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The 1966 European Cup Final was a football match held at Heysel Stadium, Brussels, on May 11, 1966, that saw Real Madrid CF of Spain defeat FK Partizan of Yugoslavia 2 - 1.
[edit] Match Summary
Without legends such as Di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas, the Real Madrid side that took to the pitch for the European Cup Final in Brussels was very different to that which European football fans had grown used to over the previous decade. Composed almost entirely of young and little known players, including five who had come up from the youth team, the youngsters looked to Gento, the one survivor from the 1956 winning side and now the captain, to provide the experience that they so lacked. And they certainly needed character to cope with the rampant FK Partizan side that surged forward from the first whistle. With their half back line of Becejac, Rasovic and Vasovic dominating the play, the Yugoslavs took control of the game and limited their more illustrious opponents to occasional breakaways. Galic, Partizan’s outstanding forward who had obtained special release from the army to play in this his first game of the year, squandered two first half chances, while a Hasanagic effort hit the crossbar. The strong Partizan defence was on top of the Real attack during the first half and at half-time the game remained goalless. The Yugoslav domination continued after the break and, on 55 minutes, they gained some reward. Galic’s persistence on the wing gained Partizan a corner and as Hasanagic nodded back Pirmajer’s kick, the captain Vasovic rose to power the ball home.
Partizan finally had the goal that their play had deserved, but that only served to shock Real into life. Real Madrid’s young players shook off their nerves and, inspired by Gento in midfield, now threw caution aside and, although it left them vulnerable to the counter attack, Partizan were unable to respond. Within 15 minutes Real were level as Amancio, having been sent clear by Grosso’s pass, drew Soskic from his goal to glide the ball home. The Spaniards were now in the ascendancy and it took them only five more minutes to take the lead as Serena hit a shot out of the blue from 30 yards out that flew into the top corner of the net. Partizan were now unable to hit back and the Spanish giants were able to see out the rest of the game with relative ease to claim their sixth European title. The few policemen around the perimeter were unable to stop the Spanish supporters streaming on to the pitch to celebrate another famous win for Europe’s most famous team.
FK Partizan may have come close to a famous victory, but they had now missed their chance as the side was immediately broken up with their star players heading west. Soskic went to Cologne, Galic to Standard Liege, Rasovic to PSV Eindhoven and Vasovic, who had scored in the final, was transferred to Ajax where he would come to feature again in the story of the European Cup. In Madrid, meanwhile, Real celebrated yet another European triumph, this time with a team entirely composed of Spanish players. Many may have considered them to be a spent force in European football, but their sixth title in eleven years had proved otherwise. Despite the best efforts of the continents top teams, Real Madrid ruled over Europe once again.
[edit] Match details
|
|
| FK Partizan |
|
|
| GK |
1 |
 Milutin Šoškić |
| DF |
2 |
Fahrudin Jusufi |
| DF |
3 |
Velibor Vasović (C)  55' |
| DF |
4 |
Branko Rašović |
| DF |
5 |
Ljubomir Mihajlović |
| MF |
6 |
Vladimir Kovačević |
| MF |
7 |
Radoslav Bečejac |
| MF |
8 |
Mane Bajić |
| MF |
9 |
Mustafa Hasanagić |
| FW |
10 |
Milan Galić |
| FW |
19 |
Josip Pirmajer |
| Coach: |
| Abdullah Gegić |
|
[edit] See Also
[edit] External links
Real Madrid CF
Rudolf Kreitlein
