DCFC in Europe scrapbook

[Guest]

7 hours ago, LeedsCityRam said:

All that said, Benfica stepped onto the (soggy) Baseball Ground pitch 50 years ago today & were promptly torn apart on one of the greatest nights in Derby County’s history. Action from the game;

Well done as usual LeedsCityRam. I've watched those highlights many times on my DVD over the years but having recalled my memories of the game and its accompanying events and filled in the detail from my DCFC library these past couple of days, one of the most vivid central factors was the wet pitch. We all knew what Cloughy had done as soon as we saw how soft the going was on the night. The fact is that we had experienced a late summer-autumn drought during the previous six to eight weeks and there had been hardly any rain at all, which was highly unusual for that time of year. I'm not sure that we've experienced seasonal weather like that ever since. By late October in most years the pitch was beginning to look very worn but as you can see in the TV footage it was still actually green and lush.

Benfica had trained on the pitch on the Tuesday but overnight the fire brigade had come in and assisted Cloughy in soaking it. Benfica must have been shocked by the change in conditions when they trained on it again on the day of the match. I remember comments from their camp about how different it was but there was no real controversy or complaint about it. Watering a grass pitch has always been allowed in the rules!

The local fire brigade was only too happy to assist in Derby County's cause. It was perhaps the earliest example of a multi-agency partnership approach to solve a local problem in the interest of the community! Can you imagine the outcry if that happened today? There would be an unholy row about misuse of public funds and resources, the chief fire officer would likely be suspended and UEFA would open an investigation into the matter. Cloughy real was a pioneering master of mind games.

We have a lot to be thankful for about many things we take for granted today. But in some respects the grass was truly greener in yesteryears! Eusebio might not have been too happy about the state of the pitch but really he should have thanked his lucky stars that the tie was not played in February ?.

COYR

[Normanton Lad]

It seems so anachronistic for Jimmy Hagan to have been at the Baseball Ground in charge of Benfica. He had been at Derby County so long ago that he would have chatted to Steve Bloomer when Bloomer was the groundsman. I doubt if he had any fondness for the Rams. He had been allowed to go to Sheffield United even though Derby must have realised how good he was. He went on to have a great 20 year career for the Blades. It was a bit like when Man United let Giles go to Leeds.  Sometimes managers get rid of players against the long-term interest of their clubs. It is often a case of a personality clash.

I don’t think Brian Clough put many people on a pedestal but I’m sure he would have respected Hagan. He performed wonders at Peterborough. His time at West Brom wasn’t as successful. In fact, his players went on strike in January of 1964 because he wouldn’t let his players wear tracksuit bottoms during training. Those of us of pension age will remember how cold it was that winter. When Hagan drove his car into a canal some of these players jumped in to rescue him. The others probably thought "Let him drown".

Below in the Youtube link at 5:57 you can see the canal he drove his car into. It was next to West Brom’s old training ground. The clip is from a documentary from about 1962 called “The Saturday Men”. It was supposed to be about the life of an average footballer but many of those players were far from average – e.g. Bobby Robson, Don Howe, Jock Wallace, etc.

It’s fascinating to see how much industry there was at that time. The background in the clip seems to be full of factory chimneys. This has got nothing to do with Jimmy Hagan but I find it hard to understand how we were so poor then when we were manufacturing so much. Today when we make nothing the situation seems reversed.

 

This is the story about the strike :
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/incoming/gallery/baggies-refused-wear-shorts-343350

This is about Hagan’s crash :
https://www.pressreader.com/uk/black-country-bugle/20180815/281861529341413
 

[LeedsCityRam]

European Cup 2nd Round 2nd leg – Wednesday 8th November 1972 & the return leg with Benfica at the Stadium of Light, Lisbon

Despite their commanding 3-0 win two weeks previously, the trip to Lisbon was still a daunting challenge for Derby to navigate in order to reach the Quarter-Finals. They were greeted by 60,000 hostile Portuguese fans & facing a team with an absurd home record – Benfica hadn’t been beaten at home in the league or Europe since the 1965/66 season & had defeated both Sporting Lisbon & FC Porto there in recent weeks.

Derby managed to withstand considerable pressure in the first 30 mins to secure a goalless draw & their place in the last 8 of the European Cup, largely thanks to a superb display from Colin Boulton. Match report below;

 

 

Like Derby, Benfica also had their own newspaper – this was the edition of ‘O Benfica’ on the eve of the match;

 

Full round up of results from Round 2 below – as expected, Real Madrid reversed their first leg deficit to overcome Arges Pitesti in the Bernabeu. Celtic (1967 winners & 1970 runners up) were beaten emphatically in Hungary though to leave Derby as the sole British representatives in the competition

 

The draw for the Quarter-Finals saw Derby paired with Spartak Trvana of Czechoslovakia (European Cup semi-finalists in 1969) whilst heavyweights Ajax & Bayern Munich were drawn together – Johan Cruyff v Franz Beckenbauer and two clubs who would win 6 consecutive European titles in the 1970s between them. First legs to be played 7th March 1973;

[Brammie Steve]

On 27/09/2022 at 18:37, blackNwhites said:

Fantastic post, thanks for the good read.

Agreed..... best post EVER!

[Guest]

Benfica 0 Derby County 0

In winning the Portuguese League title the previous season, Benfica lost just one of their 30 games played, while scoring 81 and conceding just 16 goals. In the current season, they would go on to be undefeated, winning 28 times and drawing just twice. They were virtually invincible on their own ground. These statistics made the 3-0 margin of the first leg victory seem even better!

In preparation for the return leg, Clough and Taylor had turned to Ronnie Allen for advice. The former Port Vale, West Bromwich Albion, Crystal Palace and England striker was now managing Benfica’s domestic rivals, Sporting Lisbon. He warned that for the visiting teams, playing in front of the Benfica crowd was an intimidating experience. Benfica, from the outset would attack the Derby goal in waves, roared on by a cauldron of noise from their supporters. But, the longer that Derby held out without conceding a goal, the attacks would become less frenzied and the crowd would gradually fall quieter.

The official party left the BBG at 9.30am on Monday and was scheduled to arrive back at 1.00pm on Thursday. The party was staying on the Estoril coast just outside Lisbon. There were 600 tickets available for Derby fans at £3 each, all travelling on three flights with British Caledonian Airways from East Midlands Airport on the morning of the game. I again travelled on the two day trip, returning on Thursday afternoon. Travelling on our flight, were a journalist and photographer from the Observer newspaper; they were reporting a feature on Derby’s football supporters travelling in Europe.

I have now visited Lisbon five times and it remains one of my favourite European cities but this first visit remains the most idyllic. It was 18 months before the ‘Carnation Revolution’ of 1974 when, in a bloodless coup, the Portuguese Army and police, overthrew the right-wing civilian government. The coup was supported by almost all of the national population and led to the swift move to independence of the Portuguese overseas colonies and an increase in social and economic prosperity at home, which has continued ever since.

The infrastructure of the historic city centre was extremely well developed but we were struck by how little traffic there was on the highways; nowadays, the centre is a constant traffic jam. We stayed in a hotel in the centre and we were able to move around freely by using the Metro system, which made the London Underground look ancient. The local beer was cheap and the fresh seafood in the bars and restaurants on the banks of the River Tagus was a delight. The people were friendly and welcomed us with open arms. Although the civilian population was controlled by the police and military, we did not feel threatened at all. It was a pleasure to be there.

Our coaches to the stadium left early from our hotel because we were warned that the highways became less navigable outside the centre and we soon realised that to be the case. We made our way slowly, accompanied by few other vehicles but surrounded by the throngs of home supporters making their way on foot to the Stadio da Luz. The team had made the same journey on their coach sometime earlier.

Colin Boulton later revealed how nervous he felt as the bus travelled slowly through the streets when Brian Clough summoned him to the front. ‘Bernie’ smoked and Clough had banned smoking on the bus since he himself had given up the habit. Bearing in mind Ronnie Allen’s warning of the frenzied start Benfica would seek to make, Clough recognised how important Boulton was likely to be if his team was to progress. Clough asked him what would help him to relax at this moment in time and the ‘keeper said, ‘A cigarette,’ at which point Clough went into his pocket and handed ‘Bernie’ a packet of 20 Benson & Hedges and told him to enjoy himself. The other players looked on astonished as the ‘keeper cheerfully puffed away. They say that Bill Beswick was the pioneer of sports psychology in football, when Steve McClaren introduced him to Jim Smith at Raynesway 25 years later, but clearly Cloughie, as we saw on many occasions, was well ahead of his time in this department.

Roy McFarland summed up the thoughts of everyone from Derby, ‘Benfica are one of Europe’s top sides, one of the favourites for the trophy and they won’t be pushed out without a fight.’ Defensively, McFarland and Todd in particular would have to be at their very best and should the team have any opportunity to counter-attack, then they would take full advantage of it. At the weekend, Derby had suffered a heavy defeat, 4-0 at Manchester City, and their away record so far this season was disastrous. O’Hare and Hector both missed that Maine Road defeat and Hinton was injured during the game. The Rams had lost seven of their previous eight away games, the only win coming in the away leg in Sarajevo.

Unfortunately for Benfica, Hinton was fit to start and O’Hare and Hector returned to the team. Clough decided that a more experienced head was going to be required in defence; Ron Webster, who had been left out of the previous 19 games and didn’t even travel to Sarajevo, replaced Steve Powell at right-back. Although the players were the same, the formation and style of play was going to be radically changed for this game. They expected the onslaught that Ronnie Allen predicted and so went into the game with a more defensive attitude.

There were rumours prior to the game that Eusebio was injured and would not play, but these proved unfounded. Benfica, having to score at least four times, realised that time was not on their side and so they were quick to to take every throw, goal kick and free kick. The pressure on the Derby goal was constant and during this early spell they were forced to give away too many corners for comfort. Fortunately, when the corner kicks were taken they usually found the head of either McFarland or Hennessy, followed by a punt downfield to try to find a Derby forward to hold the ball up for a brief time to relieve the pressure.

Three times in the first 20 minutes, Eusebio managed to get through only to be faced with Colin Boulton who came out on top on each occasion, blocking the shot or grabbing the ball. Even the floodlights failing (or being deliberately switched off) during one of these attacks could do nothing  to beat the Derby ‘keeper. Benfica were becoming frustrated as they didn’t usually meet such a defence during their domestic matches - McFarland and Todd were at their best backed up by the experience of Webster and Robson, once he had found the measure of the winger Nene. With Boulton behind them and Hennessy playing just in front, it was a formidable back line.

Derby’s best chance of the night came on 63 minutes. Robson passed to Hector who beat his marker Messias and then flicked the ball past the goalkeeper Jose Henrique, who had rushed out of his area as the ‘King’ advanced. However, as he was about to tap the ball into the open goal, Hector was crudely chopped down by Henriques and needed lengthy treatment. A clear sending-off offence, Henrique was not even booked and instead of being 1-0 up, Derby had just a free-kick. Although, by this time Derby’s progress to the next round seemed assured, we were furious that by blatant cheating the Rams were deprived of the opportunity to become the only team to win at Benfica that season.

A couple of minutes later, Jimmy Hagan withdrew a forward, Baptista, and replaced him with a defender, Rodrigues. Eusebio stood with his head in his hands in obvious dismay at the substitution. Benfica had lost the momentum required to have any chance of penetrating the unfaltering Derby rearguard. The 75,000 crowd quietened as the Benfica fans realised they would not be going to the quarter finals. As had happened in Sarajevo, the home fans lit their fires in the concrete stands as a sign of their team’s surrender.

Roy McFarland praised Terry Hennessey’s contribution saying that he probably played the best game of his short Derby career as he sat in front of the back four breaking up the Benfica attack before they got too close, making the defence’s job that much easier in the face of fierce pressure. Sitting with the Derby fans on the half way line, I will never forget the sight as we looked to our left in the first half; time after time, Hennessey’s bald dome rose above all of the other players in the Rams’ crowded penalty area to head away incoming crosses or if Benfica thrust forward with swift runs, there was the indomitable Welshman to break up their attacks with swift tackles or radar-like interceptions. It was just a pity that the majority of Derby fans were unable to see his performance.

Brian Clough said, ‘Even if we’d been issued with those Belgian sub-machine guns, that they give to NATO, we couldn’t have stopped them. There just seemed to be waves of red shirts.’

It is a measure of Derby’s aggregate victory over Benfica that in this very season, Benfica became the only club in Portugal to go through a whole season undefeated in the league. Their 28 wins and two draws included a remarkable run of 23 consecutive wins. Also, Eusebio became Europe’s top scorer with 40 goals and the team as a whole scored 101. Derby County became only the second club (Ajax being the other) in European football history to be able to keep a clean sheet against Benfica over two legs. 

Following the game, we supporters had celebrated long into the Lisbon night and many of us were a little hungover still when we reached Lisbon airport the following afternoon. Within our group, there was a big guy called Phil Butler from Littleover, who probably had the biggest tolerance to alcohol of all of us. But Phil had overdone it this time around and he laid down on an airport bench to catch forty winks. As he slept. We draped him carefully in a Union Jack flag and Derby County scarves. We then invited the Observer newspaper photographer to snap away. We removed the flag and scarves and when our flight was called, we aroused Phil. He was oblivious to what we had done.

As we flew home to the East Midlands, our mood was one of triumph; not just at our club’s progress to the quarter finals stage but we we were celebrating our team’s defiance towards the overwhelming negativity of our national press ever since the draw for the second round had been made.The Rams had truly proved too mighty for the high-flying Eagles. I think the feeling I had when we landed at Castle Donington was probably the peak of my pride in following Derby County who in just a fortnight had put the fear into the rest of the European footballing elite and had emerged as a force that had to be recognised.

A few weeks later, the Observer featured our Lisbon trip in their Sunday colour magazine. The centre spread featured Phil’s large torso asleep and draped in our national and club regalia. I dashed around to his house that morning to present him and his wife with a copy; it was the first they knew what we had done in the airport!

Happy days and great memories.

Having found some formula to defend in this game, the Rams approached away games with a new-found confidence and lost only one of their next seven fixtures outside of Derby. Having knocked out one of Europe’s leading clubs, Derby wanted to avoid the two favourites for the competition - Ajax of Amsterdam and Bayern Munich - while the weakest team left in the completion seemed to be Spartak Trnava from Czechoslovakia. The full draw for the competition was made by the West German winger Jurgen Gabrowski in Frankfurt on 24th January 1973. Stuart Webb attended with directors Bill Rudd and Bob Innes to see the Rams drawn against the Czech champions, Spartak. The considered opinion from behind the Iron Curtain was that Spartak would be no match for for Derby whose win against Benfica had been noticed throughout Europe.

Following the draw, lots of money was being placed across Europe on the winners of the Ajax v Bayern Munich tie to lift the trophy. Derby were not out of the running, though, being third favourites and having drawn the team perceived to be weakest left in the competition. Brian Clough said, ‘It’s only a good draw if we beat them. Even tough we know damn all about this Czech side there oughtn’t really be anything there to really worry us. We have the skill and we have the talent - if we get our share of the luck, we can hope to make a big impact.’

Bill Shankly, Liverpool’s manager, forecast that Derby would not only win the European Cup but also the FA Cup, saying, ‘The team is not packed with big names but it’s pretty useful.’

Edited November 8, 2022 by Brailsford Ram

[BathRam72]

I have not read the whole thread. Interesting that Cloughie didn't use subs in any of the games. Unless I am not reading the team sheets correct.

[Guest]

6 minutes ago, BathRam72 said:

I have not read the whole thread. Interesting that Cloughie didn't use subs in any of the games. Unless I am not reading the team sheets correct.

Each team had two named substitutes, who they were allowed to utilise during the course of a game. During the course of this competition Clough did not choose to take that option at all until the final game of the eight played. His philosophy was 'If it isn't broke, it doesn't need fixing.'

[SamUltraRam]

3 hours ago, Brailsford Ram said:

Each team had two named substitutes, who they were allowed to utilise during the course of a game. During the course of this competition Clough did not choose to take that option at all until the final game of the eight played. His philosophy was 'If it isn't broke, it doesn't need fixing.'

I'm loving these match reports and experiences, top work !!

It's disappointing that there are many of our European games that weren't filmed (particularly the away games) so this is a great fill in.

I saw this the other day relating to our away trip to Real Madrid in 1975 - rare footage

 

 

[SamUltraRam]

3 hours ago, Brailsford Ram said:

Each team had two named substitutes, who they were allowed to utilise during the course of a game. During the course of this competition Clough did not choose to take that option at all until the final game of the eight played. His philosophy was 'If it isn't broke, it doesn't need fixing.'

I'm also updating my DCFC YouTube channel with anything old I can find - i'm currently up to the middle of the 1972/73 season - just click on the playlists for season by season - it may interest you Brailsford

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjYvXqA7qXwEEP4Psx7lBDA

 

[Guest]

53 minutes ago, SamUltraRam said:

I'm also updating my DCFC YouTube channel with anything old I can find - i'm currently up to the middle of the 1972/73 season - just click on the playlists for season by season - it may interest you Brailsford

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjYvXqA7qXwEEP4Psx7lBDA

 

I have just subscribed to the channel and turned on notifications. I was at all of the games posted so far. I have the highlights on DVD of all but the 1-1 draw in the snow at Anfield. I recall Steve Powell tackling Tommy Smith in the first-half. Smith stayed down and was treated by the trainer, Joe Fagan, while Powell, who had just turned 18, stood about 15 yards away with his left hand resting on his hip. While being treated, Smith threateningly shook his fist at Powell who responded by raising his right hand in a bored yap-yap-yap motion towards Smith. The Liverpool captain steered clear of young Steve for the rest of the game. Someone on this forum posted recently that they met Tommy Smith before he died and he mentioned Powell as being a hard player from those times. Good memories.

I look forward to your additions to the channel. Great project.

Edited November 8, 2022 by Brailsford Ram

[Guest]

I'm still watching Derby home and away fifty years later; I still look forward to every match day and my glass is always half full about Derby County matters. But after bringing back my recollections last week of that night in Lisbon, I watched how we coped with 'the aerial bombardment' we were subjected to at Plainmoor on Sunday. With the Stadio da Luz revived in my memory, I longed for McFarland and Hennessey to suddenly appear and start heading the balls away into the Devon darkness just as they had in Lisbon all those years ago. Oh, the contrast couldn't have been greater. Even in their seventies, I think they'd have ensured we weren't taken to a replay ?.

As we were carried along on that wonderful tide through that first season of European football, we thought that it would last forever. Oh how naive we were for in a little less than a year, Clough and Taylor would be gone and our dreams would eventually go through the door with them. But there have been good and not so good times since.

So I guess the moral of the story is never take anything for granted. We are now in one of the darkest periods of our history, brought about by misdirection and folly in the boardroom; the same symptoms that caused the decline of the Rams from those giddy heights fifty years ago.

Things will get better for DCFC in the future for sure; just how much better remains to be seen. So when those better times return, savour and enjoy them while you can because you never know what might be just round the corner.

[Guest]

As the Rams prepared to depart for their European Cup quarter final first leg against Spartak Trnava in Czechoslovakia on Wednesday 7th March 1973, the Derby Evening Telegraph four days earlier reported that it was in some ways a trip into the unknown.

[LeedsCityRam]

European Cup Quarter Final 1st leg – Wednesday 7th March 1973 & a trip beyond the Iron Curtain to face Czechoslovakian champions Spartak Trnava

Whilst not one of Europe’s biggest names, Spartak had extensive experience in European competition– this was their 4th European Cup campaign to date & they had reached the semi-finals four years earlier, beating Ajax 2-0 in the second leg of that tie. They were also in the midst of winning their 5th League title in 6 years & their star man Jozef Adamec, had scored a hat-trick against Brazil 5 years earlier.

Derby were greeted by the locals with this piece of banner brilliance ?

 

Despite an encouraging display, Derby lost 1-0 that afternoon with the winner coming from Frantisek Horvath just before half-time. Despite this defeat, Brian Clough was happy with the result whilst his counterpart Anton Malatinsky was pessimistic about Spartak’s chances of progressing – match report below;

 

 

Here was the programme from the game – for some reason, Spartak decided to give our badge a Liverpool feel;

 

Elsewhere, the heavyweight tie between Ajax & Bayern Munich saw 4 second goals from Ajax blitz the Germans – Arie Haan (2), Gerrie Muhren & Johan Cruyff with the goals. Juventus & Real Madrid meanwhile were only able to draw 0-0 with their respective opponents Ujpesti Dozsa & Dynamo Kiev. Second legs to be played 21st March;

[Guest]

Spartak’s mid-winter break ended just four days before the first-leg tie. At the halfway point of their season, Spartak were in second place in the Czech League behind Prešov. The Zimny stadium is located in the centre of Trnava, directly behind the walls of the old town and it had no floodlights so the kick-off was brought forward to the afternoon.

This was the first time that Derby had been drawn away in the first-leg and the aim was to score an all-important away goal if possible and to restrict the home team as much as possible. The official party flew from Heathrow to Vienna on Monday 5th March at 10.30am and eventually arrived at the Magnolia Hotel in Trnava at 5.00pm, which gives some indication of the difficulty of crossing the border into the Eastern bloc as Vienna was just 50 miles away. After the game, the party would relocate to the Inter-Continental Hotel in Vienna in preparation for a flight home on Thursday. Some 500 Derby fans made the trip from Castle Donington, some on a one-day trip costing £28 and others, including me, on a three days (Tuesday to Thursday) trip costing £43.

On Tuesday, some 1,500 locals turned up for the Rams’ training session at the stadium with the Czech chairman explaining that English football was held in high regard in Czechoslovakia and the locals were keen to see the training methods used and to get an early glimpse of the Derby players.

On arriving in Vienna on the Tuesday afternoon, we were taken aback to find that the local beer prices were about four times what we paid at home. Due to the procedures at the Czech border crossing, we left our hotel at 7.30am on the Wednesday morning for the 2.30pm kick-off in Trnava. At the border our entry into Czechoslovakia took over an hour as our passports and visas were scrutinised by the fierce looking guards who indicated that the paying of bribes would see us pass through quicker. We had been warned of this beforehand and advised not to respond so we didn’t. We then had to thoroughly scrub our hands and have our shoes sprayed with disinfectant as a precaution against a foot and mouth disease outbreak. The landscape was bleak and drab as we left behind the miles of the barbed wire zone that divided East and West Europe.

On arrival in Trnava, we were taken directly to the stadium. The Czech fans were an unsmiling lot who seemed curious of us but there was no hostility and we did not feel unwelcome; although the food outlets were unappealing and I did not eat until we arrived back in Vienna that evening, save for a cup of coffee from the kiosks outside the stadium.

David Nish was making his first European Cup appearance, having been ineligible for the earlier rounds. John Robson had left the club to join Aston Villa for a record incoming fee of £90k. Derby had climbed to sixth place in the League but had lost four of their previous six games including a 3-2 home defeat to Leeds United at the weekend. The team had a different look to it with Alan Hinton and Terry Hennessy out injured - Roger Davies had come into the team with John O’Hare playing a more withdrawn role and Alan Durban returning to the side.

After an early Rams flurry, Spartak dominated possession without posing much of a goal threat. Steve Powell’s inexperience was showing and he was having a difficult time against Kabat but Colin Todd, who was having a superb game, was able to cover Powell on the right. Four minutes from half-time, however, Trnava scored when Todd tried to play his way out from the penalty area, beating two players but then losing the ball to a a third, Fandel. He played the ball in for Horvath who put a left-foot shot from just outside the penalty area into the top corner of the net with the other Derby defenders slow to react.

The second half saw Derby dominate the game but without Hinton’s passing and crossing, they were unable to force an equaliser, although Davies managed to find the net but his effort was ruled out for offside. The decision was hotly disputed, especially by us Derby fans who were in line with Davies as he made his run from seemed a clearly onside position.

Colin Boulton made a fine save late on and as we made our way back through downtrodden Czechoslovakia to the welcoming lights of Vienna there was much confidence among the Rams’ supporters that the team would overturn the one goal deficit at the Baseball Ground in a fortnight’s time.

[loweman2]

Something of interest and rarely seen, the night in Yugoslavia v Velez Mostar was hostile to say the least, so much so we appealed the result and went to UEFA headquarters to put our case forward, below is the basis for our appeal.

[loweman2]

This was the memento awarded to Derby County players of their European Campaign that ended at the semi final stage, a rare item and entrusted to my safe keeping by Alan Hinton, it has a Ram sitting on the letters EUFA and all of the teams that we played engraved on the base with Alan’s name on the top.

[Dordogne-Ram]

6 hours ago, LeedsCityRam said:

European Cup Quarter Final 1st leg – Wednesday 7th March 1973 & a trip beyond the Iron Curtain to face Czechoslovakian champions Spartak Trnava

Whilst not one of Europe’s biggest names, Spartak had extensive experience in European competition– this was their 4th European Cup campaign to date & they had reached the semi-finals four years earlier, beating Ajax 2-0 in the second leg of that tie. They were also in the midst of winning their 5th League title in 6 years & their star man Jozef Adamec, had scored a hat-trick against Brazil 5 years earlier.

Derby were greeted by the locals with this piece of banner brilliance ?

 

Despite an encouraging display, Derby lost 1-0 that afternoon with the winner coming from Frantisek Horvath just before half-time. Despite this defeat, Brian Clough was happy with the result whilst his counterpart Anton Malatinsky was pessimistic about Spartak’s chances of progressing – match report below;

 

 

Here was the programme from the game – for some reason, Spartak decided to give our badge a Liverpool feel;

 

Elsewhere, the heavyweight tie between Ajax & Bayern Munich saw 4 second goals from Ajax blitz the Germans – Arie Haan (2), Gerrie Muhren & Johan Cruyff with the goals. Juventus & Real Madrid meanwhile were only able to draw 0-0 with their respective opponents Ujpesti Dozsa & Dynamo Kiev. Second legs to be played 21st March;

Tht

[Dordogne-Ram]

That banner from the Spartak Trnava away game appeared on the Popside terrace, Normamton end, at the net home game. Anyone know who got it back to Derby ?

[Guest]

17 minutes ago, Dordogne-Ram said:

That banner from the Spartak Trnava away game appeared on the Popside terrace, Normamton end, at the net home game. Anyone know who got it back to Derby ?

The Czech fans marched it down the road outside the stadium before the game to where the Rams fans were gathered. We thought it was funny and we were all laughing. The Czechs seemed confused by our reaction but they eventually started laughing too. Our trip through the border checkpoint had been quite intimidating and the last thing we were going to do was upset anyone - we had just two things on our mind - enjoying the match (hopefully) and then getting safely back through the barbed wire to Vienna.

I was on the three day trip. When we reached the border, the banner emerged from one of the coaches on the one-day trip. There had been a whip round and it was bought from the Czech fans. I have no idea of the identity of the fans who bought it or if they are still alive - I was 20 at the time and one of the youngest on the trip - the vast majority were aged 30 or over. But there must be someone still around who can tell us more and is the banner still in existence?

[Dordogne-Ram]

1 hour ago, Brailsford Ram said:

The Czech fans marched it down the road outside the stadium before the game to where the Rams fans were gathered. We thought it was funny and we were all laughing. The Czechs seemed confused by our reaction but they eventually started laughing too. Our trip through the border checkpoint had been quite intimidating and the last thing we were going to do was upset anyone - we had just two things on our mind - enjoying the match (hopefully) and then getting safely back through the barbed wire to Vienna.

I was on the three day trip. When we reached the border, the banner emerged from one of the coaches on the one-day trip. There had been a whip round and it was bought from the Czech fans. I have no idea of the identity of the fans who bought it or if they are still alive - I was 20 at the time and one of the youngest on the trip - the vast majority were aged 30 or over. But there must be someone still around who can tell us more and is the banner still in existence?

I was on the one day trip, and in spite of the result it was a good day out.

We disembarked and were herded towards some sort of reception area, total chaos and seeing the coaches outside a number of us just  made our way onto one of them. A couple of minutes later Border Control realised what was happening: we had not been processed as had not bought the required amount of Czech currency, their way of gaining hard currency, sterling or dollars. So back off the coaches we all went to satisfy the efficient communist criteria......!

The crowd trying to get into the ground at Trnava was a real crush, and the plastic drinking bottle I had taken along was flattened inside my DCFC shoulder bag and I subsequently found the contents had found their way into my camera, ruining, thankfully, only the film.

The home crowd - no segregation - were OK as we stood on the large open terrace and we passed some UK confectionery around to help keep them "sweet".....! We lost, but it was apparent to all that there was no way that the Rams would not prevail in the 2nd leg at the BBG.

A meal was provided at a quality hotel back in Bratislava, the first (and only) time I have sampled caviar, but more interesting were the clientele. We queued to be seated, and as we filed into the very large dining room they were horrified to be joined by these foreign hoards who patently were not dressed for the occasion!

It was lively without being unruly during the meal, but drinks were only served at tables by waitresses. They soon cottoned on to the fact that these Brits had plenty of otherwise Czech currency that they needed to spend., and it developed into a tipping war to enable anyone to get a drink. They were running to and fro between the tables and the bar, placing g the next order as they collected the previous one. They certainly earned the tips, and no-one begrudged them either.

Time then to get the coach back to the airport. Not normally open for night flights, theses Brits were in good voice upon arrival and all the flight crews in airport overnight accommodation were hanging over the staircase trying to work out what was going on - if this lot had just lost an Important football match,what would they be like if they had won?!

Bar staff were soon rustled up from somewhere and the earlier hotel scenes were replicated, most of the worthless currency being again put to good use.

After a good hour and a half it was time to board the airside coaches to get to the plane, and as a fitting farewell to our "hosts"  a spontaneous rendering of "You'll Never Walk Alone" at optimum decibels resounded from airport lounge until reaching the plane.

Two final memories : once on the plane we sat for almost an hour and eventually were told that they were waiting for the in-flight meals. When they arrived and were dispensed, they were eagerly opened  - 1 plastic knife, fork and spoon,1 pack of salt and 1 of pepper, a chocolate biscuit and - an apple!

The second memory was the pleasure we had of telling the East Mids airport staff that there was no problem with  the second  ?eg.

And so it proved to be.