Most mediocre final in European Cup history

[Arturo]

Aston Villa came 11th in 1982 when they won the European Cup and (in Division One as opposed to Europe) were already looking like a side that had peaked. Bayern Munich came third but would not win the league again until 1985,

It was actually a decent final though with the Nigel Spink fairytale the main focus.

[ale]

[QUOTE=Rogin the Armchair fan;n2266488]If the criterion of the OP is overall league placings, I'd say Bayern-Leeds must at least be matched by the 1995 Cup-Winners Cup that saw Real Zaragoza (7th in Spain) beat Arsenal (12th in England). [/QUOTE

OP criterion was also the highest level tournament in Europe. By there very nature Cup Winners Cup (or Fairs/EUFA etc) are not involving League champions.

[ale]

Enough already. Have clarified this thread not about European finals that have stunk the place out. There are plenty of those. Its that the highest European club tournament was played between clubs who finished 9th & 10th in their Leagues that year.

[Jumbo McGinnis]

Liverpool v Tottenham in 2019 was awful. The build up and watching mates scramble to get tickets and hearing their travel stories of getting to Madrid was more fun than the game itself. That or AC v Juve at Old Trafford. I remember as an 11 year old boy taking myself off to bed way before the end of normal time.

[Tony C]

Red Star-OM was champagne football compared to PSV-Benfica

True.

[Big Boobs and FIRE!]

Is this about THE European Cup, or just European Cups in general?

If the latter is the case, then can I nominate the 1981 Anglo-Italian cup?

Somehow, Hungerford Towns 12th place in Isthmian Division 2 (South) had caught the eye of the Italian football hierarchy and they were one of four English teams to qualify along with Poole Town, Bridgwater and another who's name escapes me (possibly Bridgwater).

Two home games against Francoville and Citicivecia, had seen Hungerford gain a win and a draw. My dad worked with one of the committee men at the club so we fore went our usual Mitropa cup annual outing, instead to go and watch the two Hungerford games in Italy. These were against Sanremo, on the coast, and then at Modena. Hungerford lost both so didn't progress any further.

Somehow Poole Town did manage to qualify for the final. This was either played immediately after the group games or else coincided with a family holiday in Bologna, either way, I got dragged to the final, again in Modena. It absolutely lashed it down, half the Poole team couldn't get any more time off work so they'd roped in a load of crap from the local leagues, and they got tanked 4-0 in an absolutely turgid game.

Liverpool v Spurs was like 1970 Brazil in comparisson.

[danielmak]

That is the winning answer. It was an insult to football.

Yeah, I kept thinking to myself, "Why the hell am I watching this match?" during that Juve-Milan final. And it just kept going, and going, and going.

[pebblethefish]

Bridgwater and another who's name escapes me (possibly Bridgwater).

A quote that perfectly sums up the forgetability of Bridgwater

[Jah Womble]

Let's not get troubled over Bridgwater. (Etc.)

Actually, I once 'did' with a fellow of that very name. This guy completely lost his mind and tried to make me the scapegoat for his failed marriage - despite the fact that I only knew him very vaguely and had maybe met his wife once, several years before.

Anyway, I digress.

[Flynnie]

Yeah, I kept thinking to myself, "Why the hell am I watching this match?" during that Juve-Milan final. And it just kept going, and going, and going.

That was my first night in the UK, on holiday with my parents as a high school graduation present. Seeing as a Champions League final was still a rare and exotic thing to an American soccer fan (I'm not sure I'd ever seen one before live), I was pretty keen on watching it. We had dinner first and then found a pub about 10 minutes into the second half. I think we lasted one drink in the pub before my weary, tired parents asked if we could go back to the hotel and I said yes. I must have fallen asleep watching it on TV, I have absolutely no memory of the penalties.

[White No Sugar]

At the risk of further derailing the thread I’d like to nominate Feyenoord v Celtic as the worst to watch. Feyenoord passed the ball among their back four and keeper for what seemed like a month. It was 20yrs before back passes were banned. Was it worse than the three main contenders upthread? I for one am not prepared to find out. The Forest two weren’t pleasant viewing either.

[Southport Zeb]

Somehow, Hungerford Towns 12th place in Isthmian Division 2 (South) had caught the eye of the Italian football hierarchy and they were one of four English teams to qualify along with Poole Town, Bridgwater and another who's name escapes me (possibly Bridgwater).

It was Bridgend who take part in this, not Bridgwater. Oxford City were the fourth entrant from the English league.

[gt3]

Aston Villa came 11th in 1982 when they won the European Cup and (in Division One as opposed to Europe) were already looking like a side that had peaked. Bayern Munich came third but would not win the league again until 1985,

It was actually a decent final though with the Nigel Spink fairytale the main focus.

1991 - Red Star Belgrade v OM...I wanted to gouge my eyes out it was so bad. Even the penalty shoot-lacked any tension. But because it was *such* an event to be able to watch it, I stayed to the bitter end.

I won't hear thing said about the Villa v Bayern game. Though I admit, it took so long for the ball to trickle over the line as it bounced off Withe's shin, I did feel that I probably had enough to hop on a bus to New Street Station, get a train to Harwich, then a ferry to Rotterdam and jump over the stadium wall and help the ball over the line...

[Alex Anderson]

Stop, stop this right now. This is an unlicensed European Cup thread until such time as Alex Anderson graces it with his presence.

Cheers, Walt - but my absence for the last few months disqualifies me from any such respect.

What I will say is that I saw neither Steaua-Barca nor PSV-Benfica live. The latter was definitely highlights only on English Ban terrestrial UK telly and the former was the same night as some exam or night class or something I had to attend. Sounds like I didn't miss much in either case anyway.

HOWEVER, OM v Red Star in 1991 was indeed live on telly in sunny North Ayrshire (thanks, Chrissy Waddle) and remains the biggest, single watching-as-a-neutral dissy in my entire life. Both sides had been sensational en route and I'd even seen Crvena Zvezda in the flesh when they papped Rangers out the early rounds.

It was bad enough we hadn't seen live coverage of most of the finals during the ban on English clubs - including Milan's magical four-nil rout of Steaua in 89.

But what was worse - what really made the build-up to the 91 final so excruciatingly compacted with expectation - was the first final I could remember was 1977 and, since then, there had been only TWO finals in which both sides had scored. From age eight til that night of the Bari final, when I was almost 22, there had been, in the final which already obsessed me, EIGHT 1-0s, three 0-0s and the genuinely exciting 1987 final had, of course, been reduced to a late night highlights package of about three bloody minutes on Sportsnight.

I'd voted, learned how to drink and even had sex (with someone else too ... someone who knew about it ... and approved it happening!) but I still hadn't seen a fucking decent European Cup final. Fell out with my girlfriend that night too coz she didn't understand why I was so upset by a game involving two teams I didn't care about (she'd just managed to get her head round the Rangers thing) - so it was a particularly desolate evening of tumescent hopes dashed.

Eight years later I married someone who did understand. I married her on Wednesday 26th May - and missed another absolute fucking belter in Barcelona. This time on purpose.

Sorry.

[Gangster Octopus]

Nice to see you back. And 1991 was so depressing because of the way Red Star played up to the final, and how they played in the final.

[Jah Womble]

I'd...even had sex (with someone else too ... someone who knew about it ... and approved it happening!)

Fairly glad to hear that.

[Satchmo Distel]

I have absolutely no memory of Middlesbrough's UEFA Cup run. I was settling in having just emigrated and think I just switched off football for 6 months, returning to it when the World Cup started.

The other English side that year was Bolton so this really was a different time when the UEFA slots were not automatically hoovered up by a BRC that did not make the Top 4 (Top 5 that year went into the CL, of which one was Everton; Man City finished 8th and Spurs 9th).

Question: in how many seasons have at least two of the English clubs in Europe been ones that were not in the top flight just 7 years later? (Bolton went down in 2012; Middlesbrough went down in 2009 but bounced back for one season four years ago).

I note from Wiki that the UEFA Cup preliminary round was regionalized that season and was wondering if that was a one-off while the format was in transition.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Question: in how many seasons have at least two of the English clubs in Europe been ones that were not in the top flight just 7 years later? (Bolton went down in 2012; Middlesbrough went down in 2009 but bounced back for one season four years ago).

Four of England's seven sides in Europe in 1971-72 (Southampton, Chelsea, Wolves and Tottenham) had all been relegated by 1977, even if they all bounced back pretty quickly.

[Alex Anderson]

Fairly glad to hear that.

Yeah that just wasn't funny was it. Trying so hard to self-deprecate I end up sounding like Harvey fucking Weinstein. Nice, Alex. Nice.

Not been on these threads for a while. Rusty. Apologies.

[ale]

Question: in how many seasons have at least two of the English clubs in Europe been ones that were not in the top flight just 7 years later? (Bolton went down in 2012; Middlesbrough went down in 2009 but bounced back for one season four years ago).

Of the 1968/9 European competitors Man Utd WBA & Forest were all playing each other in 1974/5 Second Division.

[Jah Womble]

Yeah that just wasn't funny was it. Trying so hard to self-deprecate I end up sounding like Harvey fucking Weinstein. Nice, Alex. Nice.

Not been on these threads for a while. Rusty. Apologies.

It’s okay - I was being dry myself. (I kind of figured what you did/didn’t mean.)

[Walt Flanagans Dog]

Not been on these threads for a while. Rusty. Apologies.

Welcome back. Now, about those Wee Red Books and Playfair annuals .....

[Alex Anderson]

Welcome back. Now, about those Wee Red Books and Playfair annuals .....

Hoh! Wait! WHAT??!! That was you, Walt??!! He-he. Brilliant.