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
ChampionsItaly AC Milan (2nd title)
Runners-upNetherlands 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.

Austria Rapid Wien (1st) Belgium Anderlecht (1st) Bulgaria Levski-Spartak (1st) Cyprus AEL Limassol (1st)
Czechoslovakia Spartak Trnava (1st) Denmark AB (1st) England Manchester City (1st) England Manchester United (2nd)TH
Finland Reipas Lahti (1st) France Saint-Étienne (1st) East Germany Carl Zeiss Jena (1st) West Germany Nürnberg (1st)
Greece AEK Athens (1st) Hungary Ferencváros (1st) Iceland Valur (1st) Republic of Ireland Waterford (1st)
Italy Milan (1st) Luxembourg Jeunesse Esch (1st) Malta Floriana (1st) Netherlands Ajax (1st)
Northern Ireland Glentoran (1st) Norway Rosenborg (1st) Poland Ruch Chorzów (1st) Portugal Benfica (1st)
Romania Steaua București (1st) Scotland Celtic (1st) Spain Real Madrid (1st) Sweden Malmö FF (1st)
Switzerland Zürich (1st) Turkey Fenerbahçe (1st) Soviet Union Dynamo Kyiv (1st) Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Red Star Belgrade (1st)

Bracket

First round Second round Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
                  
Sweden Malmö FF 2 1 3
Italy Milan 1 4 5
Italy Milan Bye
Soviet Union Dynamo Kyiv (w)
Poland Ruch Chorzów (o)
Italy Milan 0 1 1
Scotland Celtic 0 0 0
France Saint-Étienne 2 0 2
Scotland Celtic 0 4 4
Scotland Celtic 5 1 6
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Red Star Belgrade 1 1 2
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Red Star Belgrade (w)
East Germany Carl Zeiss Jena (o)
Italy Milan 2 0 2
England Manchester United 0 1 1
Republic of Ireland Waterford 1 1 2
England Manchester United 3 7 10
England Manchester United 3 1 4
Belgium Anderlecht 0 3 3
Belgium Anderlecht 3 2 5
Northern Ireland Glentoran 0 2 2
England Manchester United 3 0 3
Austria Rapid Wien 0 0 0
Norway Rosenborg 1 3 4
Austria Rapid Wien 3 3 6
Austria Rapid Wien 1 1 2
Spain Real Madrid 0 2 2
Spain Real Madrid 6 6 12
Cyprus AEL Limassol 0 0 0
Italy Milan 4
Netherlands Ajax 1
West Germany Nurnberg 1 0 1
Netherlands Ajax 1 4 5
Netherlands Ajax 2 2 4
Turkey Fenerbahçe 0 0 0
England Manchester City 0 1 1
Turkey Fenerbahçe 0 2 2
Netherlands Ajax 1 3 4 (3)
Portugal Benfica 3 1 4 (0)
Iceland Valur 0 1 1
Portugal Benfica 0 8 8
Portugal Benfica Bye
Bulgaria Levski Sofia (w)
Hungary Ferencváros (o)
Netherlands Ajax 3 0 3
Czechoslovakia Spartak Trnava 0 2 2
Malta Floriana 1 0 1
Finland Reipas Lahti 1 2 3
Finland Reipas Lahti 1 1 2
Czechoslovakia Spartak Trnava 9 7 16
Romania Steaua București 3 0 3
Czechoslovakia Spartak Trnava 1 4 5
Czechoslovakia Spartak Trnava 2 1 3
Greece AEK Athens 1 1 2
Greece AEK Athens 3 2 5
Luxembourg Jeunesse Esch 0 3 3
Greece AEK Athens 0 2 2
Denmark AB 0 0 0
Switzerland Zürich 1 2 3
Denmark AB 3 1 4

First round

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Malmö FF Sweden 3–5 Italy Milan 2–1 1–4
Dynamo Kyiv Soviet Union (w/o) Poland Ruch Chorzów – –
Saint-Étienne France 2–4 Scotland Celtic 2–0 0–4
Red Star Belgrade Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (w/o) East Germany Carl Zeiss Jena – –
Waterford Republic of Ireland 2–10 England Manchester United 1–3 1–7
Anderlecht Belgium 5–2 Northern Ireland Glentoran 3–0 2–2
Rosenborg Norway 4–6 Austria Rapid Wien 1–3 3–3
Real Madrid Spain 12–0 Cyprus AEL Limassol 6–0 6–0
Nürnberg West Germany 1–5 Netherlands Ajax 1–1 0–4
Manchester City England 1–2 Turkey Fenerbahçe 0–0 1–2
Valur Iceland 1–8 Portugal Benfica 0–0 1–8
Levski-Spartak Bulgaria (w/o) Hungary Ferencváros – –
Floriana Malta 1–3 Finland Reipas Lahti 1–1 0–2
Steaua București Romania 3–5 Czechoslovakia Spartak Trnava 3–1 0–4
AEK Athens Greece 5–3 Luxembourg Jeunesse Esch 3–0 2–3
Zürich Switzerland 3–4 Denmark AB 1–3 2–1

First leg

Malmö FF Sweden2–1Italy Milan
Olsberg 45'
Elmstedt 50'		 Report Rivera 58'
Attendance: 23,118
Saint-Étienne France2–0Scotland Celtic
Keïta 15'
H. Revelli 36'		 Report
Attendance: 34,403
Waterford Republic of Ireland1–3England Manchester United
Matthews 65' Report Law 8', 41', 55'
Attendance: 48,886
Anderlecht Belgium3–0Northern Ireland Glentoran
Bergholtz 18'
Peeters 23'
Nordahl 87'		 Report
Attendance: 18,963
Rosenborg Norway1–3Austria Rapid Wien
Iversen 16' Report Bjerregaard 28'
Kaltenbrunner 65'
Grausam 86'
Attendance: 22,321
Real Madrid Spain6–0Cyprus AEL Limassol
Pirri 10', 14', 63'
Amancio 17'
Pérez 27'
Bueno 75'		 Report
Attendance: 15,995
Referee: William Gow (Wales)
Nürnberg West Germany1–1Netherlands Ajax
Volkert 6' Report Cruyff 80'
Attendance: 45,090[2]
Manchester City England0–0Turkey Fenerbahçe
Report
Attendance: 38,840
Valur Iceland0–0Portugal Benfica
Report
Attendance: 18,243
Floriana Malta1–1Finland Reipas Lahti
Galea 37' (pen.) Report Aalto 28'
Attendance: 10,162
Referee: Jim Finney (England)
Steaua București Romania3–1Czechoslovakia Spartak Trnava
Creiniceanu 18'
Voinea 30'
Constantin 51'		 Report Kuna 75'
Attendance: 3,227[3]
AEK Athens Greece3–0Luxembourg Jeunesse Esch
Papaioannou 27'
Papageorgiou 58'
Karafeskos 60' (pen.)		 Report
Attendance: 16,205
Referee: Fabio Monti (Italy)
Zürich Switzerland1–3Denmark AB
Winiger 50' Report Hansen 22'
Wiberg 25'
Petersen 62'
Attendance: 17,000

Second leg

Milan Italy4–1Sweden Malmö FF
Prati 32', 69'
Sormani 62'
Rivera 88'		 Report Ljungberg 16'
Attendance: 61,932

Milan won 5–3 on aggregate.

Celtic Scotland4–0France Saint-Étienne
Gemmell 44' (pen.)
Craig 59'
Chalmers 66'
McBride 87'		 Report
Attendance: 73,059

Celtic won 4–2 on aggregate.

Manchester United England7–1Republic of Ireland Waterford
Stiles 37'
Law 41', 47', 60', 71'
Burns 68'
Charlton 84'		 Report Casey 69'
Attendance: 41,750

Manchester United won 10–2 on aggregate.

Glentoran Northern Ireland2–2Belgium Anderlecht
Morrow 27'
Johnston 55'		 Report Devrindt 24'
Bergholtz 58'
Attendance: 12,384

Anderlecht won 5–2 on aggregate.

Rapid Wien Austria3–3Norway Rosenborg
Lindman 10', 80'
Kaltenbrunner 17'		 Report Iversen 21', 34', 87'
Attendance: 1,570

Rapid Wien won 6–4 on aggregate.

AEL Limassol Cyprus0–6Spain Real Madrid
Report Velázquez 7', 10'
José Luis 9'
Veloso 84'
Ortega 86'
Zunzunegui 87'
Attendance: 20,075

Real Madrid won 12–0 on aggregate.

Ajax Netherlands4–0West Germany Nürnberg
Swart 22', 51'
Groot 86' (pen.)
Cruyff 89'		 Report
Attendance: 54,579

Ajax won 5–1 on aggregate.

Fenerbahçe Turkey2–1England Manchester City
Çevrim 48'
Altıparmak 76'		 Report Coleman 11'
Attendance: 42,570

Fenerbahçe won 2–1 on aggregate.

Benfica Portugal8–1Iceland Valur
Simões 4'
Jacinto 7'
Torres 11', 47', 79'
Eusébio 20'
Coluna 27'
José Augusto 48'		 Report Gunnarsson 68'
Attendance: 24,389

Benfica won 8–1 on aggregate.

Reipas Lahti Finland2–0Malta Floriana
Holtari 56' (57) Report
Attendance: 2,212

Reipas Lahti won 3–1 on aggregate.

Spartak Trnava Czechoslovakia4–0Romania Steaua București
Švec 4'
Adamec 58', 76', 80'		 Report
Attendance: 11,879

Spartak Trnava won 5–3 on aggregate.

Jeunesse Esch Luxembourg3–2Greece AEK Athens
Hoffmann 6'
Drouet 40'
Langer 77'		 Report Ventouris 16', 33'
Attendance: 3,213

AEK Athens won 5–3 on aggregate.

AB Denmark1–2Switzerland Zürich
Petersen 53' Report Künzli 42', 80'
Attendance: 9,557

AB won 4–3 on aggregate.

Second round

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Milan Italy Bye – – –
Celtic Scotland 6–2 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Red Star Belgrade 5–1 1–1
Manchester United England 4–3 Belgium Anderlecht 3–0 1–3
Rapid Wien Austria 2–2 (a) Spain Real Madrid 1–0 1–2
Ajax Netherlands 4–0 Turkey Fenerbahçe 2–0 2–0
Benfica Portugal Bye – – –
Reipas Lahti Finland 2–16 Czechoslovakia Spartak Trnava 1–9 1–7
AEK Athens Greece 2–0 Denmark AB 0–0 2–0

First leg

Celtic Scotland5–1Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Red Star Belgrade
Murdoch 3'
Johnstone 46', 81'
Lennox 48'
Wallace 74'		 Report Lazarević 39'
Attendance: 65,248
Manchester United England3–0Belgium Anderlecht
Kidd 52'
Law 70', 78'		 Report
Attendance: 51,008[4]
Rapid Wien Austria1–0Spain Real Madrid
Kaltenbrunner 55' Report
Attendance: 44,799[5]
Ajax Netherlands2–0Turkey Fenerbahçe
Nuninga 14'
Muller 74'		 Report
Attendance: 54,812
Reipas Lahti Finland1–9Czechoslovakia 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 Wien–Real Madrid match.[7]

AEK Athens Greece0–0Denmark AB
Report
Attendance: 8,161

Second leg

Red Star Belgrade Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia1–1Scotland Celtic
Ostojić 90' Report Wallace 72'
Attendance: 17,625

Celtic won 6–2 on aggregate.

Anderlecht Belgium3–1England Manchester United
Mulder 18'
Bergholtz 38', 78'		 Report Sartori 8'
Attendance: 32,572

Manchester United won 4–3 on aggregate.

Real Madrid Spain2–1Austria Rapid Wien
Velázquez 41'
Pirri 83'		 Report Bjerregaard 48'
Attendance: 39,228[8]

Rapid Wien won 2–2 on away goals.

Fenerbahçe Turkey0–2Netherlands Ajax
Report Keizer 55'
Nuninga 88'
Attendance: 33,863

Ajax won 4–0 on aggregate.

Spartak Trnava Czechoslovakia7–1Finland Reipas Lahti
Hagara 15'
Dobiaš 20', 49' (pen.), 64'
Kuna 27'
Adamec 37'
Hrušecký 53'		 Report Niskakoski 75'
Attendance: 5,766

Spartak Trnava won 16–2 on aggregate.

AB Denmark0–2Greece AEK Athens
Report Stamatiadis 25'
Papaioannou 81'
Attendance: 11,471

AEK Athens won 2–0 on aggregate.

Quarter-finals

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg Play-off
Milan Italy 1–0 Scotland Celtic 0–0 1–0
Manchester United England 3–0 Austria Rapid Wien 3–0 0–0
Ajax Netherlands 4–4 Portugal Benfica 1–3 3–1 3–0
Spartak Trnava Czechoslovakia 3–2 Greece AEK Athens 2–1 1–1

First leg

Milan Italy0–0Scotland Celtic
Report
Attendance: 63,538
Manchester United England3–0Austria Rapid Wien
Best 44', 70'
Morgan 70'		 Report
Attendance: 62,726
Ajax Netherlands1–3Portugal Benfica
Danielsson 48' Report Santos 31' (pen.)
Torres 36'
José Augusto 61'
Attendance: 55,150
Spartak Trnava Czechoslovakia2–1Greece AEK Athens
Jarábek 25'
Kabát 44'		 Report Sevastopoulos 60'
Attendance: 10,747

Second leg

Celtic Scotland0–1Italy Milan
Report Prati 12'
Attendance: 76,415

Milan won 1–0 on aggregate.

Rapid Wien Austria0–0England Manchester United
Report
Attendance: 50,234

Manchester United won 3–0 on aggregate.

Benfica Portugal1–3Netherlands 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 Greece1–1Czechoslovakia Spartak Trnava
Papaioannou 77' Report Švec 23'
Attendance: 29,842

Spartak Trnava won 3–2 on aggregate.

Tie-breakers

Ajax Netherlands3–0 (a.e.t.)Portugal Benfica
Cruyff 93'
Danielsson 105', 108'		 Report
Attendance: 63,638

Ajax win the tie-breaker.

Semi-finals

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

First leg

Milan Italy2–0England Manchester United
Sormani 33'
Hamrin 49'		 Report
Attendance: 80,050
Ajax Netherlands3–0Czechoslovakia Spartak Trnava
Cruyff 27'
Swart 52'
Keizer 60'		 Report
Attendance: 55,490

Second leg

Manchester United England1–0Italy Milan
Charlton 70' Report
Attendance: 63,103

Milan won 2–1 on aggregate.

Spartak Trnava Czechoslovakia2–0Netherlands Ajax
Kuna 27', 49' Report
Attendance: 22,938

Ajax won 3–2 on aggregate.

Final

Main article: 1969 European Cup Final
Milan Italy4–1Netherlands Ajax
Prati 7', 40', 75'
Sormani 67'		 Report Vasović 60' (pen.)
Attendance: 31,782

Top scorers

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

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

References

  1. ^ UEFA.com (5 June 2018). "How the European calendar took shape | Inside UEFA". UEFA.com. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  2. ^ "Nürnberg v Ajax, 18 September 1968" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  3. ^ "Steaua București v Spartak Trnava, 18 September 1968" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  4. ^ "Manchester United v Anderlecht, 13 November 1968" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  5. ^ "Rapid Wien v Real Madrid, 20 November 1968" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  6. ^ "Reipas Lahti v Spartak Trnava, 20 November 1968" (JSON). 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). Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  9. ^ "Benfica v Ajax, 19 February 1969" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 13 March 2022.