1991 European Cup final

1991 European Cup final
Match programme cover
Event1990–91 European Cup
After extra time
Red Star Belgrade won 5–3 on penalties
Date29 May 1991 (1991-05-29)
VenueStadio San Nicola, Bari
RefereeTullio Lanese (Italy)
Attendance51,587

The 1991 European Cup final was a football match held at the Stadio San Nicola in Bari, Italy, on 29 May 1991, that saw Red Star Belgrade of Yugoslavia[a] defeat Marseille of France in a penalty shoot-out. After normal time and extra time could not separate the two sides, the match was to be decided on penalty kicks. Manuel Amoros's miss for the French side proved crucial, as Red Star held their nerve to win their first European Cup title. As of 2025, this remains the last European Cup final that both clubs were making their debut appearances in the competition's final.

Teams

Team Previous final appearances (bold indicates winners)
Red Star Belgrade None
Marseille None

Route to the final

Red Star Belgrade Round Marseille
Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg
Grasshoppers 5–2 1–1 (H) 4–1 (A) First round Dinamo Tirana 5–1 5–1 (H) 0–0 (A)
Rangers 4–1 3–0 (H) 1–1 (A) Second round Lech Poznań 8–4 2–3 (A) 6–1 (H)
Dynamo Dresden 6–0 3–0 (H) 3–0 (A) Quarter-finals AC Milan 4–1 1–1 (A) 3–0 (H)
Bayern Munich 4–3 2–1 (A) 2–2 (H) Semi-finals Spartak Moscow 5–2 3–1 (A) 2–1 (H)

Pre-match

Red Star arrived in Italy unusually early, on Thursday, 23 May 1991, six full days ahead of the final. The team set up base in the town of Monopoli, 40 kilometres (25 mi) south-east of Bari. There they stayed in Il Melograno Hotel, an isolated accommodation on the town outskirts, and trained at the facilities of AC Monopoli.[3] Due to a lot of interest from richer European clubs already being raised for the future services of young Red Star players, the club management tried to ensure its footballers were fully focused on the task at hand. The players were placed in semi-quarantine immediately upon arrival in Italy, which meant being separated from their families without the ability to receive incoming phone calls in hotel rooms, though able to make outgoing calls.[4]

Over the coming days, the club also organized for a large entourage consisting of club legends, friends of the club, etc., to arrive in Bari in order to watch Red Star in its first European Cup final. Therefore, notable former players Rajko Mitić, Dragoslav Šekularac, Srđan Mrkušić, Stanislav Karasi, and Živorad Jevtić, former coach Miša Pavić, and several Serbian celebrities and personalities such as Ljuba Tadić, Ivan Bekjarev, and Bora Đorđević, all made their way to Italy.[5]

Match details

Red Star Belgrade 0–0 (a.e.t.) Marseille
Report
Penalties
5–3
Attendance: 51,587
Referee: Tullio Lanese (Italy)
Red Star Belgrade
Marseille
GK 1 Stevan Stojanović (c)
RB 4 Refik Šabanadžović
CB 6 Ilija Najdoski
CB 8 Siniša Mihajlović  40'
LB 3 Slobodan Marović  61'
DM 5 Miodrag Belodedici
RM 11 Dragiša Binić  26'
CM 7 Robert Prosinečki
CM 10 Dejan Savićević  84'
LM 2 Vladimir Jugović
CF 9 Darko Pančev
Substitutes:
GK 12 Milić Jovanović
MF 13 Ivica Momčilović
DF 14 Rade Tošić
MF 15 Vlada Stošić  84'
FW 16 Vladan Lukić
Manager:
Ljupko Petrović
GK 1 Pascal Olmeta
CB 4 Basile Boli  28'
CB 5 Carlos Mozer
CB 7 Bernard Casoni
RM 2 Manuel Amoros
CM 11 Laurent Fournier  75'
CM 6 Bruno Germain
LM 3 Éric Di Meco  112'
RF 8 Chris Waddle
CF 9 Jean-Pierre Papin (c)
LF 10 Abedi Pele
Substitutes:
MF 12 Dragan Stojković  112'
MF 13 Philippe Vercruysse  75'
MF 14 Jean Tigana
DF 15 Éric Mura
GK 16 Alain Casanova
Manager:
Raymond Goethals

Assistant referees:
Castello Buonocore (Italy)
Roberto Calabassi (Italy)
Fourth official:
Pierluigi Magni (Italy)

Match rules

  • 90 minutes
  • 30 minutes of extra time if necessary
  • Penalty shoot-out if scores still level
  • Five named substitutes, of which two may be used

See also

Notes

  1. ^ UEFA conventionally refers to Red Star Belgrade by the club's Serbian-language name, Crvena zvezda. Since the breakup of SFR Yugoslavia, the club competes under the auspices of its successor Serbian Football Association.[1][2]

References

  1. ^ "1990/91: Crvena zvezda spot on". Archive: UEFA Champions League. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 8 April 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  2. ^ "Member associations: Serbia: Honours". Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 8 April 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  3. ^ Red Star in Bari
  4. ^ Red Star in Bari
  5. ^ Red Star in Bari