The Impossible Story: How Forest Won Two European Cups

There are great football stories, and then there is the story of Nottingham Forest's European Cup triumphs. A club that had been languishing in the Second Division just three years earlier. A city with a population smaller than many London boroughs. A manager who had been sacked after 44 days at his previous job. And yet, between 1978 and 1980, Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest conquered Europe — not once, but twice — in what remains the most improbable achievement in the history of club football.

Setting the Stage: From Second Division to Champions

To understand how extraordinary Forest's European campaigns were, you need to understand where they came from. In the 1976-77 season, Forest won promotion from the Second Division. The following year — their first season back in the top flight — they won the First Division championship, finishing seven points ahead of Bob Paisley's Liverpool. They also won the League Cup, beating Liverpool 1-0 in the final replay at Old Trafford through a John Robertson penalty.

As league champions, Forest entered the 1978-79 European Cup. Nobody gave them a chance. Liverpool had won the competition in 1977 and 1978. Bayern Munich, Ajax, and Real Madrid were the traditional powerhouses. Forest were a team of cast-offs, free transfers, and players other clubs didn't want. Their most expensive signing, Peter Shilton, had cost £270,000. Their star winger, Robertson, had been an overweight reserve player before Clough transformed him. Their centre-half, Kenny Burns, had been a journeyman striker whom Birmingham City were happy to sell.

None of that mattered. Clough believed, Peter Taylor believed, and crucially, the players believed.

The 1979 Campaign: Road to Munich

Round 1: Liverpool (Holders)

The draw could hardly have been more daunting. Forest were paired with Liverpool — the defending European champions — in the very first round. The two-legged tie would define Forest's European credibility before it had even begun.

Garry Birtles and Colin Barrett scored in a pulsating first leg at the City Ground, giving Forest a 2-0 lead to take to Anfield. The second leg at Anfield finished 0-0, a masterclass in defensive organisation. Shilton was immense. Burns and Lloyd were rocks. The midfield worked tirelessly to protect the lead. Liverpool, the holders, were out. Forest, the newcomers, were through.

Round 2: AEK Athens

Forest dispatched the Greek champions emphatically. A disciplined 2-1 away victory in Athens, with Tony Woodcock among the scorers, was followed by a dominant 5-1 thrashing at the City Ground. The 7-2 aggregate victory showed Forest were a serious European force.

Quarter-Final: Grasshoppers Zürich

The Swiss champions provided little resistance. Forest won 4-1 at the City Ground through goals from Birtles (2), Woodcock, and Robertson. A comfortable 1-1 draw in Zurich completed a 5-2 aggregate victory. The semi-finals beckoned.

Semi-Final: FC Köln

This was the test that separated the contenders from the pretenders. Köln (Cologne) were a formidable side, featuring West German internationals and playing in front of hostile crowds in the Müngersdorfer Stadion. The first leg at the City Ground was a tight, tense affair that ended in a 3-3 draw — Forest had been leading but conceded two late goals, and it looked like the Germans had seized the initiative.

But in the return leg in Cologne, Forest produced one of their finest European performances. Ian Bowyer scored the only goal in a disciplined 1-0 away victory. Forest won 4-3 on aggregate and were heading to the European Cup final in their first season in the competition.

The Final: Munich, 30 May 1979

The Olympiastadion in Munich was the stage. Malmö FF of Sweden, who had knocked out Monaco, Dynamo Kiev, Wisl/a Kraków, and Austria Vienna to reach the final, were the opponents. It was an unlikely final between two unlikely finalists — but Forest were the favourites.

Clough had a selection headache. Archie Gemmill, who had been outstanding all season, was dropped in favour of John O'Hare. It was a controversial decision that led to a permanent rift between Gemmill and Clough. But the manager was unapologetic: he picked the team he believed would win.

The match was tense and tight through the first half. Malmö defended deep, frustrating Forest's attempts to create chances. But just before half-time, the breakthrough came. John Robertson received the ball on the left flank, drove past his marker, and delivered a perfect cross to the far post. Trevor Francis, timing his run to perfection, flung himself at the ball and headed it past the goalkeeper from close range.

Francis — Britain's first million-pound footballer, signed from Birmingham City in February 1979 — had been unable to play in European competition for three months due to registration rules. The Munich final was literally his first European game for Forest. And he had scored the winning goal.

The second half was an exercise in control. Forest were comfortable, rarely threatened, utterly professional. At the final whistle, the celebrations began. Clough, characteristically, was understated. While his players danced and embraced on the pitch, he walked quietly towards the tunnel. "We've won the European Cup," he is reported to have said. "Now we need to win it again."

The 1980 Campaign: Road to Madrid

Defending the European Cup was a different challenge entirely. Forest were now the hunted, not the hunters. Every opponent would raise their game against the holders. And the draw, once again, was not kind.

Round 1: Östers IF (Sweden)

Forest began their defence against Swedish side Östers IF and were clinical. A 2-0 win at the City Ground was followed by a comprehensive victory in Sweden, with Forest progressing comfortably on aggregate.

Round 2: Arges Pitesti (Romania)

The Romanian champions posed more of a challenge, particularly in the hostile atmosphere of their home ground. But Forest's experience of European competition was telling. A strong home performance at the City Ground gave them a cushion, and they held firm in Romania to advance. Garry Birtles was in superb form, scoring in both legs.

Quarter-Final: Dynamo Berlin (East Germany)

Playing behind the Iron Curtain in Cold War-era East Berlin was an experience few English clubs had endured. The Dynamo-Sportpark was an intimidating venue, and the East German champions were a physical, well-organised side. But Forest were equal to the challenge. A disciplined away performance — Forest drew 1-1 in Berlin — followed by a clinical home display secured their passage to the semi-finals.

Semi-Final: Ajax

If the 1979 campaign's defining moment came against Liverpool, the 1980 campaign pivoted on the semi-final against Ajax. The Dutch giants, three-time European Cup winners in the early 1970s, were rebuilding but still formidable. The tie would test every ounce of Forest's resolve.

The first leg at the City Ground was a masterclass. Trevor Francis and John Robertson scored to give Forest a 2-0 lead. The City Ground was rocking. But the return leg in Amsterdam's Olympisch Stadion was a different story. Ajax threw everything at Forest, and a 1-0 defeat in the second leg made for a nervy final few minutes. But Forest held on, winning 2-1 on aggregate. They were heading to the final again — this time to the Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid.

The Final: Madrid, 28 May 1980

The opponents were Hamburg SV, featuring the great Kevin Keegan, who had been European Footballer of the Year in both 1978 and 1979. The German side also boasted Manny Kaltz, Felix Magath, and Horst Hrubesch — a team packed with international quality. On paper, Hamburg were favourites. In practice, Forest had Brian Clough.

The match was just 20 minutes old when the decisive moment came. John Robertson — the man Clough had once described as "a disgrace" when he first saw him at Forest, overweight and unmotivated — collected the ball on the left side of the penalty area. He feinted to cross, dragged the ball back inside, and calmly stroked it past the Hamburg goalkeeper. It was a goal of pure class from a player who had been transformed from a nobody into the best left winger in Europe.

For the remaining 70 minutes, Forest defended with the discipline and organisation that had become their hallmark under Clough. Peter Shilton was commanding. Kenny Burns and Larry Lloyd (who had been replaced by David Needham in this campaign) marshalled the defence superbly. John McGovern, the quiet, tireless captain, controlled the midfield tempo. Keegan, for all his brilliance, was contained. Hamburg huffed and puffed but could not find a way through.

At the final whistle, John McGovern lifted the European Cup for the second consecutive year. Forest had done it again. A club from a city of fewer than 300,000 people had won European football's greatest prize twice in succession. It was, and remains, the most remarkable achievement in the history of the sport.

What Made It Possible?

How did a provincial English club, assembled largely from free transfers and other teams' rejects, conquer Europe twice? The answer lies in three things.

First, Brian Clough and Peter Taylor. Clough was the motivator, the tactician, the man who demanded excellence and accepted nothing less. Taylor was the talent-spotter, the man who identified Burns, Robertson, Birtles, and dozens of others as players who could be moulded into winners. Together, they were the perfect partnership.

Second, simplicity. Clough's football philosophy was built on a few unshakeable principles: keep the ball on the ground, pass it simply, work harder than your opponent, and defend as a team. There were no elaborate tactical systems, no complicated set-piece routines. Forest played football the way Clough believed it should be played — with discipline, intelligence, and courage.

Third, belief. Clough instilled in his players an unshakeable conviction that they could beat anyone. When they walked out to face Liverpool, AEK Athens, Köln, Malmö, Ajax, or Hamburg, they genuinely believed they were the better team. That confidence, born of Clough's relentless force of personality, was worth more than any tactical innovation.

The story of Nottingham Forest's European Cup triumphs is, at its heart, a story about the power of belief, simplicity, and brilliant management. It is the greatest story English football has ever told. And it happened on the banks of the River Trent, in a city that most Europeans had never heard of, led by a man who was, quite simply, a genius.