On May 13, 1981 was recorded in the history of Dinamo Tbilisi and Georgian football with golden letters. Besides Dinamo Tbilisi teams from former Soviet republics, Spartak Moscow, Dynamo Moscow, Dinamo Kiev and Donetsk Shakhtar also took part in Euroseason, which started in 1980. Let's see what the results of each team showed on the European stage.
Champions Cup - Spartak Moscow
The winner of the 1979 championship was Spartak Moscow, so the Reds also qualified for the UEFA Champions League. In the first round on September 17, the team of the North did not have to overcome the barrier of the champion of Luxembourg - Jeunesse Esch. The Russian team decided the fate of the winner of the pair in the first half of the first game, after passing the break with a three-goal advantage. Yuri Gavrilov opened the score in the first minute and scored a double in half an hour. At the end of the first half, Vagiz Khidiatulin also showed himself. In the second half of the match, Gavrilov scored another goal in the 68th minute, Georgy Yartsev recorded the final result of the match- 5-0. On October 1, the second leg match did not fill the "Luzhniki" halfway. In ten minutes, Pigat scored auto-goal, which was added by Sergei Rodionov on the 24th minute. The half ended with an accurate shot by Yuri Gavrilov. Spartak scored another goal at the end of the match (George Yartsev), won 9-0 on aggregate and advanced to the Danish champions in the second round.
Esbjerg was not the strongest opponent that Spartak could face in the second round, but both the team and its fans had to be quite nervous. However, the result of the first match would not really make it. On October 22, about 25,000 fans gathered at Moscow's Central Stadium and saw three unanswered goals scored by the hosts. Vagiz Khidiatulin scored two goals on 19th and 70th minutes against Denmark, and Sergei Shavlo scored one accurate goal on the 39th minute. In the second leg match, which took place on November 5 at the Esbjerg Arena, Spartak arrived overconfident and focused on maintaining the score. After the goalless first half, the hosts opened the score with an accurate play by Ion Lauridsen in the second half. On 73rd minute, Fleming Iversen scored the second goal against Moscow and added a nervous background. Despite several attempts, the Danish team couldn’t score the third goal, and Spartak received a trip to the next stage.
In quarter final, Spartak's opponent was Real Madrid and in fact it turned out that the goal scored by Khidiatulin against Denmark on October 22 turned out to be the last for the red team in this draw. The match was scheduled for March 4, 1981 and was hosted by Spartak. Due to the climatic conditions, the stadium in Moscow was not ready to host this level of meeting, and Dinamo Arena, full of people in Tbilisi, hosted the match. The match ended 0-0 without scoring goals, and the home fans from Tbilisi later enjoyed the victory of Dinamo against West Ham. Madrid hosted the return match on March 18, accompanied by 120,000 fans, and after a goalless draw in the first half by Isidro Gonzalez, Real beat Moscow 2-0. Eventually, 200,000 spectators from the stadium's stands saw Real reach the semi-final in two matches.
Real Madrid defeated Inter Milan 2-1 in two matches and lost 0-1 with Liverpool in the final.
UEFA Cup - Donetsk Shakhtar, Dinamo Kiev and Dinamo Moscow
European voyage was short for Shakhtar. Shakhtar met Frankfurt Eintracht in the first round. On September 17, in front of 44,000 spectators at the Donetsk Central Stadium, Shakhtar celebrated a promising victory. On the 23rd minute of the match, Vitaly Starukhin scored exactly the penalty spot and Klaus Funk had to take the ball out of the door. The Ukrainians won with minimal score and left for the Federal Republic of Germany. The second leg match took place on October 1 at the Waldstein Stadium in Frankfurt and ended 3-0 with the victory of the Germans, encouraged by 24,000 fans. The score was opened by Bernd Holzenbain on the 4th minute, Korean legionnaire Boom Kun Cham scored on the 38th minute and Eintracht went forward, and the Asian forward recorded the final result of the match on 72nd minute. Thus, Donetsk team finished the Euro draw at Waldstadion.
Dynamo Kyiv met Bulgaria's Levski in the first round of the tournament. On September 17, at the Olympic Stadium, in Kiev, guests opened the score. On the 26th minute, Emil Spasov, as it turned out, scored an important goal for the Bulgarians. Leonid Buryak scored against Vlado Delchev, who came in as a substitute on the 38th minute of the match, but Dinamo could not score more goals and the match ended in a draw 1-1. On October 1, Levsky, who was greeted by 35,000 fans at the Georg Asparukhov Stadium, played draw and advanced to the next stage. Kiev and Donetsk teams returned to their homeland.
Dynamo Moscow held the Euro Cup match against Belgian Lokeren in the same days. The first match was held by Moscow at the Daknamstadion in Belgium. Valeri Gazaev opened the score on the 28th minute and gave the Russian club a lot of time. An hour after the start of the match, the French referee Daniel Lambert showed the red card to the author of the goal. On the 86th minute of the match, the Dynamo could not keep a favorable score and René Verheijen upset Vladimir Pilgui with a penalty kick. In the second leg match, only 11,000 fans came to the Lev Yashin Stadium and watched the fight, which ended with a cold shower taken by the favorite team at the last minute. The same Verheijen scored the goal and Lockeren, as they say in the football world, reached the "fairy tale" in the 1/16 final.
As for the teams that advanced to the next stage, Levsky lost 1-6 to Az Alkmaar in the second round. Eintracht beat Dutch Utrecht 4-3 in the second round. In the third round, the French team played 4-4 against Sosho, but Sosho continued the tournament with a goal. Lokeren also beat Scottish Dundee United 1-1 in the second round. The Belgians defeated Spanish Real Sociedad 3-2 in the third round and finally lost 1-2 to Az in the quarterfinals. Alkmaar's team reached the UEFA Cup final that season (where they lost 4-5 to Ipswich Town in two matches) and also won the Dutch championship.
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup - Dinamo Tbilisi
FC Dinamo Tbilisi had experienced playing on such tournament 4 years ago. In the 1976/1977 season, Dinamo beat Cardiff City and lost to Budapest MTK in the eighth final. The 1980/1981 season turned out to be the most special and triumphant for Dinamo and the history of Georgian football as a whole.
Dinamo started the match on September 17 with an away match in Thessaloniki. In the first round of the draw, the blue and whites met with Greek Kastoria and finished the match with draw without goals in front of 20,000 spectators at the Kaftadzolino Stadium. The second leg match took place in Tbilisi on October 1, and Dinamo Stadium was full of people. But before leaving for Greece, Dinamo lost the next round match of the Soviet championship to Baku's Neftchi, which caused dissatisfaction of fans. Instead, Dinamo did not upset their loyal fans with Kastoria. In the first half, the hosts could not score despite a great advantage, but on 52nd minute Ramaz Shengelia opened the score, and ten minutes before the final whistle Vladimir Gutsaev scored the second goal and Dinamo won 2-0.
In the eighth final, our team competed with Watford United, the owner of the current Irish Cup. On October 22, the first match at Kilcohan Park was attended by about 4,000 spectators and accompanied with heavy rain. The guests won with Ramaz Shengelia's goal on 50th minute of the match and established the status of a favorite in the pair. On November 5, after the first half finished without goals at Dinamo Arena, our footballers scored four goals and could score more. Vitali Daraselia opened the score on 66th minute, Aleksandre Chivadze scored the second goal on 74th minute, Vitali Daraselia performed double double and Giorgi Chilaia recorded the final result of the match. Waterford coach Tommy Jackson called the victory of our team logical in the pre-season interview. West Ham United was the next rival of Dinamo Tbilisi in the spring quarterfinals.
Tbilisi fans considered Slavia and Newport as their preferred opponents, but in the end we had to clarify the matter with London team. The March 4 match turned out to be epochal and one of the best in the history of Dinamo Tbilisi. In front of 50,000 fans at Upton Park, Dinamo showed a high performance class and West Ham scored one goal and received four goals. Alexander Chivadze opened the score on 24th minute. In 7 minutes Vladimir Gutsaev increased the score. After 10 minutes from starting the second half David Cross scored, although Ramaz Shengelia restored the status quo. Shengelia scored another goal on 67th minute of the match and the match ended with the score 4-1 and victory of Dinamo. It is noteworthy that the hosts greeted Dinamo with applause. The match revealed semi-finalist, but there was big interest among supporters and 90,000 fans gathered at the Dinamo stadium on March 18. Several goal moments were created in the Tbilisi match, and the guests, in particular Stuart Pearson, managed to realize it on 87th minute and the match finished with the score 0-1.
In the semi-finals, Dinamo met Feyenoord Rotterdam and held the first match at home for the first time in the qualifiers. On April 8, the full Dinamo Arena and the toughest opponent from the Netherlands, whom Tbilisi scored two goals in the first half. Tengiz Sulakvelidze opened the score on 23rd minute, and Vladimer Gutsaev scored 2-0 half an hour after the start of the match. The second half was a new beginning, when Sulakvelidze doubled and Dinamo won 3-0. In the second leg on April 22, 40,000 fans at De Kuip expected tough match, but the expectations were exceeded and the controversy turned out to be overly tense. At the end of the first half, Carl Bowens opened the score, the second goal was scored by Feyenoord with a penalty kick on 57th minute. Rene Notten scored. In the end, Dinamo managed to keep the score and won the trip to the long-awaited final.
May 13, 1981 - In the final of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, Dinamo Tbilisi played against Carl Zeiss. The East Germans have come a long way before the final. In the first round, it defeated Roma with the score 4-3 on aggregate. It is noteworthy that the our rival lost 0-3 in the second leg match. In the second round, Carl Zeiss beat Valencia 3-2. The Welsh Newport County was defeated by the same score in the quarterfinals and then Lisbon's Benfica 2-1 in the semifinals. Up to 9000 fans gathered at the Rheinstadion. Most Dusseldorf football fans have lost interest in watching the match live due to the loss with Benfica in the quarterfinals. The teams competing in the final were representing the Soviet camp and it also had an impact on the attendance of the fans. Several hundred men from Tbilisi left Dusseldorf to support Dinamo , and several hundred emigrants from different countries also arrived in Germany specially. The game was broadcasted by 46 countries in Europe and America.
In the first half of the final, the teams went through an equal and tense battle, without scoring goals, and in the second half, both teams increased their attacks and the score was opened on 63rd minute. Gerhard Hoppe took advantage of the mistake of Tbilisi defenders and opened the score. The Germans attacked more, although Dinamo created counterattack in four minutes and Vladimir Gutsaev equalized the score. Less than three minutes were left before the end of the match when Vitali Daraselia scored the winning goal with a beautiful solo raid against Grapenthin. Riccardo Lattanzi's final whistle meant that Dinamo won the cup. UEFA President Artemio Franchi awarded Aleksandre Chivadze with Cup Winners’ Cup.
© Irakli Bukhali
Dinamo Tbilisi Media