The 1966 European Cup Winners' Cup final was an

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

match between

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, often known simply as Borussia Dortmund () or by its initialism BVB (), or just Dortmund by International fans, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...

of West Germany and

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

of England played on 5 May 1966 at

Hampden Park Hampden Park ( ; Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden'') is a association football, football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the national stadium of football in Scotland and home of the Scotland national football ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Scotland. It was the final match of the 1965–66 season of Europe's secondary cup competition, the

European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...

. Both sides were competing in their first European final. Each club needed to progress through four rounds to reach the final. The rounds were contested over two legs, with a match at each team's home ground. Borussia's ties varied from close affairs to comfortable victories. They beat

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

by a single goal over two legs, while they defeated

Floriana Floriana ( or ''Il-Floriana''), also known by its title Borgo Vilhena, is a Floriana Lines, fortified town in the Port Region, Malta, Port Region area of Malta, just outside the capital city Valletta. It has a population of 2,205 as of March 2014 ...

13–1 on aggregate in the first round. Liverpool's ties were mainly close affairs. Only one of Liverpool's ties was won by more than two goals. Watched by a crowd of 41,657, the first half was goalless. Dortmund took the lead in the second half when

Sigfried Held Sigfried "Siggi" Held (born 7 August 1942) is a German former football player and coach. He played as an attacking midfielder or forward. Career Born in Freudenthal, Sudetenland (now Czech Republic), Held's first football club was Kickers Offe ...

scored, Liverpool equalised seven minutes later through

Roger Hunt Roger Hunt (20 July 1938 – 27 September 2021) was an English professional footballer who played as a forward. Eleven years with Liverpool, he was the club's record goalscorer with 285 goals until being overtaken by Ian Rush. Nonetheless, H ...

. The scores remained the same to the end of the second half, which meant the match went into

extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play 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 only if the game is required t ...

. Reinhard Libuda scored in extra-time for Dortmund, and with no further goals, Dortmund won the match 2–1 to win the Cup Winners' Cup and become the first German team to win a European trophy.

Route to the final

Borussia Dortmund

Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...

gained entry to the competition by winning the

1964–65 DFB-Pokal The 1964–65 DFB-Pokal was the 22nd season of the annual German Association football, football cup competition. It began on 16 January 1965 and ended on 22 May 1965. 32 teams competed in the tournament of five rounds. In the final Borussia Dortmu ...

, Germany's annual domestic cup competition. Their opponents in the first round were the Maltese cup winners

. Dortmund won the first leg at Floriana's home ground the Independence Ground 5–1, and the second leg 8–0 at Dortmund's home ground

Stadion Rote Erde Stadion Rote Erde (; ''Red Earth Stadium'') is a 25,000 capacity (3,000 seated) football (soccer), football and sport of athletics, athletics stadium in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It serves as the home stadium to Borussia Dortmund II and s ...

, thus winning the tie 13–1 on aggregate. Their opponents in the second round were Bulgarian cup winners'

CSKA Sofia CSKA Sofia () is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia and currently competing in the country's premier football competition, the First League. ''CSKA'' is an abbreviation for ''Central Sports Club of the Army'' ...

. The first leg was in Germany. Dortmund won 3–0 after goals from Wilhelm Sturm,

and Aki Schmidt. The second leg was played in Bulgaria at the

Vasil Levski National Stadium Vasil Levski National Stadium (), named after Bulgarian Folk hero, national hero and revolutionary Vasil Levski (1837–1873), is the country's second largest stadium. The stadium has 43,230 seats and is located in the centre of Sofia, on the te ...

. CSKA won the match 4–2, but Dortmund progressed to the quarter-finals after winning the tie 5–4 on aggregate. Dortmund's opponents in the quarter-finals were Spanish cup winners'

. The first leg held at Atlético's home ground the

Metropolitano Metropolitano S.A. was a privately owned consortium formed in 1994 to take over concessions granted by the Argentine government as part of railway privatisation during the presidency of Carlos Menem for the operation of commuter rail services i ...

finished 1–1. Dortmund won the second leg 1–0 in Germany and progressed to the semi-finals courtesy of a 2–1 aggregate victory. Their opponents in the semi-finals were the previous season's champions

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

of England, who had England internationals

Bobby Moore Robert Frederick Chelsea Moore (12 April 1941 – 24 February 1993) was an English professional footballer. He captained West Ham United for more than ten years, and was the captain of the England national team that won the 1966 FIFA ...

and

Geoff Hurst Sir Geoffrey Charles Hurst (born 8 December 1941) is an English former professional Association football, footballer. A Striker (association football), striker, he became the first player to score a Hat-trick#Association football, hat-trick in a ...

in their side. The first leg at the

Boleyn Ground Boleyn Ground, often referred to as Upton Park, was a football stadium in Upton Park, London, Upton Park, east London, England. It was the home of West Ham United F.C., West Ham United from 1904 to 2016, and was briefly used by Charlton Athletic ...

, West Ham's home ground, was won 2–1 by Dortmund. Dortmund won the second leg in Germany 3–1, to win the tie 5–2 on aggregate and progress to the first Cup Winners' Cup final.

Liverpool

Liverpool qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup by winning the 1964–65 FA Cup, England's annual domestic cup competition. Their opponents in the first round were Italian cup winners

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

. The first leg was held at Juventus' home ground the Stadio Communale. With 81 minutes played and the score at 0–0, Gianfranco Leoncini scored for Juventus. The Italian side subsequently won the first leg 1–0. The second leg was held at Liverpool's home ground

Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...

, and they won the match 2–0 with two first half goals from Chris Lawler and Geoff Strong. Thus they won the tie 2–1 on aggregate.Ponting (1992) p. 38. Their opponents in the second round were Belgian team

Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège ( ; ; ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège. They are one of the most successful clubs in Belgium, having won t ...

. Liège were runners-up in the Belgian Cup to

Anderlecht Anderlecht (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, B ...

, but as Anderlecht had won the league this entitled them to compete in the

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...

and Liège took their place in the Cup Winners' Cup. Liverpool won the first leg in England 3–1 and a 2–1 victory at Liège's home ground Stade Maurice Dufrasne ensured a 5–2 aggregate victory. In the quarter-finals Liverpool were drawn against Hungarian Cup winners Honvéd. The first leg at Honvéd's home ground the Bozsik József Stadion ended in a 0–0 draw. A 2–0 victory in the second leg in England ensured Liverpool won the tie 2–0 on aggregate to progress to the semi-finals. Liverpool's opponents in the semi-finals were Scottish Cup winners

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 Foot ...

. Celtic won the first leg 1–0 at their home ground

Celtic Park Celtic Park is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium and the home of Scottish Premiership team Celtic F.C., Celtic, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest List of football stadiums in Sco ...

, thanks to a goal from Bobby Lennox. Liverpool needed to win the second leg at Anfield to progress to the final. Two goals from Tommy Smith and Geoff Strong secured a 2–0 victory. Liverpool won the tie 2–1 on aggregate to secure their place in their first European final.

Match

Background

Both Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund were appearing in their first European final. It was Liverpool's second season in European competition, the previous season they had been eliminated in the semi-finals of the 1964–65 European Cup by

Internazionale Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Since 1 ...

. Dortmund first competed in European competition in the

1956–57 European Cup The 1956–57 European Cup was the second season of the European Cup, Europe's premier club football tournament. The competition was won for the second time by Real Madrid, who beat Fiorentina 2–0 in the final at the Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid ...

, when they were eliminated in the second round. Their best performance in Europe to date was in the

1963–64 European Cup The 1963–64 European Cup was the ninth season of the European Cup, UEFA's premier club football tournament. The competition was won by Inter Milan, who beat Real Madrid 3–1 in the final at Praterstadion, Vienna, on 27 May 1964. Inter's tr ...

. Like Liverpool they were eliminated in the semi-finals by Internazionale. Liverpool had won the

1965–66 Football League The 1965–66 season was the 67th completed season of the English Football League, Football League. This season is notable for Liverpool F.C., Liverpool winning the title – their seventh overall – with only 14 squad players. The Second, Third ...

, a victory over Chelsea ensured they became English champions. Their league success meant that whatever the result they would be competing in the European Cup the following season. Borussia Dortmund had finished as runners-up in the 1965–66 Fußball-Bundesliga, three points behind champions

1860 Munich , commonly known as TSV 1860 München (; ''sechzig'' locally ; lettered as ) or 1860 Munich, is a sports club based in Munich. The club's football team plays in the 3. Liga, the third tier of the German football pyramid. Their current home gr ...

. As

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

had won the

1965–66 DFB-Pokal The 1965–66 DFB-Pokal was the 23rd season of the annual German football cup competition. It began on 22 January 1966 and ended on 4 June 1966. 32 teams competed in the tournament of five rounds. In the final Bayern Munich Fußball-Club ...

, Dortmund's only chance of participating in European football the following season was to win the Cup Winners' Cup.

Summary

The weather in Glasgow was stormy, with torrential rain nearly flooding Hampden Park. As a result, the stadium did not reach its normal capacity of 100,000, with 41,657 spectators attending the match.Kelly (1988) p. 76. The first half was mostly uneventful as both teams negated the threat of the other.Ponting (1992) p. 43. Despite this both sides had opportunities to take the lead. At the start of the match, Liverpool striker

Ian St John John "Ian" St John (; 7 June 1938 – 1 March 2021) was a Scottish professional football player, coach and broadcaster. St John played as a forward for Liverpool throughout most of the 1960s. Signed by Bill Shankly in 1961, St John was a key m ...

had a shot cleared off the goal line and midway through the second half Dortmund defender Theodor Redder almost scored an

own goal An own goal occurs in sports when a player performs actions that result in scoring points for the opposition, such as when a Association football, footballer puts a ball into their own net. In some parts of the world, the term has become a met ...

. Towards the end of the half, Dortmund began to have more of an attacking threat. They were only denied by a number of saves from Liverpool goalkeeper Tommy Lawrence, ensuring it remained 0–0 at half-time. Liverpool had the majority of the possession up to this point, with Dortmund content to counter-attack.Ponting (1992) p. 36. The tactic worked as Dortmund took lead in the 61st minute.

passed to

Lothar Emmerich Lothar "Emma" Emmerich (29 November 1941 – 13 August 2003) was a German football player and manager who played as a forward. He was born in Dortmund-Dorstfeld and died in Hemer from cancer. He won five caps for West Germany in 1966, four of ...

on the left hand side of the pitch, Emmerich played a lofted pass to Held, who volleyed the ball into the goal to give Dortmund a 1–0 lead. Seven minutes later Liverpool were level. Peter Thompson ran down the left hand side of the pitch and passed to

who scored to level the match at 1–1. The linesman on the left-hand side of the pitch signalled to the referee that the ball had gone out of play, yet the referee ignored him and allowed the goal to stand. There were few chances for either side until the end of the half when Liverpool had a chance to win the match, but Hunt's shot missed. With the scores still level at 1–1, the match went into

extra-time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play 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 only if the game is required t ...

. The winning goal came in the 107th minute. A clearance by Liverpool goalkeeper Lawrence found Dortmund midfielder Reinhard Libuda. Libuda shot 35 yards from goal on the right hand side of the pitch. The shot went over Lawrence and Liverpool defender Ron Yeats hit the post and rebounded off Yeats into the Liverpool goal to give Dortmund a 2–1 lead. The score remained the same throughout the remainder of extra-time and Dortmund became the first German team to win the Cup Winners' Cup.

Details

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cup Winners' Cup Final 1966 3 Borussia Dortmund matches Liverpool F.C. matches

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

1965–66 in Scottish football

1965–66 in German football 1965–66 in English football May 1966 sports events in the United Kingdom 1960s in Glasgow Football competitions in Glasgow Association football matches in Scotland