The 1970s were the age of dynasties. Ajax and Bayern each lifted three trophies in a row, and at the end English clubs took over. In the middle of it all sits the brightest night in Greek football: Panathinaikos at Wembley.
1970 · Milan: Feyenoord – Celtic 2-1 (a.e.t.)
On 6 May 1970, at San Siro, Celtic were the big favourites. Tommy Gemmell put the Scots ahead on 30 minutes, but Rinus Israël headed the equaliser just two minutes later. In the 117th minute of extra time, the Swede Ove Kindvall pounced on a mistake by captain Billy McNeill and lifted the ball over the goalkeeper.
It was the first European Cup for a Dutch club, coached by the Austrian Ernst Happel. Two classic shirts met on the pitch: Feyenoord's half-red, half-white design with black shorts and Celtic's green-and-white hoops.
1971 · London: Ajax – Panathinaikos 2-0
On 2 June 1971, Ferenc Puskás's Panathinaikos went where no other Greek club has ever gone. On the road to Wembley they knocked out Everton on away goals and Red Star Belgrade, overturning a 4-1 defeat in Belgrade with a 3-0 win in Athens. Antonis Antoniadis finished as the competition's top scorer with ten goals.
Rinus Michels's Ajax led from the 5th minute through Dick van Dijk. In the 87th minute an Arie Haan shot deflected off Anthimos Kapsis and went in for the final 2-0.
Panathinaikos played in all green with the white shamrock on the chest, against Ajax's white shirt with the red vertical band. That green shirt is still a symbol for every Greek football fan.
1972 · Rotterdam: Ajax – Inter 2-0
On 31 May 1972, at De Kuip, the Ajax of Romanian coach Ștefan Kovács played perhaps the most perfect Total Football. Inter defended desperately with catenaccio, but Johan Cruyff scored twice in the second half (47' and 78') and was named man of the match.
The Italians wore their blue-and-black stripes with black shorts, one of the most recognisable shirts in Europe.
1973 · Belgrade: Ajax – Juventus 1-0
On 30 May 1973, at Red Star's stadium, Johnny Rep scored in the opening minutes and that was the only goal. With a third title in a row, Ajax kept the trophy for good.
It was Juventus's first final. According to Wikipedia's kit graphics, Ajax played in an all-red change kit, against the Italians' black-and-white stripes.
1974 · Brussels: Bayern – Atlético Madrid 1-1 and 4-0
On 15 May 1974, at the Heysel, the game stayed goalless until extra time. Luis Aragonés put Atlético ahead in the 114th minute, but Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck equalised in the very last minute.
What followed was the only replayed final in the competition's history, two days later at the same ground. Bayern won 4-0 with two goals from Uli Hoeneß and two from Gerd Müller. Atlético wore their red-and-white stripes with blue shorts, while the Bavarians turned out in white.
1975 · Paris: Bayern – Leeds 2-0
On 28 May 1975, at the Parc des Princes, Leeds were the better side for long spells. The referee turned down two penalty appeals against Beckenbauer and ruled out a Peter Lorimer goal for offside against Billy Bremner.
Bayern punished them through Franz Roth (71') and Müller (81'). Rioting by Leeds fans led to a UEFA ban, cut to two years on appeal. Visually, it was a duel between all-white English and all-red Germans.
1976 · Glasgow: Bayern – Saint-Étienne 1-0
On 12 May 1976, at Hampden Park, Saint-Étienne hit the crossbar twice, through Dominique Bathenay and Jacques Santini. Roth scored from a free kick on 57 minutes and Bayern became the third club to win three titles in a row.
French fans, dressed in the green of "Les Verts", blamed the ground's square goalposts, the legendary "poteaux carrés". In 2013 Saint-Étienne bought the posts, which now stand in the club museum.
1977 · Rome: Liverpool – Gladbach 3-1
On 25 May 1977, at the Stadio Olimpico, Terry McDermott opened the scoring and Allan Simonsen equalised on 51 minutes. Tommy Smith headed in on his 600th Liverpool appearance and Phil Neal sealed the 3-1 with an 82nd-minute penalty.
It was the first trophy for Bob Paisley's Liverpool and Kevin Keegan's last game for the club before his move to Hamburg. The all-red English side faced an all-green Gladbach.
1978 · London: Liverpool – Club Brugge 1-0
On 10 May 1978 Liverpool effectively played at home in England, at Wembley. Ernst Happel's Brugge, who had knocked out Panathinaikos in the second round, were missing several key players through injury.
On 64 minutes Kenny Dalglish took a pass from Graeme Souness and lifted the ball over goalkeeper Birger Jensen. The Belgians played in an all-white kit.
1979 · Munich: Nottingham Forest – Malmö 1-0
On 30 May 1979, Brian Clough's Forest, who had been in the second tier two years earlier, reached the top of Europe. On the way they had knocked out double holders Liverpool.
The goal came in first-half stoppage time from Trevor Francis, Britain's first £1 million player, in his first European game. An injury-hit Malmö, in sky-blue shirts and white shorts, sat deep against the red-shirted English side.
The decade's legacy
The '70s left two great schools: Cruyff's Total Football and the German power of Beckenbauer and Müller. At the end, Liverpool and Forest opened a long period of English dominance.
The shirts of that era, with no sponsors and clean colours, are now much-loved retro pieces. For us in Greece, the green of Wembley remains the most precious of them all.
See our Champions League club jerseys at sportarena.gr.
Photo: Ajax and Panathinaikos walk out onto the Wembley pitch, 2 June 1971 – Anefo / Nationaal Archief, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC0.