McGovern reflects on Forest title

Concluding our series on previous Santiago Bernabéu finals, UEFA.com hears from John McGovern, who captained Nottingham Forest FC to a 1-0 victory against Hamburger SV in the 1980 European Champion Clubs' Cup showpiece.

Brian Clough's Forest went into the match as holders having beaten Malmö FF 12 months earlier in Munich, where McGovern also skippered the side. John Robertson scored the only goal of the encounter during the first half in Madrid, finishing off a team move which involved his captain to continue England's stranglehold on Europe's premier club competition.

John McGovern
"The main threat that Hamburg had was Kevin Keegan, who was twice European Footballer of the Year, but we had Larry Lloyd and Kenny Burns at the centre of our defence. It was going to take something exceptional from Keegan to break them down before he got to Peter Shilton in goal who was arguably the best goalkeeper in the country at the time. We just knew that if we went out and played to our strengths, which was something the manager hammered into you week after week – that it's what you do, not the opposition – then you are going to win the game.

"It was a magnificent stadium and the other thing I remember was they were building another tier at the time. I think there were two or three tiers and they were building a fourth due to the clamour for season tickets from Real Madrid fans for their domestic season. Going out there you feel very proud to again be representing English football at that time, so you feel a little bit of a diplomat and I think it adds to the occasion.

"We got into our stride very quickly because we had a very passing side and John Robertson, who played in our wide-left position, was an absolute genius with the ball at his feet. I can remember the move starting on the right-hand side, in the right full-back position, and eventually it came from Martin O'Neill, through myself and Frank Gray, and ended up with John Robertson on the left wing. So we kept possession from one side of the field to the other and John Robertson then produced a piece of absolute brilliance by beating one full-back by jinking inside him, playing a one-two with Gary Birtles and then putting the ball in off the post.

"Keegan got a little bit frustrated as the match went on because in the second half, with us leading 1-0, we did take a bit of a pounding. They had the ball but that final trick or that final piece of brilliance was either smothered by us as a side or a shot was blocked by us and Peter Shilton.

"Clough was a disciplinarian, but even he couldn't stop the champagne flying about the dressing room on an occasion such as that. After, he said to me, 'Get your colours and tie on straight away because you're doing an interview'. A lot of the pictures were taken with the lads just in their towels and me with my coloured tie on and a lot of people said, 'How can he wear a tie after that?'.

"I said, 'I'm doing an interview as the captain', but the champagne was flowing freely and again there was just a little bit of respect from the manager by saying, 'We're going back to England, you represent English football and you have won the European Cup'. He said, 'You can go and get drunk somewhere else'.

"Their right-back, Manni Kaltz, hit the crossbar and nearly broke it with a thunderous shot. That was not the defining moment because John Robertson's goal is the defining moment, because that wins the game for us. But, having said that, when Kaltz hit the bar their heads sank a little bit and our chests rose a little bit, and maybe that one just put the odds in our favour."