Leeds United v Barcelona (1975)<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOgh3YK1fyQ>
The season of 1974-75 was the swansong for Don Revie's superlative Leeds United side. Revie had gone, of course, taking the England job in the summer after guiding his boys to their second league title, but the team was still his. As new manager Brian Clough soon found out to his cost. But Leeds suffered as a result of that brief union as well. Their 74-75 side is generally considered to have passed the crest of the hill, but the stats don't quite bear that out. Though they ended the season in ninth place, they were only eight points behind the eventual champions Derby County. Had Clough not effectively given the Rams a seven-point start during his six games in charge at the beginning of the season, Leeds would have been in with a shout of retaining their title. They were also unlucky not to end the season as only the second English team to become European champions. The highlight of their continental run – which ended with controversial defeat to Bayern Munich in the final – was their control in the semi-final of a Barcelona side boasting Johan Cryuff and Johan Neeskens. In this paper, David Lacey wrote of United's "long spells of masterful football" in the first leg at Elland Road<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOgh3YK1fyQ>. Billy Bremner scored a trademark thunderer early on. Barcelona equalised through Juan Manuel Asensi, but Allan Clarke notched a late winner. Utility man Paul Madeley smothered a disappointing Cruyff, while Barcelona's defence, according to Lacey, "amounted to nine men and the goalkeeper". "Cruyff disappointed me a little," said Leeds' post-Clough manager Jimmy Armfield. "But he is a thoroughbred player and I am sure we will see more of him in Spain." But not for the first time in his life, Cruyff went missing on the big stage. Leeds were the best side for the majority of the second leg at Camp Nou <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GK14TNFn0LQ>, leading through an early Peter Lorimer goal, though they had to hold on for the last 20 minutes after Manuel Clares equalised and Gordon McQueen was sent off for (Lacey again) "playing Clares with such vitality that it was nearly a minute before the Barcelona player could be brought round and he played to the end mopping his wounded head with a pad". But hold on Leeds did, and made the final in Paris. Had Franz Beckenbauer been rightfully punished for scything down Clarke, United would have won the biggest prize in club football. But it wasn't to be, and Bayern prevailed. The evening ended in a riot <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-zB6xIx3qg>. "It got so out of hand," writes Rob Bagchi in The Unforgiven, his page-turner of Revie's Leeds, "that Bobby Collins, the club's former captain, was head-butted outside the ground by a Leeds fan fooled by his vaguely Teutonic appearance". _______________________________________________ Leedslist mailing list Info and options: http://mailman-new.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist To unsubscribe, email leedslist-unsubscr...@gn.apc.org MARCHING ON TOGETHER (There's it)
