Total Football Made it Three

AFC Ajax 1-0 Juventus FC
What the rest of the soccer world would learn at the following summer's FIFA World Cup finals in West Germany, Europe knew for sure in May 1973. Namely, that there was something very special about the generation of AFC Ajax players led by Johan Cruyff. The Amsterdam club had written another chapter in gold in the history of the European Champion Clubs' Cup when a 1-0 triumph over Juventus FC in the final in Belgrade made them the first side since Real Madrid CF in the 1950s to lift the famous trophy three years running.

Rep winner
An achievement made all the more remarkable because nine players had figured in all three matches. Yet the narrow margin of this victory - Johnny Rep scored the only goal on four minutes - was no reflection of their overall superiority. More indicative were the 1-0 win at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium which gave them a 3-1 aggregate success over Madrid in the semi-finals; the 4-0 dismantling of FC Bayern München which preceded it; and the easy progress past FC CSKA Sofia in the Second Round.

Derby undone
But while Ajax deserved their star status, there were complaints against Juventus's second billing. Having beaten Újpesti TE on away goals in the quarter-finals, the Turin club were then involved in a controversial semi-final with Derby County FC. The tie was decided in the first leg in Italy, which ended 3-1 to the home side, but the result was marred by English protests about the performance of the German referee.
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source:http://www.uefa.com/news/newsid=389773,printer.htmx

Total Football Champion 0f 1970-71

AFC Ajax 2-0 Panathinaikos FC
Totaal voetbal: a fluid form of catenaccio or total football? Whatever it was, it worked and in 1970/71 its chief exponent, AFC Ajax, were European champions. The Amsterdam side took over the mantle from Dutch rivals Feyenoord, the holders having been waylaid in the First Round by Romania's FC UTA Arad. That result was in keeping with the rest of the competition, for with no Real Madrid CF in the field, the underdogs were well and truly let out; indeed, only two of the 33 teams involved were previous winners.

Rule changes
Ajax accounted for the other, Celtic FC, in the quarter-finals, along with 17 Nëntori Tirana, FC Basel and Club Atlético de Madrid. In the other half of the draw, Panathinaikos FC benefited from a couple of rule changes to become the first Greek finalist. UEFA had introduced the penalty shoot-out as a way of deciding drawn ties - doing away with the unsatisfactory tossing of a coin. They had also decided that the away-goals' rule should apply to all rounds, and not just the first two as had been the case.

Haan strikes
The latter change helped Ferenc Puskás's side past Everton FC - conquerors of VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach in the cup's first penalty drama - in the quarter-finals, then FK Crvena Zvezda in the semis. Here Panathinaikos overturned a 4-1 defeat in Belgrade to win the return 3-0 with two goals from Anton Antoniadis. The final was all Ajax, though. Dick van Dijk was first to show, putting Rinus Michel's team into an early lead; and with Johan Cruyff pulling the strings, Arie Haan sealed the victory on 87 minutes.
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source:http://www.uefa.com/news/newsid=389765,printer.htmx

Total Football vs Catenaccio

AFC Ajax 2-0 Internazionale FC
AFC Ajax were again the team to beat in 1971/72, and that no one managed to stop them shows how firm a grip they had on the European game. Not even a change of coach, the Romanian Stefan Kovacs replacing Rinus Michels, could halt the perpetual motion of Johan Cruyff and friends.
Ajax advance1. FC Dynamo Dresden, Olympique de Marseille, Arsenal FC and SL Benfica, all were swept aside as the holders marched to a third European Champion Clubs' Cup final in four years. Benfica ran them close before losing to a single Cruyff goal over the two legs of their semi-final; but Ajax were through to meet Internazionale FC at the Feyenoord stadium.
Boninsegna injuredWhile the venue was Dutch, events along the road to Rotterdam suggested the football fates could yet throw up an Italian victory. Indeed, conspiracy theorists might have pointed to Inter's second-round defeat of VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach, when thrashed 7-1 in Germany in the first leg, the Italian side had been lucky to earn a reprieve from UEFA amid complaints that centre forward Roberto Boninsegna had been hit by a drinks can thrown from the crowd.
Catenaccio defeatedThe Nerazzurri eventually prevailed 4-2 on aggregate, then overcame Celtic FC on penalties after a goalless semi-final. But hopes of an Inter hat-trick in the competition were extinguished at De Kuip. Aided and abetted by Neeskens, Blankenburg, Muhren, Haan and Krol, Cruyff was twice on target in a comprehensive Ajax victory. The final score: Total Football 2 Catenaccio 0.
©uefa.com 1998-2008. All rights reserved.
source: http://www.uefa.com/news/newsid=389768,printer.htmx