FOOTY FAIR

Throwback Thursdays: Ajax Introduce the World to Total Football

2016-06-02T08:00:00.000-04:00

Exactly forty-five years ago today, Amsterdam powerhouse Ajax won the first of their eventual three straight European Cups by defeating Panathinaikos 2-0 at Wembley Stadium in London.

For Ajax it was their second trip to the final, following a 4-1 defeat to AC Milan in 1969.

Throughout much of their history Ajax had a tradition of playing exciting attacking football, but it would be after the appointment of former player Rinus Michels as manager in 1965 that the club would forge the identity that the Dutch giants are known for today.

Building upon Ajax's existing ethos for playing a passing game and adapting the ideas of Gusztáv Sebes, who had managed a flexible and exhilarating Hungarian national side in the 1950's, Michels implemented a system that would come to be coined "Total Football".

Although his side played in a basic 4-3-3 formation, the Ajax players were well drilled in picking up positions left vacated by a teammate making a run. The team shape and the spacing between players was never lost, as players rotated across the pitch.

In order to play this system, the player needed to be exceptionally fit and possess great spatial awareness, so they could easily pickup where they should move and where they should not in relation to their teammates and opponents.

Their opponents in the final were Athens side Panathinaikos, who are still the only Greek club to make it to the final of the European Cup.

Thanks to high scoring forward Antonis Antoniadis and under the watchful eye of manager Ferenc Puskás, the legendary former Hungarian striker, the Greek side had reached the final with impressive aggregate wins over Everton and Red Star Belgrade.

After taking a 5th-minute lead through Dick van Dijk it was Ajax's defense, rather than their much lauded attack, that came to the fore as they completely negated their opponents forwards.

Antoniadis struggled to get into the game, and the gig was up in the 87th minute when Arie Haan added a second for Ajax.

Despite Michels departure for Barcelona following this victory, over the next two seasons the Amsterdam club would go on to win two more European Cups, making it three in succession.

5 Iconic National Teams That Ultimately Failed

2016-01-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

It's been said that history only remembers the winners, but in football that's not always the case as some teams have captured our imaginations, and then lived long in our memories with their brilliant play despite ultimately falling short of winning the World Cup.

The following are five iconic sides that ultimately failed, but have never been forgotten:

Hungary 1954

Ferenc Puskas and Hungary's Mighty Magyars had gone undefeated for four years coming into the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland and were heavy favourites to lift the Jules Rimet Trophy. Hungary, playing an early form of total football, had smashed England 6-3 at Wembley a year earlier and surprised no one by romping to the World Cup Final in Bern. Their opponents were a West Germany side who, like the country they hailed from, were still recovering from the devastation of World War 2.

When Puskas and Zoltan Czibor put Hungary up 2-0 within eight minutes everything seemed to be going according to the script, but within two minutes West Germany got back into it. Max Morlock slide home the German's first on 10 minutes, before Helmut Rahn equalized in the 18th minute. After that the Hungarian's pressed and pressed, but despite laying siege to the German goal they could not force themselves back in front. With six minutes to go, Rahn struck again to complete a remarkable comeback and consign one of the finest team's the football world had seen to a 3-2 defeat.

Netherlands 1974

Unless you support Germany, if you mention the 1974 World Cup to most football fans of a certain age they'll almost certainly wax lyrically about the wonderful Dutch side of Johan Cruyff that swept to the final playing their glorious total football that summer.

Managed by Rinus Michels, the Netherlands played a fluid brand of football with players interchanging positions and Cruyff conducting things using a style that had seen Ajax win three straight European Cups in the early 1970's. Facing the host West German side in the final the Netherlands were the slight favourites, but as they had in 1954 the German's spoiled the party overcoming a Johan Neeskens penalty in the second minute with goals by Paul Breitner in the 25th minute and a second by poacher supreme Gerd Muller in the 43rd minute. Despite chances for both sides in the second half, West Germany claimed their second World Cup hanging on for a 2-1 victory in Munich.

Brazil 1982

Arguably the last Brazilian side to play in the thrilling samba style of old, the Selecao's 1982 vintage featured a chain smoking doctor named Socrates, the brilliant Zico and a terrific group of individuals who played like they'd just strolled in from the beach. Some of the goals this team scored are among the best World Cup stunners you'll ever see on YouTube.

Sweeping aside New Zealand, Scotland and the Soviet Union in the opening group stage, Brazil then downed their old rivals Argentina 3-1 in their first second round group match and seemed prime to match the achievements of the great Brazilian sides of the past. Unfortunately, the cavalier play of manager Tele Santana's side proved to be their undoing against the eventual world champions Italy when some disastrous defending gifted Paolo Rossi a hattrick in a 3-2 win for the Azzurri in the final second round group match. Thanks to exited in one of the finest World Cup matches ever played and their inspired attacking brilliance throughout, this Brazilian side is considered by many to be the best team that didn't win a World Cup.

Denmark 1986

For a country of only five million people, Denmark has produced a good number of wonderful footballers, several of which made up their 1986 World Cup squad. Nicknamed the Danish Dynamite, the 1986 squad combined brute force and smooth technique unlike any side the country has produced since, even the European Championship winners of 1992. Under German manager Sepp Piontek, the Danes might have been the most prepared team for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico having gone through intense altitude training and bruising training sessions prior to the tournament.

With the talented Preben Elkjær Larsen leading the line, a 21-year old phenomenon in Michael Laudrup providing the creativity and the dynamic Frank Arnesen and Soren Lerby applying the drive from midfield, Denmark became one of the neutrals favourites in Mexico. Sailing through, what looked like on paper, a tough first round group, the Danes dispatched Scotland 1-0, hammered Uruguay 6-1 and then beat the eventual finalists West Germany 2-0. But in the second round the unbelievable happened. After going up 1-0 against Spain, and pressing their advantage, a calamitous mistake by Jesper Olsen allowed the Spanish to equalize through Emilio Butragueño. In the second half as Denmark pushed forward, some might say recklessly, they were caught on the counter attack four more times as Butragueño added three more goals to his name and Andoni Goikoetxea fired in a penalty to complete a shock 5-1 win for Spain.

Denmark, a tournament favourite who had played some of the finest football of the World Cup in the first round, flew a little too close to the sun with wax wings.

Brazil 1998

Everyone of a certain age remembers the wonderful Nike advertisement of the Brazilian team of 1998 moving a ball through an airport, and it was rather representative of the football they played at that time. Although Brazil won the World Cup in 1994, and would win it again in 2002, it was the 1998 team with Ronaldo at his peak that captured the imagination.

Led by manager Mario Zagallo, who guided the legendary 1970 Brazilian side to glory, Brazil breezed through the first round with their attacking trio of Rivaldo, Bebeto and that man Ronaldo firing on all cylinders. They crushed Chile 4-1 in the Round of 16, before narrowly edging out a surprising Denmark side 3-2 in the Quarter Finals. The Semi Finals saw Brazil take the lead against a very good Dutch team through Ronaldo in the 46th minute, before Patrick Kluivert levelled the score three minutes from time. Brazil held their nerve in the shootout though and advanced to the final.

In the World Cup final against the host France, Brazil went in as the slight favourites despite the French having the home crowd advantage. Prior to the match though, Ronaldo suffered a seizure and was initially left out of the starting eleven. Despite being cleared to play, the best player on the planet at that time proved a non-factor as the South Americans wilted and were beaten 3-0.

5 Facts About Luxembourg

2015-11-14T11:56:00.000-05:00

Greece's miserable run of results following their elimination from the 2014 World Cup continued last night as they were stunned 1-0 in Luxembourg courtesy of a stoppage time strike from Aurelien Joachim.

For Greece, who finished at the bottom of their qualifying group for the European Championship, it was a bitter pill to swallow as Luxembourg currently sit at 146 on the FIFA world rankings, a full 89 places behind the Greeks.

For the tiny nation of Luxembourg though it was a tremendous result following another difficult, and ultimately unsuccessful, qualifying campaign for the European Championships.

As Luxembourg is by no means a football superpower and is certainly not a country that has featured much here on FootyFair, I thought I would present five quick facts about the country and it's football.

1) Luxembourg Almost Qualified for Euro 64

It's no great surprise to even casual followers of international football that Luxembourg doesn't have a tremendous record in World Cup or European Championship qualifying, but in 1963 they came agonizingly close to booking a place in the European Finals the next summer. Back in the early days of the Euros, the tournament was played across Europe in home and away qualifying rounds with only four teams reaching the finals. One of those teams would then be selected as the host.

Luxembourg defeated the Netherlands 3-2 over two legs in the First Round of Qualifying, which was sealed with a stunning 2-1 win in Rotterdam. Camille Dimmer, who was a well known politician in the small Western European country, scored both goals on the night, including a 67th minute winner.

Sadly, Luxembourg were denied a place in Euro 64 in Spain by virtue of a 6-5 loss over two Quarter Final legs and a one game playoff to Denmark. An exciting 3-3 draw at home was followed by a 2-2 draw in Copenhagen, but in the days before the away goals rule a one game neutral site playoff was required and the Dane's came through in Amsterdam 1-0.

2) Luxembourg is One of the Smallest States in Europe

With an area of 2,586 square kilometres (998 sq mi), Luxembourg is the seventh smallest sovereign state out of the 50 states in Europe. Only Andorra, Malta, Liechtenstein, San Marino, Monaco and Vatican City are smaller. With a population of just a little over 500,000 a result such as the one they had last night over Greece looks even bigger.

3) Luxembourg's Football League Has Five Divisions

Although many of the clubs are semi-professional or amateur, Luxembourg currently has a five tier league system with promotion and relegation between the divisions. The Luxembourg National Division, which is made up of 14 clubs, is the top league in the country. The current league champions are Sporting Circle Fola Esch.

4) Jeunesse Esch are the Biggest Club in Luxembourg

Jeunesse Esch are the most successful, and arguably the biggest, club in the country having won the league championship a record 28 times. Although like most sides from the Luxembourg they haven't had much success in Europe, in 1959-1960 they enjoyed a notable upset when they knocked the heavily favoured Polish side LKS Lodz out of the European Cup with a 6-2 aggregate win in the first round of the competition. In the next round though they were trounced 12-2 on aggregate by the mighty Real Madrid side of Alfredo Di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas, who were on their way to a record fifth straight European title.

5) Luxembourg and England Have a Bit of History

As of November 2015, the Luxembourg national team has played 356 official games which has resulted in 26 wins, 41 draws and 289 losses, with 208 goals for and 1012 against. Their record defeat is a 9-0 reverse to England in 1960, which was repeated in 1982. The country's record win is a 6-0 rout of Afghanistan at the 1948 Olympic Games in London, England.

The 10 Best Goals Up for Puskás Award This Year

2015-11-06T15:30:00.000-05:00

The 2015 FIFA Puskás Award for best goal of the year from around the world is in its voting stages and we have the videos of all 10 goals nominated for the prize. Last year Colombian youngster James Rodriguez took home the award for best goal, while surprising candidate Stephanie Roche from Ireland came in 2nd place. The award takes a look at the best goals scored between 27 September 2014 and 23 September 2015.

David Ball

March 29 2015, for Fleetwood Town against Preston North End, League 1 (England)

Gonzalo Castro

April 12 2015, for Real Sociedad against Deportivo de la Coruña, Primera Division (Spain)

Alessandro Florenzi

September 16 2015, for AS Roma against FC Barcelona, UEFA Champions League

Wendell Lira

March 11 2015, for Goianesia against Atletico-GO , Campeonato Goiano (Brazil)

Carli Lloyd

July 5 2015, for USA against Japan, FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015

Lionel Messi

May 30 2015, for FC Barcelona against Athletic Bilbao, Copa del Rey (Spain)

Philippe Mexes

July 252015, for AC Milan against Inter Milan, Friendly Match

Marcel Ndjeng

July 13 2015, for SC Paderborn against Bolton Wanderers, Friendly Match

Esteban Ramirez

Novermber 2nd 2014, for Herediano against Deportivo Saprissa, Primera Division (Costa Rica)

Carlos Tevez

November 9th 2014, for Juventus against Parma Calcio, Serie A (Italy)

Throwback Thursdays: European Cup of 1960

2015-03-12T12:00:00.000-04:00

Real Madrid was the most dominant club in Europe, having won 4 straight European Cups to get this new competition underway they were clearly the team to beat in Europe.

It wasn’t a surprise that they reached the 5th straight final and were looking at making five straight title wins. Their opponent was Eintracht Frankfurt from Germany, and the place was Hampden Park in Glasgow.

The demolition of Eintracht Frankfurt at the hands of the powerful Real Madrid is one if not the most memorable European Cup final of all time. The victory by Real Madrid in Glasgow secured their 5th straight win and set Real Madrid as one if not the biggest club in European footballing history.

A crowd of 134,000 people that included a young Sir Alex Ferguson, then an 18 year old center forward playing for Queen’s Park. They were treated to an incredible game where Di Stefano and Puskas showed all of their class and talent. Puskas and Di Stefano were at the peak of their game, and were the two best players playing in Europe at that time, and they used this game to show it to everyone. Supported by Jose Santamaria, Francisco Gento and Luis Del Sol, Real Madrid had an ensemble of stars that Eintracht Frankfurt would not be able to match.

Having said that and looking at the final score of 7-3 for Real Madrid, one would think that the German side was weak and out of their depth. Sure they didn’t have the talent that Real Madrid had, but they were not a push over. They had put twelve goals past Scottish champions Rangers in the semi-finals and were the first ones to score in the final.

That goal did nothing more than poke the bear and it was the wakeup call that Di Stefano needed to get the game turn around quickly. He would score two goals in the first half to give a 2-1 lead to Real Madrid at halftime.

Puskas was not going to be outdone by Di Stefano, and he scored four goals in the second half to surpass Di Stefano who ended up with a hat trick. Incredible performances from these two geniuses had Real Madrid leading 7-1 after 71 minutes. Eintracht Frankfurt would score two goals by Erwin Stein to make the score line 7-3 in the final.

This was Puskas and Di Stefano’s night, the duo had four and three goals respectively and dominated the game from beginning to end. They showed the world their incredible class and ability, and gave Real Madrid their fifth consecutive European Cup in five editions of the competition.

Football Statues (Gallery)

2014-11-18T20:00:00.000-05:00

In this world you have only one life, and I gave mine to Wolves.

The quote above is from Wolverhampton Wanderers legendary manager Stan Cullis who led the club through their halcyon days of the 1950's when Wolves rivaled Manchester United for English supremacy with three league titles and two FA Cup's under Cullis.

This brilliant quote is inscribed under the statue of Cullis that sits outside of the stand also bearing his name at Wolves' Molineux Stadium.

I first saw the Cullis statue in the flesh on a visit to the ground in 2006 and was impressed by the relaxed pose, the terrific attention to detail and the wonderful inscription that simply stated what the club had meant to the man.

This statue and the one of Wolves captain in the 1950's Billy Wright on another side of the ground were both sculpted by James Walter Butler and both marvelous pieces of work.

Whenever I visit a football ground I always make a point of seeking out these statue of the games greats, and snapping a quick picture, like the one I took below of Manchester United's George Best, Denis Law, and Bobby Charlton on a trip to Old Trafford in 2011.

However one group, The Sporting Statues Project that was featured in a recent article in Four Four Two have taken the appreciation for football statues a step further and have carefully cataloged photos and details for statues all over the world.

You can visit their site at: http://www.offbeat.group.shef.ac.uk/statues/

In the meantime, here are five of my favourites from their great site:

(Photo by Carlos Benavídez ©)

(Photo by Felipe Camara ©)

(Photo by Hardamik ©)

(Photo by Paul Horne ©)

(Photo by Pedro Montes ©)

Old School Football (Gallery)

2014-07-27T15:00:00.000-04:00

Despite today's wall to wall coverage, the massive salaries, big egos and pink neon boots, football is still a simple game played between twenty two men or women with the aim being to outscore the other side.

Beyond being just a game, football throughout the years has brought people, communities and even countries together. As a universal language, football can almost transcend sport and that's why I love it. Some of the best times I've had in my life have been centered around playing, watching, or even just talking about football.

Besides being an avid fan of the modern game, below are some of my favourite images from football's past. Former Stoke City manager Tony Waddington once described football as 'The Working Man's Ballet' and these wonderful, and occasionally weird, images definitely support that.

If you're interested in seeing more like this, I highly recommend following @AntiqueFootball on Twitter.

Ajax vs Liverpool in the Fog, 1966

Rangers vs Arsenal under the floodlights at Highbury, 1951

England's Dick, Kerr Women's team who defeated France 2-0 in 1921 in the first Women's International

Alfredo Di Stéfano, Denis Law, and Lev Yashin, 1963

Barcelona's players have a laugh at Kevin Keegan and Hamburg's pink kits, 1977

Czechoslovakia's Antonin Panenka scores the goal that still bares his name against West Germany, 1976

Dutch fans climb trees to get a better view of Netherlands vs. Belgium, 1913

Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, 1965

Werder Bremen's Weserstadion, 1965

Pumas de la UNAM, 1976

World Cup Heroes - Ferenc Puskas

2014-05-26T06:00:00.000-04:00

Ferenc Puskas is one of the top 25 footballers of all of time, and while his better performances came with the Real Madrid jersey, he also helped his Hungary national team to international glory.

He didn't have the look of most footballers at that time or even now, but his qualities on the field are undeniable and for what he has done for club and country he has carved his place in footballing history.

He made his debut for Hungary in 1945 at the age of 18, in a match against Austria. This was Hungary's first post war match.
Puskas also played in the incredible Hungary team that defeated England 6-3 at Wembley, becoming the first team outside of Britain to defeat England at home.

Hungary & Puskas were undefeated in 4 years when they arrived at the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland. That streak looked to continue when they defeated South Korea 9-0 in the groups opening game. Puskas scored 2 goals in the match, the first at the 12th minute to give Hungary a 1-0 lead and his 2nd goal made it 9-0 in the 89th minute.

During the second game of the group Hungary defeated a strong West German side 8-3 with Puskas scoring the 2nd goal for his team at the 17th minute mark. After two games and 4 years undefeated leading into this tournament, Puskas and Hungary looked set at making history.

Due to an injury that had been with him since the end of the club season and was aggravated during the first two games, he wasn't able to help his Hungary during the QF match against heavy favorites Brazil.
His team mates rallied around him and made of this weakness a strength and in a match commonly know as "Battle of Berne", Hungary defeated Brazil 4-2 and advanced to the semi-final.

The semi-final pinned Hungary against the defending champions Uruguay, still without Puskas, Hungary looked right for the picking, but in football sometimes the variables play a role. To many his presence with the team, and his willingness to win gave his team mates the strength to push on and try to overcome this massive obstacle. Uruguay was defeated 4-2 in AET, and the stage was set for a final between Hungary and West Germany whom they had defeated 8-3 earlier in the tournament.

Puskas forced the coaches hand and put his name on the lineup, despite not being fully fit. Hungary took an early lead with Puskas scoring the first goal only after 6 minutes of play. By the 8th minute of the game Hungary lead 2-0 and look to be set at winning the tournament. The West Germans weren't undone and made a remarkable comeback, and won the game 3-2. It was a shocking result, and one that ended Hungary's unbeaten streak of 4+ years.

This was Puskas only World Cup appearance, but in 84 caps for Hungary he scored 83 goals. Nobody in history has ever scored those many goals for a national team. The thoughts always linger, what would this 1954 World Cup have been, had Puskas been fully healthy for the duration of the tournament? That is something we will never know.

SEE THE OTHER HEROES IN THIS SERIES>

Four of the Greatest European Cup Sides in History

2014-05-23T12:00:00.000-04:00

This Saturday, Real Madrid takes on Atletico Madrid at the Estadio da Luz in an attempt to clinch their historic tenth European Cup/Champions League crown, "La Decima". Real Madrid have a rich history of success in European competition, and their supporters around the world are confident that they will see their club lift the trophy once again this weekend.

Since the great AC Milan side of the late '80s/early '90s, no club has repeated as champions though and that will continue this year. Last seasons winners, Bayern Munich, were knocked out in the Semi Finals by Real Madrid and it has now been 24 years since a club has retained the cup. Repeating in the Champions League appears to range from extremely difficult to impossible these days, with all of the massive clubs involved in the competition. But that wasn't always the case, as we look back at a few of the great sides who were able to retain "the cup with the big ears".

Real Madrid: 1955/1956 - 1959/1960

Led by the imperious Argentine, Alfredo Di Stefano, Los Blancos made the European Cup their own personal possession in the first five years of its existence. Seeing off Stade de Reims in the 1956 and 1959 finals, while defeating Italian sides Fiorentina in 1957 and AC Milan in 1958 respectively. Although the side contained talent all over the pitch, particularly in attack, everything went through Di Stefano. He was at the heart of nearly every attacking move, and often on the end of them as well. Heading into their fifth straight final at Hampden Park in Scotland, Madrid already containing stars like Luis Del Sol and Paco Gento, in addition to Di Stefano, had also added the Hungarian star Ferenc Puskas to their ranks. For the last of their run of five straight wins, in a match that every Glaswegian over the age of 60 claims to have been present at, Madrid hammered Eintracht Frankfurt 7-3. In that famous final, Di Stefano fired in a hat-trick, while Puskas found the net four times himself. The feats of this wonderful side will likely never be matched.

Ajax: 1970/1971 - 1972/1973

In a golden age for Dutch Football, the Amsterdam club, led by the sublime Johan Cruyff, realized coach Rinus Michels vision of a fluid passing and possession-based game. Ajax's system encouraged individuals to express their individual skills, but move to cover the spaces vacated by teammates when they didn't have the ball. Ajax then went on to add a pressing element to their defending after losing in the European Cup Final to Milan in 1969 and formed the basis for their later success. Beating Panathinaikos 2-0 in the 1971 final, Ajax survived the loss of Michels to Barcelona, and went on to beat Internazionale in 1972 and Juventus in 1973. Playing some brilliant, attacking football this side of Cruyff, along with Johnny Rep, Johan Neekens, and Ruud Krol formed the core of the Netherlands team that came so close to winning the 1974 World Cup.

Bayern Munich: 1973/1974-1975/1976

The three year reign of Bayern Munich in the European Cup came to within twenty seconds of not happening at all. Trailing 1-0 to Atletico Madrid in extra-time in Brussels, Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck let fly from over 25 yards out and found the net, forcing a replay. In the replay, two goals each from Uli Hoeness and Gerd Muller dispatched the Spanish club 4-0. The side, that had provided the core of the World Cup winning West German side of 1974, was marshalled at the back by the brilliant Franz Beckenbauer, with Muller providing the goals and Hoeness the pace. Bayern benefited greatly from being allowed to develop together domestically and internationally over the course of several years. Although not as aesthetically pleasing as the Real Madrid side of the 1950's or the Ajax side that immediately preceded them as European Cup winners, Bayern instead were built on brute strength, quick breaks and defensive organization. Beating Leeds United, under controversial circumstances due to some terrible refereeing, 2-0 in Paris and then seeing off Saint-Etienne 1-0 in Glasgow, Bayern emulated Ajax in winning three straight European Cups.

AC Milan: 1988/1989-1989/1990

The last side to win back to back European Cups, the Milan side, bankrolled by media mogul Silvio Berlusconi, had complemented a terrific core of Italian players including Franco Baresi, Roberto Donadoni and Paolo Maldini with the Dutch trio of Ruud Gullit, Marco Van Basten and Frank Rijkaard to form one of the greatest sides Serie A has ever seen. Under the management of Arrigo Sacchi, MIlan played a very un-Italian style during this period. Emphasizing a high tempo, pressing style, Milan were modelled more off of the Ajax sides of the 1970's, than the traditionally defensive Catenaccio style Italian teams. Sacchi encouraged his teams to set the tempo and this was evidenced by their 4-0 thrashing of Steaua Bucharest in the 1989 European Cup Final. Van Basten and Gullit both scoring two goals against a good Romanian side that contained Gheorghe Hagi and Dan Petrescu who would shine for Romania at the 1994 World Cup. Milan then went on to retain the European Cup in 1989 with a 1-0 win over Benfica. Unfortunately, the relationship between the hard driving Sacchi and several of his star players broke down, leading to his sacking in 1991, but his Milan side are still the last club to successfully retain the greatest prize in European club football.

Throwback Thursdays - Wolves vs. Honved and the Birth of the European Cup

2014-05-22T12:00:00.000-04:00

On December 13, 1954, at a packed Molineux Stadium, the mighty Hungarian Champions, Honved, played a match against English Champions Wolverhampton Wanderers that many argue provided the final push towards the creation of a European Cup of Champions.

As the finalists Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid go through the final preparations for their 2014 Champions League Final clash on Saturday, this week in Throwback Thursday's we take a look back at the birth of the European Cup and a pivotal friendly that proceeded it.

The European Cup, the predecessor of the Champions League, was first contested in the 1955/1956 season and was won, incredibly, for the first five years by Real Madrid. Prior to the birth of this knockout tournament of champions, there had been no way to decisively determine the best side in Europe.

As early as 1897 though, a Challenge Cup had been contested by the top club sides from within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Following World War 1, and the resulting political shifts across Europe, a new cup competition was created called the Mitropa Cup that included clubs from Central and Eastern Europe. The main countries, whose clubs featured in this tournament, were Austria, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Romania and Italy. The Mitropa Cup was first contested in 1927 and did much to develop the level of play in the countries involved.

In Western Europe however, clubs had to be content with high profile friendlies in order to test themselves against sides from other countries. Although a Latin Cup between clubs from Spain, Portugal, France, and Italy had started after World War 2, a need for a Europe wide tournament was still there. The European Cup just needed a final push to get it off the ground.

The Magical Magyars

In the early 1950's the strongest National side in Europe, and perhaps the world, was Ferenc Puskas' Hungary. The Magical Magyars, won Olympic Gold in 1952 and then went on to smash England 6-3 at Wembley, becoming the first side from outside the British Isles to triumph on the Empire Stadium's hallowed turf.

Deploying a deep lying centre-forward in Nándor Hidegkuti, and playing with a fluid formation that would heavily influence the Dutch "Total Football" of the 1970's, Hungary made the England defense look "like a fire brigade rushing to put out the wrong fire."

Hungary went into the 1954 World Cup as firm favourites, and only an injury to Puskas and a questionable offside call kept them from glory, as they fell 3-2 to West Germany in the Final.

In December of 1954, the Hungarian club side Honved, which contained the future Real Madrid star Puskas, along with future Barcelona ace Sándor Kocsis and most of the Hungarian National side, came to Wolverhampton to play in a high profile flood-light friendly against Wolves. The English Champions, managed by Stan Cullis, were known for their direct wing play and were thought to be no match for the sophisticated Hungarians.

Although, Wolves enjoyed a golden period in the 1950's matching Manchester United with three league titles, and playing several other high profile matches against top European sides, many like my Grandmother who were privileged to be there that night, have said that there's never been a match like it at the Molineux. The ground was bursting beyond capacity, with many only seeing the ball when it went up the air, but the atmosphere was electric as the West Midlands crowd strained to see what their side could do against mighty Honved. The match was also carried live on the BBC, which was extremely rare in those days.

Predictably, Honved took a two goal lead in the first half with goals from Sándor Kocsis and Ferenc Macho. But after what was no doubt a stirring halftime team talk by the volatile Cullis, Wolves got back into it with a goal from Johnny Hancocks early in the second half. With fifteen minutes to go, Roy Swinbourne headed an equalizer and then within 100 seconds he had scored the winner, sending the 55,000 strong crowd into raptures on what is arguably the most famous night in the clubs history.

After the match, the British press raved about Wolves brave comeback and said that they drew on the "Spirit of Lord Nelson" in order to overcome the Hungarians. Some papers went as far as to call Wolves the "Champions of the World".

Over in Europe, the British reaction to Wolves victory did not go down so well. Gabriel Hanot, the editor of L'Equipe had this to say:

"Before we declare that Wolverhampton are invincible, let them go to Moscow and Budapest. And there are other internationally renowned clubs: AC Milan and Real Madrid to name but two. A club world championship, or at least a European one – larger, more meaningful and more prestigious than the Mitropa Cup and more original than a competition for national teams – should be launched. "

Impressed by the success of the Campeonato Sudamericano de Campeones (South American Championship of Champions) in Chile in 1948, Hanot had already put forward a proposal to UEFA for a tournament between European football's Champions. Spurred on by the reaction to Wolves victory, Hanot pressed the issue further until UEFA agreed during their congress in March of 1955 to the formation of a European Cup.

The tournament would begin play in the fall of that year, eventually morphing into the Champions League in 1992, and has arguably become the greatest prize in club football.

This Saturday, as Real Madrid seek their tenth "Cup With the Big Ears", supporters of Wolves and Honved can be proud of the part their clubs played in prompting a determined French editor to get this great tournament off the ground all those years ago.