The 1972–73 UEFA Cup was the second season of the UEFA Cup, the third-tier club football competition organised by UEFA. The 1973 UEFA Cup final was played over two legs at Anfield, Liverpool, England, and at Bökelbergstadion, Mönchengladbach, West Germany. It was won by Liverpool of England, who defeated West German team Borussia Mönchengladbach by an aggregate result of 3–2 to claim their first UEFA Cup title.

1972–73 UEFA Cup
The first leg of the final was played at Anfield in Liverpool.
Tournament details
Dates13 September 1972 – 23 May 1973
Teams63 (from 29[1] associations)
Final positions
ChampionsEngland Liverpool (1st title)
Runners-upWest Germany Borussia Mönchengladbach
Tournament statistics
Matches played124
Goals scored405 (3.27 per match)
Attendance1,947,828 (15,708 per match)
Top scorer(s)Jupp Heynckes (Borussia Mönchengladbach)
Jan Jeuring (Twente)
12 goals each

This was the sixth consecutive title won by an English team between the UEFA Cup and the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, as well as the first time Liverpool won a European competition.

Association team allocation

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A total of 63 teams from 29 UEFA member associations participate in the 1972–73 UEFA Cup. A new allocation scheme was devised by UEFA, which featured fixed slots for all but two competing associations, and lasted for eight seasons:

  • 3 associations have four teams qualify.
  • 3 associations have three teams qualify.
  • 18 associations have two teams qualify.
  • 7 associations have one team qualify.

Spain was the only association with a fixed allocation of three teams; the other two associations would rotate on a yearly basis among all countries that were allocated two teams.

Albania was not included in this scheme, as it had only entered the competition once without playing and would not have a UEFA Cup competitor until 1981. Northern Ireland withdrew from the competition, so another association was granted an extra third birth for this season. The three chosen associations were France, Yugoslavia and Portugal.

Associations in the 1972–73 UEFA Cup
Four teams
  England
  Italy
  West Germany
Three teams
  Spain
  Portugal
  Yugoslavia
  France
Two teams
  Hungary   Scotland   Netherlands
  Poland   East Germany   Czechoslovakia
  Belgium   Bulgaria   Soviet Union
  Romania   Turkey   Austria
  Greece   Switzerland   Denmark
  Sweden   Norway
One team
  Republic of Ireland
  Luxembourg
  Malta
  Iceland
  Cyprus
Did not compete
  Wales[Note WAL]
  Northern Ireland[Note NIR]
  Albania[Note ALB]
  Finland[Note FIN]
  • ^
    Wales: There was no national league in Wales before 1992 and the only competition organised by the Football Association of Wales was the Welsh Cup so Wales had just a single participant in European competitions, the winner (or best placed Welsh team as several English teams also competed) of the Welsh Cup which competed in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.
  • ^
    Northern Ireland: Due to the Troubles and the aftermath of the Bloody Sunday, Northern Ireland withdrew from all European competitions on safety grounds. Portadown would have qualified for the UEFA Cup by league position.
  • ^
    Albania: After withdrawing its team from the previous edition, Albania was punished with a one-year ban for the UEFA Cup. 17 Nëntori would have qualified by league position.
  • Teams

    edit

    The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for competition:

    • TH: Title holders
    • CW: Cup winners
    • CR: Cup runners-up
    • LC: League Cup winners
    • 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, etc.: League position
    • P-W: End-of-season European competition play-offs winners
    Qualified teams for 1972–73 UEFA Cup
      Tottenham Hotspur (TH)   Liverpool (3rd)   Manchester City (4th)   Stoke City (LC)
      Torino (3rd)   Cagliari (4th)   Inter Milan (5th)   Fiorentina (6th)
      Borussia Mönchengladbach (3rd)   Köln (4th)   Eintracht Frankfurt (5th)   Kaiserslautern (CR)[Note GER]
      Valencia (2nd)   Barcelona (3rd)   Las Palmas (5th)   Vitória de Setúbal (2nd)
      Barreiro (4th)   Porto (5th)   Red Star Belgrade (2nd)   OFK Beograd (3rd)
      Vojvodina (4th)   Nîmes (2nd)   Sochaux (3rd)   Angers (4th)
      Budapest Honvéd (2nd)   Salgótarján (4th)   Aberdeen (2nd)   Partick Thistle (LC)
      Feyenoord (2nd)   Twente (3rd)   Zagłębie Sosnowiec (2nd)   Ruch Chorzów (4th)
      BFC Dynamo (2nd)   Dynamo Dresden (3rd)   Slovan Bratislava (2nd)   Dukla Prague (3rd)
      Club Brugge (2nd)   Racing White (4th)   Levski Sofia (2nd)   Beroe Stara Zagora (3rd)
      Ararat Yerevan (2nd)   Dinamo Tbilisi (3rd)   UTA Arad (2nd)   Universitatea Cluj (3rd)
      Eskişehirspor (2nd)   Fenerbahçe (3rd)   Austria Wien (2nd)   VÖEST Linz (3rd)
      Olympiacos (2nd)   AEK Athens (3rd)   Grasshoppers (3rd)   Lausanne-Sport (4th)
      Hvidovre (2nd)   Frem (3rd)   Åtvidabergs (2nd)   Norrköping (3rd)
      Lyn (2nd)   Viking (3rd)   Bohemians (3rd)   HIFK Helsinki (2nd)[Note FIN]
      Rumelange (2nd)   Valletta (3rd)   ÍBV (2nd)   EPA Larnaca (2nd)

    Notes

    1. ^
      West Germany: The fourth UEFA Cup spot for West Germany was not awarded to the fourth best team not qualified for the European Cup or the European Cup Winners' Cup, which was Hertha BSC, as it was common practice. Instead, this place was awarded to Kaiserslautern, who had been runners-up in the 1971–72 DFB-Pokal.
    2. ^
      Finland: Official UEFA records show HJK Helsinki as the Finnish representative in the UEFA Cup, despite finishing 4th in the 1971 Mestaruussarja, before withdrawing from its first round match-up.[2] However, records from the RSSSF, contemporary papers and the Football Association of Finland show that HIFK Helsinki was indeed the team that withdrew from the tournament after finishing 2nd in the Mestaruussarja.[3][4][5] While no official reason for the withdrawal has been provided, HIFK ran into financial problems during the 1972 season and was fighting to avoid relegation at the time of the UEFA Cup first round. The team was finally relegated on 24 September 1972, halfway through what should've been its European participation.[6]

    Schedule

    edit

    The schedule of the competition was as follows. Matches were scheduled for Wednesdays, though some matches took place on Tuesdays.

    Schedule for 1972–73 UEFA Cup
    Round First leg Second leg
    First round 12–20 September 1972 26 September – 4 October 1972
    Second round 24–25 October 1972 1–8 November 1972
    Third round 28–29 November 1972 13 December 1972
    Quarter-finals 6–7 March 1973 20–21 March 1973
    Semi-finals 10–11 April 1973 25 April 1973
    Final 10 May 1973 23 May 1973

    Bracket

    edit
    First round Second round Third round Quarter-finals Semi-finals
      Angers 1 1
      BFC Dynamo 1 2   BFC Dynamo 3 0
      Universitatea Cluj 4 1   Levski-Spartak 0 2
      Levski-Spartak 1 5   BFC Dynamo 0 1
      Liverpool 2 0   Liverpool 0 3
      Eintracht Frankfurt 0 0   Liverpool 3 3
      AEK Athens 3 1   AEK Athens 0 1
      Salgótarján 1 1   Liverpool 2 1
      Porto 3 1   Dynamo Dresden 0 0
      Barcelona 1 0   Porto 3 2
      Åtvidaberg 3 2   Club Brugge 0 3
      Club Brugge 5 1   Porto 1 0
      Ruch Chorzów 3 0   Dynamo Dresden 2 1
      Fenerbahçe 0 1   Ruch Chorzów 0 0
      Dynamo Dresden 2 2   Dynamo Dresden 1 3
      VÖEST 0 2   Liverpool (a) 1 1
      Lyn 3 0   Tottenham Hotspur 0 2
      Tottenham Hotspur 6 6   Tottenham Hotspur 4 0
      Olympiacos 2 1   Olympiacos 0 1
      Cagliari 1 0   Tottenham Hotspur 2 0
      Red Star Belgrade 5 2   Red Star Belgrade 0 1
      Lausanne-Sport 1 3   Red Star Belgrade 3 1
      Manchester City 2 1   Valencia 1 0
      Valencia 2 2   Tottenham Hotspur (a) 1 1
      Vitória de Setúbal 6 0   Vitória de Setúbal 0 2
      Zagłębie Sosnowiec 1 1   Vitória de Setúbal (a) 1 1
      Eskişehirspor 1 0   Fiorentina 0 2
      Fiorentina 2 3   Vitória de Setúbal 2 0
      Inter Milan 6 1   Inter Milan 0 1
      Valletta 1 0   Inter Milan 2 2 Final
      UTA Arad 1 0   Norrköping 2 0
      Norrköping 2 2   Liverpool 3 0
      Racing White 0 0   Borussia Mönchengladbach 0 2
      CUF Barreiro 1 2   CUF Barreiro 1 1
      Stoke City 3 0   Kaiserslautern 3 0
      Kaiserslautern 1 4   Kaiserslautern (p) 2 0 (5)
      Nîmes 1 1   Ararat Yerevan 0 2 (4)
      Grasshoppers 2 2   Grasshoppers 1 2
      EPA Larnaca 0 0   Ararat Yerevan 3 4
      Ararat Yerevan 1 1   Kaiserslautern 1 1
      Viking 1 0   Borussia Mönchengladbach 2 7
      ÍBV 0 0   Viking 1 1
      Köln 2 3   Köln 0 9
      Bohemians 1 0   Köln 0 0
      Aberdeen 2 3   Borussia Mönchengladbach 0 5
      Borussia Mönchengladbach 3 6   Borussia Mönchengladbach 3 3
      Hvidovre (w/o)   Hvidovre 0 1
      HIFK Helsinki   Borussia Mönchengladbach 3 2
      Feyenoord 9 12   Twente 0 1
      Rumelange 0 0   Feyenoord 4 1
      Dukla Prague 2 1   OFK Beograd (a) 3 2
      OFK Beograd 2 3   OFK Beograd 0 3
      Beroe Stara Zagora 7 3   Beroe Stara Zagora 0 1
      Austria Wien 0 1   Beroe Stara Zagora 3 0
      Budapest Honvéd 1 3   Budapest Honvéd 0 1
      Partick Thistle 0 0   OFK Beograd 3 0
      Sochaux 1 1   Twente 2 2
      Frem 3 2   Frem 0 0
      Dinamo Tbilisi 3 0   Twente 5 4
      Twente 2 2   Twente 3 1
      Torino 2 0   Las Palmas 0 2
      Las Palmas 0 4   Las Palmas 2 1
      Slovan Bratislava 6 2   Slovan Bratislava 2 0
      Vojvodina 0 1

    First round

    edit

    Summary

    edit
    Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
    Liverpool   2–0   Eintracht Frankfurt 2–0 0–0
    UTA Arad   1–4   Norrköping 1–2 0–2
    Universitatea Cluj   5–6   Levski-Spartak 4–1 1–5 (a.e.t.)
    AEK Athens   4–2   Salgótarján 3–1 1–1
    Beroe Stara Zagora   10–1   Austria Wien 7–0 3–1
    Dinamo Tbilisi   3–4   Twente 3–2 0–2
    Slovan Bratislava   8–1   Vojvodina 6–0 2–1
    Ruch Chorzów   3–1   Fenerbahçe 3–0 0–1
    Dynamo Dresden   4–2   VÖEST 2–0 2–2
    Red Star Belgrade   7–4   Lausanne-Sport 5–1 2–3
    Dukla Prague   3–5   OFK Beograd 2–2 1–3
    Lyn   3–12   Tottenham Hotspur 3–6 0–6
    Viking   1–0   ÍBV 1–0 0–0
    Åtvidaberg   5–6   Club Brugge 3–5 2–1
    Sochaux   2–5   Frem 1–3 1–2
    Budapest Honvéd   4–0   Partick Thistle 1–0 3–0
    Köln   5–1   Bohemians 2–1 3–0
    Aberdeen   5–9   Borussia Mönchengladbach 2–3 3–6
    Angers   2–3   BFC Dynamo 1–1 1–2
    Feyenoord   21–0   Rumelange 9–0 12–0
    Manchester City   3–4   Valencia 2–2 1–2
    Nîmes   2–4   Grasshoppers 1–2 1–2
    Stoke City   3–5   Kaiserslautern 3–1 0–4
    Torino   2–4   Las Palmas 2–0 0–4
    Inter Milan   7–1   Valletta 6–1 1–0
    Vitória de Setúbal   6–2   Zagłębie Sosnowiec 6–1 0–1
    EPA Larnaca   0–2   Ararat Yerevan 0–1 0–1
    Eskişehirspor   1–5   Fiorentina 1–2 0–3
    Olympiacos   3–1   Cagliari 2–1 1–0
    Racing White   0–3   CUF Barreiro 0–1 0–2
    Porto   4–1   Barcelona 3–1 1–0
    Hvidovre   (w/o)1   HIFK Helsinki

    1 Hvidovre walkover, HIFK withdrew.

    Matches

    edit
    Liverpool  2–0  Eintracht Frankfurt
    • Keegan   12'
    • Hughes   75'
    Report
    Eintracht Frankfurt  0–0  Liverpool
    Report

    Liverpool won 2–0 on aggregate.


    UTA Arad  1–2  Norrköping
    Report
    Norrköping  2–0  UTA Arad
    Report

    Norrköping won 4–1 on aggregate.


    Universitatea Cluj  4–1  Levski-Spartak
    Report
    Levski-Spartak  5–1 (a.e.t.)  Universitatea Cluj
    Report

    Levski-Spartak won 6–5 on aggregate.


    AEK Athens  3–1  Salgótarján
    Report
    Salgótarján  1–1  AEK Athens
    Report

    AEK Athens won 4–2 on aggregate.


    Beroe Stara Zagora  7–0  Austria Wien
    Report
    Austria Wien  1–3  Beroe Stara Zagora
    Report

    Beroe Stara Zagora won 10–1 on aggregate.


    Dinamo Tbilisi  3–2  Twente
    Report
    Twente  2–0  Dinamo Tbilisi
    Report

    Twente won 4–2 on aggregate.


    Slovan Bratislava  6–0  Vojvodina
    Report
    Vojvodina  1–2  Slovan Bratislava
    Report

    Slovan Bratislava won 8–2 on aggregate.


    Ruch Chorzów  3–0  Fenerbahçe
    Report
    Fenerbahçe  1–0  Ruch Chorzów
    Report

    Ruch Chorzów won 3–1 on aggregate.


    Dynamo Dresden  2–0  VÖEST
    Report
    VÖEST  2–2  Dynamo Dresden
    Report

    Dynamo Dresden won 4–2 on aggregate.


    Red Star Belgrade  5–1  Lausanne-Sport
    Report
    Lausanne-Sport  3–2  Red Star Belgrade
    Report

    Red Star Belgrade won 7–4 on aggregate.


    Dukla Prague  2–2  OFK Beograd
    Report
    OFK Beograd  3–1  Dukla Prague
    Report

    OFK Beograd won 5–3 on aggregate.


    Lyn  3–6  Tottenham Hotspur
    Report
    Tottenham Hotspur  6–0  Lyn
    Report

    Tottenham Hotspur won 12–3 on aggregate.


    Viking  1–0  ÍBV
    Report
    ÍBV  0–0  Viking
    Report

    Viking won 1–0 on aggregate.


    Åtvidaberg  3–5  Club Brugge
    Report
    Club Brugge  1–2  Åtvidaberg
    Report

    Club Brugge won 6–5 on aggregate.


    Sochaux  1–3  Frem
    Report
    Frem  2–1  Sochaux
    Report

    Frem won 5–2 on aggregate.


    Budapest Honvéd  1–0  Partick Thistle
    Report
    Partick Thistle  0–3  Budapest Honvéd
    Report

    Budapest Honvéd won 4–0 on aggregate.


    Köln  2–1  Bohemians
    Report
    Bohemians  0–3  Köln
    Report

    Köln won 5–1 on aggregate.


    Aberdeen  2–3  Borussia Mönchengladbach
    Report
    Borussia Mönchengladbach  6–3  Aberdeen
    Report

    Borussia Mönchengladbach won 9–5 on aggregate.


    Angers  1–1  BFC Dynamo
    Report
    BFC Dynamo  2–1  Angers
    Report

    BFC Dynamo won 3–2 on aggregate.


    Feyenoord  9–0  Rumelange
    Report
    Rumelange  0–12  Feyenoord
    Report

    Feyenoord won 21–0 on aggregate.


    Manchester City  2–2  Valencia
    Report
    Valencia  2–1  Manchester City
    Report

    Valencia won 4–3 on aggregate.


    Nîmes  1–2  Grasshoppers
    Report
    Grasshoppers  2–1  Nîmes
    Report

    Grasshoppers won 4–2 on aggregate.


    Stoke City  3–1  Kaiserslautern
    Report
    Kaiserslautern  4–0  Stoke City
    Report

    Kaiserslautern won 5–3 on aggregate.


    Torino  2–0  Las Palmas
    Report
    Las Palmas  4–0  Torino
    Report

    Las Palmas won 4–2 on aggregate.


    Inter Milan  6–1  Valletta
    Report
    Attendance: 8,278
    Valletta  0–1  Inter Milan
    Report
    Attendance: 11,071

    Inter Milan won 7–1 on aggregate.


    Vitória de Setúbal  6–1  Zagłębie Sosnowiec
    Report
    Zagłębie Sosnowiec  1–0  Vitória de Setúbal
    Report

    Vitória de Setúbal won 6–2 on aggregate.


    EPA Larnaca  0–1  Ararat Yerevan
    Report
    Ararat Yerevan  1–0  EPA Larnaca
    Report

    Ararat Yerevan won 2–0 on aggregate.


    Eskişehirspor  1–2  Fiorentina
    Report
    Fiorentina  3–0  Eskişehirspor
    Report

    Fiorentina won 5–1 on aggregate.


    Olympiacos  2–1  Cagliari
    Report
    Cagliari  0–1  Olympiacos
    Report

    Olympiacos won 3–1 on aggregate.


    Racing White  0–1  CUF Barreiro
    Report
    CUF Barreiro  2–0  Racing White
    Report

    CUF Barreiro won 3–0 on aggregate.


    Porto  3–1  Barcelona
    Report
    Barcelona  0–1  Porto
    Report

    Porto won 4–1 on aggregate.


    Hvidovre  Cancelled  HIFK
    Report
    HIFK  Cancelled  Hvidovre
    Report

    Hvidovre walkover, HIFK withdrew.

    Second round

    edit

    Summary

    edit
    Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
    Viking   2–9   Köln 1–0 1–9
    Liverpool   6–1   AEK Athens 3–0 3–1
    Beroe Stara Zagora   3–1   Budapest Honvéd 3–0 0–1
    BFC Dynamo   3–2   Levski-Spartak 3–0 0–2
    Red Star Belgrade   4–1   Valencia 3–1 1–0
    CUF Barreiro   2–3   Kaiserslautern 1–3 1–0
    Ruch Chorzów   0–4   Dynamo Dresden 0–1 0–3
    Borussia Mönchengladbach   6–1   Hvidovre 3–0 3–1
    Frem   0–9   Twente 0–5 0–4
    Grasshoppers   3–7   Ararat Yerevan 1–3 2–4
    Feyenoord   5–5 (a)   OFK Beograd 4–3 1–2
    Tottenham Hotspur   4–1   Olympiacos 4–0 0–1
    Inter Milan   4–2   Norrköping 2–2 2–0
    Las Palmas   3–2   Slovan Bratislava 2–2 1–0
    Vitória de Setúbal   2–2 (a)   Fiorentina 1–0 1–2
    Porto   5–3   Club Brugge 3–0 2–3

    Matches

    edit
    Viking  1–0  Köln
    Report
    Köln  9–1  Viking
    Report

    Köln won 9–2 on aggregate.


    Liverpool  3–0  AEK Athens
    Report
    AEK Athens  1–3  Liverpool
    Report

    Liverpool won 6–1 on aggregate.


    Beroe Stara Zagora  3–0  Budapest Honvéd
    Report
    Budapest Honvéd  1–0  Beroe Stara Zagora
    Report

    Beroe Stara Zagora won 3–1 on aggregate.


    BFC Dynamo  3–0  Levski-Spartak