Champion Feyenoord Venue San Siro Stadium Event 1969–70 European Cup | Date 6 May 1970 Attendance 53,187 | |
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Referee Concetto Lo Bello (Italian Football Federation) Similar 1965 European Cup Final, 1958 European Cup Final, 1964 European Cup Final, 1983 European Cup Final, 1980 European Cup Final | ||
The 1970 European Cup Final was a football match held at the San Siro, Milan, on 6 May 1970, that saw Feyenoord of the Netherlands defeat Celtic of Scotland 2-1 after extra time. Ove Kindvall's goal in the 117th minute meant the trophy was going to a Dutch club for the first time. It remains Feyenoord's only European Cup triumph. The match nearly never took place due to massive strikes throughout Italy during 1970 (The Italian FA backed down to ensure that their own clubs would be able to compete in further UEFA competitions). A match programme was never issued for this final; it is unknown whether one was ever printed.
Summary
Celtic went into the match as strong favourites, but despite Tommy Gemmell opening the scoring after 30 minutes, they were comprehensively outplayed by Feyenoord. The Dutch team's manager, Ernst Happel, ensured Celtic winger Jimmy Johnstone was double marked at all times, whilst the midfield trio of Franz Hasil, Willem van Hanegem and Wim Jansen dominated their Celtic counterparts. Rinus Israël quickly equalised from a free kick, but Celtic managed to hold on at 1–1 to force extra time. With just a few minutes of extra-time remaining, a long free-kick from the Feyenoord half was sent towards the Celtic penalty area. Celtic defender and captain Billy McNeil stumbled and misjudged the ball, and as he tried to recover he appeared to punch the ball away. Before the referee had a chance to award a penalty, Ove Kindvall reacted quickly and took the ball round his man before chipping it over goalkeeper Evan Williams to seal a 2–1 win for Feyenoord.