1965–66 European Cup
The Heysel Stadium in Brussels hosted the final.  | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 8 September 1965 – 11 May 1966 | 
| Teams | 31 (from 31 associations) | 
| Final positions | |
| Champions | |
| Runners-up | |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 58 | 
| Goals scored | 224 (3.86 per match) | 
| Attendance | 1,609,799 (27,755 per match) | 
| Top scorer(s) | Flórián Albert (Ferencváros) Eusébio (Benfica) 7 goals each  | 
← 1964–65  1966–67 →   | |
The 1965–66 European Cup was the 11th season of the European Cup, UEFA's premier club football tournament. The competition was won by Real Madrid, winners of the first five European Cups from 1956 to 1960, who beat Partizan 2–1 in a close final at Heysel Stadium in Brussels on 11 May 1966.[1]
Inter Milan were the defending champions, but were eliminated by eventual winners Real Madrid in the semi-finals.
No new association entered its representative, which happened only for the second time after 1959–60 edition. However, Cyprus returned to the competition after their inaugural 1963–64 season.
In the preliminary round, Benfica recorded highest aggregate win in the history of the European Cup by beating Stade Dudelange 18–0 (8–0 away, 10–0 at home).[2]
Teams
A total of 31 teams participated in the competition.
For the first time since inaugural edition all associations were represented by only one team.
17 Nëntori, LASK, Levski Sofia, APOEL, Sparta Prague, HJK, Nantes, Keflavík, Derry City, Kilmarnock, Lausanne-Sports, and Werder Bremen made their debut in the competition.
Djurgårdens IF made their first appearance since the inaugural 1955–56 tournament, while Manchester United and Stade Dudelange returned to the competition after seven years.
All participants were their respective associations champions, except for Lyn. They were leading 1. divisjon at the summer break on 1 July 1965, after 9 of 18 matches had been played, but finished second in autumn of 1965.[3]
Preliminary round

Similar to previous editions, only title holders Inter Milan received a bye to the first round. The remaining clubs would play the preliminary round in September and October, apart from two matches that took place in late August.
For the second time in row teams in the preliminary round were not divided geographically into pots, which resulted in some teams covering over 6,200 kilometres for their ties (e.g. Keflavík and Ferencváros), while other had shorter trips (e.g. LASK and Górnik Zabrze – around 800 kilometres).
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feyenoord  | 
2–6 | 2–1 | 0–5 | |
| 17 Nëntori  | 
0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | |
| Fenerbahçe  | 
1–5 | 0–0 | 1–5 | |
| Lyn  | 
6–8 | 5–3 | 1–5 | |
| Panathinaikos  | 
4–2 | 4–1 | 0–1 | |
| Keflavík  | 
2–13 | 1–4 | 1–9 | |
| Dinamo București  | 
7–2 | 4–0 | 3–2 | |
| HJK  | 
2–9 | 2–3 | 0–6 | |
| Drumcondra  | 
1–3 | 1–0 | 0–3 | |
| Stade Dudelange  | 
0–18 | 0–8 | 0–10 | |
| Djurgårdens IF  | 
2–7 | 2–1 | 0–6 | |
| Lausanne-Sports  | 
0–4 | 0–0 | 0–4 | |
| LASK  | 
2–5 | 1–3 | 1–2 | |
| APOEL  | 
0–10 | 0–5 | 0–5 | |
| Partizan  | 
4–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 
First leg
| Lyn  | 5–3 | |
|---|---|---|
| J. Berg  Dybwad-Olsen Stavrum  | 
Report | R. Wood  Gilbert  | 
| Djurgårdens IF  | 2–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Nilsson  | 
Report | Sokolov  | 
| Drumcondra  | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Morrissey  | 
Report | 
| LASK  | 1–3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Köglberger  | 
Report | Musiałek  Wilczek  | 
| HJK  | 2–3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Pahlman  Peltoniemi  | 
Report | Herd  Connelly Law  | 
| Panathinaikos  | 4–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Sakellaridis  Loukanidis Domazos Kamaras  | 
Report | Cini  | 
| Dinamo București  | 4–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Ene  Gergely Frățilă  | 
Report | 
| Stade Dudelange  | 0–8 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Pedras  Pereira Brenner Yaúca Santana  | 
Second leg
| Ferencváros  | 9–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Albert  Novák Varga  | 
Report | Jóhansson  | 
Ferencváros won 13–2 on aggregate.
Derry City won 8–6 on aggregate.
| Anderlecht  | 5–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Van Himst  Stockman Hanon  | 
Report | Altıparmak  | 
Anderlecht won 5–1 on aggregate.
| Vorwärts Berlin  | 3–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Vogt  Begerad Piepenburg  | 
Report | 
Vorwärts Berlin won 3–1 on aggregate.
| Real Madrid  | 5–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Puskás  Grosso  | 
Report | 
Real Madrid won 6–2 on aggregate.
| Górnik Zabrze  | 2–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Pohl  Szołtysik  | 
Report | Lipošinović  | 
Górnik Zabrze won 5–2 on aggregate.
| Kilmarnock  | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Black  | 
Report | 
Kilmarnock won 1–0 on aggregate.
| Sparta Prague  | 4–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Mráz  Dyba  | 
Report | 
Sparta Prague won 4–0 on aggregate.
| Levski Sofia  | 6–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Asparuhov  Iliev Nikolov Abadzhiev  | 
Report | 
Levski Sofia won 7–2 on aggregate.
| Benfica  | 10–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Eusébio  Augusto Pinto Guerreiro Torres  | 
Report | 
Benfica won 18–0 on aggregate.
| Boldklubben 1909  | 2–3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Petersen  Hansen  | 
Report | Nunweiller  Pârcălab Ene  | 
Dinamo București won 7–2 on aggregate.
Manchester United won 9–2 on aggregate.
| Sliema Wanderers  | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Micallef  | 
Report | 
Panathinaikos won 4–2 on aggregate.
Werder Bremen won 10–0 on aggregate.
Partizan won 4–2 on aggregate.
Bracket
| First round | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | – | 9 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 0 | – | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 0 | 4 | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | 1 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | 5 | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | 0 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | 1 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 0 | 3 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | 2 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | 0 | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 5 | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | 0 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | 0 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | 3 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | 5 | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | 1 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | 2 | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | 3 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||
First round
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anderlecht  | 
9–0 | 9–0 | (w/o)[a] | |
| Kilmarnock  | 
3–7 | 2–2 | 1–5 | |
| Dinamo București  | 
2–3 | 2–1 | 0–2 | |
| Ferencváros  | 
3–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | |
| Sparta Prague  | 
5–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | |
| Partizan  | 
3–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | |
| Vorwärts Berlin  | 
1–5 | 0–2 | 1–3 | |
| Levski Sofia  | 
4–5 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 
First leg
| Vorwärts Berlin  | 0–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Law  Connelly  | 
| Kilmarnock  | 2–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| McLean  McIlroy  | 
Report | Pirri  Amancio  | 
| Anderlecht  | 9–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Jurion  Van Himst Puis Mulder Stockman  | 
Report | 
| Sparta Prague  | 3–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Kvašňák  Jílek Vrána  | 
Report | 
| Dinamo București  | 2–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Frățilă  Haidu  | 
Report | Peiró  | 
Second leg
| Panathinaikos  | 1–3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Domazos  | 
Report | Karába  Fenyvesi Albert  | 
Ferencváros won 3–1 on aggregate.
| Werder Bremen  | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Schütz  | 
Report | 
Partizan won 3–1 on aggregate.
| Górnik Zabrze  | 1–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Szołtysik  | 
Report | Mráz  | 
Sparta Prague won 5–1 on aggregate.
| Real Madrid  | 5–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Pirri  Ruiz Grosso Gento  | 
Report | McIlroy  | 
Real Madrid won 7–3 on aggregate.
| Manchester United  | 3–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Herd  | 
Report | Piepenburg  | 
Manchester United won 5–1 on aggregate.
Benfica won 5–4 on aggregate.
| Derry City  | Cancelled | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | 
There were serious concerns regarding the state of the Brandywell Stadium pitch. The IFA informed UEFA that it was unfit to host the European Cup tie. THE IFA ordered Derry City to play either at Windsor Park or Showgrounds, which the Derry board refused to do. However, minutes after losing the first leg 9–0, the Derry directors officially informed Anderlecht that they would be forfeiting the second leg of the tie.[4]
Anderlecht won 9–0 on aggregate.
| Inter Milan  | 2–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Mazzola  Facchetti  | 
Report | 
Inter Milan won 3–2 on aggregate.
Quarter-finals
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anderlecht  | 
3–4 | 1–0 | 2–4 | |
| Inter Milan  | 
5–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | |
| Sparta Prague  | 
4–6 | 4–1 | 0–5 | |
| Manchester United  | 
8–3 | 3–2 | 5–1 | 
First leg
| Anderlecht  | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Van Himst  | 
Report | 
| Inter Milan  | 4–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Jair  Corso Peiró  | 
Report | 
Second leg
| Ferencváros  | 1–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Novák  | 
Report | Domenghini  | 
Inter Milan won 5–1 on aggregate.
| Real Madrid  | 4–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Amancio  Gento  | 
Report | Jurion  Puis  | 
Real Madrid won 4–3 on aggregate.
Partizan won 6–4 on aggregate.
| Benfica  | 1–5 | |
|---|---|---|
| Brennan  | 
Report | Best  Connelly Crerand Charlton  | 
Manchester United won 8–3 on aggregate.
Semi-finals
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real Madrid  | 
2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | |
| Partizan  | 
2–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 
First leg
| Real Madrid  | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Pirri  | 
Report | 
| Partizan  | 2–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Hasanagić  Bečejac  | 
Report | 
Second leg
| Inter Milan  | 1–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Facchetti  | 
Report | Amancio  | 
Real Madrid won 2–1 on aggregate.
| Manchester United  | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Šoškić  | 
Report | 
Partizan won 2–1 on aggregate.
Final
Top goalscorers
The top scorers from the 1965–66 European Cup (including preliminary round) were as follows:
Notes
- ^ There were serious concerns regarding Brandywell Stadium state of the pitch, with IFA informing UEFA that it's not fit to host European Cup tie and ordering Derry City to play either at Windsor Park or Showgrounds, which club's board refusued to do. However, minutes after losing first leg 9–0, board directors had officially informed Anderlecht that they would be forfeiting the second leg of the tie.[4]
 
References
- ^ "Madrid champions of Europe once more". UEFA. 1 September 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
 - ^ Stokkermans, Karel (2 June 2016). "Champions' Cup/Champions League Trivia". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
 - ^ "NIFS - Norsk & Internasjonal Fotballstatistikk" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 1 November 2024.
 - ^ a b Coillins, Simon (21 June 2020). "Derry City 'Slaughtered in Snow' against Anderlecht - Derry's European's Dance (Week 3)". Derry Journal. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
 - ^ "Real Madrid v Internazionale, 13 April 1966" (JSON). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
 
External links
- 1965–66 All matches – season at UEFA website
 - European Cup results at Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
 - All scorers 1965–66 European Cup (excluding preliminary round) according to protocols UEFA
 - 1965/66 European Cup – results and line-ups (archive)
 - Y. Lander, European Cups History, part 1 (Kharkiv, 2003) – some attendance data.
 
