Memorable European Confrontations, Part 6-1977-Liverpool vs. AS Saint Etienne
Liverpool and Saint Etienne were paired in the Quarter Finals of the Champions Cup in 1977.
Saint Etienne were three times defending French Champions, who were having an off-season in the League and eventually finished in the fifth place that season.
The team had been the losing finalist vs. Bayern Munich in the previous edition of the Champions Cup.
The team managed by Robert Herbin and captained by Jean-Michel Larqué, included many French national team players such as Lopez, Rocheteau, Bathenay and Janvion.
The foreign legion comprised of Yugoslavian goalkeeper Yvan Curkovic and Argentinean stopper Oswaldo Piazza.
They had eliminated CSKA Sofia and PSV Eindhoven in the previous rounds.
Liverpool, managed by Bob Paisley, was on its way to become one of the greatest teams in the history of Football.
During this decade, they had already won League and FA Cup titles and had shone in Europe, by winning the UEFA Cup in 1973 and 1976.
The team’s jewel in the crown was Kevin Keegan.
The team captained by Emlyn Hughes included goalkeeper Ray Clemence, Welsh forward John Toshack, Ireland’s Steve Heighway, as well as midfield enforcer Jimmy Case and veteran Ian Callaghan.
They had eliminated Northern Ireland’s Crusaders and Turkey’s Trabzonspor in the previous rounds.
The first leg, on March 6th, was played in Saint Etienne’s Geoffroy Guichard Stadium.
Keegan was injured and had to miss the first leg. In his place came Terry McDermott.
Saint Etienne played 4-4-2 formation with two strikers as wingers, and no center forward. This was a very uncharacteristic strategy for them, however Herbin thought this was the best way to combat the British Kick and Rush system.
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Photo From: Onze, March 1977
(AS Saint Etienne squad, Top, left to right: Yvan Curkovic, Gerard Janvion, Gerard Farison, Oswaldo Piazza, Dominique Bathenay, Christian Lopez, Christian Synaeghel,Bottom, left to right: Dominique Rocheteau, Jean-Michel Larqué, Jacques Santini, Patrick Revelli) |
This formation ironically made it easier for the Liverpool central defenders to control the opposition’s attacks, as neither Jean-Michel Larqué nor Santini were able to charge in midfield and direct attacks as they keep running into each other.
After ten minutes of Saint Etienne domination, the match evened out as, Piazza was having difficulty in controlling Toshack and the rest of the squad was unable to make any headway.
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Photo From: Onze, March 1977
(Captains Jean-Michel Larqué and Emlyn Hughes shaking hands) |
In the first half, Clemence made only two saves.
After the break, Saint Etienne were in better form and took the initiative and started attacking with purpose.
With a quarter of an hour left, Piazza was booked after a dangerous foul on Callaghan. This suspended him for the return leg.
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Photo From: Onze, March 1977
(Patrick Revelli celebrating St Etienne’s goal scored by Bathenay) |
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Photo From: Onze, March 1977
(Piazza being booked that would lead to his suspension for the return leg) |
A few minutes later, Jean-Michel Larqué took a corner and after Janvion fumbled his volley, Bathenay scored the winner.
Many were surprised they won due to their current poor form in the League.
Despite the loss, Keegan seemed confident for return leg and predicted 3 goals.
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Photo From: Onze, March 1977
(Callaghan tackling Synaghel) |
March 2, 1977
Association Sportive de Saint-Etienne Loire (France) 1- Liverpool Football Club (England) 0
Champions Cup- Quarter Finals, First Leg
Venue: Saint Etienne- Stade Geoffroy Guichard
Attendance: 38,000
Referee: Karoly Palotai (Hungary)
Goalscorers: (AS Saint Etienne): Dominique Bathenay 78
(Liverpool): None
Lineups:
AS Saint Etienne:
1-Yvan Curkovic (Yugoslavia), 2-Gerard Janvion, 3-Gerard Farison, 4-Oswaldo Piazza (Argentina), 5-Christian Lopez, 6-Dominique Bathenay, 7-Dominique Rocheteau, 8-Jean-Michel Larqué, 9-Jacques Santini, 10-Christian Synaeghel, 11-Patrick Revelli
Coach: Robert Herbin
Booked: Piazza 77
Team Captain: Jean-Michel Larqué
Official Kit Supplier/Designer: Le Coq Sportif
Shirt Sponsor: None
Uniform Colors: Green Shirts, White Shorts , Green Socks
Liverpool:
1-Ray Clemence, 2-Phil Neal, 3-Joey Jones (Wales), 4-Phil Thompson, 5-Ray Kennedy, 6-Emlyn Hughes, 7-Terry McDermott, 8-Jimmy Case, 9-Steve Heighway (Republic of Ireland), 10-John Benjamin Toshak (Wales) (15-Tommy Smith 80th)11-Ian Callaghan
Coach: Bob Paisley
Team Captain: Emlyn Hughes
Official Kit Supplier/Designer: Umbro
Shirt Sponsor: None
Uniform Colors: Red Shirts, Red Shorts , Red Socks
The second leg, on March 20th, was played in Liverpool’s Anfield Road Stadium.
Keegan was back in the Liverpool lineup, with McDermott out.
Tommy Smith was back in the Liverpool defense with Phil Thompson out injured.
With Piazza suspended for Saint Etienne, Alain Merchadier took his place as stopper.
Liverpool scored after two minutes after Keegan’s cross went in untouched as Curkovic had his eyes on Toshack in front of him.
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Photo From: Onze, April 1977
(Bathenay tying up the score) |
This forced Saint Etienne to come out and play and they did so for the rest of the half with Merchadier controlling Toshack to great effect.
In the 50th minute, Bathenay tied the score with a long-range shot. He scored in both matches.
Less than ten minutes later, Ian Callaghan crossed for Toshack who headed to Ray Kennedy to score.
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Photo From: Onze, April 1977
(Rocheteau and Hughes) |
Around the 74th minute, Merchadier nose was bloodied after an accidental collision with Toshack.
Merchadier chose to remain, but the referee asked him to go off.
Herbin replaced Merchadier, a defender, with Hervé Revelli. Revelli moved in the midfield, as Bathenay was pushed back in center of defense to replace Merchadier.
This disrupted Saint Etienne’s system and subsequently failed to function.
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Photo From: Le Livre d’or du Football, 1977
(Rocheteau between Hughes and Neal) |
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Photo From: Onze, April 1977
(Kennedy tackling Jean-Michel Larqué) |
At the same time that Merchadier was substituted, Toshack was also replaced by super sub David Fairclough, who had a reputation of scoring key goals late in matches.
Fairclough scored Liverpool’s third with minutes remaining in a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper.
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Photo From: Onze, April 1977
(Fairclough sealing Liverpool’s win with Christian Lopez looking on) |
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Photo From: L’Annee du Football, 1977
(Toshack and Merchadier) |
This loss ended Saint Etienne’s glorious European runs that included wins over Hajduk Split, PSV Eindhoven and Dinamo Kiev.
Liverpool on the other hand, went on to defeat FC Zurich in the semi finals and Borussia Moenchengladbach in the Final.
Despite Keegan’s transfer to SV Hamburg in the summer, Liverpool retained the trophy the following season with the addition of Kenny Dalglish as Keegan’s replacement to great effect.
March 16, 1977
Liverpool Football Club (England) 3-Association Sportive de Saint-Etienne Loire (France) 1
Champions Cup- Quarter Finals, Second Leg
Venue: Liverpool-Anfield Road
Attendance: 56,000
Referee: Charles George Rainier Corver (Holland)
Goalscorers: (Liverpool): Kevin Keegan 2, Ray Kennedy 59, David Fairclough 84
(AS Saint Etienne): Dominique Bathenay 50
Lineups:
Liverpool:
1-Ray Clemence, 2-Phil Neal, 3-Joey Jones (Wales), 4-Tommy Smith, 5-Ray Kennedy, 6-Emlyn Hughes, 7-Kevin Keegan, 8- Jimmy Case, 9-Steve Heighway (Republic of Ireland), 10-John Benjamin Toshack (Wales) (12-David Fairclough 74th), 11-Ian Callaghan
Coach: Bob Paisley
Booked: Toshack
Team Captain: Emlyn Hughes
Official Kit Supplier/Designer: Umbro
Shirt Sponsor: None
Uniform Colors: Red Shirts, Red Shorts , Red Socks
AS Saint Etienne:
1-Yvan Curkovic (Yugoslavia), 2-Gerard Janvion, 3-Gerard Farison, 4-Alain Merchadier (12-Hervé Revelli 74th), 5-Christian Lopez, 6-Dominique Bathenay, 7-Dominique Rocheteau, 8-Jean-Michel Larqué, 9-Jacques Santini,10-Christian Synaeghel, 11-Patrick Revelli
Coach: Robert Herbin
Team Captain: Jean-Michel Larqué
Official Kit Supplier/Designer: Le Coq Sportif
Shirt Sponsor: None
Uniform Colors: Green Shirts, White Shorts , Green Socks
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