1979 European Cup final

{{Infobox football match | title = 1979 European Cup final | image = 1979 European Cup Final match programme.jpg | caption = Match programme cover. The image is of Emlyn Hughes lifting the trophy the previous year for Liverpool. | event = 1978–79 European Cup | team1 = Nottingham Forest | team1association = {{fbaicon|ENG|size=30px}} | team1score = 1 | team2 = Malmö FF | team2association = {{fbaicon|SWE|size=30px}} | team2score = 0 | details = | date = 30 May 1979 | stadium = Olympiastadion | city = Munich | man_of_the_match1a = | man_of_the_match1atitle = | man_of_the_match1b = | man_of_the_match1btitle = | referee = Erich Linemayr (Austria) | attendance = 68,500<ref>{{cite web |title=UEFA Champions League Statistics Handbook 2012/13 |url=https://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/competitions/Statistics/01/85/99/80/1859980_DOWNLOAD.pdf |website=UEFA}}</ref> | weather = | previous = 1978 | next = 1980 }} The '''1979 European Cup final''' was a football match held at the Olympiastadion, Munich, on 30 May 1979.{{efn|The venue was decided in Bern by the UEFA Executive Committee on 27 September 1978.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1978/09/28/pagina-4/1045970/pdf.html|title=Edición del Thursday 28 September 1978, Página 4 - Hemeroteca - MundoDeportivo.com|website=hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com}}</ref>}} Trevor Francis scored the only goal of the match, as Nottingham Forest of England defeated Malmö FF of Sweden 1–0 to become European champions for the first time in club history. The win represented a third successive victory for an English side in the European Cup, after Liverpool's victories in 1977 and 1978.

==Background== The competition had provided many great stories and had thrown up a final that no-one could have predicted when it had started the previous August. Unfortunately, with two of their best players – midfielder Bo Larsson and defender Roy Andersson – already ruled out with injury and with their captain and key midfielder, Staffan Tapper, breaking his toe in training on the eve of the final, Malmö resorted to the same defensive tactics that Belgian team Club Bruges had used at Wembley in the final twelve months earlier. With neither of the finalists being one of Europe’s major clubs, Munich’s Olympiastadion was far from full for the Final, and the game itself was something of an anti-climax. There was, however, one memorable story still to be told. Back in February, Brian Clough had elected to spend the money that Forest had made from winning the league title in 1978 on a forward from Birmingham City. Clough made Trevor Francis Britain’s first £1 million footballer when he took him to Nottingham, but UEFA rules stipulated that he could not play European football for another three months. Therefore, the first game that Francis was eligible for was the final itself and, with Martin O'Neill injured and Archie Gemmill not selected by Clough, Francis was picked to play his first ever European club game, albeit out on the right wing.

==Route to the final== {{further|1978–79 European Cup}} {| width="100%" style="text-align:center" |- valign=top bgcolor=#99ccff !colspan=3 style="width:1*"|Nottingham Forest !Round !colspan=3 style="width:1*"|Malmö FF |- |colspan="3" align=center| |- valign=top bgcolor=#c1e0ff |Opponent |Result |Legs |bgcolor=#c1e0ff| |Opponent |Result |Legs |- |{{fbaicon|ENG}} Liverpool |2–0 |2–0 home; 0–0 away |bgcolor=#c1e0ff|First round |{{fbaicon|FRA|1974}} Monaco |1–0 |0–0 home; 1–0 away |- |{{fbaicon|GRC}} AEK Athens |7–2 |5–1 home; 2–1 away |bgcolor=#c1e0ff|Second round |{{fbaicon|USSR}} Dynamo Kiev |2–0 |2–0 home; 0–0 away |- |{{fbaicon|SUI}} Grasshoppers |5–2 |4–1 home; 1–1 away |bgcolor=#c1e0ff|Quarter-finals |{{fbaicon|POL|1928}} Wisła Kraków |5–3 |4–1 home; 1–2 away |- |{{fbaicon|FRG}} 1. FC Köln |4–3 |3–3 home; 1–0 away |bgcolor=#c1e0ff|Semi-finals |{{fbaicon|AUT}} Austria Wien |1–0 |1–0 home; 0–0 away |}

==Match summary== With Malmö opting to sit back in defence for the duration of the match, the game was merely about whether Forest could break through. Despite constant pressure, the English side had still failed to score as first half injury time began, but then John Robertson, a man who was now one of the most feared wingers in European football, beat two Swedish defenders on the left hand side before whipping in a cross. Goalkeeper Jan Möller, who had been solid up to this point, did not come out to clear the ball, and at the far post was none other than Trevor Francis to head the ball into the roof of the net. That was effectively the end of the match. Both Garry Birtles and Robertson missed good chances in the second half, but it did not matter, as Malmö never looked likely to score.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}

Under their maverick manager Brian Clough, Nottingham Forest, a relatively small English club, had won European club football’s winning prize, knocking out two-time defending champions Liverpool along the way. Just two years earlier, Forest had been in English football's second tier.

Nottingham Forest would retain their title the following year. To date, Malmö is the only club from a Nordic country to play in the European Cup or Champions League final.

==Match== ===Details=== {{football box |date=30 May 1979 |time=20:15 CEST |team1=Nottingham Forest {{fbaicon|ENG}} |score=1–0 |report=https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/season=1978/matches/round=1014/match=63579/index.html |team2={{fbaicon|SWE}} Malmö FF |goals1=Francis {{goal|45+1}} |goals2= |stadium=Olympiastadion, Munich |attendance=68,000 |referee=Erich Linemayr (Austria) }}

{| width=92% |- |{{Football kit | pattern_la = _3_stripes_border_white | pattern_b = _3_stripes_vneck_white | pattern_ra = _3_stripes_border_white | pattern_sh = _adidaswhite | pattern_so = _3_stripes_white | leftarm = DD0000 | body = DD0000 | rightarm = DD0000 | shorts = DD0000 | socks = DD0000 | title = {{nowrap|Nottingham Forest}} }} |{{Football kit | pattern_la = _concepcion86b | pattern_b = _concepcion86b | pattern_ra = _concepcion86b | pattern_so = _whitestripe | leftarm = 87CEFA | body = 87CEFA | rightarm = 87CEFA | shorts = ffffff | socks = 87CEFA | title = Malmö FF |filetype=svg}} |}

{| width=100% |valign="top" width=50%| {| style=font-size:90% cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 |- !width=25| !!width=25| |- |GK ||'''1''' ||{{flagicon|ENG}} Peter Shilton |- |RB ||'''2''' ||{{flagicon|ENG}} Viv Anderson |- |CB ||'''5''' ||{{flagicon|ENG}} Larry Lloyd |- |CB ||'''6''' ||{{flagicon|SCO}} Kenny Burns |- |LB ||'''3''' ||{{flagicon|ENG}} Frank Clark |- |RM ||'''7''' ||{{flagicon|ENG}} Trevor Francis |- |CM ||'''4''' ||{{flagicon|SCO}} John McGovern (c) |- |CM ||'''8''' ||{{flagicon|ENG}} Ian Bowyer |- |LM ||'''11'''||{{flagicon|SCO}} John Robertson |- |CF ||'''9''' ||{{flagicon|ENG}} Garry Birtles |- |CF ||'''10'''||{{flagicon|ENG}} Tony Woodcock |- |colspan="4"|'''Substitutes:''' |- |GK ||'''12''' ||{{flagicon|ENG}} Chris Woods |- |DF ||'''13''' ||{{flagicon|ENG}} David Needham |- |MF ||'''14''' ||{{flagicon|NIR}} Martin O'Neill |- |MF ||'''15''' ||{{flagicon|SCO}} Archie Gemmill |- |FW ||'''16''' ||{{flagicon|SCO}} John O'Hare |- |colspan="4"|'''Manager:''' |- |colspan="4"|{{flagicon|ENG}} Brian Clough |} |valign=top"|300px |valign="top" width="50%"| {| style=font-size:90% cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center |- !width=25| !!width=25| |- |GK ||'''1''' ||{{flagicon|SWE}} Jan Möller |- |RB ||'''2''' ||{{flagicon|SWE}} Roland Andersson |- |CB ||'''4''' ||{{flagicon|SWE}} Kent Jönsson |- |CB ||'''5''' ||{{flagicon|SWE}} Magnus Andersson |- |LB ||'''3''' ||{{flagicon|SWE}} Ingemar Erlandsson |- |RM ||'''8''' ||{{flagicon|SWE}} Robert Prytz |- |CM ||'''6''' ||{{flagicon|SWE}} Staffan Tapper (c) || || {{suboff|34}} |- |CM ||'''7''' ||{{flagicon|SWE}} Anders Ljungberg |- |LM ||'''11'''||{{flagicon|SWE}} Jan-Olov Kindvall |- |CF ||'''10'''||{{flagicon|SWE}} Tore Cervin |- |CF ||'''9''' ||{{flagicon|SWE}} Tommy Hansson || || {{suboff|82}} |- |colspan="4"|'''Substitutes:''' |- |DF ||'''12'''||{{flagicon|SWE}} Mats Arvidsson |- |FW ||'''13'''||{{flagicon|SWE}} Tommy Andersson || || {{subon|82}} |- |MF ||'''14'''||{{flagicon|SWE}} Claes Malmberg || || {{subon|34}} |- |GK ||'''15'''||{{flagicon|SWE}} Arne Åkesson |- |colspan="4"|'''Manager:''' |- |colspan="4"|{{flagicon|ENG}} Bob Houghton |} |}

==Notes== {{notelist}}

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20100225125639/http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/history/season=1978/index.html 1978–79 season] at UEFA.com

{{UEFA Champions League seasons}} {{1978–79 in European football (UEFA)}} {{Nottingham Forest F.C. matches}} {{Malmö FF matches}}

Final European Cup Final European Cup Final European Cup Final 1979 European Cup Final 1979 Category:UEFA Champions League finals Category:Football matches in West Germany European Cup Final Category:1970s in Munich European Cup Final Category:Football matches in Munich European Cup Final 1979 Category:1978–79 in German football Category:Football finals in Germany