1969 European Cup final

1969 European Cup final
The match programme cover
Event1968–69 European Cup
Date28 May 1969
VenueSantiago Bernabéu, Madrid
RefereeJosé María Ortiz de Mendíbil (Spain)
Attendance31,782

The 1969 European Cup final was a football match played at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid on 28 May 1969 between AC Milan of Italy and Ajax of the Netherlands, to determine the champions of the 1968–69 European Cup. Ajax made history by becoming the first Dutch side to reach the final, but they were beaten by their Italian opponents 4–1.[1][2]

As of 2025, Milan's Pierino Prati remains the most recent player to score a hat-trick in a European Cup or Champions League final.

Route to the final

Milan had a bye in the second round due to the withdrawal of a number of Eastern European clubs from the competition. In their semi-final, they knocked out defending European champions Manchester United.

In the quarter-finals, Ajax were deadlocked 4–4 on aggregate against Portuguese side Benfica after two legs, forcing a replay. The Dutch champions won 3–0 in the replay, but it took extra time to do so.

Milan Round Ajax
Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg Play-off
Malmö FF 5–3 1–2 (A) 4–1 (H) First round Nürnberg 5–1 1–1 (A) 4–0 (H)
Bye Second round Fenerbahçe 4–0 2–0 (H) 2–0 (A)
Celtic 1–0 0–0 (H) 1–0 (A) Quarter-finals Benfica 4–4 (r) 3–1 (A) 1–3 (a.e.t.) (H) 3–0 (a.e.t.)
Manchester United 2–1 2–0 (H) 0–1 (A) Semi-finals Spartak Trnava 3–2 3–0 (H) 0–2 (A)

Match

Details

Milan 4–1 Ajax
Prati 7', 40', 75'
Sormani 67'
Report Vasović 60' (pen.)
Milan[3]
Ajax[3]
GK 1 Fabio Cudicini
RB 2 Angelo Anquilletti
LB 3 Karl-Heinz Schnellinger
RH 4 Roberto Rosato
CH 5 Saul Malatrasi
LH 6 Giovanni Trapattoni
OR 7 Kurt Hamrin
IR 8 Giovanni Lodetti
CF 9 Angelo Sormani
IL 10 Gianni Rivera (c)
OL 11 Pierino Prati
Manager:
Nereo Rocco
GK 1 Gert Bals (c)
RB 2 Wim Suurbier  46'
CB 3 Barry Hulshoff
CB 4 Velibor Vasović
LB 5 Theo van Duivenbode
RH 6 Henk Groot  46'
LH 7 Ton Pronk
RW 8 Sjaak Swart
CF 9 Inge Danielsson
CF 10 Johan Cruyff
LW 11 Piet Keizer
Substitutes:
FW 12 Klaas Nuninga  46'
MF 13 Bennie Muller  46'
GK Heinz Stuy
MF Gerrie Mühren
MF Ruud Suurendonk
Manager:
Rinus Michels

See also

References

  1. ^ "Il mondo ai piedi del Milan di Rocco". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  2. ^ "Coppa Campioni 1968/69: MILAN" (in Italian). storiedicalcio.altervista.org. 14 January 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  3. ^ a b "2011/12 UEFA Champions League statistics handbook: History (European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions League, 1955–2011)" (PDF). UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 28 May 2011. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 May 2012. Retrieved 28 January 2019.