1960–61 European Cup Explained

Tourney Name:European Cup
Year:1960–61
Size:300px
Dates:29 September 1960 – 31 May 1961
Num Teams:28 (26 competed)
Associations:25
Champion Other: Benfica
Count:1
Second Other: Barcelona
Matches:51
Goals:164
Attendance:1647692
Top Scorer:José Águas (Benfica)
11 goals
Prevseason:1959–60
Nextseason:1961–62

The 1960–61 European Cup was the sixth season of the European Cup, UEFA's premier club football tournament. The competition was won by Benfica, who beat Barcelona 3–2 in the final at Wankdorf Stadium in Bern, on 31 May 1961. It was the first time that five-time winners Real Madrid did not make it to the final, when they were knocked out by eventual first-time finalists Barcelona in the first round. Benfica was the first Portuguese team to reach the final and to win the tournament.

It was the first time that a team from Norway participated. However, again two teams withdrew from the competition after initial draw: Romanian CCA București was fearing a shameful elimination in front of the Czechoslovakians,[1] while Northern Irish Glenavon and East German Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt were refused visas to the other's country. UEFA authorised neutral venues but Glenavon withdrew due to the higher cost and lower revenue.[2]

Teams

A total of 28 teams were placed in the competition bracket, but finally only 26 participated since Romanian CCA București and Northern Irish Glenavon withdrew from the competition.

Spain continued to be represented by two clubs, with Real Madrid qualifying as title holders and Barcelona as Spanish champions. CDNA Sofia appeared in the fifth edition of European Cup, with only Real Madrid having more appearances in the competition.

Lierse, Spartak Hradec Králové, Burnley, IFK Helsingfors, Hamburg, Panathinaikos, Limerick, Újpesti Dózsa, Fredrikstad and IFK Malmö made their debut, while Rapid Wien, AGF, Stade Reims, Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt, Juventus, Ajax, Legia Warsaw, Benfica, CCA București, Hearts and Beşiktaş returned to the competition.

All entrants were their respective associations champions, except for title holders Real Madrid, as well as Swedish IFK Malmö and Polish Legia Warsaw, who were leaders of their respective leagues in spring, but later finished second.

Preliminary round

The draw for the preliminary round took place at UEFA headquarters in Paris, France, on 7 July 1960.[3] As title holders, Real Madrid received a bye, and the remaining 27 teams were grouped geographically into three pots. The first team drawn in each pot also received a bye, while the remaining clubs would play the preliminary round in September.

Pot 1
Northern Europe
Pot 2
Western Europe
Pot 3
Eastern Europe
DrawnNorthern Ireland
East Germany
Poland
Norway
Finland
Sweden
Denmark
Netherlands
France
Republic of Ireland
Belgium
Luxembourg
Switzerland
Scotland
Spain
Portugal
Austria
Romania
Bulgaria
Turkey
Czechoslovakia
Hungary
Yugoslavia
Italy
Byes Hamburg Burnley Panathinaikos
The calendar was decided by the involved teams, with all matches to be played by 30 September.

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First leg

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Second leg

Benfica won 5–1 on aggregate.----Újpesti Dózsa won 5–1 on aggregate.----Young Boys won 9–2 on aggregate.----Fredrikstad won 4–3 on aggregate.----AGF won 3–1 on aggregate.----CDNA Sofia won 4–3 on aggregate.----IFK Malmö won 5–2 on aggregate.----Rapid Wien won 4–1 on aggregate.----Stade Reims won 11–1 on aggregate.----Barcelona won 5–0 on aggregate.

First round

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1 Rapid Wien beat Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt 1–0 in a play-off to qualify for the second round.

First leg

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Second leg

Benfica won 7–4 on aggregate.----AGF won 4–0 on aggregate.----Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt 3–3 Rapid Wien on aggregate.

Rapid Wien won 1–0 in a play-off.----IFK Malmö won 2–1 on aggregate.----Barcelona won 4–3 on aggregate.----Spartak Hradec Králové won 1–0 on aggregate.----Burnley won 4–3 on aggregate.----Hamburg won 8–3 on aggregate.

Quarter-finals

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First leg

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Second leg

Benfica won 7–2 on aggregate.----Rapid Wien won 4–0 on aggregate.----Barcelona won 5–1 on aggregate.----Hamburg won 5–4 on aggregate.

Semi-finals

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1 Barcelona beat Hamburg 1–0 in a play-off.

First leg

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Second leg

Game abandoned with two minutes to play due to crowd riots and pitch invasion.

Benfica won 4–1 on aggregate.----

Hamburg 2–2 Barcelona on aggregate.

Barcelona won 1–0 in play-off.

Final

See main article: 1961 European Cup final.

Top scorers

The top scorers from the 1960–61 European Cup (including preliminary round) are as follows:

RankNameTeamGoals
1 José Águas Benfica11
2 José Augusto Benfica7
3 Evaristo Barcelona6
4 Uwe Seeler Hamburg5
5 Klaus Stürmer Hamburg4
Luis Suárez Barcelona4
7 John Amdisen AGF3
Josef Bertalan Rapid Wien3
Robert Dienst Rapid Wien3
Gert Dörfel Hamburg3
János Göröcs Újpesti Dózsa3
John Jensen AGF3
Jimmy Robson Burnley3
Dominique Rustichelli Stade Reims3
Santana Benfica3
Willy Schneider Young Boys3
Jean Vincent Stade Reims3

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: FRF a interzis două echipe în cupele europene de frica unei eliminări rușinoase și din cauza "destrăbălării bulevardiste", acum altele nu aplică să joace în Europa și bulversează competiția. Prosport.ro. Romanian . The FRF banned two teams from the European Cups for fear of a shameful elimination and because of "boulevardist disorganization", now others are not applying to play in Europe and are disrupting the competition. 2 May 2023 . 3 May 2023.
  2. Book: Laporte, Norman . The Other Germany: Perceptions and Influences in British-East German Relations, 1945–1990 . 1st . 2005 . Wissner . 978-3-89639-485-9 . 91–106 .
  3. Corriere dello Sport, 8 July 1960.