| 1976 European Cup final | |
| Event: | 1975–76 European Cup |
| Team1: | Bayern Munich |
| Team1score: | 1 |
| Team2: | Saint-Étienne |
| Team2association: |  |
| Team2score: | 0 |
| Date: | 12 May 1976 |
| Stadium: | Hampden Park |
| City: | Glasgow |
| Referee: | Károly Palotai (Hungary) |
| Attendance: | 54,864[1] |
| Previous: | 1975 |
| Next: | 1977 |
The 1976 European Cup final was a football match held at Hampden Park, Glasgow, on 12 May 1976, that saw Bayern Munich of West Germany defeat Saint-Étienne of France 1–0. This was the third consecutive European Cup title for Bayern, making them the third club to achieve this feat, following Real Madrid and Ajax.
| Bayern Munich | Round | Saint-Étienne | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Agg. | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Opponent | Agg. | 1st leg | 2nd leg | ||
 Jeunesse Esch | 8–1 | 5–0 (A) | 3–1 (H) | First round | Kjøbenhavns Boldklub | 5–1 | 2–0 (A) | 3–1 (H) | |
 Malmö FF | 2–1 | 0–1 (A) | 2–0 (H) | Second round | Rangers | 4–1 | 2–0 (H) | 2–1 (A) | |
| Benfica | 5–1 | 0–0 (A) | 5–1 (H) | Quarter-finals | Dynamo Kyiv | 3–2 | 0–2 (A) | 3–0 (H) | |
 Real Madrid | 3–1 | 1–1 (A) | 2–0 (H) | Semi-finals | PSV Eindhoven | 1–0 | 1–0 (H) | 0–0 (A) | |
The match took place at Hampden Park in Glasgow, a city that already had seen Saint-Étienne defeat local team Rangers during the competition. Les Verts were playing against Bayern Munich, a team hoping to win a third consecutive European Cup.
The game began with Gerd Müller finding the back of the net after Bernd Dürnberger won the ball in his own half and went on a 50-metre solo run; however, Müller's effort was disallowed for offside by the Hungarian referee Károly Palotai. In the 37th minute, Uli Hoeneß took a shot, but it did not worry goalkeeper Ivan Ćurković. Saint-Étienne had plenty of chances to score, though; at the 34th minute Dominique Bathenay's shot hit the crossbar, with Bayern's keeper Sepp Maier beaten. Five minutes later, Jacques Santini connected with a cross from Christian Sarramagna, but his header hit the crossbar too. After the final, French fans called Hampden Park's goalposts "les poteaux carrés" (English: the square posts).[2]
After the start of the second half, Bayern were more confident. In the 57th minute, Franz Beckenbauer passed to Gerd Müller, who was tackled by Osvaldo Piazza and the referee gave a free-kick to the German team from 20 metres out, just left of the penalty arc. Franz Beckenbauer tipped the ball to Roth on his right who scored half high into the left side of the goal. After this, les Verts tried everything. Manager Robert Herbin chose to substitute Sarramagna for Dominique Rocheteau, but to no avail.
At the end of the match, Saint-Étienne's players were crying, because they felt that they had been unlucky, but their supporters were congratulating them, and their return in France was heroic, even though they were defeated.
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