1968 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Final

The 1968 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Final was the final of the tenth season of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. It was played on 7 August and 11 September 1968 between Leeds United A.F.C. of England and Ferencváros of Hungary. Leeds United won the tie 1–0 on aggregate, having won the first leg 1–0 at home prior to a 0–0 draw in the second leg. It was both clubs' second appearance in the final, with Leeds United having been defeated finalists to Dinamo Zagreb in the previous season's final, whilst Ferencváros won the tournament in 1965 having beat Juventus in the final.

1968 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Final
Event1967–68 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
on aggregate
First leg
Date7 August 1968
VenueElland Road, Leeds
RefereeRudolf Scheurer (Switzerland)
Attendance25,268
Second leg
Date11 September 1968
VenueNépstadion, Budapest
RefereeGerhard Schulenburg (West Germany)
Attendance76,000

Route to the final

The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was created in 1955 as a tournament between cities that hosted international trade fairs. It originally had an irregular format with the competition taking place over multiple seasons, before the format was changed such that it took place over a single season. The 1967–68 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was the 10th season of the competition.[1]

Both teams took part in five rounds prior to reaching the final. The first leg saw Leeds beat Luxembourgish side Spora Luxembourg 16–0 over two legs before victories over FK Partizan, Hibernian and Rangers saw Leeds set up a semi-final against Scottish side Dundee. The first leg saw Leeds draw 1–1, before an Eddie Gray goal late in the second leg saw Leeds seal their place in the final.[2][3] Despite losing 3–1 to Romanian side Argeș Pitești in the first leg of their first round tie, Ferencváros won the second leg 4–0 to advance to the next round. The second round saw Ferencváros come from behind to beat Real Zaragoza, before victories over Liverpool, Athletic Bilbao and Bologna saw the Hungarian side reach the final.[4][5]

Leeds United Round Ferencváros
Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg
 Spora Luxembourg 16–0 9–0 (A) 7–0 (H) First round  Argeș Pitești 5–3 1–3 (A) 4–0 (H)
 Partizan 3–2 2–1 (A) 1–1 (H) Second round  Real Zaragoza 4–2 1–2 (A) 3–0 (H)
 Hibernian 2–1 1–0 (H) 1–1 (A) Third round  Liverpool 2–0 1–0 (H) 1–0 (A)
 Rangers 2–0 0–0 (A) 2–0 (H) Quarter-finals  Athletic Club 4–2 2–1 (H) 2–1 (A)
 Dundee 2–1 1–1 (A) 1–0 (H) Semi-finals  Bologna 5–4 3–2 (H) 2–2 (A)

Match

First leg

The attendance for the first leg, hosted at Leeds United's Elland Road, was just 25,268, with the match being televised on live television cited as the reason for the surprisingly low figure. The referee for the first leg was Swiss referee Rudolf Scheurer. Both sides had early chances, with Ferencváros midfielder István Szőke failing to capitalise on a mistake made at the back by Leeds' Jack Charlton, before Leeds' Peter Lorimer had a shot well saved after goalkeeper István Géczi's free kick fell straight to Mick Jones. Leeds scored the first and only goal of the game in the 41st minute as Lorimer's corner fell first to Jack Charlton before Mick Jones bundled the ball over the line, despite complaints from the Hungarian side that Charlton fouled goalkeeper István Géczi in the build-up. The second half saw both teams have chances to score, though the away side had the best chances, with István Szőke putting a good chance wide before Gyula Rákosi failed to beat Leeds goalkeeper Gary Sprake.[6][7][5]

Leeds United 1–0 Ferencváros
Jones  41'
Attendance: 25,368
Leeds United
GK1 Gary Sprake
DF2 Paul Reaney
DF3 Terry Cooper
MF4 Billy Bremner (c)
DF5 Jack Charlton
DF6 Norman Hunter
FW7 Peter Lorimer
MF8 Paul Madeley
FW9 Mick Jones 70'
MF10 Johnny Giles 65'
FW11 Eddie Gray
Substitutes:
FW  Rod Belfitt 70'
FW  Jimmy Greenhoff 65'
Manager:
Don Revie
Ferencváros
GK1 István Géczi
DF2 Dezső Novák (c)
DF3 Miklós Páncsics
DF6 Sándor Havasi
MF4 István Juhász
FW5 Lajos Szűcs
MF8 István Szőke
MF7 Zoltán Varga
FW9 Flórián Albert
MF10 Gyula Rákosi
FW11 Máté Fenyvesi 65'
Substitutes:
MF13 László Bálint 65'
Manager:
Károly Lakat

Second leg

The second leg, hosted in front of a crowd of 76,000 at Ferencváros' Népstadion, was under threat of not taking place due to growing tensions between the east and west as a result of the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. The second leg saw Leeds play much more defensively than in the first, with Leeds described as having a 'ten-man defence'. Ferencváros dominated, with strong first-half chances falling to Gyula Rákosi and István Szőke, and their dominance continued throughout the match but they failed to score. Following the match, Leeds manager Don Revie stated, "As the final whistle drew nearer every minute seemed like an hour." Victory over Ferencváros marked Leeds' first major European honour.[8][9][5]

Ferencváros 0–0 Leeds United
Attendance: 70,000
Referee: Gerhard Schulenburg (West Germany)
Ferencváros
GK1 István Géczi
DF2 Dezső Novák (c)
DF3 Miklós Páncsics
DF6 Sándor Havasi
MF4 István Juhász
FW5 Lajos Szűcs
MF8 István Szőke 60'
MF7 Zoltán Varga
FW9 Flórián Albert
MF10 Gyula Rákosi
FW18 Sándor Katona
Substitutes:
17 János Karába 60'
Manager:
Károly Lakat
Leeds United
GK1 Gary Sprake
DF2 Paul Reaney
DF3 Terry Cooper
MF4 Billy Bremner (c)
DF5 Jack Charlton
DF6 Norman Hunter
MF7 Michael O'Grady
FW9 Peter Lorimer
MF8 Paul Madeley
FW10 Mick Jones
FW11 Terry Hibbitt 68'
Substitutes:
MF  Mick Bates 62'
Manager:
Don Revie

Leeds United win 1–0 on aggregate

See also

References

  1. Weeks, Jim (16 February 2017). "The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup: European Football's Strange and Forgotten Grandfather". www.vice.com. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  2. Crist, Matthew (7 August 2019). "How The Fairs Cup Gave Leeds Their First Taste Of European Glory". The Sportsman. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  3. "The Definitive History of Leeds United - 1967/68 - Part 2 - The cups that cheer". www.mightyleeds.co.uk. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  4. "Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1967-68". rsssf.com. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  5. "Európa legjobb csapata, egy hajszálra az újabb sikertől". fradi.hu (in Hungarian). Ferencvárosi TC. 10 April 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  6. "The Definitive History of Leeds United — Matches - 7 August 1968 - Leeds United 1 Ferencvaros 0". mightyleeds.co.uk. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  7. Jarred, Martin; Macdonald, Malcolm (1986). Leeds United : a complete record 1919-1986. Derby: Breedon Books Sport. p. 278. ISBN 0-907969-17-8. OCLC 14977257. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  8. "The Definitive History of Leeds United — Matches - 11 September 1968 - Ferencvaros 0 Leeds United 0". www.mightyleeds.co.uk. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  9. Jarred, Martin; Macdonald, Malcolm (1986). Leeds United : a complete record 1919-1986. Derby: Breedon Books Sport. p. 279. ISBN 0-907969-17-8. OCLC 14977257. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
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