The 1973 European Cup final was a football match held at the Red Star Stadium in Belgrade, Yugoslavia on 30 May 1973. Two-time defending champions Ajax of the Netherlands faced Juventus of Italy.
Johnny Rep scored the only goal of the game after five minutes as Ajax won 1–0 to claim their third consecutive European Cup and earned the Dutch side the privilege of keeping the trophy permanently.
Background Ajax had reached the European Cup final on three previous occasions. They were two-time defending champions coming into the 1972–73 season after defeating Panathinaikos 2–0 in 1971 and Inter Milan by the same scoreline in 1972.
Juventus had never previously reached a European Cup final.
Route to the final
Ajax As defending champions, Ajax qualified automatically for the 1972–73 European Cup. They received a bye in the first round. In the second round, they defeated CSKA Sofia of Bulgaria 3–1 away and 3–0 at home to advance 6–1 on aggregate. They then defeated Bayern Munich of West Germany 4–0 in the first leg of their quarter-final in Amsterdam. Despite a 2–1 defeat in the second leg, Ajax advanced 5–2 on aggregate. In the semi-finals, they faced Real Madrid of Spain. A 2–1 first leg win was followed up with a 1–0 win in Madrid as they reached the final 3–1 on aggregate.
Juventus Juventus qualified for the 1972–73 European Cup as champions of the 1971–72 Serie A. In the first round, they faced Olympique de Marseille of France. The first leg, which was played in Lyon, ended in a 1–0 win for Olympique de Marseille. However, Juventus won the second leg 3–0 to advance 3–1 on aggregate. In the second round, they defeated Magdeburg of East Germany 1–0 in both legs to advance 2–0 on aggregate. After a goalless draw in the first leg of their quarter-final against Újpesti Dózsa of Hungary in Turin, the second leg ended 2–2 in Budapest (2–2 on aggregate) and Juventus advanced on away goals. In the semi-finals, they defeated Derby County of England 3–1 in the first leg before a goalless second leg which meant Juventus progressed 3–1 on aggregate.
AjaxRoundJuventusOpponentAgg.1st leg2nd legOpponentAgg.1st leg2nd legByeFirst round Olympique de Marseille3–10–1 (A)3–0 (H) CSKA Sofia6–13–1 (A)3–0 (H)Second round 1. FC Magdeburg2–01–0 (H)1–0 (A) Bayern München5–24–0 (H)1–2 (A)Quarter-finals Újpesti Dózsa2–2 (a)0–0 (H)2–2 (A) Real Madrid3–12–1 (H)1–0 (A)Semi-finals Derby County3–13–1 (H)0–0 (A)
Match Details
GK 1 Heinz StuyRB 3 Wim SuurbierCB 13 Barry HulshoffCB 12 Horst BlankenburgLB 5 Ruud KrolCM 7 Johan NeeskensCM 15 Arie HaanCM 9 Gerrie MührenRW 16 Johnny RepCF 14 Johan Cruyff (c)LW 11 Piet KeizerSubstitutes (not used):MF 4 Gerrie KletonMF 6 Arnold MührenMF 8 Sjaak SwartFW 10 Jan MulderGK 13 Sies WeverManager: Ștefan Kovács GK 1 Dino ZoffSW 6 Sandro Salvadore (c)RB 2 Gianpietro MarchettiCB 5 Francesco MoriniLB 3 Silvio LongobuccoCM 8 Franco Causio CM 10 Fabio CapelloCM 4 Giuseppe Furino RF 7 José AltafiniCF 9 Pietro AnastasiLF 11 Roberto Bettega Substitutes:MF 14 Antonello Cuccureddu MF 15 Helmut Haller Manager: Čestmír Vycpálek
Assistant referees: Ratko Čanak (Yugoslavia) Petar Kostovski (Yugoslavia)Match rules 90 minutes 30 minutes of extra time if necessary Replay if scores still level Maximum of two substitutions
Aftermath Juventus would gain revenge for the defeat 23 years later when the two sides contested the final of the same competition (rebranded as the UEFA Champions League). After a 1–1 draw after extra time, Juventus won 4–2 on penalties. Although in later years the victory by Juventus in that final would be tarnished by allegations of the taking of performance enhancing drugs by the Juventus players.
See also 1972–73 Juventus FC season 1973 European Cup Winners' Cup final 1973 European Super Cup 1973 UEFA Cup final 1996 UEFA Champions League final – contested by the same teams AFC Ajax in international football Juventus FC in international football
Notes
References
External links 1972-73 season at UEFA website