The 1987–88 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup finished with a shock victory by Mechelen in the final against defending champions Ajax. This led to their 1988 European Super Cup title in the club's first ever European campaign (1987–89). As the next season's Belgian league victor it defended its title in a semifinal of the 1988–89 European Cup Winners' Cup. Financial problems have been keeping this last Belgian holder of any European cup away from a position to be as successful again.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 23 August 1987 – 11 May 1988 |
| Teams | 32 (first round) 33 (qualifying) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Mechelen (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Ajax |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 63 |
| Goals scored | 131 (2.08 per match) |
| Attendance | 957,273 (15,195 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Paulinho Cascavel (Sporting CP) 6 goals |
Preliminary round edit
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
AEL Limassol 
|
1–6 |  Dunajská Streda
|
0–1 | 1–5 |
First leg edit
| AEL Limassol | 0–1 | Dunajská Streda |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Majoros  66' |
Second leg edit
| Dunajská Streda | 5–1 | AEL Limassol |
|---|---|---|
| Mičinec 6', 39' J. Medgyes 20'Pavlík 27'Majoros 85' (pen.) |
Report | Aristotelous 69' |
Dunajská Streda won 6–1 on aggregate.
First round edit
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mechelen
|
3–0 |  Dinamo București
|
1–0 | 2–0 |
St Mirren 
|
1–0 |  Tromsø
|
1–0 | 0–0 |
Real Sociedad 
|
2–0 |  Śląsk Wrocław
|
0–0 | 2–0 |
Dinamo Minsk 
|
4–1 |  Gençlerbirliği
|
2–0 | 2–1 |
Vitosha Sofia 
|
2–3 |  OFI
|
1–0 | 1–3 |
Merthyr Tydfil 
|
2–3 |  Atalanta
|
2–1 | 0–2 |
ÍA 
|
0–1 |  Kalmar FF
|
0–0 | 0–1 (aet) |
Sporting CP 
|
6–4 |  Swarovski Tirol
|
4–0 | 2–4 |
Vllaznia 
|
6–0 |  Sliema Wanderers
|
2–0 | 4–0 |
RoPS 
|
1–1 (a) |  Glentoran
|
0–0 | 1–1 |
Lokomotive Leipzig 
|
0–1 |  Marseille
|
0–0 | 0–1 |
Aalborg BK 
|
1–1 (2–4 p) |  Hajduk Split
|
1–0 | 0–1 (aet) |
Újpesti Dózsa 
|
2–3 | Den Haag
|
1–0 | 1–3 |
| Dunajská Streda
|
3–4 |  Young Boys
|
2–1 | 1–3 |
Avenir Beggen 
|
0–8 |  Hamburg
|
0–5 | 0–3 |
| Ajax
|
6–0 |  Dundalk
|
4–0 | 2–0 |
First leg edit
| Vllaznia | 2–0 | Sliema Wanderers |
|---|---|---|
| Bushati 53' Jera 68' |
Report |
| Sporting CP | 4–0 | Swarovski Tirol |
|---|---|---|
| Sealy 7', 41' Cascavel 24' (pen.), 83' |
Report |
| Mechelen | 1–0 | Dinamo București |
|---|---|---|
| den Boer 50' |
Report |
| Dinamo Minsk | 2–0 | Gençlerbirliği |
|---|---|---|
| Zygmantovich 83' Gotsmanov 88' |
Report |
| Vitosha Sofia | 1–0 | OFI |
|---|---|---|
| Sirakov 87' (pen.) |
Report |
| Merthyr Tydfil | 2–1 | Atalanta |
|---|---|---|
| Rogers 34' Ceri Williams 82' |
Report | Progna 41' |
| Aalborg BK | 1–0 | Hajduk Split |
|---|---|---|
| Boye 63' |
Report |
| Újpesti Dózsa | 1–0 | Den Haag |
|---|---|---|
| Herédi 31' (pen.) |
Report |
| Dunajská Streda | 2–1 | Young Boys |
|---|---|---|
| Mičinec 9' Kašpar 37' |
Report | Zuffi 22' |
Second leg edit
1–1 on aggregate. RoPS won on away goals
Vllaznia won 6–0 on aggregate.
| Dinamo București | 0–2 | Mechelen |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Hofkens 39' den Boer 71' |
Mechelen won 3–0 on aggregate.
St Mirren won 1–0 on aggregate.
| Śląsk Wrocław | 0–2 | Real Sociedad |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Loren 76' Begiristain 82' |
Real Sociedad won 2–0 on aggregate.
| Gençlerbirliği | 1–2 | Dinamo Minsk |
|---|---|---|
| Tuncay 29' |
Report | Derkach 69' Kondratiev 84' |
Dinamo Minsk won 4–1 on aggregate.
| OFI Crete | 3–1 | Vitosha Sofia |
|---|---|---|
| Tsimbos 26' Marinakis 48'Charalambidis 68' |
Report | Kurdov 71' |
OFI Crete won 3–2 on aggregate.
| Atalanta | 2–0 | Merthyr Tydfil |
|---|---|---|
| Garlini 16' Cantarutti 21' |
Report |
Atalanta won 3–2 on aggregate.
| Kalmar FF | 1–0 (a.e.t.) | ÍA |
|---|---|---|
| Alexandersson 102' |
Report |
Kalmar FF won 1–0 on aggregate.
| Swarovski Tirol | 4–2 | Sporting CP |
|---|---|---|
| Marko 16' Roscher 53'Pezzey 69'Linzmaier 85' |
Report | Sealy 57' Cascavel 67' |
Sporting CP won 6–4 on aggregate.
| Marseille | 1–0 | Lokomotive Leipzig |
|---|---|---|
| Allofs 8' |
Report |
Marseille won 1–0 on aggregate.
| Hajduk Split | 1–0 (a.e.t.) | Aalborg BK |
|---|---|---|
| Asanović 43' (pen.) |
Report | |
| Penalties | ||
Bursać  Dražić Miljuš Asanović |
4–2 | Simonsen Dissing Boye Henrik P. Hansen |
1–1 on aggregate. Hajduk Split won 4–2 on penalties.
Den Haag won 3–2 on aggregate.
| Young Boys | 3–1 | Dunajská Streda |
|---|---|---|
| Zuffi 63' Weber 67'Maissen 88' |
Report | Majoros 78' |
Young Boys won 4–3 on aggregate.
Hamburg won 8–0 on aggregate.
Ajax won 6–0 on aggregate.
Second round edit
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mechelen
|
2–0 | St Mirren
|
0–0 | 2–0 |
| Real Sociedad
|
1–1 (a) | Dinamo Minsk
|
1–1 | 0–0 |
| OFI
|
1–2 | Atalanta
|
1–0 | 0–2 |
| Kalmar FF
|
1–5 | Sporting CP
|
1–0 | 0–5 |
| Vllaznia
|
0–2 | RoPS
|
0–1 | 0–1 |
| Marseille
|
7–0 | Hajduk Split
|
4–0 | 3–01 |
| Den Haag
|
2–2 (a) | Young Boys
|
2–1 | 0–1 |
| Hamburg
|
0–3 | Ajax
|
0–1 | 0–2 |
- Notes
- Note 1: With Hajduk Split winning 2–0, the match was interrupted for 15 minutes due to tear gas being thrown onto the stands The match was voided and awarded 3–0 to Marseille due to the crowd trouble.
First leg edit
| Real Sociedad | 1–1 | Dinamo Minsk |
|---|---|---|
| Gajate 87' |
Report | Kondratiev 5' |
| Kalmar FF | 1–0 | Sporting CP |
|---|---|---|
| T. Arvidsson 88' |
Report |
Second leg edit
Mechelen won 2–0 on aggregate.
Sporting CP won 5–1 on aggregate.
RoPS won 2–0 on aggregate.
| Young Boys | 1–0 | Den Haag |
|---|---|---|
| Fimian 66' |
Report |
2–2 on aggregate. Young Boys won on away goals.
Ajax won 3–0 on aggregate.
1–1 on aggregate. Dinamo Minsk won on away goals.
Atalanta won 2–1 on aggregate.
The match was interrupted in the 10th minute with the score 0–0 due to tear gas being thrown in the stands by Hajduk fans. The resulting commotion was accompanied with the same fans throwing flares onto the pitch followed by a pitch invasion. The match was resumed some 15 minutes later and completed with Hajduk winning 2–0 on the night and Marseille advancing 4–2 on aggregate. At a disciplinary hearing several days later, UEFA voided the match due to the crowd trouble, awarding a 3–0 win to Marseille and banning Hajduk from European competition for two seasons.
Marseille won 7–0 on aggregate.
Quarter-finals edit
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mechelen
|
2–1 | Dinamo Minsk
|
1–0 | 1–1 |
| Atalanta
|
3–1 | Sporting CP
|
2–0 | 1–1 |
| RoPS
|
0–4 | Marseille
|
0–1 | 0–3 |
| Young Boys
|
0–2 | Ajax
|
0–1 | 0–1 |
First leg edit
| Mechelen | 1–0 | Dinamo Minsk |
|---|---|---|
| De Wilde 86' |
Report |
| Atalanta | 2–0 | Sporting CP |
|---|---|---|
| Nicolini 44' (pen.) Cantarutti 79' |
Report |
| Young Boys | 0–1 | Ajax |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Bosman 44' |
Second leg edit
| Dinamo Minsk | 1–1 | Mechelen |
|---|---|---|
| Kisten 59' |
Report | Ohana 29' |
Mechelen won 2–1 on aggregate.
| Sporting CP | 1–1 | Atalanta |
|---|---|---|
| Houtman 66' |
Report | Cantarutti 82' |
Atalanta won 3–1 on aggregate.
Marseille won 4–0 on aggregate.
| Ajax | 1–0 | Young Boys |
|---|---|---|
| Larsson 39' |
Report |
Ajax won 2–0 on aggregate.
Semi-finals edit
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mechelen
|
4–2 | Atalanta
|
2–1 | 2–1 |
| Marseille
|
2–4 | Ajax
|
0–3 | 2–1 |
First leg edit
| Marseille | 0–3 | Ajax |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Rob Witschge 12', 42' Bergkamp 89' |
Second leg edit
Mechelen won 4–2 on aggregate.
Ajax won 4–2 on aggregate.
Final edit
Top scorers edit
The top scorers from the 1987–88 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup are as follows:
| Rank | Name | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Paulinho Cascavel
|
Sporting CP
|
6 |
| 2 | Klaus Allofs
|
Olympique Marseille
|
4 |
| Piet den Boer
|
KV Mechelen
|
4 | |
 Eli Ohana
|
KV Mechelen
|
4 | |
| Jean-Pierre Papin
|
Olympique Marseille
|
4 | |
 Tony Sealy
|
Sporting CP
|
4 | |
| 7 | Remco Boere
|
Den Haag
|
3 |
| Aldo Cantarutti
|
Atalanta
|
3 | |
| Oliviero Garlini
|
Atalanta
|
3 | |
| Bruno Labbadia
|
Hamburg
|
3 | |
| Juraj Majoroš
|
Dunajská Streda
|
3 | |
| Henny Meijer
|
Ajax
|
3 | |
| Dario Zuffi
|
Young Boys
|
3 |