The 1968 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final was the final of the tenth season of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. It was played on 7 August and 11 September 1968 between Leeds United A.F.C. of England and Ferencváros of Hungary. Leeds United won the tie 1–0 on aggregate, having won the first leg 1–0 at home prior to a 0–0 draw in the second leg. It was both clubs' second appearance in the final, with Leeds United having been defeated finalists to Dinamo Zagreb in the previous season's final, whilst Ferencváros won the tournament in 1965 having beat Juventus in the final.

Route to the final

The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was created in 1955 as a tournament between cities that hosted international trade fairs. It originally had an irregular format with the competition taking place over multiple seasons, before the format was changed such that it took place over a single season. The 1967–68 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was the 10th season of the competition.

Both teams took part in five rounds prior to reaching the final. The first leg saw Leeds beat Luxembourgish side Spora Luxembourg 16–0 over two legs before victories over FK Partizan, Hibernian and Rangers saw Leeds set up a semi-final against Scottish side Dundee. The first leg saw Leeds draw 1–1, before an Eddie Gray goal late in the second leg saw Leeds seal their place in the final. Despite losing 3–1 to Romanian side Argeș Pitești in the first leg of their first round tie, Ferencváros won the second leg 4–0 to advance to the next round. The second round saw Ferencváros come from behind to beat Zaragoza, before victories over Liverpool, Athletic Bilbao and Bologna saw the Hungarian side reach the final.

Leeds UnitedRoundFerencvárosOpponentAgg.1st leg2nd legOpponentAgg.1st leg2nd leg Spora Luxembourg16–09–0 (A)7–0 (H)First round Argeș Pitești5–31–3 (A)4–0 (H) Partizan3–22–1 (A)1–1 (H)Second round Zaragoza4–21–2 (A)3–0 (H) Hibernian2–11–0 (H)1–1 (A)Third round Liverpool2–01–0 (H)1–0 (A) Rangers2–00–0 (A)2–0 (H)Quarter-finals Athletic Club4–22–1 (H)2–1 (A) Dundee2–11–1 (A)1–0 (H)Semi-finals Bologna5–43–2 (H)2–2 (A)

Match First leg The attendance for the first leg, hosted at Leeds United's Elland Road, was just 25,268, with the match being televised live on BBC One cited as the reason for the surprisingly low figure. The referee for the first leg was Swiss referee Rudolf Scheurer. Both sides had early chances, with Ferencváros midfielder István Szőke failing to capitalise on a mistake made at the back by Leeds' Jack Charlton, before Leeds' Peter Lorimer had a shot well saved after goalkeeper István Géczi's free kick fell straight to Mick Jones. Leeds scored the first and only goal of the game in the 41st minute as Lorimer's corner fell first to Jack Charlton before Mick Jones bundled the ball over the line, despite complaints from the Hungarian side that Charlton fouled goalkeeper István Géczi in the build-up. The second half saw both teams have chances to score, though the away side had the best chances, with István Szőke putting a good chance wide before Gyula Rákosi failed to beat Leeds goalkeeper Gary Sprake.

Leeds United GK1 Gary SprakeDF2 Paul ReaneyDF3 Terry CooperMF4 Billy Bremner (c)DF5 Jack CharltonDF6 Norman HunterFW7 Peter LorimerMF8 Paul MadeleyFW9 Mick Jones MF10 Johnny Giles FW11 Eddie GraySubstitutes:FW Rod Belfitt FW Jimmy Greenhoff Manager: Don RevieFerencváros GK1 István GécziDF2 Dezső Novák (c)DF3 Miklós PáncsicsDF6 Sándor HavasiMF4 István JuhászFW5 Lajos SzűcsMF8 István SzőkeMF7 Zoltán VargaFW9 Flórián AlbertMF10 Gyula RákosiFW11 Máté Fenyvesi Substitutes:MF13 László Bálint Manager: Károly Lakat

Second leg The second leg, hosted in front of a crowd of 76,000 at Ferencváros' Népstadion, was under threat of not taking place due to growing tensions between the east and west as a result of the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. The second leg saw Leeds play much more defensively than in the first, with Leeds described as having a 'ten-man defence'. Ferencváros dominated, with strong first-half chances falling to Gyula Rákosi and István Szőke, and their dominance continued throughout the match but they failed to score. Following the match, Leeds manager Don Revie stated, "As the final whistle drew nearer every minute seemed like an hour." Victory over Ferencváros marked Leeds' first major European honour.

GK1 István GécziDF2 Dezső Novák (c)DF3 Miklós PáncsicsDF6 Sándor HavasiMF4 István JuhászFW5 Lajos SzűcsMF8 István Szőke MF7 Zoltán VargaFW9 Flórián AlbertMF10 Gyula RákosiFW18 Sándor KatonaSubstitutes:17 János Karába Manager: Károly Lakat GK1 Gary SprakeDF2 Paul ReaneyDF3 Terry CooperMF4 Billy Bremner (c)DF5 Jack CharltonDF6 Norman HunterMF7 Michael O'GradyMF8 Paul MadeleyFW9 Peter LorimerFW10 Mick JonesFW11 Terry Hibbitt Substitutes:MF Mick Bates Manager: Don Revie

Leeds United win 1–0 on aggregate

See also 1967–68 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Ferencvárosi TC in European football Leeds United F.C. in European football

References

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