The UEFA Cup. No major upsets this season – whims of the draw often put together equally strong clubs, so one had to be eliminated, but hardly any strange results occurred. Only Barcelona underperfomed and was on the verge of elimination in the first two rounds. Barca prevailed on away goals both times, but in the first round they were not even able to win against Albanian Vlamurtari – 0-0 at home and 1-1 in Albania. That was the almost a sensation, but eventually Barcelona reached the quarterfinals and run out of luck, losing both legs to Dundee United. Even at this stage one cannot say there was real surprise: Barcelona was shaky so far and Dundee United was gaining strength and confidence with every next round. Borussia (Moenchengladbach) was in good form by this stage and rather easily eliminated Vitoria (Guimaraes) – 3-0 and 2-2. Torino was not all that great and lost to Tirol (Innsbruck) minimally – 0-0 and 1-2. IFK Goteborg managed to keep Inter (Milano) at bay and prevailed on away goal: 0-0 and 1-1. Then again the draw played its role – IFK Goteborg had the easiest opponent in the semi-finals and eliminated Tirol 4-1 and 0-0. The tough clash between Dundee United and Borussia (Moenchengladbach) ended with Scottish victory – Borussia managed 0-0 away, but lost at home 0-2. Thus, the final was between teams which were hardly among the top European clubs, but they went bravely all the way and now was up to them. No favourite.
Final 1st Leg, Nya Ullevi Stadium, Gothenburg, 6 May 1987, att 50023
IFK Gothenburg (1) 1 Dundee United (0) 0
38′ 1-0 IFK: Pettersson
IFK Gothenburg: Wernersson; Carlsson, Hysen, Larsson, Fredriksson; Johansson (R.Nilsson 67),
Tord Holmgren (Zetterlund 89), Andersson, Tommy Holmgren; Pettersson, L.Nilsson
Dundee United: Thomspon; Malpas, Narey, Hegarty (Clark 54), Holt; McInally, Kirkwood,
Bowman, Bannon; Sturrock (Beaumont 89), Redford
Referee: Kirschen (East Germany)
It was a battle of practically equal teams,
both teams trying to score, but eventually the hosts prevailed 1-0 – Pettersson scored in the 38th minute.
Such result slightly favoured Dundee.
Final 2nd Leg, Tannadice Park, Dundee, att 20911
Dundee United (0) 1 IFK Gothenburg (1) 1
22′ 0-1 IFK: L.Nilsson
60′ 1-1 DU: Clark
Dundee United: Thompson; Malpas, Clark, Narey, Holt (Hegarty 46); McInally, Ferguson,
Kirkwood; Sturrock, Redford (Bannon 71), Gallacher
IFK Gothenburg: Wernersson; Carlsson, Hysen, Larsson, Fredriksson; R.Nilsson (Johansson 69),
Tord Holmgren, Andersson, Tommy Holmgren (Mordt 78); Pettersson, L.Nilsson
Referee: Igna (Romania)
IFK Gotteborg was again the first to score – L. Nilsson made it 1-0 in the 20th minute, making Dundee’s task very hard – now they had to score 3 clean goals to win the Cup.
It proved impossible – the Swedes were tough, strong and well organized.
It was difficult to get ahead of them and find scoring opportunity.
Dundee United eventually equalized in the second half – Clark in the 60th minute – but no more. At the last whistle IFK Goteborg was triumphal.
The Cup was theirs to enjoy.
Dundee United lost by little, but there is never comfort in losing even bravely. This was the pinnacle of arguably the best period in the history of the club, they climbed up to European final. Eliminating Barcelona – the photo here is actually from that clash in the quarter-finals, before they won 2-1 in Barcelona – was great moment to remember. The team was great – for a club like Dundee United, that is – with Malpas, Narey, and McInally, but it was also a squad matched by the Swedish opponents, no better. No shame in losing… but losing is shameful moment anyway.
IFK Goteborg won the UEFA Cup for a second time. Great success, instantly making them the most successful Swedish club and placing them seriously on the European map. To a point, the the draws were relatively favourable to them this season, but one cannot argue it was just a lucky team.
Like Dundee United, IFK Goteborg enjoyed the best period in their history. To compare their first win in 1982 to this one is unpleasant task – true, in 1982 they overcome Hamburger SV, which was one the best teams in the world at the moment and it was a sensation. Now it was overcoming pretty much equal opponent, not as strong as Hamburger SV had been. It was not a sensation. But the squad in 1982 was also slightly stronger – it was up and coming team and coach, full of talent and hungry for success. Now it was a bit lesser team – some players already left for big money in the big European leagues. Sven-Goran Eriksson was no longer coaching them either. But success kept them running, the team was already experienced, there were plenty of players who won in 1982, Glen Hysen was international star and Lennart Johansson was worthy replacement of Sven-Goran Eriksson. One can say this was slightly weaker squad, compared to the one of 1982 only retrospectively and conveniently omitting the fact that in 1982 those ‘stars’ were unknowns, who made their names with the sensational victory over Hamburger SV. Now there were other players, who were becoming stars, helped by experienced guys, who already tasted success – no sensations, but rather winning as a matter of course.
It is surely a squad deserving one more look – twice UEFA Cup winners, managing to stay on top against the Swedish predicament of losing top players to big foreign leagues, the most successful Swedish team, and, regretfully, also the last time not only they, but Swedish football in general, won European trophy.