Crvena zvezda engraved its name on the European Cup on this day 29 years ago. On 29th May 1991 we beat Olimpique de Marseille at Stadio San Nicola in Bari to lift the most coveted trophy on the continent.
The 120 minutes of football that night were largely forgettable, but what came afterwards will forever live in hearts and minds of all red and whites. A nail-biting penalty shoot-out sent us right to the top as Darko Pančev scored the final penalty and kicked off the biggest celebration in our club’s glorious history.
An exciting, attacking brand of football was played by Ljupko Petrović’s side that season and the final was reached in style. But the wily tactician had an idea for the final – he was going to make sure his side stopped the talented French side from playing. “Do you want to play your way and lose or do you want to play my way and win the European Cup?” is the now-famous question Petrović asked his bemused players as the team prepared for the biggest match in club’s history. We may never know what the result would have been if the team stuck to the style that was used in earlier rounds, but we don’t really need to know – Crvena zvezda won, Crvena zvezda was crowned Champions of Europe.
Ground: Stadio San Nicola, Bari, Italy
Attendance: 56,000
Crvena zvezda: Stojanović, Jugović, Marović, Šabanadžović, Belodedić, Najdoski, Prosinečki, Mihajlović, Pančev, Savićević (Stošić 85’), Binić.
Head Coach: Ljubomir Petrović.
L’OM: Olmeta, Amoros, Di Meco (Stojković 111’), Boli, Mozer, Germain, Casoni, Waddle, Papin, Pele, Fournier (Vercruysse 75’).
Head Coach: Raymond Goethals