1995/96: European first for Paris Saint-Germain

Paris Saint-Germain FC 1-0 SK Rapid Wien
Roi Baudouin Stadium, Brussels

Eleven years after the Heysel disaster, Brussels again hosted a European final and, for the first time, the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup was won by a French team. Luís Fernández’s Paris Saint-Germain FC side demonstrated that it meant business by eliminating Parma AC in the quarter-finals, with two Raí penalties and a strike by Patrice Loko allowing them to overhaul a 1-0 first-leg deficit. They then showed grit and concentration in beating Deportivo 1-0 in La Coruña and Paris, with Youri Djorkaeff and Loko providing the goals.

Robson regrets Rapid's win
SK Rapid Wien began to grab headlines in the second round. After losing 2-0 to Bobby Robson’s Sporting Clube de Portugal in Lisbon, a 90th minute goal by Christian Stumpf in Vienna forced extra-time. Stumpf and Carsten Jancker added two more goals and provoked Robson’s dismissal. After a 4-0 aggregate win over Dinamo Moscow in the quarter-finals, Jancker scored the goal which earned a 1-1 away draw with Feyenoord and struck two more as Rapid powered to a 3-0 home victory.

Rapid's demise
Sadly, Ernst Dukopil’s side under-performed in the final watched by 36,000 fans. With Youri Djorkaeff pulling the strings, PSG created chance after chance but failed to convert them into a convincing scoreline. The only goal of the final came after half an hour when Djorkaeff touched a free-kick to his right and Bruno N’Gotty let fly from long range. A deflection off Peter Schöttel’s knee gave goalkeeper Michael Konsel, a survivor from SK Rapid’s previous final in 1985, no chance to make the save.