Til dere som aldri fikk oppleve denne finalen.
Tommo med en flott tråd - igjen! Med 16 videoklipp fra kampen, og kommentarer til hver scene.
https://twitter.com/LUFC1992_v2/status/1398184086431318019?s=20By way of background, the 1974-75 season began with the disastrous 44 day reign of Brian Clough as manager of Leeds United.
The late Jimmy Armfield picked up the pieces, steering ‘The Damned United’ to their first European Cup Final despite finishing 9th in the league.
Leeds beat FC Zurich, Ujpesti Dozsa, and Anderlecht to set up a semi-final versus the legendary Barcelona team of Cruyff and Neeskens.
Leeds won 3-2 on aggregate after a brutal 2nd leg at the Camp Nou, which included a red card for Gordon McQueen
In doing so, Leeds became the first English team to reach the final of all 3 major European competitions - the European Cup, the Cup Winner’s Cup and the Fair’s Cup.
And only the second team ever, after Barcelona.
Bayern were reigning European Champions, having beaten Atletico Madrid in a replay 12 months earlier.
But they too were having a shocking domestic season, finishing 10th in the Bundesliga.
In fact, it was Leeds who went into the final as favourites…
UEFA chose Paris to host the 20th Anniversary final as it had been the city where Real Madrid had defeated Stade de Reims to win the first ever European Cup.
The short distance meant there were many more than the officially quoted 8,000 Leeds fans in the crowd of 48,374.
Many had travelled ticketless, with touts charging up to £50 on the day Flushed face
(clip from
@lufcfilms
)
Leeds fielded a team full of experience.
Stalwarts of the Revie era - Bremner, Giles, Hunter, Lorimer, Clarke, Reaney - were never likely to be overawed by a Bayern team boasting 5 of West Germany's 1974 World Cup winners including Beckenbauer, Müller and Hoeneß.
So, onto the game itself...
Two teams full of household names each led by a club legend; Billy Bremner and Franz Beckenbauer.
It was a game which even the Bayern players would later admit that Leeds dominated.
4’ Terry Yorath commits a bad tackle on Björn Andersson, and gets away without even a booking - possibly as the ref had already blown for a free kick.
Andersson is stretchered off.
Uli Hoeneß described it as “the most brutal tackle I have ever seen”
That being said, the Bayern players were clearly up for a physical battle.
The game saw numerous fouls intended to break up Leeds’ play.
27’ The game’s first controversial moment.
Lorimer jinks past 2 players and into the box. As he shimmies past Beckenbauer the German goes to ground appearing to handle the ball.
French referee, Michel Kitabdjian, has a great view of the incident but incredibly waves play on!
38’ Another hugely controversial decision.
Allan Clarke runs into the box toward goal. Beckenbauer desperately lunges and clearly trips the striker.
Yet referee Kitabdjian gives a corner!
Don Revie commentating: “it looked a definite penalty to me”
You and everyone else Don.
65’ The first clear cut chance of the second half.
Lorimer’s free kick is headed into the box by Madeley to Bremner - who is 5 yards out with just the keeper to beat.
But Billy is denied by a superb save from Sepp Maier.
66’ Controversy no.3
Giles takes a quick free kick and it’s headed into the box by Madeley. A Bayern defender can only head it up in the air.
The ball drops out of the sky to the player all Leeds fans would have wanted to see waiting to volley it - Peter Lorimer...
...who connects sweetly with that famous right boot. The ball flies into the top corner past a despairing Maier, who is left grasping at air.
The Leeds players and fans celebrate a breakthrough at last.
The Bayern players look deflated, almost accepting defeat.
Mr Kitabdjian awards the goal, the linesman returns to the halfway line for the restart.
Enter Beckenbauer, who appeals to the referee to speak to the linesman.
Kitabdjian consults the linesman and duly disallows the goal for an offside against Bremner!
Leeds are stunned.
Even Bayern midfielder Rainer Zobel later conceded that it was a goal and should have stood.
Trouble begins to brew amongst the Leeds fans behind the Bayern goal, triggered by what has become a series of dubious refereeing decisions in a game that Leeds have dominated.
71’ A hammer blow for Leeds as Bayern take the lead through a low left footed shot from midfielder Franz Roth.
81’ with the introduction of Eddie Gray failing to spark Leeds, Gerd Müller lands the final blow - converting a cross from the right to make it 2-0.
Despite Lorimer testing Maier with a free kick from 25 yards, Leeds were a beaten team.
The final minutes were played against a backdrop of seats, bottles and other missiles being thrown from angry Leeds fans behind the Bayern goal.
The situation wasn’t helped by Bayern’s ill-judged attempt to parade the trophy in front of those same Leeds fans...
As a result of the riots Leeds were banned from European competition for 4 years, later reduced to 2 after Jimmy Armfield personally appealed the decision at his own expense.
Leeds finished 5th in 1975/76 but didn’t play in the UEFA Cup due to the ban.
It should be noted Leeds suffered a similar fate 2 years earlier, losing 1-0 in the 1973 Cup Wnner’s Cup Final to AC Milan.
2 penalty appeals denied, a goal conceded from a dubious free kick and Norman Hunter sent off.
The Greek referee was later banned for accepting bribes.
And that, my friends, is why whenever Leeds United play you will hear the famous WACCOE chant.
Because we are the champions, champions of Europe! #lufc