–0 Spartak Trnava
Cruyff 27'
Swart 52'
Keizer 60'
Report
Attendance: 55,490

Second leg

Manchester United 1–0 Milan
Charlton 70' Report
Attendance: 63,103
Referee: Roger Mâchin (France)

Milan won 2–1 on aggregate.


Spartak Trnava 2–0 Ajax
Kuna 27', 49' Report
Attendance: 22,938

Ajax won 3–2 on aggregate.

Final

Milan 4–1 Ajax
Prati 7', 40', 75'
Sormani 67'
Report Vasović 60' (pen.)

Top scorers

The top scorers from the 1968–69 European Cup are as follows:

Rank Name Team Goals
1 Denis Law Manchester United 9
2 Johan Cruyff Ajax 6
Pierino Prati Milan 6
4 Jozef Adamec Spartak Trnava 5
Ladislav Kuna Spartak Trnava 5
José Augusto Torres Benfica 5
7 Gerard Bergholtz Anderlecht 4
Inge Danielsson Ajax 4
Odd Iversen Rosenborg 4
Pirri Real Madrid 4
Valér Švec Spartak Trnava 4

References

  1. ^ UEFA.com (5 June 2018). "How the European calendar took shape". UEFA. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  2. ^ "Nürnberg v Ajax, 18 September 1968" (JSON). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  3. ^ "Steaua București v Spartak Trnava, 18 September 1968" (JSON). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  4. ^ "Manchester United v Anderlecht, 13 November 1968" (JSON). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  5. ^ "Rapid Wien v Real Madrid, 20 November 1968" (JSON). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  6. ^ "Reipas Lahti v Spartak Trnava, 20 November 1968" (JSON). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  7. ^ "Kerran näinkin: Suomalaisjalkapalloilijat tekemässä lajinsa historiaa" [For once: Finnish footballers about to make history in their sport]. Helsingin Sanomat. 21 November 1968. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  8. ^ "Real Madrid v Rapid Wien, 4 December 1968" (JSON). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  9. ^ "Benfica v Ajax, 19 February 1969" (JSON). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 13 March 2022.