European Cup Trivia

[Lang Spoon]

Indie type Christian Dailly (he had it in his contracts he would be allowed to attend Glastonbury each year) now has his son playing for Dundee Utd. This makes me feel incredibly old.

[denishurley]

Is that an excuse for why Dailly wore 7 at West Ham?

[Alex Anderson]

In terms of European Cup finalist mausers, Migueli and Bernd Schuster were representin in Seville in 86 ... although Bernd went truly stratospheric-tashtic - full Nietzsche - when playing for another perpetual beaten finalist:

[Alex Anderson]

None of the World Cup play-off-winning nations has ever provided a European Cup-Winning club. They have, in fact, produced one beaten finalist between them.

Italy are the only one of the nations in the Russia 2018 play-offs who've ever provided a European Champion club. And look where that got them on Monday.

Nah. In fairness, that was just Italy's Sweden jinx.

[Satchmo Distel]

Denmark have produced a European footballer of the year and had Elkjaer in FIFA's team of Mexico 86. I have a memory of Strachan being named in some journalists' teams for 1986 but can find no mention online. Lineker stole the place that should have gone to Steve Archibald; Scotland seem to have started five different strikers across their three games.

[Alex Anderson]

Allan Simonsen, that Danish Ballon d'Or, is the only players to have scored in all three of the European club finals.

[Ray de Galles]

Indie type Christian Dailly (he had it in his contracts he would be allowed to attend Glastonbury each year)

I'm sure that's a gag but Glastonbury is well before players report for pre-season.

Unless you mean he had an agreement with Scotland allowing him to attend the festival in the event of a clash with international tournaments? Good to see that the SFA have now thoughtfully ensured that no player be placed in such a dilemma ever again.

[Alex Anderson]

Nyaaaa-ha-ha.

[Lang Spoon]

I'm sure that's a gag but Glastonbury is well before players report for pre-season.

Unless you mean he had an agreement with Scotland allowing him to attend the festival in the event of a clash with international tournaments? Good to see that the SFA have now thoughtfully ensured that no player be placed in such a dilemma ever again.

Not a gag. And I think it was club contracts. If not about pre season, then more that going camping with the plebs at pre Gentrified Glastonbury would need approval from the club’s insurers.

[Alex Anderson]

Casillas came on in 2002, didn't he?

Yes.

Yup.

68th minute, after César was injured

Absolutely.

So, having begun with Nigel Spink (comin on for Jimmy Rimmer in 82), we're still looking for the third substitute goalie to have played in the final.

[Alex Anderson]

... give you a clue - he came on for an attacking midfielder ...

[Walt Flanagans Dog]

Almunia came on when Lehmann was sent off for Arsenal, but don't know who he replaced.

[Ray de Galles]

Not a gag. And I think it was club contracts. If not about pre season, then more that going camping with the plebs at pre Gentrified Glastonbury would need approval from the club’s insurers.

Hmmmmm, it all sounds a bit 'Jimmy Hill, chinny reckon' to me. A player may need club/insurer approval to ride a motorbike or go parachuting but to attend a festival? Camping or not - I can't see it.

[Alex Anderson]

Almunia came on when Lehmann was sent off for Arsenal, but don't know who he replaced.

Correct, Walt. Well done sir. Pires was sacrificed when big Jens became the first man ever to be red-carded in the final, in the same city and 50 years on from the first final. But Manuel Almunia was the answer we were looking for.

Three red cards, three sub goalie appearances and three men to score hat-tricks: The European Cup/Champions League final is bound by the Rule of Three.

... in a trivial sort of way.

[Satchmo Distel]

How many EC finals were not televised live in the UK? Did ITV or BBC ever televise live a UEFA Cup or CWC final that did not involve a British club?

[denishurley]

... give you a clue - he came on for an attacking midfielder ...

Kicking myself

[Walt Flanagans Dog]

Correct, Walt. Well done sir. Pires was sacrificed when big Jens became the first man ever to be red-carded in the final, in the same city and 50 years on from the first final. But Manuel Almunia was the answer we were looking for.

And the reason I didn't know who'd been subbed? I was at a school governors meeting that night, a meeting which opened at 7pm with the chair saying "well we'll try and keep it short tonight, because no doubt WFD* is wanting to get away to watch the football, haha", and ended some time around the final whistle.

* not actual name.

[Alex Anderson]

How many EC finals were not televised live in the UK? Did ITV or BBC ever televise live a UEFA Cup or CWC final that did not involve a British club?

They certainly televised the 1979 Cup-Winners' Cup final live in North Ayrshire - barnstorming extra-time seven goal affair between Barca and Fortuna Dusseldorf in Basle. I was almost 11 at the time and my dad, who was normally just happy to have peace to watch telly on his own, came out and shouted my mate and I in from playing football outside (it literally was "all fields" then in what is now a Brookside-type housing estate opposite my parents' house) after both sides had scored within the first 8 minutes. Hans Krankl v the Allofs brothers. An addiction was born.

Imagine anyone trying to persuade their kids nowadays that a foreign football match live on telly was something unmissably exotic ...

Conversely - and, in keeping with my old person rants, I've mentioned this before on this thread - when Rangers won Scotland's second European trophy just seven years earlier, the Cup-Winners' Cup final was NOT shown live because Scotland were playing Wales in a League international at Hampden the same night Moscow Dynamo were being overcome in the Nou Camp.

[Alex Anderson]

It's not nice, Walt, is it. I got married on Wed 26 May 1999 - what bigger declaration of love, if you're me, than telling her you would miss a live televised European club final for her - so I missed that one ... had our "reception" in a Glasgow pub with no telly.

And then in 2004, out for a fifth anniversary meal, as I slowly realised there was a fair chance future European finals might be on the same date as my wedding, I proved that just because I was prepared to miss a European final for her there was no commitment to me being happy about it. Very quiet meal. Very childish husband. But the last European club final I missed seeing live was Porto 3- 0 AS Monaco.

Watched the 2013 Chelsea v Benfica UEFA Cup final in the Blind Beggar, scene of Ronnie Kray shooting George Cornell through the head.

[Satchmo Distel]

Krankl was omitted from the Austria team that year that beat England in a friendly shown live on telly:

[Walt Flanagans Dog]

I had to look up the finer details, but I remembered that game in Austria was part of an England post-season tour which started with a qualifier in Bulgaria, and then continued to friendlies in Sweden and Austria. Why that came about, and why the friendly was shown live, I don't know, but it was a reasonably big deal for me at the time, when live games were still a rarity.

[Walt Flanagans Dog]

It's not nice, Walt, is it. I got married on Wed 26 May 1999 - what bigger declaration of love, if you're me, than telling her you would miss a live televised European club final for her - so I missed that one ... had our "reception" in a Glasgow pub with no telly.

Start of a slope for me, I've missed loads, particularly since they moved them to Saturday evenings - busy time for gigs at that time of year. The switch to Saturdays did mean me and Thing One got to go to our sole 'in person' final (Borussia Dortmund v Bayern Munich at Wembley), to add to our Europa League final at Hampden.

[Alex Anderson]

You there in 2007 then, Walt? Me too (also scene of my only "in person" Champs League final). I was blithely supporting Espanyol from the comfort of the middle of the North Stand, next to my Celtic supporting-mate who was equally casually supporting Seville (we didn't feel comfortable til there was a police cordon between us), him having been to that city for another UEFA Cup final just four years previous and me having no idea I'd be nipping down the M74 for my second "in person" UEFA Cup final just 12 months later ...

Yup. I bloody hate Saturday European finals. Saturday is my one compulsory alcohol night (the rest are purely voluntary). Wednesday nights in May - that's what European finals are all about. A Hearts pal gave me a spare ticket for the 2012 Scottish Cup final (Who could resist the chance of seeing Hibs finally ending the biggest hoodoo in our game ... aherm) and, after a few post-match pints (purely so as not to be rude to my Jambo hosts-for-the-day), I was only just getting in the door for Bayern v Chelsea ... the closest I've come to missing a live European final since that meal ruined by Porto v Monaco in 2004.

[Alex Anderson]

With Real Madrid winning the first five finals and then Barca and Real losing the next two, Spanish players featured in the first seven European Cup finals.

Because of Horst Blankenburg at Ajax and then Bayern's three on the trot, there was at least one German on the pitch for six straight finals from 1971-76 (inc) and, of course, at least one Englishman - for Liverpool, Forest, Villa - in the six after that.

But which nation has provided at least one player (getting actual game time) in EIGHTEEN straight finals of the European Cup/Champions League?

[Walt Flanagans Dog]

You there in 2007 then, Walt? Me too (also scene of my only "in person" Champs League final). I was blithely supporting Espanyol from the comfort of the middle of the North Stand, next to my Celtic supporting-mate who was equally casually supporting Seville (we didn't feel comfortable til there was a police cordon between us), him having been to that city for another UEFA Cup final just four years previous and me having no idea I'd be nipping down the M74 for my second "in person" UEFA Cup final just 12 months later ....

2007 aye, took Thing One and we picked Espanyol too, having been to their then home ground a couple of years previous. Years later I took Thing Two to the Seville derby, and favoured Sevilla over Betis, although we were in the Betis (home) end. Their fans were much more entertaining.

I forgot to enter the ballot for the Manchester final (within similar striking distance from Carlisle of course), which I regretted when I heard of the prices tickets were going for - and I heard first hand, a guy I worked with at the time coughed up something like £750 for his.