European Cup Trivia

[seand]

They'll be dancing in the streets of Videoton tonight

[Alex Anderson]

And, at the stadium which saw Raith's most famous European goal ...

[Alex Anderson]

NAME THE ONLY CLUB WHICH HAS TWICE LOST A EUROPEAN CROWN IN THE FOLLWING SEASON'S FINAL

Yeah, it's Anderlecht (CWC 1976 & 77, UEFA Cup 83 & 84) but I understand. I get why there's been no takers. My credibility's gone when it comes to the quizzing.

Especially as Milan (73 & 74) and Ajax (87 & 88) did the same in the CWC ... after we've already established, today, that they both did it in the Champions League.

I'll stop now. Before someone stops me.

[Lang Spoon]

And, at the stadium which saw Raith's most famous European goal ...

Aw man. The half time scoreboard at the away leg (there was no “home” leg as we had to play in Easter Road, the club crippling new stands were still just stinky ash terrace and tin roof) in one of the mesmerizing stadia of my yooth- I loved the pointless looking but still fantastic mesh roof- is one of the greatest things in Kirkcaldy’s gui dreich and prosaic history.

The Kdy museum actually has a still from Munich’s scoreboard as Rovers lead. The bathos man, poetry of small dreams.

[Satchmo Distel]

When was the last time the last 8 were all from different leagues?

[Alex Anderson]

It's a beautiful thing that roof, Lang Spoon but its angles and bumps struggle to match the simple splendour of your L-shaped wooden Main Stand. Tragedy that you didn't get to host them at Stark's. Was in a pub in Kirkcaldy once - "Penny Farthing" or something similar? - and it had a framed Klinsmann Bayern away jersey on the wall. Surely not the real thing?

And, of course, Bayern went on to win it that season.

Even the wind off the North Sea in January wiznae as harsh as the cold coming over the other side of the Olympic Stadium when I was there for Bayern v Cologne in March 2003. Seemed to me they'd put that roof in the wrong place.

[Lang Spoon]

Penny Farthing is still there as far as I know. “Gay pub” along with one other on the high st, which meant lots of sniggering among wee Fife bams, till we had enough bum fluff to get in for a friend’s terrible “gig” and gay pub would barely mean gay friendly in a city. Just that the few out gay folk early 90s (and goths, and obviously underage wanks in flannel shirts) could drink there without fear of a kick in or bad vibes.

My Kirkcaldy drinking these days is limited to my Dad’s local a mile or so away from the bright lights of the unpedestrianised bits of the high St, so I’ve never had the chance to inspect the provenance of the Jersey. No reason to doubt it’s real but, that pub’s owner might have been rich enough to have pull with the Rovers Board. Small time stuff, keeping the float going till next weekend shite could save such a club even now post Anelka madness. If Val McDiarmid and Golden Brown took the huff the club would be fucked.

[Alex Anderson]

Second time I've heard that. Didn't want to mention it in case the first person to tell me - who wasn't underage but is definitely a wank - saw it as some sort of wind-up (like I say, he's a wank). My mate and I were there on our way back from East Fife v Cowdenbeath circa 2000 and how fucking typical of me to only notice the Bayern jersey on the wall.

And I also remember Rovers played an Icelandic/Faroese team in the earlier rounds but the home leg - highlights on BBC that night - was definitely at Stark's Park. Real shame they couldn't have done same for the Bayern game but perhaps I'm channelling repressed memories of the one time I saw Raith at Easter Road ... when they got on even better than they did against Bayern ... even lifted silverware at the end of it ...

[Lang Spoon]

Bwah ha ha!

Sorry man. But you always beat us. Even if it took Scottish (mibees league) Cup replays at Ibrox. Listening on the crackly MW wireless. Hope vanishing into 4-1.

[Lang Spoon]

My Orange auntie took me to a third leg Scottish Cup (pretty sure it was January) game at Starks during the great Frank Connor years. I admire her fortitude at witnessing the 0-0 masterclass from the mighty Rovers while being unfailingly polite and quiet in the hotbed of the railway stand.

[Alex Anderson]

... and then there was the last time you played us in the Scottish Cup at Ibrox. Sorry - we're remembering things differently, Lang Spoon. I've seen us take more off Barca than the Rovers ... sick of the sight of yese ...

[ursus arctos]

When was the last time the last 8 were all from different leagues?

I didn't recall this happening in the "Champions League Era", but the quarterfinalists in 1996/97 were

Borussia Dortmund
Auxerre
Manchester United
Porto
Ajax
Atlético Madrid
Rosenborg
Juventus

Since then, the closest we've come was 2011-12, when

APOEL
Olympique Marseille
Benfica
Milan
Chelsea
Bayern Munich

joined Barcelona and Real Madrid in the quarters.

[Alex Anderson]

When was the last time the last 8 were all from different leagues?

If it was anytime since the year Dortmund won it I'll be shocked, Satchmo.

EDIT - Ursus has done the research. Only reason I guessed at 97 is because Brian Moore and Ron Atkinson made such a big deal of it before and after the 97 final - and quite rightly: UEFA had announced that from 97-98 some countries would be allowed to have their domestic league runners-up in the competition too. When people asked "but what if the holder also comes from one of those countries but didn't finish in the top two".

Ha, said UEFA. Seriously - how likely is that to happen??!! There's no way we're going to have three teams from one country in the competition. That would just be silly - as well as being the complete opposite of what we we're trying to slowly inveigle into the Cash Money ... sorry - I mean Champions League.

Dortmund finished third the 1996-97 Bundesliga.

England had five teams in the current round of the Champions League.

[ursus arctos]

Not bad

Not bad at all

[Satchmo Distel]

Some of the early runners up did poorly compared to their current equivalents, e.g. Bilbao finishing bottom of their group in 1998-99. Another measure of how the big leagues have muscled their way to dominance is that their runners up would be disappointed not to make a quarter final now.

The top four of the Bundesliga in 1997-1999 seems to have been as strong as La Liga and the Premiership, if not stronger, based on how four different German clubs were able to make it to the last 8 in that period, whereas Arsenal, Bilbao and Blackburn all flopped.

It is also impossible now that Bayern, Man U and Barcelona would be drawn in the same group, as happened in 1998-99. Was that the only time the two eventual finalists came out of the same group?

Bayern and Man U also had to play the qualifying round as runners up of their leagues.

[Alex Anderson]

Milan and Ajax played each other in the group stage in 94-95 as well as in the final. This I know because the winner of the Rangers v AEK Athens qualifier was due to be in the same group and I was all set to go to the San Siro (which they closed after crowd trouble anyway). When AEK duly pumped Rangers my mate and I just went to the San Siro anyway, for the Milan derby.

Sixth time I've mentioned this on this thread. Probably seventh ...

[Alex Anderson]

Former Winners Ship Five.

In this season's competition both Porto and Celtic have lost 5-0 at home.

Manchester United beat Benfica 5-1 at the old Stadium of Light in the sixties and Real Madrid conceded five away twice in the eighties that I can think of - HSV in 1981 and Milan in 89, both semi-final second legs.

Inter were destroyed 7-1 by Borussia Moenchengladbach in the 1970s but did a proper Italian job in having the score wiped from the history books.

Any other instances of former champions conceding five?

Has to be in the competition - Man U losing 6-1 at home to City or shipping five at the Dell doesn't count, unless those were actually European Cup/Champions League ties.

(I know Celtic have conceded sixes and sevens away from home in recent seasons v Barca and PSG - and had that 5-0 away defeat in the qualifiers against Artmedia in 2005-06 - but I don't want to come across as bitter just coz I saw them beat my mob with ten men on Sunday)

[ad hoc]

Steaua lost
5-1 away to Feyenoord in 89/90;
5-3 away to Dortmund in 96/97;
5-0 away to PSG in 97/98;
6-3 away to Panathanaikos in 98/99;
5-3 at home to Lyon in 08/09;
5-0 at home to Man City last season;
and 5-1 at home to Sporting this season.

Beat that

[Alex Anderson]

Jeezus. We have a winner. I saw Steaua at Ibrox in both the quarters of the old European Cup and the group stage of the Champs League. Rangers won the first 2-1 and drew the second 1-1. I was quite chuffed with that til I read that list, ad hoc. Brutal.

Feyenoord were just one shy at home to Man City this season. But you get nothing for a four - not in this game.

[denishurley]

Was that 5-0 the game just after Hillsborough, where the ref stopped the game six minutes in and the fans sang You'll Never Walk Alone?

[Alex Anderson]

Milan certainly beat Real 5-0 on the Wednesday after Hillsborough, Denis but I had no idea that had happened - all I saw back then were Sportsnight highlights. But that's absolutely amazing.

[seand]

Just because I threatened to, here's a couple of classic European Cup programme covers

[seand]

And a handful from Dundalk in European Cup action...

[Alex Anderson]

Nice, Sean. Very nice. Only two finals I've got:





Wasn't at the first one (thanks for nothing dad!) - one of the rare occasions I bought memorabilia of a game I hadn't attended. 2002 stopped my desperate need to feel closer to past finals by any means possible.

[ursus arctos]

Clip of the Milan-Real Madrid tribute.