 Match programme cover. The image is ofEmlyn Hughes lifting the trophythe previous year forLiverpool. | |||||||
| Event | 1978–79 European Cup | ||||||
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| Date | 30 May 1979 | ||||||
| Venue | Olympiastadion,Munich | ||||||
| Referee | Erich Linemayr (Austria) | ||||||
| Attendance | 68,500[1] | ||||||
←1978 1980 → | |||||||
The1979 European Cup final was afootball match held at theOlympiastadion,Munich, on 30 May 1979.[a] Trevor Francis scored the only goal of the match, asNottingham Forest ofEngland defeatedMalmö FF ofSweden 1–0 to become European champions for the first time in club history. The win represented a third successive victory for an English side in the European Cup, afterLiverpool's victories in1977 and1978.
Thecompetition had provided many great stories and had thrown up a final that no-one could have predicted when it had started the previous August. Unfortunately, with two of their best players – midfielderBo Larsson and defenderRoy Andersson – already ruled out with injury and with their captain and keymidfielder,Staffan Tapper, breaking his toe in training on the eve of the final, Malmö resorted to the same defensive tactics that Belgian teamClub Bruges had used atWembley in the finaltwelve months earlier. With neither of the finalists being one of Europe’s major clubs, Munich’sOlympiastadion was far from full for the Final, and the game itself was something of an anti-climax. There was, however, one memorable story still to be told. Back in February,Brian Clough had elected to spend the money that Forest had made from winning the league title in 1978 on a forward fromBirmingham City. Clough madeTrevor Francis Britain’s first £1 million footballer when he took him to Nottingham, butUEFA rules stipulated that he could not play European football for another three months. Therefore, the first game that Francis was eligible for was the final itself and, withMartin O'Neill injured andArchie Gemmill not selected by Clough, Francis was picked to play his first ever European club game, albeit out on the right wing.
| Nottingham Forest | Round | Malmö FF | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Result | Legs | Opponent | Result | Legs | |
 Liverpool | 2–0 | 2–0 home; 0–0 away | First round |  Monaco | 1–0 | 0–0 home; 1–0 away |
 AEK Athens | 7–2 | 5–1 home; 2–1 away | Second round |  Dynamo Kiev | 2–0 | 2–0 home; 0–0 away |
 Grasshoppers | 5–2 | 4–1 home; 1–1 away | Quarter-finals |  Wisła Kraków | 5–3 | 4–1 home; 1–2 away |
 1. FC Köln | 4–3 | 3–3 home; 1–0 away | Semi-finals |  Austria Wien | 1–0 | 1–0 home; 0–0 away |
With Malmö opting to sit back in defence for the duration of the match, the game was merely about whether Forest could break through. Despite constant pressure, the English side had still failed to score as first half injury time began, but thenJohn Robertson, a man who was now one of the most feared wingers in European football, beat two Swedish defenders on the left hand side before whipping in a cross.GoalkeeperJan Möller, who had been solid up to this point, did not come out to clear the ball, and at the far post was none other thanTrevor Francis to head the ball into the roof of the net. That was effectively the end of the match. BothGarry Birtles and Robertson missed good chances in the second half, but it did not matter, as Malmö never looked likely to score.[citation needed]
It may have been an unremarkable final, but the result certainly made for a remarkable overall story. Under their maverick managerBrian Clough, Nottingham Forest – a relatively small English club – had won European club football’s biggest prize, knocking out two-time defending champions Liverpool along the way. Just two years earlier, Forest had been in English football'ssecond tier, and yet they now found themselves at the zenith of European club football.
Nottingham Forest would retain their titlethe following year. To date, Malmö is the only club from aNordic country to play in the European Cup or Champions League final.
          Nottingham Forest |  Malmö FF |
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