So Close: Losing Finalists Quiz | Europe

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. France's first win in this major European club competition was in 1993, when Olympique Marseille defeated AC Milan. But right back at the beginning, in 1956, another French team could have been the first. Who lost out against mighty Real Madrid?

Answer: Stade Reims

The road to Paris for Stade Reims went over Danish outfit Aarhus (2-0, 2-2), Voros Lobogo from Hungary (4-2, 4-4), and Scottish club Hibernian (2-0, 1-0).
In the final, played in Paris, Stade Reims twice took the lead (2-0, 3-2) but lost 4-3 eventually. Three years later Ards from Northern Island (10-3), Standard Liege (7-0), and Swiss club BSC Young Boys (3-1, all scores on aggregate) couldn't stop Stade Reims getting to the final for the second time. But in Stuttgart Real Madrid proved to be too strong again, this time by the score of 2-0.

2. Juventus, AC Milan and Inter are household names when Italian club successes are concerned. But the first opportunity of Italian glory came down to a less fancied club. Which one?

Answer: Fiorentina

1957 European Cup: After a bye in the preliminary round Fiorentina got it going against Swedish side IFK Norrk�ping (2-1 on aggregate), Grasshopper Club from Switzerland (5-3 over all), and Red Star Belgrade (1-0 in total). In the final, played in Madrid, the home team (Rweal Madrid!) had a hard time defending its title, but managed eventually to do so. Goals in the 70th and 76th minute provided the 2-0 win.

3. Bayern Munich was the first German club to win the European Cup (in 1974). But 14 years prior to that another team might have gotten eternal fame first for Germany. Which club went down in an historic game at Hampden Park, back in 1960?

Answer: Eintracht Frankfurt

Eintracht Frankfurt had to overcome Finnish side (VPS Kuopio, walkover), Young Boys from Switzerland (5-2 on aggregate), Austrian side Wiener Sport Club (total score 3-2) and Glasgow Rangers from Scotland, thrashing it with scores of 6-1 and 6-3. In the final Eintracht Frankfurt received a drubbing itself. Richard Kress opened the score in the tenth minute, Erwin Stein added another in the 72nd minute, but by then Real Madrid had scored five goals.

In the end the score was 7-3, which made the game the highest scoring final in this competition. And an attendance of 135,000 spectators for a finakl was also a record.

4. In 1966, the European Cup was into its 11th year. Real Madrid won an incredible sixth European Cup (they won the first five 1956 to 1960) at the expense of a club from Yugoslavia. What was its representative?

Answer: Partizan Belgrade

Partizan had some tough nuts to crack on the road to Brussels with French club Nantes (4-2), Werder Bremen from Germany (3-1), Czechoslovakian side Sparta Prague (6-4) and Manchester United (2-1, all scores on aggregate). The win against Prague was particularly remarkable as Partizan had lost the first tie 4-1.

In the final the (then) Yugoslavs took the lead in the 55th minute through Velibor Vasovic, but twenty minutes later Madrid had turned it around to win it 2-1.

5. The greatest success in Greek football came in 2004 when the national team won the European title. But 33 years before that, a Greek club had an opportunity to give Greece a place in footballing history when they played the final of the European Cup. Which club suffered heartbreak at Wembley in 1971 losing that final?

Answer: Panathinaikos

After beating the likes of Jeunesse Esch of Luxembourg (7-1), Slovan Bratislava from Czechoslovakia (4-2), Everton (England 1-1 on aggregate, winning on away goals rule) and Red Star Belgrade (4-4, winning on away goals rule again), Panathinaikos was beaten 2-0 by Ajax, a club name after a Greek hero.

6. In the 1970s, Belgian football was a forced to be reckoned with, culminating in appearances in several finals in different European Cups. Which club played in the 1978 European Cup final, played at Wembley?

Answer: Club Bruges

An impressive series against PS Kuopio from Finland (4-0, 5-2), Panathinaikos (2-0, 0-1), Atletico Madrid (2-0, 2-3), and Italian giants Juventus (0-1, 2-0) , gave Bruges a deserved shot at the Cup. Liverpool, virtually playing on home soil, beat the Belgians 1-0 thanks to a goal halfway through the second half.

It was the second time these teams had met in three years. In 1976, the Liverpudlians had beaten Bruges 4-3 on aggregate in the UEFA Cup final.

7. The semi-final of 1979 saw some unusual names for European football. England was represented, as was Germany, but Nottingham Forest and Cologne were not as appealing as Liverpool or Bayern Munich. These two teams played each other. In the other tie Austria met Sweden. Austria was represented by FK Austria (from Vienna). What was the name of the Swedish side, which advanced to the final?

Answer: Malm� FF

Malm� eliminated Monaco (1-0), Dynamo Kiev (2-0) Wisla Krakow from Poland (5-3) and FK Austria (1-0, all scores on aggregate), before playing Nottingham Forest. The final in Munich was a dull affair. The only goal was scored just on the stroke of halftime (by Trevor Francis, Nottingham Forest).

8. Like Real Madrid, Bayern Munich had a habit of breaking hearts of aspiring clubs. In 1974, another Spanish team tried but failed to become the (at that time) second Spanish Club to win the Europena Cup, the predecessor of the Champions League. Which club am I talking about?

Answer: Atletico Madrid

Atletico might have become the second club from the Spanish capital to win this one, but went down in real dramatic fashion. After beating Galatasaray from Turkey (1-0, 0-0), Dinamo Bucharest (2-0, 2-2), Red Star Belgrade (2-0, 0-0) and Celtic (0-2, 0-0), Atletico thought it had won when Luis Aragon�s scored in the 114th minute.

But just one minute before the final whistle the Germans equalized. As there was not a penalty shootout, the game had to be replayed two days later. Utterly demoralized, Atletico lost 4-0.

9. In 1975 Bayern Munich struck again, winning back-to-back finals; this time at the expense of an English club. Which club was that?

Answer: Leeds United

Leeds United had eliminated FC Zurich (5-3 on aggregate), Ujpesti Dosza from Hungary (5-1 on aggregate), Anderlecht from Belgium (4-0 over all) and had defeated Barcelona in the semifinal (3-2 on aggregate). But in the Parc des Princes in Paris, Bayern didn't give the Yorkshire side a chance. Two goals in the second half were enough to give the German's their second of three consecutive European Cups.

10. In 1992 the European Cup was replaced by the Champions League. In its first year the clubs had to play qualifying rounds before a group phase decided who would get into the final. It became a Latin affair as Barcelona won one group. Who won the other, before losing to the Catalan club?

Answer: Sampdoria

The number of games played had increased by two with its conversion to the Champions League. Sampdoria had to overcome Norwegians Rosenborg BK (7-1) and the Hungarians of Kispest Honved (4-3, both on aggregate) to get to the group phase, where Red Star Belgrade, Anderlecht and Panathinaikos were the opponents. Red Star Belgrade was beaten 2-0 (at home) and 3-1 (away). Anderlecht lost 2-0 in Genoa, but on home ground the Belgians were the only side to beat the Italians (3-2). Against Panathinaikos Sampdoria drew twice (1-1, 0-0).

In the final, at Wembley, Sampdoria was able to hold out until the 112th minute when Barcelona scored the decider from a free kick.

Source: Author jaydel

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor gtho4 before going online.
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So Close: Losing Finalists Trivia Quiz

They might win it one day, but these ten clubs from nine different countries got into the final, sometimes even twice, only to become no more than a footnote in footballing history. Which were these clubs?

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