Football Poets

Nottingham Forest tonight became the seventh in an illustrious line of football clubs to win the European Cup in two successive seasons. They join Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Ajax, Inter-Milan, Benfica and appropriately, Real Madrid in whose Santiago Bernabeu Stadium they carried out the complete suppression of Hamburg. They had to come through a final that was infinitely more difficult and totally different from last year’s comparatively uninventive match against Malmo. Here they mixed remorseless attacks with organized defense. Their winning goalscorer was enterprising Robertson, but this was an effort of rare collective responsibility-rare, that is, outside the team that Brian Clough and Peter Taylor have made in the mould of no contemporary. Tonight, once again, Forest pitted their concerted strength against individualism, here primary contained in Hamburg’s English exile, Keegan, who in the end bowed to their unfaltering defenders, who refused to fall to match-long pressure.

A disappointment befell Hamburg even before the start when Hrubesch, their imposing and tactically important centre forward, had to admit defeat to an ankle injury incurred last weekend and could play only in the second half. As a result, Keegan was for 45 minutes deployed at the nose of the German attack, perpetually trying to avoid the rugged attentions of Burns and Lloyd, who were quick to make a physical and psychological impact in his ambitions.

Predictably, Forest offered no aggressive early challenge in the Hamburg half, preferring to let the Germans move towards them on this broad deep-green pitch in the one-third-full stadium. Theirs was a policy of patient stealth; the spider trying to draw the prey into a dangerous web and then attack.

Birtles was left as a lonely target for their occasional breakaways, one of which saw Gray swerve in from the wing as if wanting to go all the way on his own. But, generally, Hamburg were the possessors.

Forest had weighed the risks inherent in their plans and certainly Keegan was kept under control; danger emanated from others. When Lloyd brought down Keegan, not for the first or the last time, the free kick, close to the penalty area, was tapped to one side and Magath’s drive was deliberately punched round the post by Shilton, who was not always as confidently protected as he should have been when Hamburg penetrated deep into the penalty area. Otherwise the Forest defence played well to keep most attacks outside the danger area.

Full backs it had been said could decide the outcome of this final, and when Anderson fairly steamed out of defence to rob Nogly in midfield, he gave Birtles his first chance, but shot went wide. It was all the same a taste of the opportunities that could be prised with good timing of breakaways. The proof really came after 20 minutes when Robertson collecting the ball from Mills, gloriously exposed the fundamental dangers of man-to-man marking by dodging past Kaltz and finding space opening like an inviting open road. He ran towards the penalty area and played a return pass with Birtles before slamming a low shot in off the post to give Forest a lead and great encouragement.

Although Hamburg immediately answered with Reiman shooting in after Shilton had parried an initial shot, the linesman stood by an offside decision. That successfully weathered, Forest went back to their business of destroying all of Keegan’s lines of communication and blocking him as soon as he took possession. In fact, Burnes treated him too harshly and had has name taken; but on the whole Keegan was unable to escape legitimate crowding and one could see why he was so sorry that Hrubesch was not there to afford some protection until his partner appeared for the second half.

Keegan did once leap high enough to expect something rewarding as he made to beat Shilton in the air, but this was yet another night of astonishingly brilliant saves by the goalkeeper who, just before half-time, cleverly diverted a drive from Milewski. Having seen everything follow the strategy that Forest intended, the question for the second half, when the marching girls eventually allowed a continuation, was whether Hrubesch was fit enough to make a significant difference to the staunch defending of Burns, whose heading was superb, and Lloyd. Keegan was released to extemporize, dropping deep in attempts to intercept Forest’s crucial breakaways and trying to counter.

Hrubesch soon discovered that the Forest penalty area was an uncomfortable place in which to win the ball in the air. Burns loomed over him but Mc Govern, concentrating unswervingly, was largely responsible for coordinating all of
Forest’s efforts as Hamburg gathered themselves far a final assault in which one enormous shot by Kaltz smacked against the goalpost.

Young Mills, who had been useful as support in midfield, was given an honourable discharge in order to allow O’Hare to bring his experience to the
last 20 minutes when Hamburg pummelled the Forest defence and brought Shilton’s most spectacular save.(THE TIMES MAY 29 1980)