The 1991 European Cup Final was a football match held at the Stadio San Nicola in Bari,

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 ...

, on 29 May 1991, that saw

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 ...

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

defeat

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in a

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

. After normal time and extra time could not separate the two sides, the match was to be decided on penalty kicks.

Manuel Amoros Manuel Amoros (born 1 February 1962) is a French former professional footballer who played as a right-back. He was capped 82 times for France, and played in the UEFA European Championships finals of 1984 and 1992, and the FIFA World Cup finals ...

's miss for the French side proved crucial, as Red Star held their nerve to win their first and, as of 2022, only European Cup.

Teams

Road to the final

Pre-match

Red Star arrived in Italy unusually early, on Thursday, 23 May 1991, six full days ahead of the final. The team set up base in the town of

Monopoli Monopoli (; Monopolitano: ) is a town and municipality in Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Bari and region of Apulia. The town is roughly in area and lies on the Adriatic Sea about southeast of Bari. It has a population of 49,24 ...

, south-east of Bari. There they stayed in Il Melograno Hotel, an isolated accommodation on the town outskirts, and trained at the facilities of A.C. Monopoli. Due to a lot of interest from richer European clubs already being raised for the future services of young Red Star players, the club management tried to ensure its footballers were fully focused on the task at hand. The players were placed in semi-quarantine immediately upon arrival in Italy, which meant being separated from wives and girlfriends without the ability to receive incoming phone calls in hotel rooms, though able to make outgoing calls. Over the coming days, the club also organized for a large entourage consisting of former players and coaches, friends of the club, etc. to arrive in Bari in order to watch Red Star in its first European Cup final. Therefore, club legends

Rajko Mitić Rajko Mitić ( sr-Cyrl, Рајко Митић, ; 19 November 1922 – 29 March 2008) was a Serbian footballer, coach, executive and journalist. Mitić is considered one of the most important players in the history of Red Star Belgrade as he is th ...

and

Dragoslav Šekularac Dragoslav Šekularac ( sr-Cyrl, Драгослав Шекуларац, ; 8 November 1937 – 5 January 2019) was a Serbian professional footballer and coach. Nicknamed Šeki, he was quick and crafty with the ball, displaying creative skills which ...

, notable former players

Srđan Mrkušić Srđan Mrkušić (May 26, 1915 – October 30, 2007) was a Serbian football goalkeeper, legendary "third back" and forestry engineer. With a long professional football career that spanned more than two decades, he is known for representing Yugosl ...

Stanislav Karasi Stanislav Karasi (; born 8 November 1946) is a Serbian former football manager and player. Club career After coming through the youth system of Red Star Belgrade, Karasi started his senior career with Yugoslav Second League side Borovo. He ret ...

Živorad Jevtić Živorad Jevtić (born December 27, 1943 in Kruševac, Kingdom of Yugoslavia – death 8 August 2000) was a Serbian football player. He capped 16 times for Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југос� ...

, club's former coach Miša Pavić along with Serbian celebrities and public personalities such as

Ljuba Tadić Ljubomir "Ljuba" Tadić ( sr-cyr, Љубомир Љуба Тадић; 31 May 1929 – 28 October 2005) was a Yugoslav actor who enjoyed a reputation as one of the greatest names in the history of former Yugoslav cinema. Biography He made his scr ...

, Ivan Bekjarev,

Bora Đorđević Borisav "Bora" Đorđević ( sr-cyr, Борисав, Бора Ђорђевић; born 1 November 1952), also known as Bora Čorba ( sr-cyr, Бора Чорба), is a Serbian singer, songwriter, and poet. He is best known as the frontman of the ...

, etc. made their way to Italy.Red Star in Bari
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Match

Details

Notes

References

External links

1990–91 season at UEFA website

at European Cup History {{Olympique de Marseille matches 1 European Cup Final 1991 European Cup Final 1991 European Cup Final 1991

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

European Cup Final 1991 European Cup Final Sport in Bari