20 June 1976 - Panenka's Perfect Penalty

On 20 June 1976, Czechoslovakia won the first major international tournament to be decided by a penalty shootout, beating West Germany in the European Championship Final.

Although there were only four teams--and four matches--in the tournament that year, it was hotly contested, with all four matches going to extra time. In the opening game, the Czechs got goals in the 114th and 118th minutes to defeat the Netherlands 3-1, while West Germany, the defending champions, matched them with goals in the 115th and 119th minutes to down Yugoslavia 4-2 (the Netherlands then won the third place match over Yugoslavia 3-2 with a score in the 107th minute).

The Final was played before a crowd of 30,790 at the Crvena Zvezda Stadium in Belgrade. There, Czechoslovakia jumped to a 2-0 lead with strikes from Ján Švehlík (8') and Karol Dobiaš (25'), but West Germany halved the margin three minutes later with a goal from Dieter Müller--it was his fourth goal of the tournament, making him the top scorer. The Germans then found a late equalizer through forward Bernd Hölzenbein (89') to send the match into extra time.

Unlike their previous matches, however, neither team could generate an extra-time goal and the contest went to penalties. Both sides converted their first three kicks and the Czechs made their fourth, but on West Germany's fourth attempt, midfielder Uli Hoeness sent the ball over the bar to give Czechoslovakia a 4-3 edge.

Czech midfielder Antonín Panenka (pictured, right) then stepped up to the spot. As keeper Sepp Maier dove to his left, Panenka chipped the ball right down the middle to secure the title. It was their first and only major trophy, though they went on to win gold at the Olympics in 1980.

17 May 1974 - Bayern Delivers A Beating

On 17 May 1974, Bayern Munich won the first of three consecutive European Cups, beating Atlético Madrid 4-0 in a replay.

It was the first time in the final for both teams, who played to a 1-1 draw two days earlier, with both goals coming late in extra time to force a replay. They returned to the Heysel Stadium in Brussels on 17 May and did not have to wait long for Bayern to stake their claim to the trophy.

In the 28th minute, forward Uli Hoeness (pictured) outraced the Atlético defenders to a long ball played out of Bayern's own half, then pushed the ball between the keeper's legs to open the scoring. Exactly thirty minutes later, his striking partner Gerd Müller, the Bundesliga's top scorer for six of the previous eight seasons, powered a shot into the top of the net from a tight angle.

Müller extended the lead to 3-0 with another goal in the 71st minute. Not to be outdone, Hoeness got a second of his own in the 83rd minute to push the final margin to 4-0.

It was the completion of a double for Bayern, who had just won their third straight Bundesliga title. They went on to win the tournament again in 1975, 1976, 2001, and 2013.

20 June 1976 - Panenka's Perfect Penalty

On 20 June 1976, Czechoslovakia won the first major international tournament to be decided by a penalty shootout, beating West Germany in the European Championship Final.

Although there were only four teams--and four matches--in the tournament that year, it was hotly contested, with all four matches going to extra time. In the opening game, the Czechs got goals in the 114th and 118th minutes to defeat the Netherlands 3-1, while West Germany, the defending champions, matched them with goals in the 115th and 119th minutes to down Yugoslavia 4-2 (the Netherlands then won the third place match over Yugoslavia 3-2 with a score in the 107th minute).

The Final was played before a crowd of 30,790 at the Crvena Zvezda Stadium in Belgrade. There, Czechoslovakia jumped to a 2-0 lead with strikes from Ján Švehlík (8') and Karol Dobiaš (25'), but West Germany halved the margin three minutes later with a goal from Dieter Müller--it was his fourth goal of the tournament, making him the top scorer. The Germans then found a late equalizer through forward Bernd Hölzenbein (89') to send the match into extra time.

Unlike their previous matches, however, neither team could generate an extra-time goal and the contest went to penalties. Both sides converted their first three kicks and the Czechs made their fourth, but on West Germany's fourth attempt, midfielder Uli Hoeness sent the ball over the bar to give Czechoslovakia a 4-3 edge.

Czech midfielder Antonín Panenka (pictured, right) then stepped up to the spot. As keeper Sepp Maier dove to his left, Panenka chipped the ball right down the middle to secure the title. It was their first and only major trophy, though they went on to win gold at the Olympics in 1980.

17 May 1974 - Bayern Delivers A Beating

On 17 May 1974, Bayern Munich won the first of three consecutive European Cups, beating Atlético Madrid 4-0 in a replay.

It was the first time in the final for both teams, who played to a 1-1 draw two days earlier, with both goals coming late in extra time to force a replay. They returned to the Heysel Stadium in Brussels on 17 May and did not have to wait long for Bayern to stake their claim to the trophy.

In the 28th minute, forward Uli Hoeness (pictured) outraced the Atlético defenders to a long ball played out of Bayern's own half, then pushed the ball between the keeper's legs to open the scoring. Exactly thirty minutes later, his striking partner Gerd Müller, the Bundesliga's top scorer for six of the previous eight seasons, powered a shot into the top of the net from a tight angle.

Müller extended the lead to 3-0 with another goal in the 71st minute. Not to be outdone, Hoeness got a second of his own in the 83rd minute to push the final margin to 4-0.

It was the completion of a double for Bayern, who had just won their third straight Bundesliga title. They went on to win the tournament again in 1975 over Leeds United and in 1976 over Saint-Étienne, then once more in 2001 over Valencia.