1968 European Cup Final
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The 1968 European Cup Final was the final match of the
1967–68 European Cup The 1967–68 European Cup was the 13th European Cup, UEFA's premier club football tournament. The competition was won by Manchester United, who beat Benfica 4–1 in the final at Wembley Stadium, London. The European Cup title marked the tenth ...
, the premier club
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
competition in Europe. It was played at
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
in London, England, on 29 May 1968, and contested by Benfica of Portugal and
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
of England in front of a crowd of 92,225. Both teams had to go through four rounds of two-legged knockout ties to reach the final; it was Benfica's fifth
European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
final, two of which they had won, and Manchester United's first. Both sides went close in a goalless first half, before Manchester United took the lead from Bobby Charlton's header eight minutes into the second; however,
Jaime Graça Jaime da Silva Graça (; 30 January 1942 – 28 February 2012) was a Portuguese football midfielder and coach. Club career Born in Setúbal, Graça made his professional – and Primeira Liga – debut with local Vitória Futebol Clube, appe ...
's 79th-minute equaliser meant the match went into
extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...
. Manchester United then scored three times in seven minutes in the extra period; the first was a solo goal from
George Best George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional footballer who played as a winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United. A highly skilful dribbler, Best is regarded as one of the greatest pla ...
, followed by a header from
Brian Kidd Brian Kidd (born 29 May 1949) is an English football coach and former player, who was most recently assistant coach of Manchester City, alongside manager Pep Guardiola. Kidd was also assistant to Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson from 199 ...
on his 19th birthday. Charlton scored his second in the 99th minute, as Manchester United triumphed 4–1 to become the first English club to win the European Cup.


Background

The European Cup, now known as the
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
, is a club
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
tournament, contested by the best teams across Europe. The competition was first played in 1955–56. Neither Benfica nor
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
participated in the inaugural tournament, which was by invitation only; although Benfica had won the 1954–55 Primeira Divisão title, Sporting CP had already been invited. In 1968, only the league champion from each country qualified. Benfica reached the European Cup final for the first time in
1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...
, when they beat
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3–2. The following year, Benfica defended their title, coming from behind to beat
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
5–3 in the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
. Benfica were losing finalists twice more over the next three years, losing to
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
in
1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...
and
Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Football in Italy, Italian professional Association football, football ...
in
1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...
. Manchester United had never previously reached the European Cup final. They had been losing semi-finalists in both the 1956–57 and 1957–58 competitions. In February 1958, the team were returning from
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
having eliminated
Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club, ), commonly known as Red Star Belgrade in English-language media, is a Serbian professional football club based in Bel ...
in the quarter-finals when eight of their players were killed and two more suffered career-ending injuries in the Munich air disaster. Despite not qualifying, they were invited by
UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
to play in the following season's European Cup, but were forced to withdraw by the English
Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world an ...
. They returned to the competition in 1965–66, when they faced Benfica for the first time in the quarter-finals. Manchester United won 8–3 on aggregate, but were eliminated in the semi-final.


Route to the final


Benfica

Benfica entered the tournament as champions of Portugal, having won the
1966–67 Primeira Divisão The 1966–67 Primeira Divisão was the 33rd season of top-tier football in Portugal. Overview It was contested by 14 teams, and S.L. Benfica won the championship. League standings Results References External links Portugal 1966-67 - RS ...
. They faced
Glentoran Glentoran Football Club is a professional football club that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was founded in 1882. History Early history In 1914, Glentoran won the Vienna Cup, becoming the first United Kingdom team to win a European t ...
of Northern Ireland in the first round, travelling to Belfast for the first leg. Glentoran took the lead from a John Colrain
penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...
in the 10th minute, before Eusébio equalised in the 86th minute, and it finished 1–1. In the second leg, the two sides played out a goalless draw, which resulted in Benfica qualifying for the second round on the
away goals rule The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaker, tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the ...
. In the next round, they were drawn against
Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; frp, Sant-Etiève; oc, Sant Estève, ) is a city and the prefecture of the Loire department in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Saint-Étienne is the t ...
of France. A goal from José Augusto in the 29th minute and a penalty from Eusébio in the 60th helped Benfica to a 2–0 home victory in the first leg. In France, Saint-Étienne won the second leg 1–0 via a 10th-minute goal from Georges Bereta. Despite losing the match, Benfica progressed 2–1 on aggregate. In the quarter-finals, Benfica played out a goalless draw with Hungarian side Vasas in their away leg. Returning to Portugal for the second leg, the first half also remained goalless, before two goals from Eusébio and another from José Torres made it 3–0 to Benfica, and secured their place in the semi-final, where they faced
Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...
of Italy. Benfica played the first leg at home, and once again strikes from Eusébio and Torres helped them to victory; each scored during the second half to give their team a 2–0 lead in the tie. In the second leg, ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' reported that Benfica were "technically superior, although Juventus maintained aggressive play." A Eusébio goal in 66th minute extended Benfica's advantage in the tie to 3–0, and secured them a place in the final.


Manchester United

Manchester United qualified for the competition as champions of England, having won the
1966–67 Football League First Division Statistics of Football League First Division in the 1966–67 season. Overview Manchester United won the First Division title for the seventh time in the club's history that season. They made sure of that on 6 May, after beating West Ham United 6 ...
. They faced Maltese side Hibernians in the first round and won 4–0 in the home first leg; David Sadler and
Denis Law Denis Law (born 24 February 1940) is a Scottish former footballer who played as a forward. His career as a football player began at Second Division Huddersfield Town in 1956. After four years at Huddersfield, he was signed by Manchester City ...
scored two goals each. Despite the wide margin of victory, Brian Crowther of ''The Guardian'' described their play as disappointing. In the second leg, United suffered a "sad succession of near misses", according to a correspondent for ''The Guardian'', as they struggled to adapt to the sandy pitch and the match finished as a goalless draw. They were drawn against
Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...
of Yugoslavia in the second round, who were appearing in the competition for the first time. Playing the first leg away from home, Manchester United narrowly avoided going behind in the 27th minute, needing a goal-line save to prevent a shot from
Vahidin Musemić Vahidin Musemić (born 29 October 1946 in Janja near Bijeljina, People's Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, PR Bosnia-Herzegovina, Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, FPR Yugoslavia) is a former Bosnian football player, footballer. Club car ...
going in. Despite playing against 10 men for most of the match after
Boško Prodanović Boško Prodanović (Serbian Cyrillic: Бошко Продановић; born 1 August 1943 in Otočac) is a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav and Bosnians, Bosnian-Herzegovinian retired professional association football, footballer. Club career He was a membe ...
had to go off injured, United were not able to score, and it finished 0–0. John Aston gave United an early lead in the second leg, which was extended by
George Best George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional footballer who played as a winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United. A highly skilful dribbler, Best is regarded as one of the greatest pla ...
in the second half. Despite a late goal for Sarajevo from Salih Delalić, United held on to win 2–1 and progress to the quarter-finals. United played the first leg of their quarter-final against Polish champions Górnik Zabrze at home. In the 60th minute, a shot by Best was deflected into his own net by Górnik defender Stefan Florenski. In the dying minutes of the game, Jimmy Ryan shot into a melee of players in the penalty area, including
Brian Kidd Brian Kidd (born 29 May 1949) is an English football coach and former player, who was most recently assistant coach of Manchester City, alongside manager Pep Guardiola. Kidd was also assistant to Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson from 199 ...
, who
backheel Association football (more commonly known as football) was first codified in 1863 in England, although games that involved the kicking of a ball were evident considerably earlier.
ed the ball into the goal to make it 2–0. Playing on a snow-covered pitch in the second leg, Manchester United were forced to defend for most of the match, but only conceded once, when
Włodzimierz Lubański Włodzimierz 'Włodek' Leonard Lubański (Polish pronunciation: ; born 28 February 1947 in Gliwice-Sośnica) is a former Polish football striker, the second all-time highest goal scorer for the Polish national team. For his national team, L ...
scored in the 72nd minute. Despite losing the match 1–0, Manchester United progressed 2–1 on aggregate. United faced six-time European Cup winners Real Madrid in the semi-final. Despite dominating the first leg at home, a single goal from Best in the 36th minute separated the sides, and they took a 1–0 lead into the second leg. In Madrid, the hosts took the lead in the 32nd minute, with a headed goal from Pirri. In the last few minutes of the first half, three more goals were scored; Francisco Gento made it 2–0 to Madrid, then an own goal from
Ignacio Zoco Ignacio Zoco Esparza (31 July 1939 – 28 September 2015) was a Spanish footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He spent 12 years of his professional career with Real Madrid, appearing in more than 400 official matches and winning ten m ...
brought the gap back to one goal, before Amancio scored to make it 3–1 at half-time. Sustained pressure from United in the second half brought a goal for Sadler in the 73rd minute, which brought the aggregate score level. Five minutes later, Bill Foulkes added a third for Manchester United. The match finished 3–3; United won the tie 4–3 on aggregate to reach the European Cup final for the first time.


Pre-match

The press rated Manchester United as favourites for the final. In ''The Guardian'', Albert Barham suggested that Benfica were an aging team, and that "the old skills seem to be declining". He rated them as less dangerous than they had been when United beat them two years previous.
Hugh McIlvanney Hugh McIlvanney (2 February 1934 – 24 January 2019) was a Scottish sports journalist who had long stints with the British Sunday newspapers ''The Observer'' (30 years until 1993) and then 23 years with ''The Sunday Times'' (1993–2016). Aft ...
of ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...
'' noted that although he believed United should be rated as favourites, some of their team were "undeniably ordinary players", and they had "an alarming vulnerability in defence" and "an excessive dependence on one or two men in attack." The Lisbon-based newspaper ''A Bola'' reported after United's semi-final victory that "a meeting with Manchester is the worst thing that could have happened." Manchester United had fitness concerns regarding Nobby Stiles, who had been suffering from a bruised knee, but he recovered in time to be included in the squad. Law underwent surgery on his knee on the Saturday preceding the final, and remained in hospital for the match. Manchester United stayed in
Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
for two nights before the match, and the day before, United named an unchanged team from their semi-final second leg victory over Real Madrid. Benfica stayed at the Saxon Inn in
Harlow Harlow is a large town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a new town, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire and London, Harlow occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the upp ...
,
Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
, and also named an unchanged team from their semi-final win over Juventus. The two teams had uneven allocations of tickets; Benfica requested 10,000, compared to the 30,000 for which Manchester United asked. The demand for tickets far outstripped the supply. The Benfica management estimated that a further 1,000 of their fans travelled to London without a ticket, while 10,000 Manchester United fans had bought tickets on general sale before the quarter-finals. On the Monday prior to the match, standing tickets originally priced at 10
shillings The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence or ...
were selling on the
black market A black market, underground economy, or shadow economy is a clandestine market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality or is characterized by noncompliance with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the se ...
for £7, while seats which had been £2 were £20.


Match


Summary

The final was played at
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
in London on 29 May 1968 and kicked off at 19:45 BST in front of a crowd of 92,225; in addition, there was an estimated European television audience of 250 million. The referee was
Concetto Lo Bello Concetto Lo Bello (13 May 1924 – 9 September 1991) was an Italian association football international referee. He holds the record for refereeing the most games in Serie A (328). His career spanned the years 1944 to 1974, refereeing his first ...
of
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. Manchester United had the best of the play in the first half, but aggressive defence from Benfica prevented them from making a breakthrough. According to Eric Todd of ''The Guardian'', Best was knocked down six times in the first half; three each by Fernando Cruz and
Humberto Humberto is a Portuguese and Spanish masculine given name of Germanic origin. It may refer to: *Humberto Aguilar Coronado *Humberto Ak'ab'al *Humberto Albiñana *Humberto Albornoz *Humberto Alonso Morelli *Humberto Alonso Razo *Humberto Andrade Que ...
, the latter of whom was cautioned in the 20th minute. In the 28th minute, Kidd passed the ball to Sadler, 10 yards from goal, but he shot wide. Benfica's three best chances on goal in the first half all came from Eusébio; the first was from a free kick, which deflected off the
wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including: * Walls in buildings that form a fundamental part of the supe ...
and drew a save from United goalkeeper
Alex Stepney Alexander Cyril Stepney (born 18 September 1942) is an English former footballer who was Manchester United's goalkeeper when they became the first English club to win the European Cup. Early career Born in Mitcham, Surrey, Stepney had unsucce ...
. Another free kick was struck high over the goal, before he hit the crossbar, having beaten Stepney with what Todd described as "the best shot of the first half". Aston had two shots early in the second half, both saved by the Benfica goalkeeper,
José Henrique José Henrique Rodrigues Marques (born 18 May 1943), known as José Henrique, is a retired Portuguese footballer. A goalkeeper, he was best known for his successful spell at Benfica, being nicknamed ''Zé Gato'' (Joe Cat). He appeared in 299 o ...
. Eight minutes into the second half,
Tony Dunne Anthony Peter Dunne (24 July 19418 June 2020) was an Irish footballer who played as a left-back. Born in Dublin, he began his career with youth side Stella Maris before signing for Drumcondra-based Shelbourne, with whom he won the FAI Cup in ...
passed the ball to Sadler, who lobbed the ball into the Benfica area; Bobby Charlton jumped and headed the ball into the goal to give United a 1–0 lead. In the 79th minute, Augusto and Torres set up a goal for
Jaime Graça Jaime da Silva Graça (; 30 January 1942 – 28 February 2012) was a Portuguese football midfielder and coach. Club career Born in Setúbal, Graça made his professional – and Primeira Liga – debut with local Vitória Futebol Clube, appe ...
, levelling the score at 1–1. In the last five minutes of normal time, Eusébio had two chances on goal, drawing saves from Stepney, who was applauded for his efforts by the Portuguese forward. The score remained at 1–1 until the end of normal time, forcing the match into
extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...
. In the third minute of the additional period, Stepney took a long goal kick, which was headed on by Kidd, and collected by Best; he dribbled the ball past the defence, and then around the goalkeeper, before rolling the ball into an empty net. Two minutes later, a header from Sadler was saved by Henrique, but the rebound came to Kidd, who headed it in to give United a 3–1 lead. United continued to dominate play, and had another shot that hit the bar. Charlton completed the scoring in the ninth minute of extra time, converting a pass from Kidd to make it 4–1.


Details


Post-match

United's win meant that they became the first English team to win the European Cup, a year after
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...
had become the first British team to do so. The win also marked the culmination of Manchester United's 10 years of rebuilding after the Munich air disaster; two of the team, Charlton and Foulkes, were survivors of the crash. As European Cup champions, Manchester United contested the
1968 Intercontinental Cup The 1968 Intercontinental Cup was an association football tie held over two legs in 1968 between the winners of the 1967–68 European Cup, Manchester United, and Estudiantes de La Plata, winners of the 1968 Copa Libertadores. The first leg was h ...
against Estudiantes, winners of the
1968 Copa Libertadores The 1968 Copa Libertadores was the ninth edition of the Copa Libertadores, South America's premier association football competition. It was played between January 27 and May 16. A record 21 teams participated in this edition. This edition brought ...
. Manchester United lost the tie, 2–1 on aggregate. Both Benfica and Manchester United competed in the European Cup again in 1968–69: Benfica were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Ajax, while Manchester United reached the semi-finals, where they were beaten by Milan.


See also

*
Manchester United F.C. in European football Manchester United Football Club is an English football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester. They were the first English club to participate in a European competition, entering the European Cup in 1956. Since then, the club has comp ...
*
S.L. Benfica in international football Sport Lisboa e Benfica is a Portuguese professional football club based in Lisbon whose involvement in European competition dates back to the 1950s. As champions of Portugal, Benfica were supposed to participate in the inaugural edition of th ...


Notes and references


Notes


References

*


External links


Colour video footage of the victory1967–68 season at UEFA website
{{Manchester United F.C. matches 1 European Cup Final European Cup Final 1968 European Cup Final 1968
1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...
European Cup Final 1968
European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
European Cup Final Events at Wembley Stadium