It’s Feyenoord that recorded a first continental success for Dutch football
The Rotterdam club’s somewhat unexpected triumph in the 1970 edition of the European Cup was a watershed moment for Dutch football in general, and the country’s club football in particular.
For the next few years the Dutch dominance continued with an impressive total of five European trophies in as many seasons, and peaked with the Netherlands’ national side reaching the final of the FIFA World Cup in 1974, and redefining world football in more ways than one.
No club has had as much impact on Dutch football as Ajax. The Amsterdam-based side is not only the most successful club in the history of Dutch football but also the early exponents of the defining Totaalvoetbal (Total Football) strategy that has served the Netherlands national team so well over the years.
It’s therefore not surprising to know it became the first Dutch club to make it to the final of the European Cup, the precursor to the Champions League, in 1969. However, the Amsterdammers’ charge to the decider came to a screeching halt at the Santiago Bernabeu when they were comprehensively outplayed by a strong AC Milan side.
Their impressive run in Europe notwithstanding Ajax didn’t win the domestic title that season. That trophy and the opportunity to represent the Eredivisie in Europe in the following season went to their arch rivals from Rotterdam.
Feyenoord made the most of it. And how?
The De Kuip side had appointed a relatively lesser known manager in Ernst Happel ahead of the new season, and began their European campaign with an emphatic 16–2 aggregate win over Icelandic side Knattspyrnufelag Reykjavik.
In the second round of the competition the club from Rotterdam caused a major upset, taking out the defending champions. A Nestor Combin goal had secured Milan a slender win at the San Siro. However, at home Feyenoord was a difficult proposition altogether. Club legends Wim Jansen and Willem van Hanegem scored on either side of half time to overturn the deficit and sent Nereo Rocco’s side out of the competition.
The quarter-final followed a similar pattern. Feyenoord lost away at Vorwärts Berlin (now FC Frankfurt) before winning the return leg comfortably, thanks to goals from Ove Kindvall and Henk Wery. The 2–1 aggregate win set up a semi-final against Polish champions Legia Warsaw.
It was Feyenoord’s second foray to the last four of the European Cup — having become the first Dutch club to reach the semi-finals of the competition in 1963. After the first leg in Warsaw ended in a stalemate the Rotterdam side again made home advantage count, goals from Van Hanegem and Franz Hasil ensuring them a place in the final for the first (and so far only) time ever.
Having lost at the San Siro earlier in the season the Feyenoord side would be heading back to the venue, for what was the season’s most important match. The club players even recorded a song for the final. Played on the radio, and round the clock in Rotterdam’s many bars, it was dubbed The Feyenoord Song.
However, despite their impressive run the Rotterdam club was not the favorite for the title. This despite having a coherent side consisting of the likes of Van Hanegem, Kindvall, Jansen, Hasil, Coen Moulijn, and led by the ever dependable Rinus Israel.
That pre-match favorites was Celtic. The Scottish side had won the competition before, in 1967 beating Internazionale in the final. In fact seven players who helped Celtic win in Lisbon would be in the starting line-up for the 1970 final. Besides, the Glasgow side had made its way through a difficult draw, beating three clubs that had tasted European success before (at various levels) en route.
Under legendary manager Jock Stein’s astute guidance the Scottish champions had accounted for former champions Benfica in the second round, 1961 UEFA Cup Winners Cup winners and 1957 European Cup finalists Fiorentina in the quarter-finals and 1968 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup — predecessor to the UEFA Cup/Europa League — winners Leeds United.
Besides, there were hopes of a British hat-trick. With Manchester City having won the UEFA Cup Winners Cup and Arsenal emerging triumphant in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, the Glasgow club was expected to complete a hat-trick of trophies for British clubs
In fact Celtic’s 3–1 aggregate semi-final win over Leeds was a marquee contest, with the Yorkshire side favorites ahead of the tie having set a record new points total (67 in 42 games) en route to a maiden English First Division title. Following wins in both legs of the semi-final tie Stein, who watched Feyenoord draw Ajax 3–3 in the league, was confidence personified ahead of the final.
“Feyenoord have not the calibre, the fitness or the fight of Leeds. A quick goal and we should do it. The one big danger to us is ourselves. If Jimmy Johnstone in particular is on song we shall win,” he was quoted as saying by the media. There were doubts if the game would proceed as scheduled, following nationwide strike by service providers in Italy. However, frenetic last minute negotiations meant the game was eventually played.
The meticulous Happel had done his homework well. The Austrian, having flown in to watch Celtic’s final league match of the season (against St Mirren), had set up his side in such a manner that the Scots would struggle to find an inch. Not only was the Johnstone threat negated — whenever the Scots had the ball three to four Dutch players would surround the highly rated winger, but also the Feyenoord midfield triumvirate of Hasil, Jansen and Van Hanegem had the upper hand over their Scottish counterparts. So prepared were the Dutch that even when the Scots took the lead — through Tommy Gemmell — it took their opponents only a couple of minutes to find an equalizer (Israel).
The Rotterdammers dominated play from then on and always looked the team likely to score. With the game going into extra time, while the Scots seemed content with a replay Feyenoord looked for the winner. That came three minutes from time, courtesy Kindvall. The last gasp goal caught Celtic completely off guard. Worse still, there was no time to recover.
Feyenoord had become the first club from the Netherlands to be crowned champions of Europe.
“We deserved to win. We had more chances,” Happel was quoted as saying, in what was a succinct summation of the final result.
It was a watershed moment for Dutch football in general, and the country’s club football in particular. For the next half a decade the Dutch dominance continued with Ajax winning a hat-trick of European Cup titles while Feyenoord in 1974 achieved another first — in becoming the first Eredivisie side to win the UEFA Cup. That’s five European trophies in five seasons. The two clubs combined to form the core of Dutch national side that reached the final of the FIFA World Cup in 1974, and redefined world football in more ways than one.
Ajax is an institution alright. It is not only the most successful club in the Netherlands but also remains among the 10 most successful clubs in the world, in terms of trophies won. However, its many achievements and legacy notwithstanding it lost out on the bragging rights to its arch rivals.
It has been 50 years to that triumph in San Siro. Feyenoord has since lost considerable ground, not just at the European level but also in Dutch football per se. With the glory days of the 1960s and 1970s well behind them the club has struggled to perform consistently well in both the Eredivisie and the KNVB-Beker.
Not surprisingly the club has not since managed to reach another European Cup final, let alone win. Its record in the Champions League era is even worse.
However, the Rotterdam side has added another UEFA Cup to its resume, Bert van Marwijk mentoring a team consisting of Jon Dahl Tomasson, Pierre van Hooijdonk and a young Robin van Persie to a 3–2 win over Borussia Dortmund in 2002.
Since that surprise result, achieved on Feyenoord’s home turf, no Eredivisie club has managed to win a European trophy — with only Ajax managing to reach a final [2017 Europa League].
It is albeit only coincidence that the first Dutch club to win a premier title in Europe also remains the last.
