The ten greatest English moments in European Cup/Champions League finals

English clubs have lifted Europe’s senior club trophy on ten occasions, and we could have included eight winning goals to fill most of this top-ten list (two were won in a penalty shoot-out). So, to make the list more interesting, we have discounted goals ...

1. A tearful Bobby Charlton embraces Matt Busby at the final whistle after Manchester United win the European Cup final in 1968. Busby’s hopes of becoming the first manager of an English club to win the European Cup were crushed by the Munich air disaster ten years earlier, which he and Charlton survived. But he rebuilt the team and emotions are laid bare after the 4-1 win over Benfica in the final at Wembley.   

2. Bruce Grobbelaar, the Liverpool goalkeeper, displays what he would call later his “spaghetti legs” as he stands on his line to distract AS Roma’s penalty takers in a shoot-out in Rome in 1984. Bruno Conti and Francesco Graziani send their kicks over the crossbar and Liverpool triumph.

3. Sammy Kuffour thumps the ground repeatedly in anger and disappointment after his Bayern Munich side succumb to a late Manchester United comeback in 1999. The central defender has helped to keep United at bay for more than 90 minutes but two late goals destroy his hopes of a winner’s medal.

4. Nigel Spink, Aston Villa’s 23-year-old reserve goalkeeper, comes on as a substitute after ten minutes to replace the injured Jimmy Rimmer in the 1982 victory over Bayern Munich. He has not played a first-team game for three years but still pulls off several fine saves.

5. Jerzy Dudek, the Liverpool goalkeeper, keeps out Andriy Shevchenko’s penalty for AC Milan in the 2005 shoot-out to clinch victory. The Pole has already denied the striker twice with fine saves.

6. Peter Shilton tips wide a Felix Magath shot from an early free kick. It sets the tone for Forest’s almost match-long rearguard action in a 1-0 victory over Hamburg.

7. Jamie Carragher’s charge forward over the halfway line in the build-up to the penalty from which Liverpool score their third goal against AC Milan in 2005. The centre back finds Milan Baros and has reached the edge of the box when Steven Gerrard is fouled for the spot kick. Such a run by a player who rarely enters the opposition’s half typifies Liverpool’s sudden boldness, which has resulted from having come from 3-0 down to 3-2 in the previous few minutes.

8. Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager, is philosophical, emotional and coarse, all in the space of three words in a television interview within a minute or so of the final whistle of the 1999 final victory over Bayern Munich: “Football … bloody hell,” he says.

9. Berti Vogts, of Borussia Monchengladbach, fouls Kevin Keegan for the penalty that is converted by Phil Neal to seal Liverpool’s 3-1 win in 1977. Vogts has been assigned to track Keegan but he has been outwitted by the Englishman.

10. Alex Stepney, the Manchester United goalkeeper, produces a reflex save from a point-blank shot by Eusebio to send the 1968 final against Benfica into extra-time. United go on to win 4-1.

Comments

[Mick]

As always, incredibly biased towards Man Utd. The moment you put at number one I'd never heard of! Not to worry...save your space for Villa's 2012 triumph.

[Dave Iredale]

This is possibly the WORST compilation I've ever seen on The Times. I know man utd are playing tonight but come on. LFC have won it 5 times, Forrest twice and Villa with one as well. Combine these with man utd's 2 and surely you can find at least one moment from each win that would make this list of 10 so why does the writer still feel its necessary to class how Fergusons inability to properly articulate his thoughts as a great moment for English clubs in the CL!!!! And why is Munich's defender included? We don't all hate the germans.

[chris john]

GJB - What are you on about? have you not read any of the feature to realise this is not the Euro Championship we are taliking about - But the champions league / European Cup - played by club teams not countries - you do-nut!

[T.E.G. Whitehead]

I would have liked to have seen a reference to Mcmanaman's scissor kick against Valencia. Great goal. Easy to forget how good a player he was and that he played in one of the strongest teams the competition has seen - especially as so few English players play abroad.

[GJB]

So this is what it has come to. Because no home nation is in the football competition this year the fans must be reminded of past glories.
Personally I'm looking forward to England not playing. I can sit down and enjoy the match not worried about who wins. The foreign police will probably appreciate the absence of British football 'fans' as well. No need for the riot gear.
I presume the 'armchair footballers' will still be giving their opinion of how it should have been played. The pre-Lineaker days when half-time meant an enjoyable display by a marching band are long gone.
Now it's just a time to make a quick snack and go to the loo.

[Jeremy]

Too much emphasis on Forest? Please, that team were a great team, at a time when the game was much harder & Clough masterminded that from a small provincial town in the Midlands not a multi billion pound brand that just happens to be in Manchester.

Great European Cup moments - what about Leeds being stiffed by Bayern? That was truly an incredible occassion.

[Shane]

3-0 Down at half time. Up against a defense of Stam, Maldini, Nesta, Cafu and Dida.And you have the likes of Djimi Traore, Milan Baros etc.in your side and you come back and win the game!

Not only was this the greatest moment in English CL/EC history. It was quite simply the greatest come back in sports history. How on earth is that not number 1....I mean really!!

[Brian Martin]

So many memorable moments - yet almost all of them in games where the opponents completely outclassed the English team.
Especially Milan v Liverpool, when only one team tried to play any football. Liverpool must have been the most undeserving winners in the tournament's history that evening.

[Glenn Beckett]

As we speak ( a few hours before the match) Nottingham Forest have won the European Cup more times than any other English team, except Liverpool, so in fact, if anything, Forest deserve even more credit and exposure. Granted, Man Utd have also won it twice up to now, but with a much, much bigger budget and financial backing. The likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs, Everton, Villa and Newcastle are still behind Forest.

[Rogue Trader]

The pain and raw emotion of Sammy Kuffour after having the being robbed of the trophy 2 minutes from time = A great English moment???
Yeah, for all sick people who like watching grown men cry maybe.
By the way, the description that he "held United at bay" is a bit misleading. Bayern were unlucky not to be 3-0 up at that stage after dominating the game.

[Stuart]

I hear a lot of talk about Ferguson being a great manager. What a load of rubbish! He may of won the English league & FAC 10 or so times but he's done so with so much money and freedom to buy whom he choses. In all that time he has only managed to win one ECL. If I was a Man U investor I would of sacked him years ago! Go Forest!

[D.A.R.ANDERSON-CLEMENTS]

Hahaha How typical of the Man Utd bias press, they were so very lucky to win the 1999 final yet get 2 mentions in this top 10, do you realise that Liverpool have won it 5 times?

[Jim]

Too much emphasis on Forest?? Strange. They've won it twice, the same as Man Utd, but have only one 'moment' included in this list compared to Man Utd's four.

[Milton (Singapore)]

Probably another one of the greatest moments would be the Anfield faithful singing "You'll Never Walk Alone" at half-time when Liverpool were trailing 3-0 to AC Milan at Istanbul 2005. That exemplified the support and spirit of the Liverpool fans through all kinds of difficult moments - we all know the outcome of that match, don't we?

[Brendan]

Only a United fan could possibly think a Busby-Charlton hug is English teams' greatest moment in the history of the EC/CL.

[A. G. Morris]

Far too much emphasis on Nottingham Forest in this list. Winning consecutive European Cups isn't a bad achievement, but surely Mr Edgar is letting his affection for Forest cloud his judgement.