 Match programme cover | |||||||
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| Date | 9 December 1984 | ||||||
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| Venue | National Stadium,Tokyo | ||||||
| Man of the Match | José Percudani (Independiente)[1] | ||||||
| Referee | Romualdo Arppi Filho (Brazil) | ||||||
| Attendance | 62,000 | ||||||
←1983 1985 → | |||||||
The1984 Intercontinental Cup was anassociation football match betweenLiverpool of England andIndependiente of Argentina on 9 December 1984 at theNational Stadium inTokyo, Japan, the annualIntercontinental Cup contested between the winners of theCopa Libertadores andEuropean Cup. Independiente were appearing in their sixth Intercontinental Cup. They had won the competition once in1973 and lost the other four. Liverpool was making their second appearance in the competition, after their loss in1981.
The teams had qualified for the competition by winning their continent's primary cup competition. Independiente qualified by winning the primary South American cup competition, theCopa Libertadores. They won the1984 Copa Libertadores by defeating Brazilian teamGrêmio 3–1 on points in thefinals. Liverpool qualified by winning the primary European cup competition, theEuropean Cup. They won the1983–84 European Cup by beating Italian teamA.S. Roma 4–2 in apenalty shoot-out after the match finished1–1.
Watched by a crowd of 62,000, Independiente took the lead in the sixth minute whenJosé Percudani scored. Liverpool had the better of the possession during the match, but they were unable to convert their chances and the match finished in a 1–0 victory to Independiente. The win was the Argentine club's second triumph in the competition and the fifth in a row by the South American team.
Independiente qualified for the Intercontinental Cup as the reigning Copa Libertadores winners. They won the1984 Copa Libertadores by beatingGrêmio 3–1 on points over two legs in thefinals. It would be Independiente's sixth appearance in the competition. Their previous five appearances had resulted in one win in1973 and four defeats in1964,1965,1972 and1974.[2]
Liverpool had qualified for the Intercontinental Cup as a result of winning the1983–84 European Cup. They beat Roma 4–2 in apenalty shoot-out after the match finished 1–1 to win their fourth European Cup. Liverpool were appearing in their second Intercontinental Cup. Their appearance in1981 resulted in a 3–0 defeat againstFlamengo. Liverpool were scheduled to appear in1977 and 1978 but did not compete. They declined to play in 1977 and were replaced by runners-upBorussia Mönchengladbach, while in 1978, Liverpool andBoca Juniors declined to play each other.[2]
Liverpool's last match before the Intercontinental Cup was againstCoventry City in the1984–85 Football League First Division. They won 3–1 courtesy of two goals fromJohn Wark and one fromIan Rush.[3] The last match Independiente played before the Intercontinental Cup was againstRosario Central in the1984 Argentine Primera División, which they lost 1–0.[4]
Before the match, Liverpool lost defenderMark Lawrenson who had injured his hamstring in training.Gary Gillespie was his replacement.[5] Liverpool kicked off the match and the first few exchanges saw a number of rash tackles. Independiente defenderCarlos Enrique tackledCraig Johnston robustly, but the referee indicated to play on. Moments later Liverpool midfielderJan Mølby tackled Enrique late, which prompted the referee to award afree kick. Liverpool controlled the opening exchanges of the match, but could not work the ball into the Independiente penalty area.[6] However, it was Independiente who opened the scoring,Claudio Marangoni sent a ball over the Liverpool defence for strikerJosé Percudani, whose low shot beat the advancing Liverpool goalkeeperBruce Grobbelaar to give Independiente a 1–0 lead.[7]
Following the goal, Independiente under instruction from their managerJosé Omar Pastoriza, began to sit back in their own half inviting Liverpool to attack them. Their plan worked as Liverpool were unable to break down their defence, while their strikers Percudani and Alejandro Barberón counter-attacked when Independiente received the ball.[6] The second half saw Liverpool continue to attack the Independiente goal, but to no avail. MidfieldersJohn Wark and Mølby tried to find a way through the Independiente defence was equal to their efforts. Wark's efforts trying to engineer an equalising goal resulted in him being substituted forRonnie Whelan in the 76th minute, due to fatigue.[6]
Despite being the better team for the majority of the match, Liverpool were unable to beat the Independiente defence, with their shooting in front of goal being the culprit. Both sides questioned some of the referee's decisions. Liverpool believed they should have had two penalties, while Independiente felt that the assistant referee's decisions were questionable. Incidentally, the referee had served half of his two match ban handed out by the Brazilian Football Association.[5]
        Liverpool |    Independiente |
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Man of the Match: |
Despite the defeat, Liverpool managerJoe Fagan could not fault the effort his players had put in: "Independiente are a good defensive tactical team and we could find no way through, the weather was ideal, we were just as fit as they were. The South Americans have better ball control than we do. We were disappointed with the result but I wasn't disappointed with the display."[5]
Liverpool finished the1984–85 Football League First Division in second place 13 points behind local rivalsEverton.[9] They also reached thefinal of the1984–85 European Cup, which they lost 1–0 toJuventus. However the events of the match were overshadowed for thedisaster that occurred before kick-off. Liverpool fans breached a fence separating the two groups of supporters and charged the Juventus fans. The resulting weight of people caused a retaining wall to collapse, killing 39 people and injuring hundreds. English clubs were banned indefinitely from European competition, with a condition that when the ban was lifted, Liverpool would serve an extra three-year ban.[10] The ban eventually lasted for five years, clubs returning to European competition in the 1990–91 season.[11]
Independiente would finish their season in the Primera Division in 14th place.[4] Despite this, they competed in the1985 Copa Libertadores as the reigning champions. However, they were unable to retain their title as they exited in the semi-finals.[12]
