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1968 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final

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1968 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Final
Event1967–68 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
on aggregate
First leg
Date7 August 1968
VenueElland Road, Leeds
RefereeRudolf Scheurer (Switzerland)
Attendance25,268
Second leg
Date11 September 1968
VenueNépstadion, Budapest
RefereeGerhard Schulenburg (West Germany)
Attendance76,000
1967
1969

The 1968 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Final was the final of the tenth season of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. It was played on 7 August and 11 September 1968 between Leeds United A.F.C. of England and Ferencváros of Hungary. Leeds United won the tie 1–0 on aggregate, having won the first leg 1–0 at home prior to a 0–0 draw in the second leg. It was both clubs' second appearance in the final, with Leeds United having been defeated finalists to Dinamo Zagreb in the previous season's final, whilst Ferencváros won the tournament in 1965 having beat Juventus in the final.

Route to the final

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The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was created in 1955 as a tournament between cities that hosted international trade fairs. It originally had an irregular format with the competition taking place over multiple seasons, before the format was changed such that it took place over a single season. The 1967–68 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was the 10th season of the competition.[1]

Both teams took part in five rounds prior to reaching the final. The first leg saw Leeds beat Luxembourgish side Spora Luxembourg 16–0 over two legs before victories over FK Partizan, Hibernian and Rangers saw Leeds set up a semi-final against Scottish side Dundee. The first leg saw Leeds draw 1–1, before an Eddie Gray goal late in the second leg saw Leeds seal their place in the final.[2][3] Despite losing 3–1 to Romanian side Argeș Pitești in the first leg of their first round tie, Ferencváros won the second leg 4–0 to advance to the next round. The second round saw Ferencváros come from behind to beat Real Zaragoza, before victories over Liverpool, Athletic Bilbao and Bologna saw the Hungarian side reach the final.[4][5]

Leeds United Round Ferencváros
Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg
Luxembourg Spora Luxembourg 16–0 9–0 (A) 7–0 (H) First round Romania Argeș Pitești 5–3 1–3 (A) 4–0 (H)
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Partizan 3–2 2–1 (A) 1–1 (H) Second round Spain Real Zaragoza 4–2 1–2 (A) 3–0 (H)
Scotland Hibernian 2–1 1–0 (H) 1–1 (A) Third round England Liverpool 2–0 1–0 (H) 1–0 (A)
Scotland Rangers 2–0 0–0 (A) 2–0 (H) Quarter-finals Spain Athletic Club 4–2 2–1 (H) 2–1 (A)
Scotland Dundee 2–1 1–1 (A) 1–0 (H) Semi-finals Italy Bologna 5–4 3–2 (H) 2–2 (A)

Match

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First leg

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The attendance for the first leg, hosted at Leeds United's Elland Road, was just 25,268, with the match being televised live on BBC One cited as the reason for the surprisingly low figure. The referee for the first leg was Swiss referee Rudolf Scheurer. Both sides had early chances, with Ferencváros midfielder István Szőke failing to capitalise on a mistake made at the back by Leeds' Jack Charlton, before Leeds' Peter Lorimer had a shot well saved after goalkeeper István Géczi's free kick fell straight to Mick Jones. Leeds scored the first and only goal of the game in the 41st minute as Lorimer's corner fell first to Jack Charlton before Mick Jones bundled the ball over the line, despite complaints from the Hungarian side that Charlton fouled goalkeeper István Géczi in the build-up. The second half saw both teams have chances to score, though the away side had the best chances, with István Szőke putting a good chance wide before Gyula Rákosi failed to beat Leeds goalkeeper Gary Sprake.[6][7][5]

Leeds United England1–0Hungary Ferencváros
Jones 41' Report
Attendance: 25,368
Leeds United
GK 1 Wales Gary Sprake
DF 2 England Paul Reaney
DF 3 England Terry Cooper
MF 4 Scotland Billy Bremner (c)
DF 5 England Jack Charlton
DF 6 England Norman Hunter
FW 7 Scotland Peter Lorimer
MF 8 England Paul Madeley
FW 9 England Mick Jones downward-facing red arrow 70'
MF 10 Republic of Ireland Johnny Giles downward-facing red arrow 65'
FW 11 Scotland Eddie Gray
Substitutes:
FW   England Rod Belfitt upward-facing green arrow 70'
FW   England Jimmy Greenhoff upward-facing green arrow 65'
Manager:
England Don Revie
Ferencváros
GK 1 Hungary István Géczi
DF 2 Hungary Dezső Novák (c)
DF 3 Hungary Miklós Páncsics
DF 6 Hungary Sándor Havasi
MF 4 Hungary István Juhász
FW 5 Hungary Lajos Szűcs
MF 8 Hungary István Szőke
MF 7 Hungary Zoltán Varga
FW 9 Hungary Flórián Albert
MF 10 Hungary Gyula Rákosi
FW 11 Hungary Máté Fenyvesi downward-facing red arrow 65'
Substitutes:
MF 13 Hungary László Bálint upward-facing green arrow 65'
Manager:
Hungary Károly Lakat

Second leg

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The second leg, hosted in front of a crowd of 76,000 at Ferencváros' Népstadion, was under threat of not taking place due to growing tensions between the east and west as a result of the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. The second leg saw Leeds play much more defensively than in the first, with Leeds described as having a 'ten-man defence'. Ferencváros dominated, with strong first-half chances falling to Gyula Rákosi and István Szőke, and their dominance continued throughout the match but they failed to score. Following the match, Leeds manager Don Revie stated, "As the final whistle drew nearer every minute seemed like an hour." Victory over Ferencváros marked Leeds' first major European honour.[8][9][5]

Ferencváros Hungary0–0England Leeds United
Report
GK 1 Hungary István Géczi
DF 2 Hungary Dezső Novák (c)
DF 3 Hungary Miklós Páncsics
DF 6 Hungary Sándor Havasi
MF 4 Hungary István Juhász
FW 5 Hungary Lajos Szűcs
MF 8 Hungary István Szőke downward-facing red arrow 60'
MF 7 Hungary Zoltán Varga
FW 9 Hungary Flórián Albert
MF 10 Hungary Gyula Rákosi
FW 18 Hungary Sándor Katona
Substitutes:
17 Hungary János Karába upward-facing green arrow 60'
Manager:
Hungary Károly Lakat
GK 1 Wales Gary Sprake
DF 2 England Paul Reaney
DF 3 England Terry Cooper
MF 4 Scotland Billy Bremner (c)
DF 5 England Jack Charlton
DF 6 England Norman Hunter
MF 7 England Michael O'Grady
FW 9 Scotland Peter Lorimer
MF 8 England Paul Madeley
FW 10 England Mick Jones
FW 11 England Terry Hibbitt downward-facing red arrow 68'
Substitutes:
MF   England Mick Bates upward-facing green arrow 62'
Manager:
England Don Revie

Leeds United win 1–0 on aggregate

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Weeks, Jim (16 February 2017). "The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup: European Football's Strange and Forgotten Grandfather". www.vice.com. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  2. ^ Crist, Matthew (7 August 2019). "How The Fairs Cup Gave Leeds Their First Taste Of European Glory". The Sportsman. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  3. ^ "The Definitive History of Leeds United - 1967/68 - Part 2 - The cups that cheer". www.mightyleeds.co.uk. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  4. ^ "Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1967-68". RSSSF. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  5. ^ a b c "Európa legjobb csapata, egy hajszálra az újabb sikertől". fradi.hu (in Hungarian). Ferencvárosi TC. 10 April 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  6. ^ "The Definitive History of Leeds United — Matches - 7 August 1968 - Leeds United 1 Ferencvaros 0". mightyleeds.co.uk. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  7. ^ Jarred, Martin; Macdonald, Malcolm (1986). Leeds United : a complete record 1919-1986. Derby: Breedon Books Sport. p. 278. ISBN 0-907969-17-8. OCLC 14977257. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  8. ^ "The Definitive History of Leeds United — Matches - 11 September 1968 - Ferencvaros 0 Leeds United 0". www.mightyleeds.co.uk. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  9. ^ Jarred, Martin; Macdonald, Malcolm (1986). Leeds United : a complete record 1919-1986. Derby: Breedon Books Sport. p. 279. ISBN 0-907969-17-8. OCLC 14977257. Retrieved 22 July 2020.