| Real Madrid's demolition of Eintracht Frankfurt is the most
famous final in the history of the European Cup; the match that
opened people's eyes to the wider European game. The victory in
Glasgow secured a fifth successive trophy for Madrid – still
a record – and ensured the club's place in football's hall
of fame.
The crowd of 134,000, a record for a European final, included Alex
Ferguson, then an 18-year-old amateur centre-forward with Queen's
Park. They were treated to a wonderful exhibition of football from
Madrid and the inspirational Alfredo Di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas.
Today, the match makes for strange viewing, considering the space
in which the players had time to work. But the flow of goals is
still breathtaking. Di Stefano and Puskas were at the peak of their
powers. The pair combined brilliantly, with Puskas scoring a then-record
12 goals in the season's competition. They were superbly supported
by Francisco Gento, Jose Santamaria and hard-working inside-right
Luis Del Sol.
Eintracht were not a poor team by any stretch of the imagination.
They had put 12 goals past Scottish champions Rangers in the semi-finals
and even opened the scoring in the final. But the goal, by Richard
Kress, only served to spur Madrid on. The tireless Di Stefano was
everywhere, commanding the pitch and scoring twice in the first
half.
Puskas, too, gave an enthralling performance. He scored from an
extraordinary angle for Madrid's third and added a fourth from a
controversial penalty. The Hungarian even scored with a header,
most untypical of him, in an extraordinary combination of power
and dexterity, crashing his fourth – Madrid's sixth –
inside a post and just under the bar.
When Erwin Stein scored for Eintracht, Di Stefano responded immediately,
taking a pass from Puskas and racing away to beat keeper Egon Loy
for his hat-trick.
Stein and Eintracht, for what it was worth, had the last word, taking
advantage of a careless back-pass to score a third for the Germans.
But it was a night to remember for Madrid and, in particular, the
magisterial Di Stefano and the indefatigable Puskas.
Line-ups
Real Madrid: Dominguez - Marquitos, Santamaria,
Pachin - Vidal, Zarraga - Canario, Del Sol, Di Stefano, Puskas,
Gento.
Goals: Di Stefano 27, 30, 75, Puskas 45, pen 56, 60, 71.
Eintracht: Loy - Lutz, Eigenbrodt, Hofer - Weilbacher,
Stinka -
Kress, Lindner, Stein, Pfaff, Meier.
Goals: Kress 18, Stein 72, 76.
Referee: Mowat (Scotland).
Att: 134,000. |
