Saturday, August 21, 2021
The Lions of Flanders, Part 3
Bruges began their 1976/77 European Cup campaign unconvincingly with a narrow victory over Steaua Bucharest in the opening round, thanks largely to a debatable penalty in the home tie. It was in the second round that they produced a surprise to rival those of the previous season's run to the UEFA Cup final: they beat the mighty Real Madrid. True, the Madrileños had to play the first leg away from their home stadium, which was in the midst of renovations. They were also having one of their worst-ever seasons, finishing ninth in the Spanish league. But the loss to Bruges was still a shock.
Madrid's "home" tie, held in Málaga, ended 0-0. In the return, Ulrik Le Fevre put the home side ahead early on with a powerful volley, and just before half-time the Madrid defender Benito Rubiñan headed a Bruges corner past his own goalkeeper. It might have been three when Bruges were awarded a penalty in the second half, but Raoul Lambert's shot was saved. Madrid's legendary president Santiago Bernabeu was not in a generous mood after the tie, claiming that the English referee had favoured Ernst Happel's Bruges...because there was an Englishman (former Derby County man Roger Davies) in the side!
Bruges' opponents in the quarter-final were the eventual finalists, Borussia Moenchengladbach. Domestic champions for the past two seasons, this team boasted such experienced German internationals as Bert Vogts, Herbert Wimmer, Rainer Bonhof and Jupp Heynckes, as well as the feared Danish attacker Allan Simonsen, soon to be named European Footballer of the Year. They were renowned for their fast, creative, attacking style, and were highly favoured against Happel's men. But in the home leg, the Germans received a dreadful fright.
Moenchengladbach took the early initiative, as expected, and the busy midfielder Uli Stielike created a couple of half-chances. But on 23 minutes, Bruges surprised their hosts with a fine team goal: the young Dirk Hinderyckx, a late replacement for an injured Lambert, flicked a header on for Davies, whose well-weighted pass inside fell to Julien Cools; the powerful midfielder advanced and finished smartly past Wolfgang Kneib.
Borussia responded, with the winger Kalle Del'Haye having a shot deflected wide and Simonsen, already looking dangerous, tricking his way nicely past two defenders and forcing a save from his compatriot in the Bruges goal, Birger Jensen. But soon Bruges went further ahead: a through-ball from the left-back Jos Volders reached the playmaker Paul Courant, who had underlined Bruges' down-to-earth ethos by arriving at the Madrid match on his bicycle. He took a deft touch around Kneib and slotted the ball home.
As against Liverpool the season before, Bruges had gone into a 2-0 lead against a formidable home side.
And, as at Anfield, it wasn't to last. Just before half-time, the Borussia forward Christian Kulik was played in by Wimmer on the left and pulled a crucial goal back. After the break, Borussia were dominant, although Kneib had to make a close-range save from Davies early in the half. Simonsen, always in the action, created two good chances for himself at the other end, and on the hour the hosts' pressure told in unfortunate fashion. Bonhof's cross from the left was headed towards goal by Hans-Jurgen Wittkamp, and Jensen, who had played so well up to that point, fumbled it into the path of Simonsen, who tapped the ball home.
Bruges, resilient as ever, held on until the final whistle, although Jensen had to make another vital save from Simonsen on 74 minutes. Five minutes later, there was a controversial moment when a backheel from Del'Haye reached Vogts, who crashed a shot against the underside of the Bruges bar: it came down tantalisingly on the line. "I know what you're all thinking...Wembley!" remarked the laconic German commentator. But Vogts was to be no Geoff Hurst; the goal was, correctly, not given.
A 2-2 draw should have been excellent news for Bruges, but Happel's comment prior to the game that he had more fears for the home leg than the away leg proved prescient. Missing two key players in the return match at the Olympiastadion, Bruges failed to make much impact, perhaps convinced that they could keep the game scoreless and progress. But six minutes from the end, disaster: Jensen rashly came out to claim an aerial ball that he was never going to reach, and the teenaged Wilfried Hannes, a Borussia substitute, popped up to head the ball over him and into the empty net.
It was a painful way to go out, but Bruges were to have an even better crack at Europe's top club prize in 1977/78. To be concluded in Part 4.
