Cup Winners' Cup 1974-75

This competition and this year may not seem particularly signicant to even the most commited of football fans, but it was a signicant year for clubs from eastern Europe. European footballing powers such as Real Madrid and Liverpool entered this tournament but they were not to be seen in the final. Or even the semi-final. Some great teams had won this trophy such as Barcelona and Chelsea but 1975 threw a spanner in the works. This was a year in which three of the four semi-finalists came from the more unfashionable nations from a modern perspective, one of which, went on to triumph and lift a major European trophy to the surprise of the many.

The previous five winners of this competition had all come from established nations as had the majority of the beaten finalists. Therefore, the presence of such a quantity of clubs from 'minor' nations in the latter stages proved even more surprising. The first major shock to the system came in the Round of 16. Liverpool faced Hungarian side Ferencvaros who had achieved substantial domestic success but failed to make an impact in continental competition. Few fancied the Hungarians to get any sort of result in the atmosphere at Anfield so when they came away with an extremely credible 1-1 draw, the European football community stood up. A 0-0 draw in the return leg sent Ferencvaros through and a major upset had taken place.

Having gained passage to the last 8, things weren't going to get any easier. Teams such as Real Madrid and Benfica still stood in the way of the route to the final for this supposably lesser teams from the east. Compared to their ficture against Liverpool, Ferencvaros received a more favourable, yet still challenging, tie against Swedes Malmo. The Hungarians prevailed once more with a 4-2 aggregate win. Red Star Belgrade from what used to be Yugoslavia received the hardest match, being paired with Real Madrid who had an outstanding european record.

Incredibly both sides managed to win their respective home legs 2-0 so the tie was settled on penalties. Red Star won and another massive scalp had been taken. Already the semi-finals had two places occupied by smaller teams and PSV of the Netherlands took the third. The fourth was up for grabs between Dynamo Kiev of the USSR and Bursaspor of Turkey. It was perhaps not surprising that Kiev won this tie but in doing so they set up the amazing situation of three eastern teams occupying four sports in a major european tournament. One team from this group was guarenteed a place in the final.

Kiev were paired with PSV and Ferencvaros (pictured) with Red Star.

Unfortunately for the Dutch, the Soviets triumphed 4-2 on aggregate and the other semi resulted in a Hungary win. So it would be a Hungary/Soviet final and regardless of the result, a less fashionable team would win the trophy. It was Kiev that ran out winners with a convincing 3-0 win but eastern european heads could be held high after this momentous year. This remains Fernecvaros' best European performance but there are signs in the last few years of a re-emergence of power in these regions. The last two UEFA cups have been won by Zenit from Russia and Shakthar of Ukraine and the likes of BATE of Belarus and Cluj of Romania have reached the group stages of the Champions League. In a similar way to Shakthar's strip, the future seems bright for Eastern European football.

Legend - Georgi Kinkladze

During the early years of the English Premiership, foreign players were few and far between. Those that did ply their trade in England at the time though have gone on to become cult heroes. Dennis Bergkamp, David Ginola and Andrei Kanchelskis created their own legacies in England with their dazzling displays that excited and encaptivated the thrilled spectators. One player that produced numerous moments of brilliance yet failed to have the same success as the aforementioned was the little Georgian - Georgi Kinkladze.

Started his career in his native Georgia, Kinkladze moved from a relatively small Tbilisi club to the dominant force in Georgian football Dinamo Tbilisi. It was at Dinamo that he flourished. He scored at an extraordinary rate bagging 41 league goals in only 65 appearances. His time at Dinamo was broken by spells on loan at German side Saarbruken as well as Argentinian giants Boca Juniors. Sadly for Georgi, neither of these loan moves produced great success or resulted in a transfer to these respective clubs. However, his consistently good performances domestically did not escape the views of Manchester City's then manager Alan Ball. This move thrust the diminutive Georgian into the public eye for the first time in his career and he took it with both feet.

Manchester City were struggling in the Premiership when Georgi joined but he proved a bright light in these dark times for the City faithful. His persistent dribbling and fighting spirit endeared him to the spectators. He took his time to settle in England but this never showed on the pitch as he scored several outstanding solo goals, most notably against Southampton where he weaved his way effortlessly through the defence before casually chipping the onrushing goalkeeper Dave Beasant. Despite his performances, Georgi was unable to keep Manchester City in the Premiership as they were relegated in the 1995-96 season. As one would expect, this demise in City's fortune prompted much speculation that the little Georgian would move on to bigger and better things but he stayed loyal to the side that brought him into England and

stayed with them as they competed in Division One.

Once again, Georgi's presence and flair were not enough to protect City from yet another relegation and Georgi fell out of favour as new manager Joe Royle preferred defensive players as opposed to the flair that Georgi could offer. His days at City seemed numbers and Kinkladze would ultimately move on to Amsterdam club Ajax in 1998. He would spend 2 years in the Netherlands but his first team opportunities were limited and he made the move back to England with Derby, initially on loan. Kinkladze enjoyed success that, although not quite as prolific as his Man City days, reminded onlookers of those days back in 1996 but Derby turned out to be Georgi's last long-serving club. Spells in Cyprus with Anorthosis and in Russia with Rubin followed as Georgi was entering the twilight of his career. He retired in 2007 after a career spanning almost 20 years consisting of many mind-boggling dribbles and goals.

Georgi has certainly left his legacy in football, particularly in England. Any football fan of note can recall his legendary goal against Southampton in the Premiership back in 1996. He was a joy to behold for both his own supporters as well as neutrals. Rival clubs wished they had him in their ranks during his peak with European giants such as Barcelona mooted with having an interest in him. Despite this he showed loyalty that is all too absent in the modern game. He is a great example of a player from Eastern Europe that infiltrated the history of English football and the hearts of supporters throughout the land and he goes to show that you don't have to play the best to be considered a true footballing great.

Primera Divisió d'Andorra

Okay, I'll give it to you, perhaps the Primera Divisió d'Andorra, the top league in Andorran football, isn't the most widely followed league in the world, or Europe, or probably even in Andorra, but we'll delve in and have a deeper look, shall we?

What has brought the Andorran league to my attention is the success of last years league champions UE Sant Juliá in the Champions League First Qualifying Round. Before you get too excited, I should probably point out that the team they ousted from the competition were Tre Fiori, a team from San Marino, who battled back from 2-1 down on aggregate to 2-2 before Sant Juliá got the better of them on penalties.

Sant Juliá claimed their 2nd league title, which brought them level with FC Encamp and FC Ranger's and one behind CE Principat. FC Santa Coloma remain the most succesful team, claiming 4 titles. The eight teams that compete in the Andorran league play 14 league games (all at the Estadi Comunal d'Aixovall or the Estadi Comunal d'Andorra la Vella). At the end of this the top 4 play-off for the Championship, and the bottom 4 enter relegation play-offs, so always something to play for at the end of the season!

After their success over Tre Fiori, UE Sant Juliá have progressed to face Levski Sofia in the 2nd Champions League Qualifying Round. A very tall order for the Andorran club, in which it will probably be a struggle to keep the score respectable rather than to have any realistic chance of progressing further. As will be the task facing last seasons runners-up, FC Santa Coloma when they face FC Basel of Switzerland in the 2nd Qualifying round of the Europa League.

The Finnish Veikkausliga

One of the many leagues that is proving interesting this season is the Finnish Veikkausliga. The self-proclaimed nation of the 'Coolest Football on Earth' is provided an exciting and certainly not predictable spectacle this year. After 13 league games, FC Haka lead the way on 27, only ahead of HJK on goal difference. TPS are keeping it interesting just 4 points behind them and then a series of teams trailing in close proximity. The season is nowhere near over!

One of the things that makes the Veikkausliga so interesting is the fact that unlike some of the more established leagues in world football, the winner is not essentially pre-determined. This can be seen in the last 2 seasons where 6 different teams ended up occupying the top 3 places! This simply doesn't happen in England, Spain, Italy or France along with many other European leagues that are kept in higher regard. There are historical trends within Finnish football such as Helsinki powerhouses HJK head and shoulders above the rest in terms of league titles but in recent years this seems to be changing. It will be interesting to see how this develops in the upcoming seasons and hopefully, this unpredictably will continue for us neutrals!

Slovenian SuperCup

Alright then good people, let's kick this blog off with a bit of Slovenian SuperCup action.

NK Maribor and NK Interblock Ljubljana were both looking to add the final touches to their pre-seasons going into this one, and it was Maribor who drew first blood when captain Zoran Pavlovic slotted home a 33rd minute penalty. Interblock struck back almost immediately however, through their captain and former Maribor player Ermin Rakovic (pictured) just two minutes after going behind. When they then went on to claim the lead through Bostjan Jelecevic 4 minutes before the break it looked as though it would be Interblock's night. Until disaster struck in the 74th minute for Ales Kokot, as he put through his own net in his first competitve match for Interblock to level things up at 2-2.

There were to be no more goals in normal time, and it was Maribor who took full advantage of the chances given to them in extra time when David Bunderla notched what proved to be the winner in the 102nd minute of play.

So after a 120 minutes, a hard-fought victory for Maribor, a sign of things to come as they look to retain their PrvaLiga crown?

Welcome to European Football!

Hello fellow football enthusiast!

This blog has been created to chronicle the delights and joys of football in the perhaps lesser known leagues and cups of European football. We all know about the English Premiership and the Italian Serie A we thought it would be good to broaden our horizons. Good times!