| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 14 September 1971 (1971-09-14) – 17 May 1972 (1972-05-17) |
| Teams | 63[1] (from 31 associations) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Tottenham Hotspur (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Wolverhampton Wanderers |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 122 |
| Goals scored | 368 (3.02 per match) |
| Attendance | 2,110,102 (17,296 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Ludwig Bründl (Eintracht Braunschweig) 10 goals |
1972–73 → | |
The1971–72 UEFA Cup was the inaugural season of theUEFA Cup, now known as theUEFA Europa League, which became the third clubfootball competition organised byUEFA. The tournament retained the structure and format of theInter-Cities Fairs Cup, which ran from 1955 to 1971 and had been held independently of UEFA by an organizing committee composed mostly of FIFA executives.
Thefinal was played inEngland over two legs, atMolineux Stadium,Wolverhampton, and atWhite Hart Lane,London. The first UEFA Cup was won byTottenham Hotspur, who defeatedWolverhampton Wanderers by an aggregate result of 3–2.
English clubs had won the last four editions of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. This was the first ever European final between two clubs from England, a feat that would not be repeated until the2008 UEFA Champions League final. This was Wolverhampton's lone appearance in a European final, and Tottenham's second European title,nine years after their success in theEuropean Cup Winners' Cup.
TheInter-Cities Fairs Cup was created in 1955, having actually started a few months earlier than theUEFA-organisedEuropean Cup during the summer. The 'Fairs Cup', as it came to be known, was intended to provide a competitive background for matches between the representative teams of cities that hosted internationaltrade fairs, which were being held in the previous years. As such, its calendar was highly irregular, with the first two editions being played over a five-year span.
The tournament had the backing of several influential football officials. This includedFIFA Executive Committee membersErnst Thommen, who was the president of theSwiss Football Association, as well asSir Stanley Rous andOttorino Barassi. With no further need for international governance, the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was internally regulated, from the referees to the disciplinary measures, and no coordination at all with the European Cup. At first,UEFA gave no further attention to the concept, as it was also immersed from 1957 onwards in taking over the International Youth Tournament (nowadays, theUEFA European Under-19 Championship) thad had been initiated byFIFA.[2]
This approach changed at the start of the 1960s as UEFA structures consolidated, being tasked by the FIFA statues to bring order to European competitions. In 1961, UEFA took over theEuropean Cup Winners Cup after its inaugural edition, and, in 1962, devised a plan to streamline the continental calendars and its competitions. A new ruling stated that "competitions open to the clubs of all National Associations affiliated to UEFA may only be organized by UEFA itself". However, this was not initially enforced with the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, due to its good reputation and the influence held by its organisers. In the meantime, the competition had adjusted to an annual schedule, while club teams quickly replaced city teams.[2]
By 1964, the belief within the UEFA Executive Committee was that the competition "should be governed and organised by UEFA itself", to ensure consistency over the rules, refereeing and disciplinary matters.[3] An initial proposal by theScottish Football Association for UEFA to take over the tournament fell through by 15 votes to 5, due to the opposition ofSir Stanley Rous in his new role as FIFA president, and the support of theFootball Association. However, when Scotland submitted a new proposal in 1966, the English association did agree that time, and the motion was narrowly passed by 11 votes to 10 despite the efforts of Rous to prevent it.[2][3]
Owing to the minimal margin between both positions, UEFA agreed to enter a negotiation period with the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup organizers. The terms were finally approved in 1968, and UEFA was due to take over for the1969–70 edition. However, just a few months prior, most of the member association presidents agreed to extend the 'transitional period', which lasted for two further years. The tournament was then renamed as the UEFA Cup.[2]
The main changes came with the entry criteria. Teams would no longer be bound to their city being host to an international trade fair, and multiple teams from the same city could be entered. Qualification for the UEFA Cup was devised purely on sporting merits, either by the highest-placed European teams that had not qualified for theEuropean Cup orUEFA Cup Winners' Cup, or by winning a secondary cup competition, such as aleague cup. Initially, the lone exception to the rule came fromEngland, which still applied the 'one city, one team' rule until UEFA imposed the standard qualification procedure in 1975. Otherwise, the UEFA Cup retained the same 64-team, five knock-out rounds format for a two-legged final, with multiple teams from Europe's strongest leagues.
A total of 64 teams from 32UEFA member associations were entered in the 1971–72 UEFA Cup. As the 'trade fair' requirement was abolished, teams from theSoviet Union,Cyprus andAlbania were admitted for the first time, which required further modifications into the allocation scheme previously set up by the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.
Due to the newly entered associations,Belgium,Scotland andYugoslavia lost the fourth berth they had gained the previous season, whileEngland went back from five to four teams as the 'title holders' extra berth was not needed.Denmark andGreece also lost their second UEFA Cup berth, andEast Germany regained their second berth, whileSweden andBulgaria were also granted a second berth.
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The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for competition:
Notes
The schedule of the competition was as follows. Matches were primarily scheduled for Wednesdays, though some matches took place on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
| Round | First leg | Second leg |
|---|---|---|
| First round | 14–22 September 1971 | 28 September – 6 October 1971 |
| Second round | 19–21 October 1971 | 2–4 November 1971 |
| Third round | 23 November – 8 December 1971 | 8–15 December 1971 |
| Quarter-finals | 23 February – 9 March 1972 | 7–22 March 1972 |
| Semi-finals | 5 April 1972 | 19 April 1972 |
| Final | 3 May 1972 | 17 May 1972 |
Teams from the same nation could not be drawn against one another.
1 Vllaznia withdrew after Albanian authorities banned the team from international competition, due to its volleyball team coming back from abroad with gifts and items that were deemed forbidden.
2 This match was played inReykjavík.
3 Chemie Halle withdrew after the first leg following theHotel 't Silveren Seepaerd fire.
Vllaznia withdrew after Albanian authorities banned the team from international competition, due to its volleyball team coming back from abroad with gifts and items that were deemed forbidden; Rapid Wien were awarded a walkover.
Ferencváros won 4–2 on aggregate.
ADO Den Haag won 7–2 on aggregate.
Tottenham Hotspur won 15–1 on aggregate.
Eintracht Braunschweig won 7–1 on aggregate.
Vitória de Setúbal | 1–0 |  Nîmes |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Nîmes | 2–1 | Vitória de Setúbal |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
2–2 on aggregate. Vitória de Setúbal won on away goals.
Carl Zeiss Jena won 4–3 on aggregate.
UTA Arad | 4–1 |  Austria Salzburg |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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| Austria Salzburg | 3–1 | UTA Arad |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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UTA Arad won 5–4 on aggregate.
OFK Beograd | 4–1 |  Djurgården |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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| Djurgården | 2–2 | OFK Beograd |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
OFK Beograd won 6–3 on aggregate.
Marsa | 0–6 |  Juventus |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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Juventus won 11–0 on aggregate.
Vasas | 1–0 |  Shelbourne |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Shelbourne | 1–1 | Vasas |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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Vasas won 2–1 on aggregate.
Zaglebie Walbrzych won 4–2 on aggregate.
Spartak Moscow won 3–2 on aggregate.
Željezničar won 4–3 on aggregate.
Dinamo Zagreb won 8–2 on aggregate.
St Johnstone won 4–2 on aggregate.
Hertha BSC | 3–1 | Elfsborg |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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| Elfsborg | 1–4 | Hertha BSC |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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Hertha BSC won 7–2 on aggregate.
Rosenborg won 4–0 on aggregate.
Basel | 1–2 |  Real Madrid |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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| Real Madrid | 2–1 | Basel |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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Real Madrid won 4–2 on aggregate.
Chemie Halle withdrew ahead of the return leg due to theEindhoven hotel fire that claimed the life of Halle's 21-year-old midfielder Wolfgang Hoffmann one day before the match. PSV Eindhoven were awarded a walkover.[12]
Lierse won 4–2 on aggregate.
Aberdeen won 3–0 on aggregate.
1. FC Köln won 3–2 on aggregate.
Dundee won 5–2 on aggregate.
Legia Warsaw won 3–1 on aggregate.
| Athletic Bilbao | 2–0 | Southampton |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Athletic Bilbao won 3–2 on aggregate.
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 3–0 | Académica |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Wolverhampton Wanderers won 7–1 on aggregate.
| Napoli | 1–0 | Rapid București |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Rapid București | 2–0 | Napoli |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Rapid București won 2–1 on aggregate.
Bologna won 3–1 on aggregate.
Nantes won 3–1 on aggregate.
2–2 on aggregate. Panionios won on away goals.
Milan won 7–0 on aggregate.
Teams from the same nation could not be drawn against one another.
1 After the final whistle in the first leg, visitingPanionios fans invaded the pitch and attackedFerencváros players, match officials, and Hungarian police. Panionios were ejected from the competition.
2 This match was played in's-Hertogenbosch.
| Rapid București | 4–0 |  Legia Warsaw |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Legia Warsaw | 2–0 | Rapid București |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Rapid București won 4–2 on aggregate.
Dundee | 4–2 | 1. FC Köln |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Dundee won 5–4 on aggregate.
| Zagłębie Wałbrzych | 1–1 | UTA Arad |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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| UTA Arad | 2–1 (a.e.t.) | Zagłębie Wałbrzych |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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UTA Arad won 3–2 on aggregate.
Carl Zeiss Jena won 5–1 on aggregate.
2–2 on aggregate. Rapid Wien won on away goals.
3–3 on aggregate. Željezničar won on away goals.
| Ferencváros | 6–0 |  Panionios |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
After the final whistle in the first leg, visiting Panionios fans invaded the pitch and attacked Ferencváros players, match officials, and Hungarian police. Panionios were ejected from the competition. Ferencváros were awarded a walkover.
| Athletic Bilbao | 2–2 | Eintracht Braunschweig |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Eintracht Braunschweig won 4–3 on aggregate.
Rosenborg | 4–1 |  Lierse |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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4–4 on aggregate. Lierse won on away goals.
Wolverhampton Wanderers won 7–1 on aggregate.
Tottenham Hotspur won 1–0 on aggregate.
St Johnstone won 2–1 on aggregate.
| Milan | 4–2 | Hertha BSC |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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Milan won 5–4 on aggregate.
| Real Madrid | 3–1 |  PSV Eindhoven |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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| PSV Eindhoven | 2–0 | Real Madrid |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
3–3 on aggregate. PSV Eindhoven won on away goals.
Spartak Moscow | 0–0 | Vitória de Setúbal |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Vitória de Setúbal | 4–0 | Spartak Moscow |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Vitória de Setúbal won 4–0 on aggregate.
Juventus won 3–1 on aggregate.
Teams from the same nation could not be drawn against one another.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Carl Zeiss Jena | 0–4 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0–1 | 0–3 |
| UTA Arad | 3–1 | Vitória de Setúbal | 3–0 | 0–1 |
| Rapid Wien | 1–5 | Juventus | 0–1 | 1–4 |
| Eintracht Braunschweig | 3–6 | Ferencváros | 1–1 | 2–5 |
| PSV Eindhoven | 1–4 | Lierse | 1–0 | 0–4 |
| St Johnstone | 2–5 | Željezničar | 1–0 | 1–5 |
| Milan | 3–2 | Dundee | 3–0 | 0–2 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 5–0 | Rapid București | 3–0 | 2–0 |
| Carl Zeiss Jena | 0–1 | Wolverhampton Wanderers |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 3–0 | Carl Zeiss Jena |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Wolverhampton Wanderers won 4–0 on aggregate.
| UTA Arad | 3–0 | Vitória de Setúbal |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Vitória de Setúbal | 1–0 | UTA Arad |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
UTA Arad won 3–1 on aggregate.
| Rapid Wien | 0–1 | Juventus |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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| Juventus | 4–1 | Rapid Wien |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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Juventus won 5–1 on aggregate.
| Eintracht Braunschweig | 1–1 | Ferencváros |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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| Ferencváros | 5–2 | Eintracht Braunschweig |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Ferencváros won 6–3 on aggregate.
| PSV Eindhoven | 1–0 | Lierse |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Lierse | 4–0 | PSV Eindhoven |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Lierse won 4–1 on aggregate.
| St Johnstone | 1–0 | Željezničar |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Željezničar | 5–1 | St Johnstone |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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Željezničar won 5–2 on aggregate.
Milan won 3–2 on aggregate.
| Tottenham Hotspur | 3–0 | Rapid București |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Rapid București | 0–2 | Tottenham Hotspur |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Tottenham Hotspur won 5–0 on aggregate.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milan | 3–1 | Lierse | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| UTA Arad | 1–3 | Tottenham Hotspur | 0–2 | 1–1 |
| Juventus | 2–3 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 1–1 | 1–2 |
| Ferencváros | 3–3(5–4p) | Željezničar | 1–2 | 2–1 (a.e.t.) |
Milan won 3–1 on aggregate.
| UTA Arad | 0–2 | Tottenham Hotspur |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 1–1 | UTA Arad |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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Tottenham Hotspur won 3–1 on aggregate.
| Juventus | 1–1 | Wolverhampton Wanderers |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2–1 | Juventus |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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Wolverhampton Wanderers won 3–2 on aggregate.
| Ferencváros | 1–2 | Željezničar |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Željezničar | 1–2 (a.e.t.) | Ferencváros |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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| Penalties | ||
| 4–5 | ||
3–3 on aggregate. Ferencváros won 5–4 on penalties.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ferencváros | 3–4 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2–2 | 1–2 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 3–2 | Milan | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| Ferencváros | 2–2 | Wolverhampton Wanderers |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2–1 | Ferencváros |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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Wolverhampton Wanderers won 4–3 on aggregate.
| Tottenham Hotspur | 2–1 | Milan |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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| Milan | 1–1 | Tottenham Hotspur |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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Tottenham Hotspur won 3–2 on aggregate.
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 1–2 | Tottenham Hotspur |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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| Tottenham Hotspur | 1–1 | Wolverhampton Wanderers |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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Tottenham Hotspur won 3–2 on aggregate.
