7 November 1984 - Rapid Slows Down Celtic's Travel Plans

On 7 November 1984, Celtic beat Rapid Wien 3-0 to advance in the European Cup Winners' Cup, but it didn't count.

The teams met in the tournament's second round, with Rapid winning the first leg in Vienna on 24 October, 3-1. Thirteen days later, Celtic hosted the second leg in Glasgow, where they drew level on aggregate with first-half goals from Brian McClair (32') and Murdo MacLeod (45'). Tommy Burns then added another goal in the 68th minute.

Four minutes later, Burns was involved in a incident that saw the referee eject Rapid's Reinhard Kienast. As the Austrian were protesting the decision, midfielder Rudi Weinhofer went down clutching his face, apparently hit by an object thrown from the stands. He had to leave the game, which left Rapid down to 10 men as they had already used all of their substitutes. Captain Hans Krankl threatened to lead his team off the pitch in protest, but the match eventually resumed after a 15-minute delay. It ended 3-0 to Celtic, which put them through 4-3 on aggregate.

Rapid protested the result, however, and a UEFA appeals panel determined that the injury to Weinhofer justified a replay which they ordered to be played at least 100 miles away from Glasgow. So the teams met at Old Trafford in Manchester on 12 December.

Rapid won that match 1-0 to advance 4-1 on aggregate and ended up going all the way to the final in Rotterdam, where they lost to Everton, 3-1.

25 April 1985 - The Toffees Taste Sweet Victory In Europe

On 25 April 1985, Everton claimed one of their greatest wins, beating Bayern Munich 3-1 at Goodison Park.

Both Everton and Bayern Munich were enjoying strong seasons that would end with both of them winning their leagues. Their match-up came in the European Cup Winners' Cup semifinals, with the two teams playing to a scoreless draw in Munich on 10 April in the first leg. 

At Goodison for the return leg, Bayern took the advantage with a 37th-minute goal from striker Dieter Hoeness. Down 0-1 at the break, Everton manager Howard Kendall reportedly pointed out that, in the second half, they were going to be shooting toward the Gwladys Street end, location of the most rabid home supporters, and told his players "Just kick toward Gwladys Street, the fans will suck it into the goal."

It didn't take long. The Toffees equalized in just the 47th minute with a strike from forward Graeme Sharp. Striker Andy Gray then put them ahead in the 73rd minute before winger Trevor Steven completed the comeback and sealed the win with a goal in the 87th minute.

The win sent Everton to the final where they proceeded to beat Rapid Wien 3-1 for their first and only piece of European silverware.

12 December 2001 - The Death Of The World's Greatest Goalscorer

On 12 December 2001, former Slavia Prague forward Josef "Pepi" Bican passed away at the age of 88. His career total of over 1,460 goals is the greatest tally in the recorded history of football.

Born in Vienna in 1913, Bican began his professional career in 1931 with Rapid Vienna and two years later earned his first cap for Austria. He stayed with Rapid for three years, scoring 184 goals in 144 appearances in all competitions. In 1934, he moved across town to Admira Vienna, where he continued his blistering scoring pace, knocking in another 119 goals in 85 appearances across all competitions. He also got his first silverware, winning the league in 1936 and 1937.

He moved to Slavia Prague in 1937 and remained there until 1948 (a year after making the switch, he also switched his international team, exchanging Austria in favor of Czechoslovakia). His form followed him, as he was Europe's top scorer in each season from 1939-40 to 1943-44 (admittedly while many leagues were suspended for World War II). In all, he made 427 recorded appearances for Slavia Prague, including friendlies, scoring an incredible total of 832 goals.

He retired as a player in 1956, having spent brief periods with Sokol Vítkovice (93 goals from 1949 to 1951), Hradec Králové (18 goals from 1952 to 1953), and Dynamo Prague (81 goals from 1953 to 1956). His career total of 1,468 makes him the highest goalscorer in world history, over subsequent--and more familiar--luminaries such as Pelé (1,284 in all competitions) and Gerd Müller (1,461 in all competitions).

8 May 1996 - N'Gotty Got It

On 8 May 1996, Paris Saint-Germain won their first and only major European trophy, beating Rapid Vienna in the Cup Winners' Cup Final.

It was the first time in the tournament final for PSG, but the second for Rapid, who finished as runners-up to Everton in 1985. They met at King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, where a crowd of  37,000 gathered for the occasion.

The people in the stands were anticipating a furious offensive clash, with both teams featuring some of the tournament's top scorers--Carsten Jancker (6 goals) and Christian Stumpf (4) for Rapid and Youri Djorkaeff (4) and Patrice Loko (4) for PSG. But what they got was a tight match decided by the day's single goal.

And that goal came from an unlikely source. PSG defender Bruno N'Gotty (pictured), who had not scored at all that year, found the back of the net in the 28th minute to deliver the trophy to the Parisians.

N'Gotty and PSG returned to the final the following year, but lost to Barcelona, 1-0.

7 November 1984 - Rapid Slows Down Celtic's Travel Plans

On 7 November 1984, Celtic beat Rapid Wien 3-0 to advance in the European Cup Winners' Cup, but it didn't count.

The teams met in the tournament's second round, with Rapid winning the first leg in Vienna on 24 October, 3-1. Thirteen days later, Celtic hosted the second leg in Glasgow, where they drew level on aggregate with first-half goals from Brian McClair (32') and Murdo MacLeod (45'). Tommy Burns then added another goal in the 68th minute.

Four minutes later, Burns was involved in a incident that saw the referee eject Rapid's Reinhard Kienast. As the Austrian were protesting the decision, midfielder Rudi Weinhofer went down clutching his face, apparently hit by an object thrown from the stands. He had to leave the game, which left Rapid down to 10 men as they had already used all of their substitutes. Captain Hans Krankl threatened to lead his team off the pitch in protest, but the match eventually resumed after a 15-minute delay. It ended 3-0 to Celtic, which put them through 4-3 on aggregate.

Rapid protested the result, however, and a UEFA appeals panel determined that the injury to Weinhofer justified a replay which they ordered to be played at least 100 miles away from Glasgow. So the teams met at Old Trafford in Manchester on 12 December.

Rapid won that match 1-0 to advance 4-1 on aggregate and ended up going all the way to the final in Rotterdam, where they lost to Everton, 3-1.

25 April 1985 - The Toffees Taste Sweet Victory In Europe

On 25 April 1985, Everton claimed one of their greatest wins, beating Bayern Munich 3-1 at Goodison Park.

Both Everton and Bayern Munich were enjoying strong seasons that would end with both of them winning their leagues. Their match-up came in the European Cup Winners' Cup semifinals, with the two teams playing to a scoreless draw in Munich on 10 April in the first leg.

At Goodison for the return leg, Bayern took the advantage with a 37th-minute goal from striker Dieter Hoeness. Down 0-1 at the break, Everton manager Howard Kendall reportedly pointed out that, in the second half, they were going to be shooting toward the Gwladys Street end, location of the most rabid home supporters, and told his players "Just kick toward Gwladys Street, the fans will suck it into the goal."

It didn't take long. The Toffees equalized in just the 47th minute with a strike from forward Graeme Sharp. Striker Andy Gray then put them ahead in the 73rd minute before winger Trevor Steven completed the comeback and sealed the win with a goal in the 87th minute.

The win sent Everton to the final where they proceeded to beat Rapid Wien 3-1 for their first and only piece of European silverware.

12 December 2001 - The Death Of The World's Greatest Goalscorer

On 12 December 2001, former Slavia Prague forward Josef "Pepi" Bican passed away at the age of 88. His career total of over 1,460 goals is the greatest tally in the recorded history of football.

Born in Vienna in 1913, Bican began his professional career in 1931 with Rapid Vienna and two years later earned his first cap for Austria. He stayed with Rapid for three years, scoring 184 goals in 144 appearances in all competitions. In 1934, he moved across town to Admira Vienna, where he continued his blistering scoring pace, knocking in another 119 goals in 85 appearances across all competitions. He also got his first silverware, winning the league in 1936 and 1937.

He moved to Slavia Prague in 1937 and remained there until 1948 (a year after making the switch, he also switched his international team, exchanging Austria in favor of Czechoslovakia). His form followed him, as he was Europe's top scorer in each season from 1939-40 to 1943-44 (admittedly while many leagues were suspended for World War II). In all, he made 427 recorded appearances for Slavia Prague, including friendlies, scoring an incredible total of 832 goals.

He retired as a player in 1956, having spent brief periods with Sokol Vítkovice (93 goals from 1949 to 1951), Hradec Králové (18 goals from 1952 to 1953), and Dynamo Prague (81 goals from 1953 to 1956). His career total of 1,468 makes him the highest goalscorer in world history, over subsequent--and more familiar--luminaries such as Pelé (1,284 in all competitions) and Gerd Müller (1,461 in all competitions).