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“You win something once and people say it is all down to luck,” reflected Brian Clough after Nottingham Forest had successfully defended the European Cup on 28 May 1980. “You win it twice and it shuts the buggers up.”
Winning the 1979 European Cup was hardly a fluke. Defeating Liverpool and Cologne on their way to the final in Munich, Nottingham Forest could not be accused of having things easy. Admittedly, Malmo were not the most testing of opponents in the final. But a year on, Forest’s opponents in the final at the Bernabéu could not be dismissed so lightly.
Hamburg had cruised past Icelandic team Valur before defeating Liverpool’s conquerors Dinamo Tbilisi in the second round. An away-goals win over Hajduk Split in the last eight set up a semi-final clash with Real Madrid. Overturning a 2-0 first leg deficit with a 5-1 win at the Volksparkstadion, Hamburg’s attacking threat was clear for all to see.
Inevitably the British media focused on Kevin Keegan and his part in the final, as he looked to bid a similar farewell to Hamburg as he had done with Liverpool three years before. But Hamburg were dealt a couple of major blows three days before the final. A defeat to Bayer Leverkusen ended their hopes of retaining the Bundesliga and, to make matters worse, striker Horst Hrubesch – their top scorer in the league and European Cup that season – suffered an ankle ligament injury.
Forest had their own problems. Trevor Francis ruptured an achilles tendon in a league game against Crystal Palace a few weeks before the final. “Of course, we will miss Trevor Francis,” said Clough. “At the time of his injury the lad was going like a bomb.” Francis’s recent form had been a revelation, his goals against Dynamo Berlin and Ajax crucial in helping Forest reach the final. Nevertheless, Clough left Francis devastated when he told him not to attend the final. “The only message I had from the manager came through Brian’s secretary” said Francis later. “She rang me a few days before the final to say that the manager doesn’t want you to be at the final. I was hurt, really hurt.” For such a great man manager, it seemed a rare blemish.
However, Clough had his hands full with another issue at the time. After he was not selected to play in John Robertson’s testimonial, Stan Bowles walked out of the club and missed their mini-break to Majorca before the final. In doing so, he had ruled himself out of a potential European Cup final appearance. There was no doubt he would have featured at some point.
In the end, Forest travelled to Madrid with just a 15-man squad and could not even fill the allocated five spaces on the substitutes’ bench. Former Sunderland goalkeeper Jim Montgomery sat alongside John O’Hare, Bryn Gunn and David Needham. The very definition of being down to the bare bones.
The task of filling Francis’ boots fell to 18-year-old Gary Mills. “It is beyond my wildest dreams,” said Mills, who started the game up front in support of Garry Birtles before dropping back into midfield, leaving Birtles to run himself into the ground. Forest had no option other than to spread five across midfield. With Francis out, assistant manager Peter Taylor admitted they would have to change their game plan drastically. “If you’re a betting man get your money on us to win 1-0,” Taylor said, hinting that Forest would hardly be at their most expansive. It would be a case of the ends justifying the means.
For Peter Shilton, the match in Madrid would be a triumph, but there were rumours he would would miss the final. The goalkeeper took a painkilling injection in his shoulder and made it on to the field. Montgomery had performed heroics for Sunderland in the FA Cup final in 1973, but the prospect of the 36-year-old winning the European Cup on his Forest debut may even have been a stretch for Clough’s scriptwriter.
A save from a Felix Magath free-kick early on set the tone for Shilton’s evening, his levels of concentration soaring through the roof as Hamburg probed all night. His point-blank block from Jürgen Milewski was especially impressive given he had trained twice on a roundabout before the final due to a lack of suitable facilities.
Before the match, there had been a lot of hype about West German international Manny Kaltz, an attacking full-back renowned for his bananenflanken (banana crosses). Clough was unperturbed though. “We’ve got a little fat guy that will turn him inside out – a very talented, highly skilled, unbelievable outside-left,” said the Forest manager, his sly smile almost suggesting he knew that John Robertson was destined to score the winner.
In the 20th minute, Robertson collected the ball on the left before cutting inside and away from Kaltz. After playing a one-two with Birtles, who assisted while laying on the ground, Robertson took the ball away from Keegan and fired home from the edge of the box.
The goal gave Forest something to hold on to, setting up the game as a backs-against-the-wall assignment. Centre-backs Larry Lloyd and Kenny Burns were superb. Lloyd, who passed a late fitness test on his ankle, had warned his old mate Keegan that his defensive partner Burns was after him. Burns’ tackle on Keegan that earned him a yellow card in the first half certainly confirmed his intentions.
A lot has been made of that tackle by Burns and whether Keegan dropped deeper and deeper as the match progressed to escape the attentions of the Scottish centre-back. The introduction of a half-fit Hrubesch at half time possibly had more to do with this, yet the fact that Forest kept Keegan quiet was a telling factor on the night.
Shilton continued to thwart Hamburg, a fine save from Peter Nogly in the second half another for the highlights package. Hamburg finally got a shot past him on the hour mark, but Kaltz’s drive came back off the post. Ivan Buljan nearly scored from a few yards out after a scramble in the box but his shot trickled wide. Forest were just about managing to hold back the tide.
Naturally, fatigue kicked in. A limping Frank Gray was replaced by Gunn; O’Hare came on for Mills; and Birtles was so tired that he failed to get a shot off when put through on goal late on. But as the seconds ticked down, the worst fears of the Germans were coming true. It was a draining night for everyone involved. Even the ITV commentator Brian Moore lost his bearings, announcing to 13 million viewers at the final whistle that Hamburg were European champions. Despite Moore’s momentary slip, the trophy was staying in England for a fourth successive year.
Real Madrid, Benfica, Inter, Ajax, Bayern Munich and Liverpool had all defended the European Cup successfully in the past. Now, amazingly, the name of Nottingham Forest could be added to that list.
In the immediate aftermath of the glory, Clough and Taylor found themselves defending Forest’s approach to the match. The Observer’s Hugh McIlvanney asked: “Was it much of a thrill for anyone outside the impressive numbers of Nottingham supporters?” One foreign commentator even suggested Forest had “taken the soul out of this European final.” It may not have been thrilling or entertaining but, given the circumstances, surely Forest’s tactics were understandable. “We gave Hamburg a lesson in application, determination and pride,” said Clough defiantly. “Defending well is just as important as attacking well. We weren’t lucky, we were good.”
Clough turned his attentions to the future after the game, announcing that the club intended to build upon their success. But nothing lasts forever. A defeat by CSKA Sofia the following season ended Forest’s hold on the European Cup and the cracks in the Clough-Taylor partnership slowly began to open. Gradually the team broke up and, sadly, the replacements brought in were not of the same quality.
Madrid turned out to be the end of an era. But what a glorious era it was. A time when Clough and Taylor performed miracles in leading Nottingham Forest to two European Cups. It may not be the greatest achievement in European football, but it’s in the top one.
• This article appeared first on That 1980s Sports Blog
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