Final Tournament (in Belgium)
Belgium
Manager: Raymond Goethals
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Christian Piot | 6 October 1947 (aged 24) | 23 | Standard Liège |
| 2 | DF | Georges Heylens | 8 August 1941 (aged 30) | 60 | Anderlecht |
| 3 | DF | Léon Dolmans | 6 April 1945 (aged 27) | 5 | Standard Liège |
| 4 | DF | Jean Thissen | 21 April 1946 (aged 26) | 23 | Standard Liège |
| 5 | MF | Erwin Vandendaele | 5 March 1945 (aged 27) | 11 | Club Brugge |
| 6 | FW | Jean Dockx | 24 May 1941 (aged 31) | 20 | Anderlecht |
| 7 | MF | Leon Semmeling | 4 January 1940 (aged 32) | 28 | Standard Liège |
| 8 | DF | Maurice Martens | 5 June 1947 (aged 25) | 4 | Molenbeek |
| 9 | FW | Raoul Lambert | 20 October 1944 (aged 27) | 13 | Club Brugge |
| 10 | FW | Paul van Himst (captain) | 2 October 1943 (aged 28) | 65 | Anderlecht |
| 11 | MF | Jan Verheyen | 9 July 1944 (aged 27) | 15 | Anderlecht |
| 12 | GK | Luc Sanders | 6 October 1945 (aged 26) | 0 | Club Brugge |
| 13 | DF | Gilbert van Binst | 5 July 1951 (aged 20) | 0 | Anderlecht |
| 14 | FW | Odilon Polleunis | 1 May 1943 (aged 29) | 15 | Sint-Truidense |
| 15 | FW | Jacques Teugels | 3 August 1946 (aged 25) | 7 | Molenbeek |
| 16 | MF | John Thio | 2 September 1944 (aged 27) | 17 | Club Brugge |
| 21 | FW | Frans Janssens | 25 September 1945 (aged 26) | 6 | Lierse |
Hungary
Manager: Rudolf Illovszky
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | István Géczi | 13 June 1944 (aged 28) | 13 | Ferencváros |
| 2 | DF | Tibor Fábián | 26 July 1946 (aged 25) | 9 | Vasas |
| 3 | DF | Miklós Páncsics | 4 February 1944 (aged 28) | 28 | Ferencváros |
| 4 | DF | Péter Juhász | 3 August 1948 (aged 23) | 15 | Újpesti Dózsa |
| 5 | FW | Lajos Szűcs | 10 December 1943 (aged 28) | 28 | Budapesti Honvéd |
| 6 | DF | László Bálint | 1 February 1948 (aged 24) | 6 | Ferencváros |
| 7 | MF | István Szőke | 13 February 1947 (aged 25) | 8 | Ferencváros |
| 8 | MF | Lajos Kocsis | 17 June 1947 (aged 24) | 17 | Budapesti Honvéd |
| 9 | FW | Ferenc Bene (captain) | 17 December 1944 (aged 27) | 60 | Újpesti Dózsa |
| 10 | MF | Lajos Kű | 5 July 1948 (aged 23) | 3 | Ferencváros |
| 11 | FW | Sándor Zámbó | 10 October 1944 (aged 27) | 24 | Újpesti Dózsa |
| 12 | MF | István Juhász | 17 July 1945 (aged 26) | 13 | Ferencváros |
| 15 | FW | Antal Dunai | 21 March 1943 (aged 29) | 22 | Újpesti Dózsa |
| 16 | MF | József Kovács | 8 April 1949 (aged 23) | 3 | Videoton |
| 20 | MF | Mihály Kozma | 1 November 1949 (aged 22) | 5 | Budapesti Honvéd |
| 22 | GK | Imre Rapp | 15 September 1937 (aged 34) | 0 | Pécsi MSC |
| 24 | MF | Flórián Albert | 15 September 1941 (aged 30) | 72 | Ferencváros |
Soviet Union
Manager: Aleksandr Ponomarev
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Yevhen Rudakov | 2 January 1942 (aged 30) | 23 | Dynamo Kyiv |
| 2 | DF | Revaz Dzodzuashvili | 10 April 1945 (aged 27) | 28 | Dinamo Tbilisi |
| 3 | MF | Murtaz Khurtsilava (captain) | 5 January 1943 (aged 29) | 52 | Dinamo Tbilisi |
| 4 | DF | Nikolay Abramov | 5 January 1950 (aged 22) | 2 | Spartak Moscow |
| 5 | DF | Viktor Matviyenko | 9 November 1948 (aged 23) | 6 | Dynamo Kyiv |
| 6 | MF | Viktor Kolotov | 3 July 1949 (aged 22) | 14 | Dynamo Kyiv |
| 7 | DF | Vladimir Troshkin | 28 September 1947 (aged 24) | 5 | Dynamo Kyiv |
| 8 | MF | Anatoly Baidachny | 1 October 1952 (aged 19) | 3 | Dynamo Moscow |
| 9 | FW | Anatoliy Banishevskiy | 23 December 1946 (aged 25) | 48 | Neftchi Baku |
| 10 | MF | Vladimir Muntyan | 14 September 1946 (aged 25) | 29 | Dynamo Kyiv |
| 11 | MF | Oleg Dolmatov | 29 November 1948 (aged 23) | 6 | Dynamo Moscow |
| 12 | DF | Vladimir Kaplichny | 26 May 1944 (aged 28) | 38 | CSKA Moscow |
| 13 | DF | Yuri Istomin | 3 July 1944 (aged 27) | 26 | CSKA Moscow |
| 14 | MF | Anatoliy Konkov | 19 September 1949 (aged 22) | 8 | Shakhtar Donetsk |
| 15 | FW | Eduard Kozynkevych | 23 May 1949 (aged 23) | 5 | Karpaty Lviv |
| 16 | FW | Givi Nodia | 2 January 1948 (aged 24) | 18 | Dinamo Tbilisi |
| 18 | FW | Volodymyr Onyshchenko | 28 October 1949 (aged 22) | 1 | Zorya Voroshylovhrad |
| 19 | GK | Vladimir Pilguy | 26 January 1948 (aged 24) | 1 | Dynamo Moscow |
| 20 | GK | Viktor Bannikov | 28 April 1938 (aged 34) | 12 | Torpedo Moscow |
| 21 | DF | Mykhailo Fomenko | 19 September 1948 (aged 23) | 0 | Dynamo Kyiv |
| 22 | FW | Levon Ishtoyan | 3 September 1947 (aged 24) | 6 | Ararat Yerevan |
West Germany
Manager: Helmut Schön
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Sepp Maier | 28 February 1944 (aged 28) | 40 | Bayern Munich |
| 2 | DF | Horst-Dieter Höttges | 10 September 1943 (aged 28) | 53 | Werder Bremen |
| 3 | DF | Paul Breitner | 5 September 1951 (aged 20) | 7 | Bayern Munich |
| 4 | DF | Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck | 3 April 1948 (aged 24) | 12 | Bayern Munich |
| 5 | DF | Franz Beckenbauer (captain) | 11 September 1945 (aged 26) | 61 | Bayern Munich |
| 6 | MF | Herbert Wimmer | 9 November 1944 (aged 27) | 16 | Borussia Mönchengladbach |
| 7 | FW | Jürgen Grabowski | 7 July 1944 (aged 27) | 26 | Eintracht Frankfurt |
| 8 | FW | Uli Hoeneß | 5 January 1952 (aged 20) | 10 | Bayern Munich |
| 9 | FW | Jupp Heynckes | 9 May 1945 (aged 27) | 17 | Borussia Mönchengladbach |
| 10 | MF | Günter Netzer | 14 September 1944 (aged 27) | 29 | Borussia Mönchengladbach |
| 11 | FW | Erwin Kremers | 23 March 1949 (aged 23) | 2 | Schalke 04 |
| 13 | FW | Gerd Müller | 3 November 1945 (aged 26) | 40 | Bayern Munich |
| 14 | DF | Berti Vogts | 30 December 1946 (aged 25) | 42 | Borussia Mönchengladbach |
| 15 | MF | Rainer Bonhof | 29 March 1952 (aged 20) | 1 | Borussia Mönchengladbach |
| 16 | DF | Michael Bella | 29 September 1945 (aged 26) | 4 | MSV Duisburg |
| 17 | FW | Johannes Löhr | 5 July 1942 (aged 29) | 20 | 1. FC Köln |
| 18 | MF | Horst Köppel | 17 May 1948 (aged 24) | 9 | Borussia Mönchengladbach |
| 22 | GK | Wolfgang Kleff | 16 November 1946 (aged 25) | 2 | Borussia Mönchengladbach |
SEMIFINALS
Antwerpen, June 14, Bosuil West Germany 2-1 Belgium [G.Müller 24, 71; Polleunis 83] [ref: Mullen (Scotland); att: 56,000]
West Germany: Maier, Höttges, Beckenbauer, Schwarzenbeck, Breitner, U.Hoeneß (Grabowski 58), Wimmer, Netzer, Heynckes, G.Müller, E.Kremers
Belgium: Piot, Heylens, Van den Daele, Thissen, Dolmans, Dockx, Verheyen, M.Martens (Polleunis 70), Semmeling, Van Himst, Lambert
Brussel, June 14, Astridpark Soviet Union 1-0 Hungary [Konkov 53] [missed penalty: Zámbö 85 (saved)] [ref: Glöckner (East Germany); att: 2,000]
Soviet Union: Rudakov, Dzodzuashvili, Kaplichny, Istomin, Khurtsilava, Kolotov, Troshkin, Baidachni, Banishevski (70 G.Nodia), Konkov, Onishenko
Hungary: Géczi, Fábián, Páncsics, Bálint, P.Juhász, I.Juhász, Kocsis (60 Albert), Kü, Szöke, Bene (60 A.Dunai), Zámbö
MATCH FOR THIRD PLACE Ličge, June 17, Stade Sclessin Belgium 2-1
Hungary [Lambert 24, Van Himst 28, Kü 53pen] [ref: Boström (Sweden); att: 9,000] Belgium: Piot, Heylens, Van den Daele, Thissen, Dolmans, Dockx, Verheyen, Polleunis, Semmeling, Van Himst, Lambert
Hungary: Géczi, Fábián, Páncsics, Bálint, P.Juhász, I.Juhász, Kü, Abert, Kozma, A.Dunai, Zámbö (46 Szücs)
FINAL Bruxelles, June 18, Stade Heysel West Germany 3-0 Soviet Union [G.Müller 27, 58, Wimmer 52] [ref: Marschall (Austria), att: 50,000]
West Germany: Maier, Höttges, Beckenbauer, Schwarzenbeck, Breitner, U.Hoeneß, Wimmer, Netzer, Heynckes, G.Müller, E.Kremers
Soviet Union: Rudakov, Dzodzuashvili, Kaplichny, Istomin, Khurtsilava, Kolotov, Troshkin, Baidachni, Banishevsky (66 Kozinkevich), Konkov (46 Dolmatov), Onishenko
Topscorer overall: G.Müller (West Germany) 11 goals
Topscorer final tournament: G.Müller (West Germany) 4 goals
The centre-forward Pano often had to play behind his own goalkeeper, the observers said. The Albanians spent most time in desperate defense, involving everybody.
Yet, the goalie Muhedini had to fish out the ball from his net.
They dominated the matches: on this occasion the left winger Marashliev did not reach the ball, but there are three Bulgarian players and only two Albanians.
And here the goalie is alone and desperate against two strikers. Clumsy too, Muhedini.
European ¼ finals. 
[Apr 30, Beograd]
West Germany brilliantly won the European championship. Before that they eliminated England, beating the Brits at their hoem in one of best ever football clashes. The sheer magic of this squad will never be repeated and maybe only the team of 1980 came relatively close. It was not the selection as such, but the way they played. Total football at its best. 
Velibor Vasovic ended his illustious career. Born in Pozarevac, Yugoslavia in 1939, he debuted for Partizan (Belgrade) 18-years and quickly established himself as a key defender and big part of very talented generation of the club. 
Two years after his debut, he played his first match for the national team of Yugoslavia. However, he was no stranger to controversy, embiterring the fans of Yugoslavian archrivals: in the summer of 1963 he moved to Crvena zvezda and 6 months later moved back to Partizan. Transfers between Partizan and Crvena zvezda were and are rare and disliked by fans: usually players moving from their original club to the enemy are considered traitors – and in less than a year Vasovic betrayed both clubs. The scandal loomed quickly, Vasovic got death threats, including one from army officer, promissing to kill him during a match with a sniper rifle. There were organized fan protests and high-ranking officials were heavily involved in the saga. Vasovic’s motivation was money – he openly offered himself to whoever will pay more: at first Crvena zvezda gave him about 5 million Yugoslavian dinnars. Six months later Partizan gave him more to move back to them – and he did. Crvena zvezda refused to transfer him and Vasovic was out of the game – after sitting out, he was instructed by Partizan’s vice-president to meet the Federal Interior Secretary of Yugoslavia and beg him to resolve the situation. He managed to organize a meeting with FI Secretary and although nothing was promissed, he was able to return to Partizan a few months later – in exchange for another Partizan;s star , desired by Crvena zvezda. The saga made him not exactly welcome in Partizan – both fans and players saw his stunt as blackmail for money, forcing two clubs to accommodate his greed. Meantime Partizan was divided by internal struggle between the club’s president and its general-secretary. This further divided the team – now two sides, each supporting one of the bosses fought. Vasovic supported the president, but 3 big stars were leading the opposition and after the general-secretary was dismissed they started a mutiny – half of the team refused to travel for a championship game in Skopje, including the coach. The scandal reached to top of the political leadership of Yugoslavia and Josip Broz Tito solved the problems by dismissing and moving to another parts of the country the officers involved (Partizan was the Army club, thus governed by high-ranking officers) and appointing civilian club president. Curiously, all that did not affect the quality of the team and paricularly Vasovic. 
Crvena zvezda in 1963: standing from left: S
The Champions Cup finalists, standing from left:
Partizan lost the final to Real Madrid 1-2, but Vasovic scored the goal for Partizan, actually opening a lead in the 55th minute. Real managed to equalize in the 70th minute. Vasovic was paired with Mihajlovic in the center of defence. And top form propelled Mihajlovic to the national team just when, ironically, Vasovic was exiting it: Mihajlovic played his first match for Yugoslavia in 1966 – Vasovic played his last match that same year. 
Yugoslavia in June1966 vs West Germany. From left: Stjepan Lamza, Spasoje Samardžić, Žika Jevtić, Dragan Gugleta, Vojislav Melić, Josip Skoblar, Stevan Sekereš, Vinko Kuci, Slaven Zambata, Ilija Pantelić, Velibor Vasović. 
Rinus Michels watched the Real-Partizan final and Vasovic impressed him. He needed classy defender, able to attack – aggressive and even arrogant defender with skills and experience, capable to read and organize the game. Vasovic was apaprently just that what Michels needed for his vision of total football and Vasovic was more than keen to such a concept. Michels quickly paired him with 19-years old Barry Hulshoff and the due clicked immediately. Vasovic qiuckly became the mentor for the talented squad, for most of the future great stars were still very young, Johan Cruijff included. The Yugoslav fittted perfectly and was big part of the ascent of Ajax. In 1969 the Dutch reached the Champions Cup final for the first time and met Milan. The team was still young and far from perfect and the Italians were at their peak – Ajax lost 1-4. 
Vasovic (outside the picture) scored Ajax’s goal. 2 goals in 2 finals – not bad for a defender (although by 1969 he was playing more like a libero than traditional sweeper). 
By 1971 he was captaining Ajax and seemingly at the end of his days in Holland – it was rumored that he will be returning to Partizan. But not without a triumph:
He captained Ajax at the Champions Cup final against Panathinaikos and at his third attempt won the cup. 
The picture of the Champions Cup winners is too well known, so this one – the squad is the same. Cruijff next to Vasovic, close enough but in secondary position to his captain. Others of this team will become better known and memorized, yet, without the contribution of Velibor Vasovic they would not be that famous. And Vasovic left… not just Ajax, but football. He retired just on time: glorious winner. One may say he called it a day prematurely – he was 32 and fit, surely could have played a few years more… but it was not common knowledge that he had asthma and played top-level football 13 years, suffering from it. Perhaps his condition played a role in his retirement, but no matter the reason the timing was perfect: on top of the world, ending as a winner. And he was the only defender scoring 2 goals at the finals until 2016, when Sergio Ramos scored his second goal. 
Standing from left: 
Taj (Tehran) was the first champion of Iran.