1973 European Cup final

1973 European Cup final

Ajax captain Johan Cruyff receives the trophy wearing a Juventus shirt, having exchanged jerseys with the losing finalists
Event	1972–73 European Cup
Ajax Juventus 1 0
Date	30 May 1973
Venue	Red Star Stadium, Belgrade
Referee	Milivoje Gugulović (Yugoslavia)
Attendance	89,484
← 1972 1974 →

The 1973 European Cup final was a football match held at the Red Star Stadium in Belgrade, Yugoslavia on 30 May 1973. Two-time defending champions Ajax of the Netherlands faced Juventus of Italy.

Johnny Rep scored the only goal of the game after four minutes as Ajax won 1–0 to claim their third consecutive European Cup and earned the Dutch side the privilege of keeping the trophy permanently.

Background

Ajax had reached the European Cup final on three previous occasions. They were two-time defending champions coming into the 1972–73 season after defeating Panathinaikos 2–0 in 1971 and Inter Milan by the same scoreline in 1972. ^[1]

Juventus had never previously reached a European Cup final. ^[1]

Route to the final

Further information: 1972–73 European Cup

Ajax

As defending champions, Ajax qualified automatically for the 1972–73 European Cup. ^[1] They received a bye in the first round. In the second round, they defeated CSKA Sofia of Bulgaria 3–1 away and 3–0 at home to advance 6–1 on aggregate. They then defeated Bayern Munich of West Germany 4–0 in the first leg of their quarter-final in Amsterdam. Despite a 2–1 defeat in the second leg, Ajax advanced 5–2 on aggregate. In the semi-finals, they faced Real Madrid of Spain. A 2–1 first leg win was followed up with a 1–0 win in Madrid as they reached the final 3–1 on aggregate. ^[2]

Juventus

Juventus qualified for the 1972–73 European Cup as champions of the 1971–72 Serie A. ^[3] In the first round, they faced Olympique de Marseille of France. The first leg, which was played in Lyon, ended in a 1–0 win for Olympique de Marseille. However, Juventus won the second leg 3–0 to advance 3–1 on aggregate. In the second round, they defeated Magdeburg of East Germany 1–0 in both legs to advance 2–0 on aggregate. After a goalless draw in the first leg of their quarter-final against Újpesti Dózsa of Hungary in Turin, the second leg ended 2–2 in Budapest (2–2 on aggregate) and Juventus advanced on away goals. In the semi-finals, they defeated Derby County of England 3–1 in the first leg before a goalless second leg which meant Juventus progressed 3–1 on aggregate. ^[2]

Ajax				Round	Juventus
Opponent	Agg.	1st leg	2nd leg		Opponent	Agg.	1st leg	2nd leg
Bye				First round	Olympique de Marseille	3–1	0–1 (A)	3–0 (H)
CSKA Sofia	6–1	3–1 (A)	3–0 (H)	Second round	1. FC Magdeburg	2–0	1–0 (H)	1–0 (A)
Bayern München	5–2	4–0 (H)	1–2 (A)	Quarter-finals	Újpesti Dózsa	2–2 (a)	0–0 (H)	2–2 (A)
Real Madrid	3–1	2–1 (H)	1–0 (A)	Semi-finals	Derby County	3–1	3–1 (H)	0–0 (A)

Match

Details

30 May 1973

20:30

Ajax	1–0	Juventus
Rep 5'	Report

Red Star Stadium, Belgrade

Attendance: 89,484

Referee: Milivoje Gugulović (Yugoslavia)

Ajax

Juventus

GK 1 Heinz Stuy RB 3 Wim Suurbier CB 13 Barry Hulshoff CB 12 Horst Blankenburg LB 5 Ruud Krol CM 7 Johan Neeskens CM 15 Arie Haan CM 9 Gerrie Mühren RW 16 Johnny Rep CF 14 Johan Cruyff (c) LW 11 Piet Keizer Substitutes (not used): MF 4 Gerrie Kleton MF 6 Arnold Mühren MF 8 Sjaak Swart FW 10 Jan Mulder GK Sies Wever Manager: Ștefan Kovács

GK 1 Dino Zoff SW 6 Sandro Salvadore (c) RB 2 Gianpietro Marchetti CB 5 Francesco Morini LB 3 Silvio Longobucco CM 8 Franco Causio  57' CM 10 Fabio Capello CM 4 Giuseppe Furino  66' RF 7 [a] José Altafini CF 9 Pietro Anastasi LF 11 Roberto Bettega  49' Substitutes: MF 14 Antonello Cuccureddu  57' MF 15 Helmut Haller  49' Manager: Čestmír Vycpálek

Assistant referees: Ratko Čanak (Yugoslavia) Petar Kostovski (Yugoslavia)

Match rules 90 minutes 30 minutes of extra time if necessary Replay if scores still level Maximum of two substitutions

Aftermath

Juventus would gain revenge for the defeat 23 years later when the two sides contested the final of the same competition (rebranded as the UEFA Champions League). After a 1–1 draw after extra time, Juventus won 4–2 on penalties. ^[1]

See also

• 1972–73 European Cup
• 1996 UEFA Champions League final – contested by the same teams
• AFC Ajax in European football
• Juventus FC in international football
• 1972–73 Juventus FC season

Notes

1. A Brazilian expatriate, Altafini had represented his native Brazil at the 1958 FIFA World Cup, but in 1961 he changed allegiances to Italy. He notably played for Italy at the 1962 World Cup. ^[4]

References

1. Stokkermans, Karel (14 June 2024). "European Champions' Cup/Champions League". RSSSF. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
2. Ross, James M. (4 June 2015). "Champions' Cup 1972-73". RSSSF. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
3. Mariani, Maurizio (6 May 2002). "Italy 1971/72". RSSSF. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
4. "Legend of Calcio: Jose Altafini". 7 August 2017.

External links

• 1972-73 season at UEFA website