The transfer market was exciting enough, focusing on the big deals of course. The whole picture is too big for detailed full exposition, but four more transfers, hardly noticed at the time, must be mentioned. Three of them are similar, falling into the dark political oppositions of the time: they involved defectors from Eastern Europe. Two were East Germans. Back in the 1950s, before the Berlin Wall was built, there were many East German players going to West Germany. After the Wall was erected, the numbers dropped and there had not been any defectors since late 1960s. Until 1975, when two members of Under-21 DDR national team defected when the team went to Turkey for a match. The goalkeeper Jurgen Pahl, born 1956, and the central defender Nortbert Nachtweih, born 1957.

Both were suspended for a year, thus registered as newcomers after the suspension ended – that is, for the season 1977-78. Both were curiously together – originally playing for Chemie (Halle, DDR), and now – for Eintracht (Frankfurt). As for their suspension, it was the long established practice of FIFA/UEFA – one year, for breach of contract and illegal change of club. It was often the reason stopping East European players from defecting – one year is long time for relatively oldish player, but the East Germans were very young. Beside, they were immediately taken by Eintracht, paid and trained. Now it was time to finally play. The whole political issue was carefully avoided by international football bodies starting with defection of Ferenc Puskas and company in 1956. The Hungarian Federation immediately asked for banishment, stating exactly illegal move by the players, leaving their clubs without permission for money. Puskas argued political reasons, but the international bodies feared the threat of Communist countries leaving FIFA and UEFA in protest – political reasons were deemed irrelevant and what remained was just a breach of transfer regulations. And this practice remained intact – Communist Federations immediately protested any defection and FIFA/UEFA automatically suspended the defectors for one year, although it was laughable – Eastern Europeans were, on paper, amateurs, and what 'breach of contract' could be between amateur and club? The are all just for fun, right? Suspensions served well in the East, where different story was presented to the population: stupid, greedy traitors, lured by false promises for easy life, money, women, and drinks, jumped ship. And look at them now: unemployed, poor, nobody needs them. Not a word about suspension – the simple fact they were not playing sufficed for propaganda. Of course, measures were taken so such disgrace would not happen again. Punishments followed – in the case of players above, their club coach was punished. His career was practically ruined and as a result he himself started thinking of defection. He managed to do that, quite dramatically, a few years later – and also was suspended for one year by the rules. Pahl and Nachtweih were grateful guys, however – they not only rushed to visit his former coach after he arrived in West Germany, but helped him financially in his tough year of suspension. As for the players themsleves, Pahl has decent, yet, not exceptional career. Perhaps he is best remembered for amusing goal – when he tried to pass a ball by hand to a teammate, he lost the ball somehow and it ended in his own net. Nachtweih was different story – he became one of the best German defenders in the early 1980s, moved to Bayern, and was considered for the national team. Alas, his defection blocked his possible playing for West Germany – since he played for various youth national teams of DDR, he was ineligible for any other national team. Rules. And by rules, Pahl and Nachtweih debuted in 1977, yet, not exactly part of the transfer system.

The same kind of debut made another East European player – the Hungarian Jozsef Horvath, formerly Ujpesti Dosza and the Hungarian national team player.

Most defectors in the 1960s and 70s were Hungarians, but nowadays this is rarely mentioned in their biographies , so it is very difficult to consider every case – in the late 1960s Hungary allowed some oldish players to go to the West legally. Horvath was almost surely a defector – there is a gap in his career between 1975 when he was still playing for Ujpesti Dosza and 1977 when he introduced as a new player by Rot Weiss (Essen). But his story is different and more typical than the lucky story of the young East Germans: he was already 28 in 1977. After missing a year, he was not a great catch for big clubs and appeared in the Second Division. Where he had difficult adaptation, played only 14 matches during his only German season, and moved to USA in 1978, where he played in NASL and the indoor leagues.

Defectors were at least some news in the receiving country, but the last newcomer to the Bundesliga was not any, save the amusement value. 1. FC Koln toured Japan in the late summer and there hired one Yasuhiko Okudera, born in 1952. He somewhat impressed the Germans when Koln played against his club Furukawa Electric. Japan had no professional football – their old system cam be best described as semi-professional: big firms run clubs, the players were firm's employees, probably not doing much else than playing football, but still employed under other titles – workers, lower managerial stuff, clerks. Technically, amateurs. Obtaining Okudera was neither difficult, nor expensive for Koln – the only question was what for? May be at first there was not even that question, but the answer was quickly found during the season.

Yasuhiko Okudera celebrating a goal with his captain Flohe. Unthinkable and unbelievable... but Okudera quickly established himself as starter. In retrospect, he is called the first Asian player in Europe. This is incorrect, but hard to prove, for whoever played before Okudera was small fry in obscure championships, often even considered domestic, if coming from a colony. Further, Israel was still member of the Asian Federation by 1977, and Israeli players, however few, appeared as professionals in European leagues. First Asian Okudera was not, but the first Japanese player in Europe he is – and a legendary one too, for he not only debuted in Europe, but successfully in top league and top club. Okudera played almost 10 years in West Germany! Nobody would have imagined that in 1977, when he was a novelty, hired perhaps only for amusement and not expected to move away from the reserves bench. He even did not appear in the pre-season photo of 1.FC Koln made for Kicker magazine.

From the highest to the lowest, the summer transfers had it all, and the season was ready to begin.

West German football ruled – it was not only the competitive high scoring game performed by disciplined players, but the whole structure. There was no clearer recognition of German superiority than the move of the best European player to German club – such transfer never happened before. But there were also incresing signs of stagnation – German football was increasingly becoming robotic and dull. Fast, tactically sound, uncompromising, but somewhat dull. It showed on international stage, where both clubs and the national team lost their supremacy. The German training system was very efficient, but... there was visible gap between the older generation of 1972-74 and the new blood coming from the youth system. Still, it was the top league football in the world, especially in terms of governing, facilities, and financing. Apart from the general sense of stagnation, the season was very interesting, starting with the summer transfers. Old heroes disappeared – Overath retired, the player who practically was Mr. Bundesliga, for he played right from the starting year of the league. But even greater news was the transfer of Kaiser Franz, who went to Cosmos (New York). However, the transfer of Ulrich Stielike was perhaps the most significant: if Beckenbauer and Overath were the old guard, inevitably having to step down because of age, Stielike was the top young star, the future of German football, guaranteeing preservation of high class. True, Borussia (Moenchengladbach) was always short of money and had to sell stars, but the exit of Stielike was ominous – without him, there were hardly any youngsters worthy to step in the shoes of giants of the previous generation. Stielike went to Real (Madrid). One other exiting player should be mentioned too – Roland Sandberg quit after 4 years of playing for 1. FC Kaiserslautern.

Sandberg was much talked about in the first half of the 1970s, but hardly after 1975. The reason was constant injuries – and the player born in 1946 had to quit because of them. His retirement was not simply from the game, but full retirement: the Germans established unique institution around 1975: 'sports invalids', who, like any other handicapped people, were retired on pension. Sandberg was recognized as such sports invalid. Plausible institution, it seemed to be, but... Sandberg returned to his native Sweden and after one year started playing again, adding three more seasons and two more clubs (Kalmar FF and BK Hacken) to his CV. Strange somewhat, but then who is there to say pensioners have no right to play?

Players out, players in. Perhaps the biggest domestic transfer was made between Bayern and Schalke 04 – Bayern bought the Yugoslavian star midfielder Branko Oblak. The rest of the big transfers concerned imports. The most exciting was made by Hamburger SV – they got Kevin Keegan from Liverpool.

By right the top transfer in Europe, for Keegan was the top player of the top club. He was still to play with red shirt, for HSV were using the colour this year, but this was not all – it was full recognition of the superiority of the Bundesliga even in terms of money. English players used to play for foreign clubs, but not in German ones. German clubs bought foreigners regularly, yet, not top stars. Now it was clear that they were ready to spend lots of money, on one hand, and on the other – Germany became equal to Spain as desired destination for best footballers.

Hamburger SV did not stop with Keegan – they also bought Ivan Buljan from Hajduk (Split).

One of the best players not only in Yugoslavia since 1974, Buljan was top class indeed. Not as expensive as Keegan, but high quality. Versatile too – Buljan easily played full back or defensive midfielder. HSV were obviously aiming to get stronger after winning the Cup Winners Cup in the spring of 1977.

The next big transfer was made by unlikely club – Eintrancht (Braunschweig.

They got no other but Paul Breitner, no longer needed by Real (Madrid). Perhaps Breitner was not in great shape, at least by Madrid's point of view, but going to relatively small club was surprising. Seemingly, Braunschweig became ambitious, for they also added the Swedish national team player Hasse Borg to Breitner.

Another big transfer was made by Eintracht (Frankfurt) – they got Stepanovic from Crvena zvezda (Belgrade).

This was a transfer in the usual German pattern, like the one of Borg – German clubs preferred buying cheap players from Yugoslavia and Sweden. Dragoslav Stepanovic also fit the Yugoslavian pattern – he was born in 1948, that is, already 29 years old, as the Yugoslavian rules for export required. Required on paper, at least – Buljan was younger, but he was an 'exception'. Still, Stepanovic was big addition – he was always a reliable player, quickly adapted to German football, and became a key Eintracht player.

The UEFA Cup was the most exciting tournament in a way – because it proved more unpredictable than the other two European competitions. Interesting results started from the first round: Inter (Milano) lost to Dinamo (Tbilisi). It was classic Italian result – 1-0 and 0-0 – only the Italians were on the receiving end. The Georgians won in Milano for a good measure. Meantime the more famous Dinamo, the one from Kiev, was eliminated by a modest West German club – Eintracht (Braunscweig). Niether team won a match, but the Germans scored away goal in Kiev and the two ties – 1-1 and 0-0 – benefited them. Another big surprise was the elimination of Manchester City. It was 1972-73 all over again: mighty English lost to modest Poles. Widzew (Lodz) were modest even by Polish standards... yes, they had Zbigniew Boniek in their squad, but the young player was still – just a promising youngster. Manchester City was ailing by that time, but still... the Poles bravely tied the opening leg in Manchester – 2-2. A goalless tie in Lodz eliminated City. Major upsets were topped by a scandal – typically, Italians were involved in it: Fiorentina faced Schalke 04. The first leg in Florence ended 0-0, but Fiorentina was caught fielding a suspended player. UEFA awarded 3-0 win to Schalke 04 and the second match was more or less meaningless. In it, the Germans clinched 2-1 victory. Almost lost among so many exciting upsets was the last surprise – Marek (Dupnitza) eliminated Ferencvaros (Budapest). The modest Bulgarian club from small provincial town named back then Stanke Dimitrov, were unlikely debutantes in Europe. Only two years ago they were still playing Second Division football. Ferencvaros were not all that great, but nevertheless much more famous and obvious favourites. Marek won 3-0 at home and lost the second leg in Budapest 0-2. Good by, Fradi!

The second round delivered more upsets: Barcelona struggled against little known Dutch club, AZ'67. After two 1-1 ties, penalty shoot out decided the winner – Barcelona clinched 5-4 victory. At least they qualified... Schalke 04 did not – they lost both matches against 1. FC Magdeburg. The East Germans played above their usual form, as ever when they had a West German opponent – a matter of ideological importance more than sporting pride – but they were clearly supreme: 4-2 at home and 3-1 away. Lazio was also eliminated by unlikely opponent – RC Lens. The French won their home match 6-0! Six goals in Italian net does not happen everyday. Lens were clearly inspired, for although Lazio was hardly in great shape, they still won in Rome 2-0 – a result usually making the second leg meaningless, given the usual ultra-defensive Italian approach. The third surprise result was the outcome of Bastia – Newcastle United. The Corsicans rarely reached European stage and were not a club to last there, let alone impress anybody. Newcastle were not a big international name either, but still the obvious winners – before the games started. Bastia won 2-1 at home – a result seen as the best they can do, brave enough to overcome also-run British club, but... it was a result still favourable for Newcastle. There was no doubt Newcastle will win and qualify. There was a winner in Newcastle alright – Bastia again and it was 3-1 this time. Finally, there was another surprise, although partial one: Bayern had easy opponent, the already mentioned Marek. No need even to pay attention... Bayern won 3-0 in Munich. Yet, the Bulgarians played well and caught the eye of managers – three players got offers to defect and join professional German clubs: all strikers, the right winger and team captain Sasho Pargov and the twins Ivan and Ventzislav Petrov, playing in the center of attack. The scouts were hardly familiar with the Bulgarian players, though – Pargov was already 31 years old and even if he wanted to defect, it was to be pointless – the usual one year suspension for illegally leaving his club would practically finish him. But there was no way anybody would defect – Marek arrived with 34-persons strong delegation in Munich. 15 players and the rest consisted largely of Bulgarian secret police. Foggy affairs... and symbolically the match started 15 minutes late because of heavy fog.

May be Bayern saw themselves already in the 1/8 finals, but the trip to Bulgaria was a shock – Dupnitza is not far from Sofia, but travel is no fun for West Europeans used to comfort. Stadium 'Bonchuk' was notoriously unhospitable place for visiting teams, thanks to Marek's fans. Back than it had 30 000 capacity, 20 000 sitting officially. 35 000 attended the match with Bayern, not counting those watching from the trees outside the stadium.

Captains lead their teams – Gerd Muller at the left and Sasho Pargov, David and Goliath. One can see people on the trees outside the stadium.

In front of almost entirely home fans, frantically supporting their team, Marek started great. For somebody not knowing who was playing, it was easy to decide that Bayern was playing in red and Marek in white – but it was the opposite.

Gruber and Maier trying to stop Pargov.

Difficult life for Bayern – Maier had tough day. And Pargov (number 7) ones again in the middle of things dangerous for German health.

Ivan Petrov scored the first goal in the 33th minute. Five minutes later Sasho Pargov made it 2-0. The advance built in Munich evaporated quickly.

A third goal was brewing... Ventzislav Petrov (number 10) strikes a header. Maier does not look happy at all.

Another danger for the Germans – Maier can't do a thing, but luckily the ball is too high.

It was Marek to the end. Bayern was reduced to play defense, but Marek was unable to score a third goal. Bayern survived – the match ended 0-2, and the Germans qualified thanks to their 3-0 home victory. Yet, it was enough of an upset , for Bayern was down on their knees. Entirely. Bayern was in decline, of course, but losing to unknown club? Elimination was very, very close.

And Bayern was eliminated in the next round. This time they had much stronger opponent, unfortunately West German – Eintracht (Francfurt) won both legs: 4-0 at home and 2-1 in Munich. Barcelona survived again – they met increasingly stronger Ipswich Town. Strong, rising team, but Barcelona was supposed to be a super-club... and the favourite. 0-3 they lost in Ipswich. Back at home, Barca managed to win also 3-0. Extra time produced nothing and penalty shoot-out was to decide the winner. Just like in the previous round, Barcelona clinched the victory – 3-1. At least they qualified, for others did not. Dinamo (Tbilisi) was favoured against Grasshoppers (Zurich) – they won minimally at home, 1-0, but it looked like temporary slip. The second match was a big upset – Grasshoppers won 4-0! Torino was obvious favourite too – as good as Bastia were so far, it was not likely they will be a match to gritty Italians. Everybody is wise before events... Bastia won both legs. Not by much at home – just like in the previous round, Bastia managed 2-1 victory. Just like against Newcastle, the minimal win gave the edge to the opposition. And just like in the previous round Bastia played better away and won 3-1. To a point, the elimination of Standard (Liege) was also a suprise – Carl Zeiss (Jena)was theoretically the weaker club, yet, they won both legs.

After so many upsets, the ¼ finals reached few strange clubs – there was no Italian club at all, and only one English, West German, and Spanish. East Germany had the most clubs at this stage – two, Carl Zeiss and 1. FC Magdeburg. Bastia and Grasshoppers were very unusual names at this point too. The draw played its devilish role, as ever – Barcelona was paired with Aston Villa. Once again Barcelona struggled, but clinched victory at the end – 2-2 in Birmingham and 2-1 win in Barcelona. Eintracht (Frankfurt) had lucky draw by contrast – Grasshoppers. No problem... at first. The Swiss fought back and lost only 2-3 in Germany. Back home they extracted 1-0 win, perfectly enough for qualifying. PSV Eindhoven seemed a bit stronger than 1.FC Magdeburg, but many remembered that not so long ago the East Germans won the Cup Winners Cup, and at least physically they were pretty much equal to the Dutch. But it went in accord with expectations: Magdeburg won 1-0 at home, but lost 2-4 in Eindhoven. The last pair was equal – and thought the weakest. Bastia vs Carl Zeiss. One will go ahead, no matter which one... so far Bastia struggled at home and was more dangerous when visiting. May be Carl Zeiss had the edge. Well, no... Bastia won 7-2 at home. High scoring continued – Carl Zeiss won 4-2 in Jena. Fun, with so many goals, but after the first leg it was unseemly the Corsican would fail.

This season luck was playing cruel jokes practically in every European tournament from start to end. The UEFA Cup ½ finals were no different... one strong and one weak pair. The 'finalists' had to meet earlier – PSV Eindhoven vs Barcelona. And Bracelona, struggling so far, displeasing friend and foe, and reaching that far more thanks to willpower and grit, rather than playing strong football, finally met their fate. They lost 0-3 in Eindhoven and had no skill and strength to overcome so big negative result. Barcelona managed to score three goals – but received one too. Not enough. Meantime the pariahs fought their own drama – Grasshopers won 3-2 in Zurich. This was the first time the draw did not give the opening match to Bastia. Once again Bastia did not look very strong at home – they won 1-0, which was enough to propel them to the final, but still the team struggled at home.

Bastia in attack in Zurich. The match was played in heavy rain, not the best conditions, but the French still scored their two away goals – like they did in the ¼ and 1/32 finals. In the 1/16 and 1/8 finals they managed three goals away from home. Unlikely semi-finalists, a moment of Grasshoppers vs Bastia must be shown.

The first leg of the final was hosted by Bastia. The semi-final opening leg repeated itself – torrential rain. After four hours of it, the officials thought of postponing the game for a better day. The last word had the referee Z. Maksimovic from Yugoslavia. He inspected the pitch and declared it OK. The match started late and was not much of a match under the heavy conditions.

Johnny Rep trying to beat fellow Dutch.

Water and mud everywhere. The quality of the game suffered tremendously. At first, Bastia looked more dangerous, but eventually it was a matter of endurance and physicality – the Dutch were much better at that. Scoring proved impossible – there were very few shots at goal. Actually, there were only two occasions when a goalkeeper had to show his ability – PSV's goalie van Beveren saved both times. The match ended 0-0, nobody was happy, because of the difficult conditions, but the Dutch were confident. Their coach Cees Rijvers said that the conditions were 'nightmarish' , but he was satisfied with the result.

In the second leg PSV Eindhoven was clearly the superior team. They opened the result in the 24th minute (or the 2nd? Match statistics differ.) The Dutch were speedier, as expected to be, and got full control of the game. Two more goals were scored in the second half – in the 67th and 69th minute (or 65th and 67th?) - but long before that it was clear that PSV Eindhoven was the winner. Bastia had no argument, they were clearly outplayed from start. Simply, the opponents were not equal at all.

Helpless Bastia. The Dutch scored and won.

Final 1st Leg, Furiani Stadium, Bastia, 26 Apr 1978, att 15000



SEC Bastia (0) 0 PSV (Eindhoven) (0) 0



SEC Bastia

Hiard; Burkhard, Guesdon, Orlanducci, Cazes; Papi, Lacuesta (Felix),

Larios; Rep, Krimau, Mariot

PSV (Eindhoven)

Van Beveren; Van Kraay, Krijgh, Stevens, Brandts, Poortvliet;

Van der Kuijlen, W.Van de Kerkhof, Deijkers; R.Van de Kerkhof,

Lubse





Final 2nd Leg, Philips Stadion, Eindhoven, 9 May 1978, att 27000



PSV (Eindhoven) (1) 3 SEC Bastia (0) 0

24' 1-0 PSV: W.Van de Kerkhof

67' 2-0 PSV: Deijkers

69' 3-0 PSV: Van der Kuijlen

PSV won 3-0 on aggregate



PSV (Eindhoven)

Van Beveren; Krijgh, Stevens, Van Kraay (Deacy), Brandts;

W.Van de Kerkhof, Poortvliet, Van der Kuijlen; Lubse, Deijkers,

R.Van de Kerkhof

SEC Bastia

Hiard (Weller); Marchioni, Orlanducci, Guesdon, Cazes; Lacuesta,

Larios, Papi; Rep, Krimau, Mario (De Zerbi)

Heroic Bastia, reaching to the finals. It was a season of the undergdog – three brave unlikely finalists in the Eureopean cups: FC Brugge, Austria Vienna, and Bastia. It is always great to see smaller clubs that far, but it was also clear that the great clubs of Europe were not in good shape. Lucky draws helped too, but the European finals were not very exciting this year. Except for FC Brugge, the mavericks were not equal to the challenge, when meeting really strong clubs. Like Austria, Bastia was easily outplayed at the final and looked entirely inferior. A general decline of game quality was detected, yet, the success of Bastia should not be just brushed aside. This was arguably the best ever squad of Bastia and certainly the most successful. In terms of club history, a legendary team. In reality – not bad at all. Not first raters in French context may be, but still well respected players like Orlanducci, Guesdon, and Papi. Very promising Lacuesta and Larios. Solid squad, having a great world famous superstar as well – Johnny Rep. Bastia had quite famous imports before, but this time it was different – perhaps the biggest name previously playing for Bastia was Dragan Djajic, who came at the twilight of his illustrious career, clearly going downhill. Rep was in his prime His Spanish spell did not go all that well and perhaps he was a bit fading, but still he was young, still world class, still invaluable for the national team of Holland, and determined to recover his great reputation after not so successful years with Valencia. Rep was incredible addition to the team, providing very high quality of playing and inspiration. As a whole, Bastia did not have a team capable of challenging the top French clubs for the title, but good enough to be among the best five. In Europe, it was wonderful year, elevating Bastia to the best ever performances of French clubs: so far, only Reims and Saint Etienne reached European finals. Bastia were the third club. Great achievement, but more than one Dutch was needed winning a trophy, as it was clearly shown at the finals.

PSV Eindhoven, rightful winners of the UEFA Cup: standing from left.: Jan Poortvliet, Jan van Beveren, Huub Stevens, Ernie Brandts, Cees Krijgh, Harrie Lubse.

Crouching: René van de Kerkhof, Adrie van Kraaij, Willy van de Kerkhof, Willy van der Kuijlen, Ger Deijkers.

Clearly superior squad to the one of Bastia – 10 Dutch national team players here. The strongest Dutch team after the great Ajax of the early 1970s. The van de Kerkhof twins already recognized as world class stars. Great team, in short. PSV Eindhoven was seen as the third fantastic Dutch team for some years already, but so far they failed to win anything on international level. First cup at last, well deserved, and finally proving that they were really top squad. In a sense, finally the expected burst of a third great club from Holland happened, but it was still bitter-sweet: they won 'only' the UEFA Cup, unlike Ajax and Feyenoord of the early 1970s. They won, but against clearly weaker opponent – it was not conclusive victory for many a skeptic, quick to point at many international failures so far. PSV still had to prove they were really strong. May be the next year? It was so nice already, though – happy winners of an European cup. The bar was raised too high for PSV Eindhoven – they were doomed to be always compared to Ajax and Feyenoord. Yet, in a sense, they proved stronger than Ajax – represented by Johnny Rep at the final. PSV Eindhoven easily destroyed Rep's Bastia, as if taking revenge on the old Ajax. And additionally they proved that Dutch football was still major world power. Still on top, still great... winning tells only that.

Unlike the European Champions Cup, drama unfolded early in the Cup Winners Cup. Was it poor form, or poor judgment, it did not matter – weaker clubs appeared in CWC for years. Some big names may be neglected the tournament, wrongly thinking that the opposition will just give up. Yet, some big-name clubs were ailing and declining. With 33 participants, the tournament started with preliminary round in which Glasgow Rangers and Young Boys (Berne) met. The Scots had great difficulty eliminating the modest Swiss: 1-0 in Glasgow and 2-2 away. It was the end of the road for the great club – in the 1/16 finals they were eliminated by Twente: 0-0 and 0-3. The Dutch were better than Young Boys, but... clearly Rangers was in bad shape. Milan was another early victim – Real Betis (Sevilla) eliminated the great Italians after winning 2-0 at home and losing 1-2 in Milano. 1. FC Koln were also early losers – FC Porto went ahead at their expense, after keeping a 2-2 tie in Koln and beating the Germans 1-0 in Porto. This perhaps was big surprise, for Porto so far did not impress Europe and Koln was in great form under no other but Hennes Weissweiller. The last unusually early victim was Saint Etienne, but this was not a case of decline or underperformance: St. Etienne had unlucky draw – they had to play against Manchester United and lost to a worthy opponent, but not without a fight. The rest of the outcomes conformed to predictions.


The 1/8 finals were more shocking: it looked like a lot of clubs were in poor shape, desperately trying to keep afloat, but really in decline. Hajduk (Split) barely qualified and there opponents were not a name to recon with: the small Hungarian club Diosgyori VTK troubled Hajduk to penalty shoot-out. So did Univeritatea (Craiova) to Dinamo (Moscow). On the other hand there were two pairs deserving to play at the final, not at early stage – but draws play cruel jokes often. FC Porto vs Manchester United ended with new surprise: the English were destroyed at Porto 0-4! The second leg they did whatever possible to no avail: United won 5-2 and Porto qualified. Attractive matches, though – lots of goals, open attacking football – fans love that. Well, Porto's fans at the end. But this was nothing compared to Hamburger SV vs Anderlecht. Only a few months ago these teams played at the final for the same cup. Hamburger SV prevailed 2-0, winning the Cup, which Anderlecht won in 1976. Not only the most recent winners met, but the final of 1977 was repeating – one can imagine the desire for revenge, the desire to best again already beaten opponent. And both clubs were in great shape, full of excellent players ranking among the very best in Europe. Keegan vs Haan and Rensenbrink - should be enough said. Anderlecht took sweet revenge in Hamburg, clinching 2-1 victory. Advantage, but against Germans what could be an advantage? Back in Brussels, the hosts survived a 1-1 tie – enough to eliminate the current Cup holders!

Lady Luck was cruel in the ¼ finals as well: arguably, there were only two really impressive teams reaching this stage – and they had to face each other. Porto vs Anderlecht. Porto won at home 1-0, but the Belgians were really in top form – and anyway the stronger team – crushing 3-0 victory. Meantime, Twente had no trouble with Vejle BK: the Danes reached so far mostlt thanks to lucky draws . Now they faced reality: 0-3 and 0-4. Real Betis in theory had rather similar opponent in Dinamo (Moscow), but only in theory: the Russians managed a scoreless tie in Sevilla. Because of the weather, Soviet clubs normally played their early spring international games far away from home – in Tbilisi. But lacking home pitch did not stop them – 3-0 and there was no more Spaniards. The last pair proved toughest – Austria (Vienna) vs Hajduk (Split). Two 1-1 ties, nothing in overtime, the Austrians luckier in the penalty shoot-out. May be not luckier – Hajduk did not score a single penalty! Austria did not miss any meantime.

Anderlecht and Twente seemed the best teams reaching the ½ finals – and once again the draw was cruel... Usually, matches between Dutch and Belgian clubs are tough and unpredictable. No exception this time, although the result is misleading – Anderlecht won both matches. 1-0 in Enschede and 2-0 in Brussels. Twente did not score a goal, but to beat them was not easy at all. Still, Anderlecht had stronger – or at least more famous – team. Dinamo (Moscow) vs Austria (Vienna) – a third chance for a Soviet club to play at Cup Winners Cup final; a second chance for Dinamo to play at the final of same tournament and may be to win it this time. Traditionally, Austria was beatable opponent. They were not all that strong so far, may be reaching the ½ finals thanks to good luck rather than strong play. However, Dinamo was not great either – a fading team since the beginning of the 1970s. Good squad, yet suspect one, not exceptional. Like Austria, the Russians reached that far mostly because of lucky draws... Both teams were ambitious, of course, and fought with determination. Neither had an edge – Dinamo won 2-1 at home, but lost 1-2 in Vienna. No goals in overtime and penalty shoot-out again – and again the Austrians won 5-4.

So, a final between Anderlecht and Austria. Frankly, this was the easiest opponent for Anderelcht in their all three consecutive finals. Austria was not neither West Ham United, not Hamburger SV.

Ludo Coeck easily dribbling between Austria's players.Prohaska at the back.

Vercauteren shoots and the Austrians either watch, or try to keep away from the ball.

It was almost a walkover – Anderlecht finished the final in the first half, ending with 3-goals lead. One more was added in the second half for good measure. Rensenbrink scored the first two goals, but may be to show how dominant Anderlecht really was to future generations, the last two goals were scored by the right full-back van Binst.



Final, Parc des Princes, Paris, 3 May 1978, att 48679



RSC Anderlecht (3) 4 Austria/WAC (0) 0

13' 1-0 And: Rensenbrink

41' 2-0 And: Rensenbrink

45' 3-0 And: Van Binst

80' 4-0 And: Van Binst



RSC Anderlecht

De Bree; Van Binst, Thissen, Dusbaba, Broos; Van der Elst, Haan,

Nielsen, Coeck, Vercauteren (Dockx); Rensenbrink

Austria/WAC

Baumgartner; R.Sara, J.Sara, Obermayer, Baumeister; Prohaska,

Daxbacher (Martinez), Gasselich, Morales (Drazen); Pirkner, Parits

There was little doubt who was going to lift the Cup long before the end of the final. Here is van Binst, number 2, just scoring the third goal. His first. Perhaps one should add only that Anderlecht were really powerful playing in white – there reserve colours. Curiously, the 1978 finalists had same colours – violet and white. Violet did not help Austria at all.

Clearly outplayed losing finalists... Austria were quite lucky to be in Paris at all: their campaign was not impressive. In the first round they barely eliminated Carfiff City – 1-0 and 0-0. Lucky to meet rather plain Lokomotiva (Kosice, Czecholsovakia) in the second round – no win at all this time. Two ties, scoreless in Vienna, but l-1 in Kosice, so Austria advanced thanks to away goal. Two ties with Hajduk (Split) at the ¼ finals, leading to penalty shoot-out. And another shoot-out victory in the ½ finals. Austria did not overcome any opponent in regular time. They won only matches and minimally at that (1-0 and 2-1). Lucky to go far, but no further... Clearly not in the same class with Anderlecht, yet... Austria was key part of the revival of Austrian football. They were playing better for a few years already. They had a whole bunch of strong players, topped by Herbert Prohaska , already considered more than promising star, but actually rapidly becoming one of the best European midfielders. It was good team. It was also the first Austrian team to reach European final. It was great achievement. Lucky they have been, but also they played a bit. In any case it was great to see modest club playing at a final.

On the surface, an easy, confident victory suggests business as usual for a superior team. And Anderlecht was vastly superior to Austria, when compared – the world famous Rensenbrink and Haan. The near-world class star van der Elst. Excellent Vercauteren and Coeck. Belgian national team regulars like van Binst and Broos. The new Dutch addition Dusbaba, also playing for Holland. All that, but Anderlecht had something to prove as well – it was their amazing third Cup Winners Cup in three years. But they lost in 1977 – of course, they needed badly to win again, to prove they were really great club. Especially this season, for they faced bad luck – their only easy opponent was in the very first round, Lokomotiv (Sofia). The Bulgarians were almost not noticed by starry squad – 6-1 away and relaxed 2-0 in Brussels. After that it was tough – Hamburger SV in the 1/8 finals, Porto in the quarterfinals, and Twente in the semifinals – the strongest possible opponents among all qualified for every round. Eliminating them, it would have been a shame to lose a final inferior to almost every club they played before. In fact, it was not all that certain that Austria would have eliminated Lokomotiv (Sofia), if they were playing against them. Anderlecht wanted to win very much, no doubt about it. They delivered. A second Cup Winners Cup for them – and they, like Liverpool, were recognized as one of the top European clubs of the time. May be even better, if the Super Cup really counted, for at the end of the year Anderlecht beat Liverpool as well. Excellent team at its prime. Deserving winners. And big fun to watch.

The European Champions Cup was the most important club tournament to clubs, fans, and specialists. Back in the fall of 1977, the first round went without surprises – the favourites won, the outsiders lost, and the few pairs between more or less equal teams ended with wins of those in better form. Benfica and Torpedo Moscow were unable to score even a goal and penalty shoot-out decided the winner – Benfica. Wacker (Innsbruck) eliminated Basel thanks to away 3-1 win. In the second leg the visitors won again, but it was not enough – 1-0 for Basel. Surprisingly well playing Levski-Spartak (Sofia) eliminated Slask (Wroclaw) after 3-0 and 2-2 tie in Wroclaw. Albania did not participate and Liverpool got a bye as a reigning Cup holder.

The 1/8 finals also went as predicted – the only surprise was the elimination of Celtic. They won 2-1 in Glasgow, but lost 0-3 the second leg in Innsburck. Wacker qualified. Levski-Spartak lost minimally to Ajax – both matches ended 2-1 for the Dutch. Borussia (Moenchengladbach) destroyed Crvena zvezda (Belgrade) – 3-0 away and 5-1 at home.

The ¼ finals were serious – no more outsiders, apart of Wacker (Innsbruck). The good luck abandoned the Austrians at last – they played still well and won their home match with the impressive 3-1. But they were facing Borussia... the second leg ended 2-0 for the Germans, just enough to qualify. Similarly tough was FC Brugge vs Atletico (Madrid). The Belgians won 2-0 at home, lost 2-3 in Madrid, and finished with a goal more. Ajax and Juventus were unable to edge each other – two 1-1 ties, leading to penalty shoot-out, which Juventus won. The hopes of Ajax's revival ended. Liverpool were confident winners in the both legs with Benfica – 2-1 in Lisbon, and 4-1 at Anfield.

The draw for the ½ finals was unlucky for Liverpool. Bob Paisely was upset, for he feared Borussia and preferred anybody else. FC Brugge was perhaps the most desired opponent, but Juventus got the Belgians. Borussia was the worst opponent – they met Liverpool the previous year at the final. Earlier in the 1970s both teams met again – Borussia lost to Liverpool so far, but they were strong, ambitious, and German... dangerous team with difficult style, and surely itching to avenge themselves. Paisely feared them. And rightly so:

Liverpool preserved the tie almost to the end at the first leg in Dusseldorf. Then Bonhof scored from a free kick and Borussia won 2-1. Not much of a lead, but a lead. But in Liverpool the hosts clearly dominated and won by comfortable 3-0. Perhaps Paisely worried for nothing, perhaps his worries helped the preparation and the motivation of Liverpool. Liverpool qualified quite easily, compared to the drama of the other ½ final.

Juventus won by the eternal Italian one goal difference in Torino – 1-0. FC Brugge won 1-0 the second leg and extra time was added. In the overtime the Belgians scored a second goal and clinched final victory. Paisely's dream of meeting Brugge materialized... the weakest of the ½ finalists... may be.

For Liverpool the deja vu continued – after the 'replay' with Borussia, a 'replay' with the Belgian side followed – both teams met at the 1976 UEFA Cup final. With considerable difficulty, Liverpool won. The 'replay' was not going to be a breezy walk in the park – the players of both teams were pretty much the same. Also the coaches... Happel alone was enough to give sleepless night to every opposition. And to his employers too, for because of the final he was missing the preparatory camp of the Dutch national team. He was their new coach, the World Cup finals were knocking on the door, and the Austrian was absent, having club final to play... On the surface, Liverpool looked worse than two years ago – Keegan and Toshack were no longer in the team. FC Brugge had no such losses, but all is relative – Liverpool still had classier squad, Keegan successfully replaced by Dalglish. Souness was also in the team by now. And the final was to be played in London. 92 000 fans attended on May 10th, overwhelmingly Liverpool fans.

Both teams fielded their best, apparently, no injured and out of form key players. FC Brugge – or Club Brugge KV, as the proper name is – had one new guy: Laszlo Ku. A curious addition – the former Hungarian national team player was somewhat forgotten by 1978. About five years earlier he was kicked out of the national team for some disciplinary reasons. Did he run away, as many of his compatriots did, or was he legally transferred to Brugge? The year is significant: although it was not publicized, Hungary allowed some players to go to Western clubs in 1978. Was Ku one of the first? May be, because if he was a defector, he would have been under UEFA suspension. Yet, it is unknown when he left Hungary – unlikely in 1978, for there was no transfer window in the spring. Anyhow, Ku had a rare chance for a Hungarian footballer – only Puskas played at European Champions Cup so far.

Ku was not Puskas, but Brugge was difficult opponent. Once again, Liverpool had to really fight a very difficult foe. Happel, knowing well that Liverpool had superior players, did not look for fancy game, but for disciplined collective play. To the growing frustration of Liverpool, there was no way to break the Belgians. The game was not beautiful.

It was just close marking, no open space, determined struggle for every ball. Physical game , lots of running, looking for mistakes, strong defense. Liverpool finally managed to score:

Dalglish used an opportunity in the 64th minute. Nobody was able to score another goal to the end of the match and Liverpool won their second consecutive European Champions Cup.

Triumphal and may be a bit lucky Liverpool making their round with the coveted Cup.

Final, Wembley Stadium, London, 10 May 1978, att 92000



Liverpool (0) 1 Club Brugge KV (0) 0

64' 1-0 L: Dalglish



Liverpool (trainer Paisley)

Clemence; Neal, Thompson, Hansen, Hughes; McDermott, Kennedy, Souness;

Case (Heighway), Fairclough, Dalglish

Club Brugge KV (trainer Happel)

Jensen; Bastijns, Krieger, Leekens, Maes (Volders); Cools, Decubber,

Vandereycken, Kü (Sanders); Simeon, Sörensen

Referee: Corver (Netherlands)

For a 'lesser club', well done indeed. Clube Brugge KV continued their strong performance, becoming really one of the two top Belgian clubs in the 1970s. Talented squad, although the players are not very famous. Happel knew what he was doing – himself constantly rising, he made an excellent team. Belgians rules about the number of imports also helped – foreigners helped, for small Belgium never had huge number of strong players. Sadly, Brugge was unable to win anything. On the other hand, it was normal – good as they were, they were not a super-squad and the club had no financial way to build one. To a point, Brugge even overperformed – but with Happel at the helm, it was to be expected. Still, a bit sad they were not able to really upset the status quo.

So much is written about Liverpool, there is no way of escaping redundancy. Better say little.

May be Liverpool reached its peak in 1978 – not in playing sense, or the futile arguing about best ever squad, but in terms of international recognition: with this second cup, Liverpool was firmly recognized as a super-club. To a point, it escaped great attention because of the quite climbing to the top. Never flashy, never erupting with a bang, Liverpool was steadily rising since the mid-1960s. A title here, a cup there, always among the best English teams, getting step by step higher. Sound transfer policy, consistency, and wise managerial decisions. Other great clubs struggled or entirely faded after their players got old (Bayern), or sold their key star (Ajax), but Liverpool never experienced decline. Keegan, arguably the best European player, was sold – but the team did not suffer. Measured, small additions and replacements – Keegan gone, Dalglish in; Toshack gone – Souness in. Every new player seemingly increased the power of the team – really, a great club is one able to go smoothly through the process of changing players, aging, transfers, adaptation of newcomers. In 1978 Liverpool proved just that and therefore got much deserved recognition. As every great club, it had fantastic squad – minus already gone Toshack, 13 players played for various British national teams. A team full of stars. No other English club managed to establish itself as constant European powerhouse and in 1978 Liverpool was really at par with legendary clubs as Real Madrid, Inter Milano, Milan, Bayern, Ajax. And because of the exceptional longevity, it is impossible to decide was it this vintage the best squad ever.

The question about best squad is perhaps entirely pointless – in 1978 what counted was the trophy.

And Kenny Dalglish went to bed with the Cup. Sometimes there are things better than sex.

Liverpool declined to play the Intercontinental Cup and thus nominally the European Super Cup was the the top of the club football pyramid. Top lacking reputation... It was still a challenge without regular date, played near the end of the year, squeezed between domestic championship matches. Liverpool and Anderlecht were the contestants. The first leg was in Brussels. It was December... how important was the 'super final'? It attracted little interest internationally and not only because it was a World Cup year. The participants were interested, but... in England, December is a crucial month: tied schedule of regular and postponed games, cup matches... perhaps the most important month of the year, focusing English clubs entirely on domestic games. For Anderlecht, as almost everywhere else in Europe, December is a break – international and domestic football stops, vacation time for tired teams. Not the best time to compete seriously. Yet, a Cup as a Cup and on December 4 Liverpool and Anderlecht met.

A ticket of the match is perhaps the most valuable memory of the game, for little pictorial material survived. Most action happened in the first half – Vercauteren opened the result in the17th minute. Ten minutes later Case equalized, but the tie remained for ten more minute, until Vander Elst scored a second goal for the hosts. Anderlecht was the more active and determined team and they managed to score a third goal three minutes before the final whistle, thanks to Rensenbrink. 3-1 was a good lead, yet, playing against an Englsih team it was not a guarantee.

A frozen moment of the game suggests Belgian dominance – 4 players in white vs two rather outplayed Liverpool players. It was not exactly that, but Anderlecht were the better motivated team. The second leg was played on December 18th. The hosts were more active, naturally, and scored early – Hughes in the 13th minute. The fragile lead was preserved until the last minutes of the game – Vander Elst equalized in the 71st minute, and mirroring the earlier match, the hosts scored a winning goal in the 87th minute. The super-substitute Fairclough netted the ball – typical of him, but Liverpool lost the final: 3-4 aggregate for the Belgians. Anderlecht won the Super Cup.

As for Liverpool – excuses were easy to find and keep for posterity. They temporary were out of form and also had difficult domestic schedule. They lost Toshack, who left the team earlier. True to a point, but still the real question is were Liverpool really motivated? If not, they were not the first club to neglect the Super Cup – Bayern in 1975 left vivid impression precisely of just going through the motions, but not really interested. Of course, nobody from Bayern ever said they were not seriously playing – nobody from Liverpool said such thing either. And hardly anybody commented on the final – the lack of interest was universal. At the end, the Super Cup may be mattered only for Anderlecht.

The Hungarian poster of Anderlecht has one name misspelled – Johnny Dusbaba's – so here is another list of names:

Anderlecht continued the careful shaping and reshaping of their great squad: Ruiter was gone by now and new goalkeeper – De Bree – replaced him. Ressel was becoming a substitute, but a new Dutch recruit enforced the defense – Dusbaba, formerly of Ajax. It was still Dutch-dominated squad, complimented by the flock of Belgian national team regulars, and the Dane Nielsen. All familiar with each other, comfortable, and in great form.

As almost ever when the world cup finals are played, the best players of the year were selected from the finalists. Such selections always look a bit suspicious, for they ignore those who did not play at the world cup no matter how good or steady they were. 1978 was no exception of course – Dirceu (Brazil) was voted third in South America. Since the world cup was also the largest and most dynamic market, Dirceu started the year with one club and finished it with another – in the yearly list, he represented America (Mexico City), where he moved after the World Cup, after a few years with Vasco da Gama (Rio de Janeiro). Second was voted Ubaldo Fillol (River Plate) – deservingly so, for he was rock solid at the world cup. And number one was Mario Kempes (Valencia, Spain).

Kempes was the most talked of player in 1978, his pictures everywhere, the hero of the world cup. But was he really the best? Yes, he led Argentina to victory, scoring the most important goals. Strikers traditionally get most attention, even become over-exposed. It has been 'Kempes, Kempes, Kempes'... after June. Unlike Fillol and even Dirceu, Kempes really shined in the second half of the world cup finals. On club level, he had a strong year, but hardly was the top player in Spain. In Europe, he was not overwhelming – there were at least ten players ranked higher than him. In South America – hard to tell, for those who did not played at the world cup were ignored. It is impossible to really compare after all – to s point, winning the world title is the highest achievement. Kempes was instrumental when really mattered, he was in great from, showed very strong character and determination. Not a player to be ignored surely. One of the best players in the world of the time. He got the most votes at the end and this cannot be disputed. So, a new top South American player, after seven years of same names (Figueroa, five years in a row, followed by Zico, voted best twice).