European Finals on itv
1955/56 - 1967/68

The European Cup
The first European club competition had been held as far back as 1897 between teams from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, later tournaments included the Mitropa Cup (1927-1939), the Coupe des Nations (held in 1930) and the Copa Latina (1949-1957). In 1955, a competition to be contested by the champions of each European league was suggested by French journalist Gabriel Hanot following claims in the British press that Wolverhampton Wanderers were the "Champions of the World" after a run of victories in friendly matches. The following season, "The European Champion Clubs' Cup" was contested by 16 teams entering on a 2 leg knock-out basis, leading to a single match final. The tournament was deemed a success and the format continued throughout the 1955-1968 period, with the addition of a Preliminary Round to accommodate further national representatives (including England) from 1956/57. A Second Round was introduced in 1966/67 which meant the First Round now involved 32 teams.

The European Cup-Winners Cup
The European Cup-Winners Cup was introduced as an experiment in season 1960/61 to be contested by clubs who had most recently won their domestic cup competition, only 10 teams entered (including FA Cup holders Wolverhampton Wanderers) but by the end of the decade there were as many teams taking part as there were in the European Cup*. The format was the same, a series of two-leg knock-out rounds leading to a final to be played at a pre-selected venue**. Although domestic cup competitions in mainland Europe were not as eagerly contested as their British counterparts, the Cup-Winners Cup proved to be a popular tournament and was considered to be a more worthy honour than the Fairs Cup***.

*Tottenham Hotpsur won the domestic League title and FA Cup double in 1961, this resulted in Tottenham entering the European Cup whilst beaten FA Cup finalists Leicester City were allowed to enter the Cup-Winners Cup.
**The first Cup-Winners Cup final in 1961 was a 2 leg home and away affair.
***Domestic cup winners who's final league position could have secured them a place in the Fairs Cup would always enter the Cup-Winners Cup instead.

The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
Glancing at the record books, the Fairs Cup appears to have been a somewhat bizarrely conceived competition initially contested by representative XI's from a selection of major European cities. In fact, it had simply evolved from the friendly matches that had been played during Europe's trade fairs.
England entered two teams into the first tournament which began in 1955, 'Birmingham' and 'London', with the players being chosen from their respective local league clubs. The fixtures were all scheduled to co-incide with the trade fairs, hence the tournament's name and the three years it originally took to complete. Four groups of 3 or 4 teams competed for a place in a two-leg semi-final and ultimately a two-leg final (two teams withdrew along the way). London reached the final but lost to Barcelona.
The next Fairs Cup tournament settled down into a more familiar looking two-leg knock-out format* this time contested by genuine league clubs, but it still took two season's to complete and only those based in trade fair cities took part. The competition then became an annual event from 1960/61 with clubs soon to be loosely entering on the basis of finishing among the runners-up in their domestic league campaigns, but a one club per city rule persisted until 1976.

*The 1963/64 and 1964/65 finals were single match affairs, all other finals were decided over two legs.

This page only deals with the European finals, ITV coverage of earlier rounds is dealt with in the relevant club's ITV regional page, see home page here.
ITV finals are in white, BBC or non-televised finals are in grey.
 

1955/56

European Cup Final
Wed 13th June    Real Madrid 4 (Di Stéfano, Rial 2, Marquitos) Stade de Reims 3 (Leblond, Templin, Hidalgo)
Venue: Paris
BBC
Ken Wolstenholme
*BBC television had coverage from 9:30-10:15pm, probably live 2nd half. Madrid - Di Stéfano  14, Rial  30,  79, Marquitos  67, Reims - Leblond  6, Templin  10, Hidalgo  62. Many spectators returning home from the game were involved in a train crash near Reims which killed 11 and injured 150.

1956/57

European Cup Final
Thu 30th May    Real Madrid 2 (Di Stéfano, Gento) Fiorentina 0
Madrid
*No British TV coverage scheduled. Di Stéfano  70, Gento  76

1957/58

Fairs Cup Final
1st Leg
Wed 5th Mar    London XI 2 (Greaves, Langley(pen)) Barcelona 2 (Martínez, Tejada)
*No British TV coverage scheduled. London - Greaves 10, Langley(pen) 88, Barcelona - Martínez 7, Tejada 35

2nd Leg
Thu 1st May    Barcelona 6 (Suárez 2, Martínez, Evaristo 2, Vergés) London XI 0
*No British TV coverage scheduled. Suárez 6, 8, Martínez 42, Evaristo 52, 75, Vergés 63.

European Cup Final
Wed 28th May    Real Madrid 3 (Di Stéfano, Rial, Gento) AC Milan 2 (Schiaffino, Grillo)
Brussels
BBC LIVE
*Live coverage on the BBC from 6.00-7.45pm (It was not scheduled in the Radio Times, so presumably it was arranged at short notice). Madrid - Di Stéfano  74, Rial  79, Gento  107, Milan - Schiaffino  59, Grillo  78.

1958/59

European Cup Final
Wed 3rd June    Real Madrid 2 (Mateos, Di Stéfano) Stade de Rheims 0
Stuttgart
REDIFFUSION & GRANADA
*Rediffusion & Granada had coverage at 6.40 and 7.00pm (not listed in TV Times), the game was due to end around 6:45pm British time, so perhaps the intention was to show the last 5 minutes or so and the lifting of the trophy. The BBC showed highlights between 9:00-10:00pm (with Ken Wolstenholme commentating) along with Boxing. Mateos scored the opening goal on 2 minutes, Di Stéfano made it 2-0 on 47. The BBC had shown action from the Semi-final 2nd Leg on 13th May 1959, "Sportsview" including the latter part of the 2nd half of Stade de Reims v Young Boys (Berne) with David Coleman commentating.

1959/60

Fairs Cup Final
1st Leg
Tue 29th Mar    Birmingham City 0 Barcelona 0
BBC LIVE 2nd Half
Ken Wolstenholme
*BBC 8:10-9:00pm. The match kicked-off at 7:15pm.

2nd Leg
Wed 4th May    Barcelona 4 (Martínez, Czibor 2, Coll) Birmingham City 1 (Hooper)
*No British TV coverage scheduled (no football was billed in the Radio Times for "Sportsview" at 8:25-9:00pm). Martínez 3, Czibor 6, 48, Coll 78, Hooper 82. Barcelona win 4-1 on agg.

European Cup Final
Wed 18th May    Real Madrid 7 (Di Stéfano 3, Puskás 4(1pen)) Eintracht Frankfurt 3 (Kress, Stein 2)
Hampden Park
SCOTTISH TV LIVE
Arthur Montford
*Scottish TV showed this final live from 7.25-9.30pm. BBC also showed it live from 7:25-9:15pm (Ken Wolstenholme). Madrid - Di Stéfano 27, 30, 73, Puskás 46, 56(pen), 60, 71, Frankfurt - Kress 18, Stein 72, 75.

1960/61

Cup-Winners Cup Final
1st Leg
Wed 17th May    Rangers 0 Fiorentina 2 (Milan 2)
BBC LIVE 2nd Half
*BBC had live coverage between 8:15-9:15pm (arranged at short notice, not in Radio Times). Luigi Milan 12, 88.

2nd Leg
Sat 27th May    Fiorentina 2 (Milan, Hamrin) Rangers 1 (Scott)
BBC Highlights
George Davidson
*The BBC showed highlights on Monday 29th May, two days after the match was played, as part of a programme from 8.40-9.10pm which also included England's Saturday game in Austria. SCOTTISH TV may also have had highlights on "Scotsport Special" on Sunday night at 10:10-10:40pm.  Luigi Milan 12, Alex Scott 60, Kurt Hamrin 86.

European Cup Final
Wed 31st May    Benfica 3 (Águas, Ramallets(og), Coluna) Barcelona 2 (Kocsis, Czibor)
Berne
BBC LIVE
Ken Wolstenholme
*Live on the BBC from 6:51- 8:45pm. Benfica - Águas  30, Ramallets(og)  32, Coluna  55, Barcelona - Kocsis  20, Czibor 75). 45 minutes of the SF between Barcelona and Hamburg had been shown (probably the 2nd half live) on 12th April 1961.

Fairs Cup Final
1st Leg
Wed 27th Sep    Birmingham City 2 (Hellawell, Orritt) AS Roma 2 (Manfredini 2)
*No British TV coverage scheduled (there was a "Sportsview" on the BBC at 8:25-9:00pm but the Radio Times does not bill football). Manfredini 30, 56, Hellawell 78, Orritt  85.

2nd Leg
Wed 11th Oct    AS Roma 2 (Farmer(og), Pestrin) Birmingham City 0
*No British TV coverage. ("Sportsview" was on the BBC at 8:15-8:45pm but did not bill football). Farmer(og) 56, Pestrin 90. Roma win 4-2 on agg.

1961/62

European Cup Final
Wed 2nd May    Benfica 5 (Águas, Cavém, Coluna, Eusébio 2) Real Madrid 3 (Puskás 3)
Amsterdam
BBC Highlights
Ken Wolstenholme
*BBCtv "Sportsview Special" 10:05-10:35pm. Benfica - Águas  25, Cavém  34, Coluna  51, Eusébio  65,  68, Madrid - Puskás  17,  23, 38.

Cup-Winners Cup Final
Wed 10th May    Atlético Madrid 1 (Peiró) Fiorentina 1 (Hamrin)
Glasgow
BBC LIVE 2nd Half
Ken Wolstenholme
*BBC 7:55-8:45pm. Peiró 11, Hamrin 27.

Replay
Wed 5th Sep    Atlético Madrid 3 (Jones, Mendonça, Peiró)) Fiorentina 0
Stuttgart
*No British TV coverage scheduled. Jones 8, Mendonça 27, Peiró 59.

1962/63

Cup-Winners Cup Final
Wed 15th May    Tottenham Hotspur 5 (Greaves 2, White, Dyson 2) Atlético Madrid 1 (Collar(pen))
Rotterdam
ITV Highlights
*ITV showed highlights in two parts at 10:35-11:05pm & then 11:15-11:35pm (except ATV Midlands who opted out), BBC also had highlights with Ken Wolstenholme commentating from 10:40-11:10pm. Spurs - Greaves 16, 80, White 35, Dyson 67, 85, Madrid - Collar(pen) 47.

European Cup Final
Wed 22nd May    AC Milan 2 (Altafini 2) Benfica 1 (Eusébio)
Wembley
BBC LIVE
Ken Wolstenholme
*A midweek afternoon kick-off time live on BBC1 from 2:45-5:00pm, highlights were possibly included on "Sportsview" later that evening at 8:45-9:15pm. Milan - Altafini 58, 66, Benfica - Eusébio 18.

1963/64

Cup-Winners Cup Final
Wed 13th May    Sporting Lisbon 3 (Mascarenhas, Figueiredo 2) MTK Budapest 3 (Sandor 2, Kuti)
Brussels
*No British TV coverage scheduled. Lisbon - Mascarenhas 40, Figueiredo 48, 80, Budapest - Sandor 19, 75, Kuti 73.

Replay
Fri 15th May    Sporting Lisbon 1 (Morais) MTK Budapest 0
Antwerp
*No British TV coverage scheduled. João Morais 19.

European Cup Final
Wed 27th May    Inter Milan 3 (Mazzola  2, Milani) Real Madrid 1 (Felo)
Vienna
BBC LIVE 2nd Half
Ken Wolstenholme
*Live 2nd half coverage on "Sportsview" BBC1 8:20-9:15pm (except in Scotland). Milan - Mazzola 43, 76, Milani 61, Madrid - Felo 70.

1964/65

Cup-Winners Cup Final
Wed 19th May    West Ham United 2 (Sealey 2) TSV 1860 München 0
Wembley
BBC LIVE
Ken Wolstenholme
*BBC showed the whole match live from 7:25-9:15pm (except in Scotland). Two goals for Alan Sealey on 70 and 72 won it for West Ham. This remains the only time an English club has played in its home city in a European final (less than two months after Wembley became officially part of London).

European Cup Final
Thu 27th May    Inter Milan 1 (Jair) Benfica 0
Milan
BBC Highlights
*BBC1 10:35-11:20pm (not scheduled in the Radio Times, so must have been arranged at short notice). Jair scored the only goal on 42.

1965/66

Cup-Winners Cup Final
Thu 5th May    Borussia Dortmund 2 (Held, Libuda) Liverpool 1 (Hunt) [AET]
Hampden
SCOTTISH & GRANADA LIVE
*The Scottish & Granada regions showed this final live from 7:25pm, BBC1 also showed it live - starting at the same time of 7:25pm - with Ken Wolstenholme commentating. Held gave Dortmund the lead on 62, Hunt equalised on 68 to take the game to extra-time but Libuda won it for Dortmund on 109.

European Cup Final
Wed 11th May    Real Madrid 2 (Amaro, Serena) Partizan Belgrade 1 (Vasovic)
Brussels
*Surprisingly no British TV coverage, BBC1 were only scheduled to show highlights of Leeds' Fairs Cup SF  v Real Zaragoza at 10:30-11:00pm (the EC final may have been dropped at short notice as it was billed in the Radio Times). Partizan scored first through Vasovic on 55, Madrid equalised on 70 with a goal by Amaro and Serena then netted the winner for the Spaniards on 76..

1966/67

European Cup Final
Thu 25th May    Celtic 2 (Gemmell, Chalmers) Inter Milan 1 (Mazzola(pen))
Lisbon
SCOTTISH & GRAMPIAN LIVE
*Scottish & Grampian showed the match live from 5:25-7:10pm (with a break for the news). The game was not shown by other ITV regions but viewers could watch it live on BBC1 from 5:20-7:30pm (also with a break for the news, Ken Wolstenholme commentating). Milan took an early lead with a penalty converted by Mazzola on 7, Gemmell equalised on 62, Chalmers netted a late winner for Celtic on 85.

Cup-Winners Cup Final
Wed 31st May    Bayern Munich 1 (Roth) Rangers 0 [AET]
Nuremburg
SCOTTISH & GRAMPIAN LIVE
*Live coverage in the Scottish & Grampian ITV regions began at 7:30pm, BBC1 also showed it live from 7:25pm with Ken Wolstenholme commentating. Roth scored the winning goal in extra time on 108 mins.

Fairs Cup Final
1st Leg
Wed 30th Aug    Dinamo Zagreb 2 (Cercek, Rora) Leeds United 0
*No British TV coverage scheduled. Cercek scored on 39, Rora made it 2-0 to the home side on 59.

2nd Leg
Wed 6th Sep   Leeds United 0 Dinamo Zagreb 0
BBC Highlights
Ken Wolstenholme
*BBC1 10:45-11:20pm.

1967/68

Cup-Winners Cup Final
Thu 23rd May    AC Milan 2 (Hamrin 2) Hamburger SV 0
Rotterdam
*No British TV coverage scheduled. Kurt Hamrin scored the goals on 3 and 19 minutes.

European Cup Final
Wed 29th May    Manchester United 4 (Charlton 2, Best, Kidd) Benfica 1 (Graça) [AET]
Wembley
ITV LIVE
Hugh Johns & Ron Greenwood
*Live coverage on ITV began at 7:25pm, BBC1 also showed it live from 7:06pm with Ken Wolstenholme commentating. Bobby Charlton gave United the lead on 53, Graça equalised on 75 to take the game to extra-time. George Best  restored the United lead on 93 and Brian Kidd quickly made it 3-1 on 94, Charlton scored again on 99 to seal the victory.

Fairs Cup Final
1st Leg
Wed 7th Aug    Leeds United 1 (Jones) Ferencváros 0
BBC LIVE
David Coleman
*BBC1 7:30-9:10pm. Mick Jones scored the only goal on 41 mnutes.

2nd Leg
Wed 11th Sep   Ferencváros 0 Leeds United 0
BBC Highlights
David Coleman
*BBC1 10:50-11:25pm. Leeds win 1-0 on agg.
 

Others
Sun 04/Sep/1960  Real Madrid 5 (Puskas 2, Di Stefano, Herrera, Gento) Peñarol de Montevideo 1 (Spencer) Intercontinental Cup 2nd Leg
BBC Part LIVE
Ken Wolstenholme
*BBC showed live coverage of most of the 2nd leg at 9:00-9:15 & 9:25-10:15pm, the first leg had ended 0-0. Real Madrid stormed to an early three goal lead through Puskas on 2, Di Stefano on 3 and another goal by Puskas on 8, it was 4-0 by HT with Herrera having scored on 40. Gento made it 5-0 on 54, Spencer netted a consolation on 80.