 Match programme cover | |||||||
| Event | 1960–61 European Cup | ||||||
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| Date | 31 May 1961 | ||||||
| Venue | Wankdorf Stadium,Bern | ||||||
| Referee | Gottfried Dienst (Switzerland) | ||||||
| Attendance | 26,732[1] | ||||||
←1960 1962 → | |||||||
The1961 European Cup final was held at theWankdorf Stadium,Bern on 31 May 1961, and was contested byPortuguese sideBenfica againstSpanish sideBarcelona. This was the first final not to includeReal Madrid, who had won the previous five finals. Benfica lifted the trophy for the first time, beating Barcelona 3–2.
Benfica midfielderMario Coluna broke his nose in the eighth minute of the match; not wanting to risk further damage, whenDomiciano Cavém put over a cross in the 55th minute, Coluna hung back outside the penalty area. The ball was cleared directly to him and he volleyed it home for Benfica's third goal of the match.[2]
Five-time defending championsReal Madrid were knocked out in the first round byBarcelona, their bitter domestic rivals. After defeating Czechoslovak championsHradec Králové in the quarter-finals, Barcelona initially drew 2–2 on aggregate with West German championsHamburger SV in the semi-finals. Since this was before UEFA competitions began using theaway goals rule, in order to determine who would advance to the final, areplay was scheduled to be played at a neutral site on 3 May.Barça would qualify for the final by winning the replay 1–0 at theKing Baudouin Stadium inBrussels, withEvaristo scoring the decisive goal.[3]
Meanwhile,Benfica reached the final of the competition by eliminating Austrian championsRapid Wien in a 4–1 semi-final aggregate win. This marked the first time that a team from Portugal had ever progressed this far into the competition.
 Benfica | Round |  Barcelona | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Agg. | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Opponent | Agg. | 1st leg | 2nd leg | |
 Heart of Midlothian | 5–1 | 2–1 (A) | 3–0 (H) | Prelim. round |  Lierse | 5–0 | 2–0 (H) | 3–0 (A) |
 Újpesti Dózsa | 7–4 | 6–2 (H) | 1–2 (A) | First round | Real Madrid | 4–3 | 2–2 (A) | 2–1 (H) |
 AGF Aarhus | 7–2 | 3–1 (H) | 4–1 (A) | Quarter-finals |  Spartak Hradec Králové | 5–1 | 4–0 (H) | 1–1 (A) |
 Rapid Wien | 4–1 | 3–0 (H) | 1–1 (A) | Semi-finals |  Hamburger SV | 2–2 (Replay: 1–0) | 1–0 (H) | 1–2 (A) |
        Benfica |     Barcelona |
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