England has become one of the most successful countries in the most prestigious competition between European clubs, the Champions League or previously known as the Champions Cup. This was evidenced by the presence of five English clubs in the list of winners of the champions league title. Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest are clubs that have brought the reputation of the three lions country to European level.
Of the five clubs, the name Nottingham Forest may sound foreign to millennial era football lovers. Nottingham Forest Football Club is the name of an English football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham and currently plays in the English Championship League. Founded in 1865, the club has used the City Ground Stadium since 1898.
The club, which was founded 156 years ago, has recorded gold ink on the European football scene. At that time, Forest managed to win the Champions League, not only one but two at a time. This sweet event was achieved in a row, precisely in the 1978/79 and 1979/80 seasons. At the end of the 70’s Forest was indeed at its peak. In 1978/78, in the final match, Forest managed to beat the Swedish club, Malmö FF by a narrow score of 1-0 in a match that took place at the Olympiastadion, Munich.
Forest progressed to the Champions Cup final of the season after eliminating Liverpool, AEK Athens F.C., Grasshopper Club Zürich and 1. FC Köln in the previous round. On the other hand, Malmo, who also reached the final for the first time, was able to beat FC Dynamo Kyiv, Wisła Kraków, FK Austria Wien and AS Monaco FC.
Lucky charm sided with Forest a little when they faced Malmo, who was haunted by injuries in the final. Finally, Forest was able to overcome the Swedish representative thanks to Trevor Francis’ only goal with a header ahead of Half Time. Forest’s success in embracing the big ear trophy at that time followed in the footsteps of Manchester United and Liverpool who first tasted the sweetness of the European title.
The Champions League’s trophy returned to England in the following season, 1979/80. Again, Forest did it, they managed to defend the title after beating Hamburger SV 1-0 through a goal from John Robertson in the 20th minute. Before appearing in the final, Forest first had to overcome difficult obstacles, it was noted that the Swedish club, Östers IF they eliminated in the first round, then it was Argeș Pitești’s turn, and Berliner FC Dynamo who they defeated in the last 16 and quarter-finals.
Ajax Amsterdam became the opponent in the semi-finals, Forest was not afraid of the big name of the Dutch club who in that era was in its prime. And, as a result, Forest’s stunning game was able to beat Ajax at home with a score of 2-0. While in the second leg which took place in Amsterdam, Forest lost 0-1. However, these results led Nottingham Forest to advance to the final against Hamburger SV and finally the champion.
The triumph of Nottingham Forest on the European scene has confirmed its status as a top English club at that time. Before grabbing his first European trophy, Forest first dominated the English football competition. Despite being founded in 1865 and being one of England’s oldest clubs, Forest was only able to win the domestic league in the 1977/78 season. And the trophy is the only league title to date.
Not only that, in addition to the League title and champions cup, in his prime, Forest also won the league cup in the 1977/78 and 1978/79 seasons. The success of Nottingham Forest, of course, cannot be separated from a coach who worked on it. Behind their success in England and Europe, there is the figure of Brian Clough who with cold hands brought Nottingham Forest to the pinnacle of glory.
For the British public, Brian Clough is a talented coach, able to make the most of available resources, an accomplished motivator, and the darling of the local media whose comments are awaited for headlines. Clough, as The Guardian wrote, was the combination of arrogance, generosity and doubt that brought clubs like Nottingham Forest to glory on the European stage twice.
Brian Clough himself coached Nottingham Forest since 1976, before coaching Forest, he had coached Hartlepool United F.C., Derby County, Brighton & Hove Albion F.C., and Leeds United. Clough was also a player in the 50s and 60s when he played for Middlesbrough F.C. and Derby County.
It didn’t take long, Clough, who was accompanied by his assistant Peter Taylor, immediately brought Forest promotion to the first division of the English league by becoming third in the final standings of the second division in the 1976/77 season under Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. and Chelsea FC.
In the 1977/78 season, Nottingham Forest not only made a surprising appearance in the top division as a promotion team but also became the most successful team and won the Premier League that season. In addition to the English league title for the first time, Brian Clough is also one of the coaches who immediately won the league in the highest competition after being promoted from the second caste.
Clough’s luck didn’t stop there, even though he never won the English league again the following season, but he instead led Forest to become European champion for two consecutive seasons in 1979 and 1980. However, the glory does not necessarily last long. Entering the 1980s, Nottingham Forest’s achievements began to drag. They spend more time in mid-table than competing for the crown.
This situation was exacerbated by the deficit in the club’s financial cash and his conflict with Taylor, which again heated up, causing the two to separate in 1982 and never greeted him after that until Taylor’s death in 1990. Luckily, Clough still won the Premier League Cup in the 1988/89 and 1989/90 seasons. Clough ended his career as a coach in 1993 after 18 years coaching Nottingham Forest. Clough will always be remembered as one of the greatest coaches in mainland England. The current condition of Nottingham Forest is inversely proportional to their condition in the late 70s. They are back to being a mature team in English football like the phase before Brian Clough’s coach.
Since the last promotion to the Premier League in the 1998/99 season and finally having to relegate again in the 1999/2000 season as the caretaker of the standings, Nottingham Forest has never felt like moving up to the highest caste of competition in England. Until now, Nottingham Forest is still in the second tier of the English league (EFL Championship) and is in 18th place in the provisional standings. However, the two Champions League titles they have won will always remain neatly in history.
ASL
