For this interview, I look back at Liverpool’s Champions Cup winning run in 1980/81 season.
The Interview will be as a video link companion, while the Blog
will be a presentation of the events.
The Interviewees are:
Football fan Mr. David Sleight
Mr. Sleight’s contact
info:
Twitter:
@CelticFoal
Writer and former Football Journalist Mr.
Gil Matthews
Mr. Matthews’ contact
info:
Twitter:
@MatthewsGil
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gil.matthews.3
Business: ‘And Then
Strum’ guitar tuition online
Instagram: Gilberticus3rd
My contact information:
on twitter @sp1873 and on
facebook under Soccernostalgia.
Listen on Spotify /
Apple Podcasts:
Liverpool FC in the
Champions Cup 1980/81
When the 1980/81 season kicked off,
Liverpool were to take part in the Champions Cup. Liverpool had just won the
League title for the fourth time in five seasons.
They had won the Champions Cup in
1977 and 1978, however, their last two campaigns had been disappointing as
Liverpool had crashed out in the first round each time (Nottingham Forest
(78/79) and Dinamo Tbilisi (79/80).
They were still managed by Bob
Paisley, the architect of all the recent successes of the club’s greatest era.
He still relied on a strong backbone
of experienced players. The custodian in goal was the legendary Ray Clemence
(in his final season for the club).
Skipper Phil Thompson led the
defense, along with Phil Neal, Alan Kennedy, and the Scottish Alan Hansen, with
the Israeli Avi Cohen just behind.
The midfield included the Scottish
Graeme Souness, Terry McDermott, Sammy Lee, and Ray Kennedy, with the Irish
veteran Steve Heighway still in the mix, along with Jimmy Case and an
up-and-coming Irishman Ronnie Whelan.
The Scottish Kenny Dalglish led the
frontline along with David Johnson plus a young Welshman named Ian Rush.
Photo
From: L’Année du Football 1981
(Bob Paisley) |
Photo
From: L’Année du Football 1981
(Graeme Souness and Kenny Dalglish) |
Photo
From: L’Année du Football 1981
(Terry McDermott and
Graeme Souness) |
Photo
From: L’Année du Football 1981
(Sammy Lee and Alan Kennedy) |
The transfer activity was minimal
that season. Scottish striker Frank
McGarvey had been unable to make an impact at Anfield, he returned to Scotland
to join Celtic Glasgow.
The only arrival was that of
little-known defender Richard Money from Fulham.
Liverpool started their Champions Cup
adventure against Finnish side OPS Oulu.
The first leg was away at Oulu on September 17, 1980. Liverpool were
surprisingly held to a (1-1) draw.
The Return leg at Anfield was on October
1st, 1980, and Liverpool displayed its dominance by winning with a
(10-1) scoreline that included hat-tricks from Souness and McDermott and a
double from Fairclough.
The Second Round appeared a much more
challenging task, as Liverpool faced the new power from Scotland, Alex
Ferguson’s Aberdeen.
The first leg was at Aberdeen on
October 22, 1980. Terry McDermott’s early goal was all the difference and
Liverpool came back with a precious away win.
The second leg at Anfield took place
on November 5th. Liverpool showed the gap between the sides by
winning (4-0) against a quality side. Liverpool were through to the
quarterfinals.
This modest wee twiitter account exists to keep the memory of Kenny in Celtic's green and white and the pictures reflect this. However I will make an exception of this one as the graceful Kenny leads Aberdeen players a merry dance in that marvellous 1980 Liverpool away strip. pic.twitter.com/h9v6khtNZv
— Kenny of the Celtic (@KennyofCeltic) July 26, 2021
Aberdeen Vs Liverpool. European Cup 1st leg up in Scotland in November 1980. Where Terry McDermott scored a peach of a winner. #Aberdeen #Liverpool #LFC #YNWA ❤️🏆⚽️ pic.twitter.com/PszGqkZR1Z
— "YNWA" The Story of Liverpool FC (@LFCHistoryShow) June 23, 2022
Liverpool v Aberdeen 1980 pic.twitter.com/5PIX7ITeCA
— LFChistory.net (@LFChistory) August 9, 2023
5 November 1980
— LFChistory.net (@LFChistory) November 5, 2022
Kenny Dalglish scores at Anfield against Aberdeen. Liverpool demolished Alex Ferguson's side 4-0 (5-0 on aggregate) and kicked them out of European Cup. The Reds would eventually claim the trophy that season.#LFChistory_net pic.twitter.com/8IcETHLqob
For the Quarterfinals in the Spring of 1981, Liverpool were paired
with Bulgarian champions CSKA Sofia.
By this stage of the season, Liverpool were uncharacteristically
struggling in the League. They had many injuries to key players at various
stages that season and that affected their League form (eventually finishing in
Fifth place).
They also crashed out of the FA Cup in January.
Ahead of the first leg, the Liverpool squad sequestered itself in
a clear the air meeting.
This must have worked as Liverpool were in a rampant mood as they
took the field on March 4th, 1981, to face CSKA in the first leg.
Liverpool defeated CSKA
(5-1) with Graeme Souness scoring a hat-trick and Lee and McDermott providing
the others.
The outcome of the tie
was not in any doubt for the return leg at Sofia on March 18th.
David Johnson’s early goal settled this match and Liverpool came back with a
(1-0) away win.
Photo
From: L’Année du Football 1981
(March 4, 1981, Champions
Cup, Liverpool 5-CSKA Sofia 1) |
Ahead of the semifinals,
Liverpool were triumphant in the League Cup. This was a welcome boost ahead of
the semifinals as well as salvaging a dismal domestic season.
For these semifinals,
Liverpool faced its most difficult task by facing the West German powerhouse
Bayern Munich led by Paul Breitner and the then current Ballon d’Or Karl-Heinz
Rummenigge.
For the first leg on
April 8th, at Anfield, Liverpool were missing Souness and Johnson
through injury. Paisley drafted in Jimmy Case and Ian Rush in their place.
In the second half,
Liverpool legend Steve Heighway came in for his final
European match for the club before departing for the United States (for
Minnesota Kicks).
Liverpool piled on the
pressure, but Bayern held firm. The West Germans came away with an advantageous
scoreless tie.
Many in their camp later
expressed that they thought they had done the hard part, and they felt a false
sense of self confidence ahead of the return leg.
Photo From: Mondial, New
series, issue 14, May 1981
(April 8, 1981, Champions Cup, Liverpool 0-Bayern Munich 0) |
For the return leg, on
April 22nd, at Munich, Liverpool were missing the injured defensive
pair of Thompson and Kennedy. Paisley was forced to start with the
inexperienced Colin Irwin and Richard Money in their place.
The odds were against
Liverpool, but they held firm and near the end in the 82nd minute,
Ray Kennedy gave them the lead.
Bayern had to score two
goals in less than ten minutes and this was beyond them. Rummenigge pulled a
goal back, but it was too little, too late. Liverpool advanced to the Final
with the away goals rule.
Photo From: Guerin
Sportivo, No 18 (338), 29 April -May 5, 1981
(April 22, 1981,
Champions Cup, Bayern Munich 1- Liverpool 1) |
Photo From: Guerin
Sportivo, No 21 (339), May 20-26, 1981
(April 22, 1981,
Champions Cup, Bayern Munich 1- Liverpool 1) |
Photo
From: L’Année du Football 1981
(April 22, 1981,
Champions Cup, Bayern Munich 1- Liverpool 1) |
Liverpool were in the Final facing Spanish
giants Real Madrid on May 27th, 1981, at Paris. The Spanish side
included Spanish Internationals such as Camacho, Juanito, Santillana and Del
Bosque as well as West German International Uli Stielike and English striker
Laurie Cunningham.
But this was not the Real Madrid of
the 50s and 60s, they had not won any European trophy in 15 years.
Liverpool were playing in their third
Final in five years and were used to the occasion (In fact fifth in nine years
if you include the UEFA Cup triumphs of 1973 and 1976).
In the end it was a dour and
unexciting match to watch. It was decided in the 82nd minute through
a moment of brilliance from Alan Kennedy.
He picked up Ray Kennedy’s throw-in
on the left side and entered the box and shot from a narrow angle.
It was all that was required for
Liverpool to win its third Champions Cup. This was England’s fifth straight
triumph in the competition and Liverpool were not finished yet…..
Photo
From: L’Année du Football 1981
(May 27, 1981, Champions
Cup, Liverpool 1-Real Madrid 0) |
Photo
From: L’Année du Football 1981
(May 27, 1981, Champions
Cup, Liverpool 1-Real Madrid 0) |
Photo
From: L’Année du Football 1981
(May 27, 1981, Champions
Cup, Liverpool 1-Real Madrid 0) |
Photo
From: L’Année du Football 1981
(May 27, 1981, Champions
Cup, Liverpool 1-Real Madrid 0) |
Photo
From: L’Année du Football 1981
(May 27, 1981, Champions
Cup, Liverpool 1-Real Madrid 0) |
Liverpool Football Club
(1980/81 season):
Players who took part in
these matches (on the field or on the bench):
Goalkeeper:
Ray Clemence (August 5, 1948-Skegness,
Lincolnshire-November 15, 2020, Corby, Northamptonshire) (aged 32
years old at the time)
Steven
Ogrizovic (September 12, 1957, Mansfield) (aged 22-23 years
old at the time)
Bruce Grobbelaar (Zimbabwe) (October 6, 1957,
Durban, South Africa) (aged 22-23 years old at the time) (arrived
in March 1981)
Defenders:
Phil Neal
(February
20, 1951, Irchester, Northamptonshire) (aged 29-30 years old at the
time)
Alan Hansen (Scotland) (June 13, 1955,
Sauchie, Clackmannashire, Scotland) (aged 25 years old at the time)
Alan Kennedy (August 31, 1954, Penshaw) (aged 26 years old at the
time)
Phil Thompson
(January
21, 1954, Kirby, Lancashire) (aged 26-27 years old at the time)
Avraham ‘Avi’ Cohen (Israel) (November 14,
1956, Cairo, Egypt-December 29, 2010, Tel Aviv, Israel) (aged 23-24
years old at the time)
Richard Money (October 13, 1955, Lowestoft) (aged 24-25 years old at
the time)
Colin Irwin (February 9, 1957, Liverpool) (aged 23-24 years old at
the time)
Midfielders:
Ray Kennedy
(July 28,
1951, Seaton Delaval, Northumberland-November 30, 2021) (aged 29
years old at the time)
Graeme Souness (Scotland) (May 6, 1953,
Edinburgh, Scotland) (aged 27-28 years old at the time)
Terry McDermott
(December
8, 1951, Liverpool) (aged 28-29 years old at the time)
Sammy Lee
(February
7, 1959, Liverpool) (aged 21-22 years old at the time)
Jimmy Case
(May 18,
1954, Liverpool) (aged 26-27 years old at the time)
Ronnie Whelan (Republic of
Ireland) (September 25, 1961, Dublin, Republic of Ireland) (aged 18-19 years old at
the time)
Kevin Sheedy (Republic of
Ireland) (October 21, 1959, Builth Wells, Wales) (aged 20-21
years old at the time)
Michael
Halsall
(July 28,
1961, Bootle) (aged 19 years old at the time)
Robert James
Savage
(January 8,
1960, Liverpool) (aged 20-21 years old at the time)
Steve Heighway (Republic of
Ireland) (November 25, 1947, Dublin, Republic of Ireland)
(aged 32-33 years old at the time) (left in April 1981)
Forwards:
Kenny Dalglish (Scotland) (March 4, 1951, Glasgow, Scotland) (aged 29-30 years old at
the time)
David Johnson
(October
23, 1951, Liverpool-November 23, 2022) (aged 28-29 years old at the
time)
David Fairclough
(January 5,
1957, Liverpool) (aged 23-24 years old at the time)
Howard Gayle
(May 18,
1958, Toxteth, Liverpool) (aged 22-23 years old at the time)
Ian Rush (Wales) (October 20, 1961,
St Asaph, Wales) (aged 18-19 years old at the time)
Colin Russell
(January
21, 1961, Liverpool) (aged 19-20 years old at the time)
Coach: Bob Paisley (January 23, 1919, Hetton-le-Hole, County Durham-February
14, 1996, Liverpool) (aged 61-62 years old at the time)
Team Captain: Phil Thompson
Official Kit
Supplier/Designer: Umbro
Shirt Sponsor: None
(Hitachi but no sponsored shirts used in European matches)
Photo
From: Onze, Issue 65, May 1981
(Liverpool squad 1980/81) |
Photo
From: Onze, Issue 65, May 1981
(Liverpool squad 1980/81) |
Photo
From: Panini England 1980/81
(Liverpool squad 1980/81) |
Transfer Activity:
Arrivals:
Richard
Money (Fulham)
Bruce Grobbelaar (Crewe Alexandra)
(arrived in March 1981)
Departures:
Frank
McGarvey (Celtic Glasgow)
Steve
Heighway (left in April 1981 to Minnesota Kicks)
References:
France Football, Issue
1822, March 10, 1981
France Football, Issue
1829, April 28, 1981
Mondial, New series,
issue 14, May 1981
Mondial, new series,
issue 16, July 1981
Onze,
Issue 65, May 1981
Onze,
Issue 66, June 1981
World
Soccer, July 1981
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