Date:
Venue: Stadio Comunale,
Competition: Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Final First Leg.
Score: Juventus 2
Scorers: Juventus: Bettega, Capello.
Attendance: 45,000.
Teams:
Juventus: Piloni; Spinosi, Marchetti; Furino, Morini, Salvadore; Haller, Causio, Anastasi (Novellini), Capello, Bettega.
Referee: Laurens
Van Ravens (
Torrential rain washed out
the first attempt to play the first leg of the 1971 Inter-Cities Fair Cup Final
in
For Leeds United, Don Revie was understandably disappointed, as when you are more
than holding your own and with more than half the game gone, especially if the
game is on foreign soil, you don’t want to have to start again. Billy Bremner commented that the pitch at
The rain in
Juventus was bristling with International
performers and many outstanding players. Helmut Haller, the seasoned German
World Cup player, lined up amongst the Italian internationals Luciano Spinosi, Roberto Bettega, Pietro Anastasi, Francesco Morini,
Franco Causio, Sandro Salvadore, Giuseppe Farino and
Fabio Capella, who later became a very successful
coach. As always Juventus provided the backbone for
the Italian national team and United were under no illusions as to the battle
ahead. Don Revie decided not to find room in his
line-up for Eddie Gray’s replacement, Terry Yorath,
choosing to opt for the experienced Paul Reaney at
right back with Paul Madeley moving to left midfield
for the mercurial Scotsman.
Three days later battle
commenced in the Stadio Comunale
with Juventus, the club which had once lured John
Charles away from Leeds, the favourites with the
bookmakers. The Italians looked a good bet early on when their multi-million
lire forward line swept into action with a swift breakaway move from their own
half. West German international Helmut Haller won possession from Terry Cooper,
who had been attacking down the left flank for the umpteenth time in the match,
and the ball was moved on by Pietro Anastasi and Franco Causio for
Roberto Bettega to finish clinically, to give Juventus a 1-0 lead after twenty-seven minutes.
Terry Cooper was causing Juventus massive problems with his left wing sorties and
Jack Charlton was also giving them problems with his upfield
activities. United responded with a lengthy spell of pressure and twice Jack
Charlton went close. He climbed well to a Peter Lorimer
cross but Massimo Polini saved his header at the
second attempt. Then, after a Johnny Giles free-kick, he managed to get in a
volley that whistled just wide. It showed that United were not content to just
contain their Italian opponents and there was always the danger that a
There were one or two
incidents, as the players were locked in a tight tussle, and Allan Clarke received
a booking when he fouled Francesco Morini, but there
were no ill-tempers or feuding among the players as United showed the crowd
that they could turn on the fluent football just as well as Juventus,
but half time came with Juventus still holding the
single goal advantage.
United had kept pegging
away at their task of wiping out the Juventus single
goal lead and their efforts paid off with an equalizer three minutes after the
break. Peter Lorimer found Paul Madeley,
the
An unlikely hero emerged
from United’s ranks to snatch a second equalizer.
Substitute Mick Bates, one of the talented reserves on the fringe of a
first-team place, was thrown into the action after an injury to Mick Jones
after seventy-three minutes, lining up in midfield with Billy Bremner pushed forward into the striking role. Four minutes
later, Terry Cooper overlapped on the left and his cross was miss-punched by
Massimo Piloni to the feet of Bates, who calmly beat
defender Gianpietro Marchetti
and drove the ball into the roof of the net from close range for a priceless
second goal. That was the end of the scoring, but
Match Action:
Allan Clarke retrieves the ball from the ’deep end’ in the abandoned first leg game. Mick Jones on the rain-soaked pitch Johnny Giles and Fabio Capello tussle in the waterlogged conditions The rain fell heavily in the abandoned 1st Leg and the bench did not get much cover Billy Bremner and Fabio Capello, the two captains, shake hands before the kick-off Allan Clarke follows up as Paul Madeley scores the first equaliser Mick Bates scores the Leeds second equalising goal Mick Jones is crowded out by the Juventusdefence Players: Fabio Capello, Luciano, Spinosa and Fausto Landini Luciano Spinosa Sandro Salvadore Gianpietro Marchetti Giuseppe Furino Francesco Morini Helmut Haller Franco Causio Roberto Bettega Pietro Anastasi Fabio Capello Eddie Gray missed the game having dislocated his shoulder in the abandoned first match Mick Bates came on as substitute and scored
