Magath and Happel win the European Cup for Hamburg.

Report by Giorgio Pirelli

In 1983, subsequent Bayern Munich’s run of 3 successive European Cup Wins in the mid nineteen seventies, English clubs had grabbed a very limited hold on the trophy and didn’t seem to be capable of letting go.

For six consecutive seasons, an English based participant had held up the trophy, and it appeared that their period of time of dominating the trophy would go on forever. However there had been two folks who considered in different ways, one particular of them an erudite Austrian of few phrases, who had already won a European Cup with Feyenoord Rotterdam and a extremely gifted and ambitious youthful German midfield participant. The pair was Ernst Happel and Felix Magath, and collectively they plotted the unfancied Hamburger Sport-Verein or HSV Hamburg as they are typically known’s victory in opposition to all the odds in the European Cup in 1983. Not that HSV Hamburg were performing badly on the domestic scene. With Happel in the driving seat, they had used about the mantle from Bayern Munich in the late seventies, and even took home the significantly less prestigious European Cup Winners Cup in 1977. Even so Happel has set his sights on successful another European Cup and when Felix Magath joined HTV in 1977 they formed an comprehending on and off the discipline that could only lead the pair to obtain their dream.

And as the 1982-1983 European Cup campaign got underneath way, it appeared doubly challenging the break the English maintain on the trophy, as there have been not 1 but two English teams competing. Holders Aston Villa and League Champions Liverpool, who had won the cup 3 instances in the previous six seasons. In the early rounds, the two the English clubs saw of their opposition with embarrassing ease, nevertheless undesirable luck and quite possibly poor preparing saw Liverpool and Aston Villa drawn jointly in the eighth round. Liverpool noticed Aston Villa off, and as a reward was given an straightforward tie, at least on paper, against Polish champs, Widzew Łódź. The Poles shattered everyone’s predictions by successful the tie, only to be drawn towards the potent Juventus group, who swept them aside on their way to another closing.

Meanwhile HSV Hamburg were generating their way slowly and purposefully via the competitors with some workmanlike performances against some rather powerful sides this sort of as East German champions Dynamo Berlin and Dynamo Kiev. They identified on their own in the semi finals competing towards Spanish club Actual Sociedad who were obtaining a bit of an anti-climax of a period. The 1st leg played in Spain noticed Hamburg score a quite useful absent purpose in a one-1 draw and win 2-1 at property to go through to their initial last on a 3-2 aggregate.

The closing played in Athens saw HSV Hamburg really significantly the underdogs as well as not being the favorites of at minimum some of the neutral house crowd, getting disposed of nearby group Olympiacos F.C in the eighth round. The Juventus group, packed with superstars this kind of as Boniek, Platini, Tardelli, and Rossi have been expecting an easy victory, but the Hamburg staff, enjoying in their acquainted red soccer uniforms realized a thing that Juventus didn’t. That this was to be their evening and there was no denying Happel and Magath their victory. And it came right after a generally stoic defensive functionality from HSV Hamburg and a solitary goal from the maestro himself, Felix Magath in as early as the 8 moment. Hamburg held out for the remaining eighty two and though exhausted, the gamers danced a victory jig in the center of the park as the final whistle blew. Even the actually-reserved Happel was observed to flash a smile.

About the Writer

Browse by means of Soccer Uniforms intensive collection of soccer kits.