How the Balkan Sides Won the Champions League Twice

 

The Balkan clubs once stunned the world by snatching the European Cup title, the old UCL, twice before UEFA rebranded the competition.

Winning the UEFA Champions League is probably the ultimate achievement for a European club, even more prestigious than the FIFA Club World Cup, at least in the current version. The prize and prestige of lifting the UCL trophy are simply incomparable. Today, it is highly unthinkable to see clubs outside the top five leagues snatch the title.

Since its rebranding in 1992, Jose Mourinho’s FC Porto became the only club outside the major European league to win the competition back in 2004. Thus, hoping Turkish, Belgian, Swiss, or even the duo Old Firm rivals, Glasgow Celtic and Rangers, to clinch the title is rather preposterous in the modern era, let alone the Balkan sides such as those from Eastern Europe.

However, things were different in the past. Having an unlikely champion was more plausible. Two Balkan clubs, Steaua Bucharest and Red Star Belgrade, were living proof that winning UEFA’s top-flight competition was not as challenging as it is today. So, how did they manage to lift the trophy?

The Limited Participants

Prior to 1997, the UEFA Champions League was an exclusive club competition. The participants were limited to the domestic league winners. Therefore, only five to seven or eight elite sides played in the competition from the first edition in the 1955–56 season to 1996–97. Only five or six of them came from the top five major leagues, plus the reigning champions.

The Tournament’s Format

The competition format in the old UCL was entirely different from what we have today. In the past, teams started off with the knockout stage instantly instead of the group stage. It meant the opponents would only be decided through a draw. The minnows, or non-elite sides, could avoid taking on the big teams if they were lucky.

The group stage itself was only introduced in the 1994–95 season as a preliminary round. Previously, it was included in the competition format from 1991 to 1994 but as a final-four-in-a-round-robin system to determine the finalists.

The Advantage of Early Finals

Such a format inevitably led to the early finals, the matches between elite clubs in the earlier stage before the final or even semifinal. It gave the non-elite sides an extra advantage, allowing them to pass without difficulty. Both Steaua Bucharest and Red Star Belgrade happened to enjoy such ‘luxury’ while winning their silverware.

The Continental Ban

The continental ban was imposed on all English clubs between 1986 and 1990 due to the Heysel tragedy, which involved Liverpool fans during the 1985 European Cup final. The Reds were even suspended for another year in the 1990–91 season. Such a ban came at the wrong time since English clubs were at the peak of their European dominance. Except in 1983, they always sent one club to the summit from 1977 to 1985 and lifted the trophy in seven editions.

Moreover, Ajax Amsterdam had to serve a one-yearban too in the 1990–91 season due to acts of violence by their fans in the previous season. They reportedly threw an iron bar at Franz Wohlfahrt, Austria’s goalie, when their team was trailing on goal aggregate in the 1990 UEFA Cup first round. The game was abandoned, and the Amsterdammers suffered a 3-0 loss as a sanction for their fans. 

Unsurprisingly, there were four unlikely champions during the same period of the ban. Steaua and Red Star were not the only teams who optimised their advantage from the English clubs’ absence. FC Porto and PSV Eindhoven were touted as the unexpected winners as well.

In regard to the Balkan clubs’ surprising victorious campaign, check out how they went all the way to the final and clinched the Big Ears trophy for the first time and probably the last time.

Steaua Bucharest in the 1986 European Cup

Marius Lacatus and Co. began their campaign with a convincing 5-2 win on aggregate against Danish Vejle in the first round, followed by an emphatic 4-1 win over Budapest Honved at their home turf in the second leg to avenge their 1-0 defeat in the reverse fixture.

In the round of 8, Emerich Jenei’s men had to struggle to see off Finland’s Kuusysi. They could only muster a goalless draw at home in the first leg. Thanks to Vitor Piturca’s goal in the 86^th minute in the Helsinki Olympic Stadium, which sent them to the semifinal. This time, they were lucky not to face off against Bayern Munich, which was sent home earlier by Anderlecht. Yet they did not grab the win easily. In fact, they were stunned by Enzo Scifo’s goal in the first leg away from home. Fortunately, there was only one goal deficit as the Romanian champions managed to dismantle the Belgian side 3-0 at home. Vitor Piturca’s brace helped them secure the final berth.

In the summit, Steaua met Terry Venables' Barcelona, the favourite, who had a home advantage too, as the final was staged at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. Both deployed a 4-4-2 formation. It was a tight affair, but Blaugrana should have ended the game without penalties, as they had at least six chances from Bernd Schuster, Angel Pedraza, Gerardo, and two from the Scottish frontman, Steve Archibald. Unfortunately, none had a clinical finish, plus one goal almost at the end of the extra time was ruled out. Meanwhile, the Romanian side tended to count on long-range shots to break the deadlock.

Finally, there came the shootout. The Catalan sides were quite confident at first, but their shot stopper, Javier Urruticoechea, managed to deny the first two attempts. However, it was their executors who were to blame, since none of them successfully found the back of the net. What was worse, all were saved by Helmuth Duckadam, Steaua’s unlikely hero, while the Romanian champion succeeded in their last two penalties.

Red Star Belgrade in the 1991 European Cup

The Yugoslavian side had a better campaign on the way to the final. In the first two rounds, Robert Prosinecki and Co. eased past Grashopper and Glasgow Rangers with a 5-2 and 4-1 win on aggregate, respectively.

In the quarterfinal, Ljupko Petrovic’s men edged out East Germany’s Dynamo Dresden in a 6-0 win on aggregate. In the semifinal, Red Star was able to pick up a 2-1 win on the road against Bayern in the first leg, whereas in the second leg, they shared spoils in a 2-2 draw.

In the summit, Red Star faced off against Olympique Marseille, which was held in San Nicola, Bari. The game was relatively even, although it was the French side that had more golden opportunities, one from Jean Pierre Papin and two from Chris Waddle. The match had to be decided in a shootout after a stalemate for 120 minutes. Red Star was handed the advantage on penalties as they had done in on regular basis because back then in Yugoslavian league all ties must be decided in a shootout. OM’s first executor, Manuel Amoros, was the only one who failed to score. The Big Ears finally went to the Balkans once again after five years.