The 1972 European Cup final was a football match held at De Kuip, Rotterdam, on 31 May 1972, that was contested between Internazionale of Italy and AFC Ajax of the Netherlands to determine the champions of the 1971–72 European Cup. Ajax defeated Inter by a score of 2–0 to claim their second successive European Cup victory, following their triumph in the 1971 final. Two second-half goals from forward Johan Cruyff provided the margin of victory for the Dutch side.
This game has been cited as Total Football's greatest moment. Ajax dominated much of the game as Inter defended desperately with their catenaccio strategy.
Route to the final
Inter MilanRoundAjaxOpponentAgg.1st leg2nd legOpponentAgg.1st leg2nd leg AEK Athens6–44–1 (H)2–3 (A)First round Dynamo Dresden2–02–0 (H)0–0 (A) Borussia Mönchengladbach4–24–2 (H)0–0 (A)Second round Olympique de Marseille6–22–1 (A)4–1 (H) Standard Liège2–2 (a)1–0 (H)1–2 (A)Quarter-finals Arsenal3–12–1 (H)1–0 (A) Celtic0–0(5–4 p)0–0 (H)0–0 (A)Semi-finals Benfica1–01–0 (H)0–0 (A)
Match
Details
GK 1 Ivano BordonRB 2 Mauro BellugiLB 3 Giacinto FacchettiDM 4 Gabriele OrialiCB 5 Mario Giubertoni SW 6 Tarcisio BurgnichRW 7 Jair da Costa CM 8 Gianfranco BedinCF 9 Roberto BoninsegnaCM 10 Sandro Mazzola (c)LF 11 Mario FrustalupiSubstitutions:MF 14 Mario Bertini MF 16 Sergio Pellizzaro Manager: Giovanni Invernizzi GK 1 Heinz StuyRB 3 Wim SuurbierCB 4 Barry HulshoffCB 12 Horst BlankenburgLB 5 Ruud KrolCM 7 Johan NeeskensCM 15 Arie HaanCM 9 Gerrie MührenRW 8 Sjaak SwartCF 14 Johan CruyffLW 11 Piet Keizer (c)Manager: Ștefan Kovács
See also 1971–72 AFC Ajax season 1971–72 Inter Milan season 1972 European Cup Winners' Cup final 1972 European Super Cup 1972 UEFA Cup final AFC Ajax in international football Inter Milan in international football
References
External links 1971-72 season at UEFA website