| Event | 1956–57 European Cup | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Date | 30 May 1957 | ||||||
| Venue | Santiago Bernabéu Stadium,Madrid | ||||||
| Referee | Leo Horn (Netherlands) | ||||||
| Attendance | 124,000[1] | ||||||
←1956 1958 → | |||||||
The1957 European Cup final was afootball match played at theSantiago Bernabéu Stadium inMadrid,Spain, on 30 May 1957 to determine the winners of the1956–57 European Cup. It was contested betweenReal Madrid of Spain andFiorentina of Italy. Real Madrid won 2–0 after goals fromAlfredo Di Stéfano andFrancisco Gento in the second half.[2] It was the first of four finals (also counting the Champions League era, followed by the1965,1984 and2012 finals) where one of the teams played in its home stadium, and also the first final when the winning team played at their home stadium.
Controversy surrounded Real Madrid's first goal after Dutch refereeLeo Horn ignored his linesman signalling thatEnrique Mateos wasoffside before awarding apenalty for a foul on Mateos that appeared to have been committed outside the penalty area.[3]
By winning the final, Real Madrid became the first team to successfully defend the European Cup.
 Real Madrid | Round |  Fiorentina | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Agg. | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Opponent | Agg. | 1st leg | 2nd leg | |
 Rapid Wien | 5–5 (Replay:2–0) | 4–2 (H) | 1–3 (A) | First round |  IFK Norrköping | 2–1 | 1–1 (H) | 1–0 (A) |
 Nice | 6–2 | 3–0 (H) | 3–2 (A) | Quarter-finals |  Grasshoppers | 5–3 | 3–1 (H) | 2–2 (A) |
 Manchester United | 5–3 | 3–1 (H) | 2–2 (A) | Semi-finals |  Red Star Belgrade | 1–0 | 1–0 (A) | 0–0 (H) |
Real Madrid qualified for the1956–57 European Cup as the competition's defending champions, having beatenReims 4–3 in the1956 final at theParc des Princes in Paris.[4] As the title holders, they were given a bye directly to the first round, where they were drawn against Austrian championsRapid Wien. Two goals each fromAlfredo Di Stéfano andRamón Marsal gave them a 4–2 win in the first leg at theSantiago Bernabéu Stadium.[5] In the second leg,Ernst Happel scored ahat-trick to put Rapid 3–0 ahead, but a Di Stéfano goal made the score 3–1.[6] The game finished 5–5 on aggregate. As theaway goals rule was not implemented until 1965, a play-off took place at the Bernabéu, where goals fromJoseíto andRaymond Kopa gave Madrid a 2–0.[7]
The quarter-finals saw Real take on French championsNice. A Joseíto goal and two fromEnrique Mateos gave Madrid a 3–0 win at home. In the away tie,Jacques Foix pulled a goal back for Nice, but another goal from Joseíto and two by Di Stéfano secured Madrid's victory; a late penalty by Nice'sFerry meant the tie finished 6–2 on aggregate.[8]
Manchester United were Real's opponents in the semi-finals. Goals fromHéctor Rial and Di Stéfano put Madrid 2–0 up just after the hour mark; Manchester United pulled a goal back throughTommy Taylor, but Mateos' goal a minute later cancelled it out. Kopa and Rial each scored in the first half in the second leg atOld Trafford, which practically put the tie beyond doubt, though Taylor andBobby Charlton scored in the second half to reduce the aggregate score to 5–3. That result sent Real Madrid through to their second straight European Cup final.[9]
Fiorentina qualified after winning the1955–56 Serie A. They were placed into the South-Central Europe group for the preliminary round draw, but were not among the first four teams drawn and received a bye to the first round. There they facedIFK Norrköping of Sweden, who had also received a bye. In the first leg atStadio Artemio Franchi, they fell behind to an early goal byHarry Bild, butClaudio Bizzarri [it] equalised shortly afterwards and the match finished 1–1. In the second leg,Giuseppe Virgili scored the only goal of the game to give Fiorentina a 2–1 win on aggregate.[10]
In the quarter-finals againstGrasshoppers of Switzerland, Fiorentina jumped out to a 3–0 lead early in the first leg thanks to goals fromArmando Segato andRomano Taccola (2), butRobert Ballaman pulled one back for the visitors.Julinho extended Fiorentina's aggregate lead early in the second leg, only for Ballaman to again reduce the Swiss side's deficit; nevertheless,Miguel Montuori scored Fiorentina's fifth goal of the tie, renderingBranislav Vukosavljević's late goal mere consolation in a 5–3 aggregate scoreline.[11]
Red Star Belgrade of Yugoslavia were Fiorentina's opponents in the semi-finals. The first leg was played in Belgrade and went goalless until two minutes from the end, whenMaurilio Prini scored for the Italians.[12] The second leg went goalless, and Fiorentina won the tie to become the first Italian side to reach the European Cup final.
The final was held at the Santiago Bernabéu on 30 May 1957. Leo Horn of the Netherlands refereed the game. A penalty from Di Stéfano and a goal from Gento gave Madrid a 2–0 victory and retention of the title. This was their second European Cup victory in as many years.[1]
| Real Madrid | 2–0 | Fiorentina |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
     Real Madrid |  Fiorentina |
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