Excitement enveloped the entire city of Cardiff in early 1970. The youth in the capital of Wales were immersed in joy, welcoming the draw for the quarter-final match of the 1970/71 Cup Winners’ Cup.
At that time, the outpouring of joy was not only felt by the entire Cardiff football public. The Cardiff City FC players also did not escape the euphoria of welcoming the draw for the match that brought them together with Real Madrid. Moreover, in the match which was held over two legs, Cardiff City had the opportunity to host first.
For Cardiff City and its supporters, hosting Real Madrid is a great honor. They are preparing to welcome the arrival of the king of European football.
Real Madrid’s status is renowned as the most successful team in Europe. On the Champions Cup stage (Champions League), which is the most prestigious event in European competition, Madrid has the status of collecting the most titles with six trophies. Madrid was then seen as the king of European football at that time.
“I can remember the euphoria among the youth and people of the town when the draw for the match was announced. For me, this was the best moment, because Real Madrid not only played at Ninian Park (Cardiff City’s home ground), but we also had the opportunity to play at Santiago Bernabeu. Interesting. “I’ve seen them on television, but never even dreamed of playing against them,” recalled Cardiff City player at the time, Gerry Bell, as reported by Wales Online.
In the 1970/71 season, Madrid was actually experiencing difficult times. On the La Liga stage, Los Blancos stumbled in fourth place. In the Champions Cup, they were just as struggling. In fact, since the 1965/66 season, Madrid has never won this event again.
But who cares, Madrid is still the king of European football. The enthusiasm of the Cardiff football public for watching this match remains high. For them, this is a great opportunity to see Amancio Amaro and friends in action directly.
A week before the match, there was minor chaos at several ticket sales locations. The queue was long, and occasionally some fans got involved in a little chaos. Bell said that they all wanted to see the great Real Madrid.
In the midst of the chaos that occurred at the ticket sales point, at the training camp, the Cardiff City players tried their best to prepare themselves so as not to be embarrassed by the king. The tension was felt by all the players. Facing Madrid, it was like facing a final match.
Jimmy Scoular, Cardiff City manager at that time, realized that the intense tension his team felt ahead of the match was not a good situation. He continues to provide stimulus so that his players can be calmer facing the match. To his players, Scoular said that playing against Madrid was the same as other matches and did not need to be overreacted.
Scoular’s efforts to reduce the tension of his players were not in vain. Gradually, the atmosphere in the Cardiff City dressing room began to lighten up. The players can control themselves. There is no more tension, there is only motivation to win the match against Real Madrid, the Emperor of European football.
“The week before the game, the conditions were really crazy, but as the game got closer, we felt better. Jimmy Scoular kept everyone’s feet on the ground. He ensured that the match was a normal match. “Jimmy said that we could beat Real Madrid,” continued Gerry Bell.
On Wednesday, March 10 1970, tens of thousands of people flocked to Ninian Stadium. Their goal was to watch the big match between Cardiff City FC and Real Madrid.
Moments before the match started, Ninian Park became increasingly crowded with spectators. Cardiff City’s headquarters actually has a capacity of 47,500 seats, but during the match, the number of spectators present exceeded capacity.
It is estimated that more than 55 thousand people were in the stands watching Cardiff City FC’s match against Real Madrid. The excess capacity of spectators at Ninian Park at that time was due to the large number of spectators without tickets forcing their way in by climbing the stadium walls. Luckily, nothing untoward happened.
When the match started, the fans were shocked by Madrid’s defensive play. Control of the game also belonged to Cardiff City. When the match entered the 31st minute, Ninian Park roared, welcoming Cardiff City’s goal scored by Brian Clark. Clark managed to convert Nigel Rees’ cross with a header that ripped straight into Madrid’s goal.
“No goal has ever given me greater pleasure and I don’t think I will ever get one again. Scoring the only goal of the game was a treat. But to score it against Real Madrid, it was something I had only dreamed of before.” Clark recalled.
Cardiff continued to attack Madrid’s defense, but no additional goals were scored until the match was over. When the referee blew the whistle to signal the end of the match, the spectators who were initially sitting in the stadium stands ran onto the field, welcoming the victory. The atmosphere after the match was like a championship celebration.
The Cardiff players celebrated the win with a champagne party in the dressing room. Apart from that, several players also visited the Madrid dressing room to just chat with their idol players and ask for jerseys as souvenirs.
Cardiff City, performed superbly at Ninian Park. Real Madrid coach, Miguel Munoz, praised Cardiff’s attacking playing pattern. Munoz said that The Bluebirds could actually win with a bigger score.
However, Cardiff failed to maintain their impressive performance in the second leg. Visiting the Santiago Bernabeu, Cardiff lost two goals without reply. This defeat meant they failed to reach the semifinals because they lost 1-2 on aggregate.
Even so, the defeat at the Bernabeu did not reduce the joy of Cardiff City players and supporters when they beat Madrid in the first leg. They consider this victory as their proudest moment. The victory over Madrid at Ninian Park is seen as the biggest win in Cardiff City’s history.
ASL
