 Ajax captainJohan Cruyff receivesthe trophy wearing a Juventus shirt, having exchanged jerseys with the losing finalists | |||||||
| Event | 1972–73 European Cup | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Date | 30 May 1973 | ||||||
| Venue | Red Star Stadium,Belgrade | ||||||
| Referee | Milivoje Gugulović (Yugoslavia) | ||||||
| Attendance | 89,484 | ||||||
←1972 1974 → | |||||||
The1973 European Cup final was afootball match held at theRed Star Stadium inBelgrade, Yugoslavia on 30 May 1973. Two-time defending championsAjax of the Netherlands facedJuventus of Italy.
Johnny Rep scored the only goal of the game after four minutes as Ajax won 1–0 to claim their third consecutiveEuropean Cup and earned the Dutch side the privilege of keepingthe trophy permanently.
Ajax had reached theEuropean Cup final on three previous occasions. They were two-time defending champions coming into the1972–73 season after defeatingPanathinaikos 2–0 in1971 andInter Milan by the same scoreline in1972.[1]
Juventus had never previously reached a European Cup final.[1]
As defending champions, Ajax qualified automatically for the 1972–73 European Cup.[1] They received a bye in the first round. In the second round, they defeatedCSKA Sofia of Bulgaria 3–1 away and 3–0 at home to advance 6–1 on aggregate. They then defeatedBayern Munich of West Germany 4–0 in the first leg of their quarter-final inAmsterdam. Despite a 2–1 defeat in the second leg, Ajax advanced 5–2 on aggregate. In the semi-finals, they facedReal Madrid of Spain. A 2–1 first leg win was followed up with a 1–0 win inMadrid as they reached the final 3–1 on aggregate.[2]
Juventus qualified for the 1972–73 European Cup as champions of the1971–72 Serie A.[3] In the first round, they facedOlympique de Marseille of France. The first leg, which was played inLyon, ended in a 1–0 win for Olympique de Marseille. However, Juventus won the second leg 3–0 to advance 3–1 on aggregate. In the second round, they defeatedMagdeburg of East Germany 1–0 in both legs to advance 2–0 on aggregate. After a goalless draw in the first leg of their quarter-final againstÚjpesti Dózsa of Hungary inTurin, the second leg ended 2–2 inBudapest (2–2 on aggregate) and Juventus advanced onaway goals. In the semi-finals, they defeatedDerby County of England 3–1 in the first leg before a goalless second leg which meant Juventus progressed 3–1 on aggregate.[2]
| Ajax | Round | Juventus | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Agg. | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Opponent | Agg. | 1st leg | 2nd leg | |
| Bye | First round |  Olympique de Marseille | 3–1 | 0–1 (A) | 3–0 (H) | |||
 CSKA Sofia | 6–1 | 3–1 (A) | 3–0 (H) | Second round |  1. FC Magdeburg | 2–0 | 1–0 (H) | 1–0 (A) |
 Bayern München | 5–2 | 4–0 (H) | 1–2 (A) | Quarter-finals |  Újpesti Dózsa | 2–2 (a) | 0–0 (H) | 2–2 (A) |
 Real Madrid | 3–1 | 2–1 (H) | 1–0 (A) | Semi-finals |  Derby County | 3–1 | 3–1 (H) | 0–0 (A) |
        Ajax |     Juventus |
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Assistant referees: | Match rules
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Juventus would gain revenge for the defeat 23 years later when the two sides contestedthe final of the same competition (rebranded as the UEFA Champions League). After a 1–1 drawafter extra time, Juventus won 4–2 onpenalties.[1]
