Ajax 5–1 Liverpool (1966)

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De Mistwedstrijd
)

Ajax 5–1 Liverpool (1966)
Johan Cruyff about to strike the ball, with defender Tommy Smith nearby
Event1966–67 European Cup second round first leg
Ajax Liverpool
Netherlands England
5 1
Date7 December 1966
VenueOlympic Stadium, Amsterdam
RefereeAntonio Sbardella (Italy)
Attendance55,722

Ajax 5–1 Liverpool was a football match between Ajax and Liverpool on 7 December 1966 at the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It was the first leg of a second round tie in the 1966–67 European Cup. The match was given the Dutch title "De Mistwedstrijd" (Dutch pronunciation: [də ˈmɪstˌʋɛt.strɛi̯t]; "The Fog Match") as it was played in dense fog.

Ajax were competing in the European Cup for the third time, they had qualified as winners of the 1965–66 Eredivisie. They were drawn against Turkish team Beşiktaş in the first round, who they beat 4–1 over two-legs. This was Liverpool's second appearance in the European Cup: they had reached the semi-finals during the 1964–65 season, losing to eventual winners Internazionale. Their opponents in the first round were Petrolul Ploiești of Romania, whom they beat 2–0 in a play-off match after the two-leg tie resulted in a 3–3 scoreline.

Watched by a crowd of 55,722, Ajax took the lead in the third minute when Cees de Wolf scored. They extended their lead in the 17th minute courtesy of a Johan Cruyff goal. Two more goals scored by forward Klaas Nuninga meant Ajax had a 4–0 lead at half-time. Ajax further extended their lead in the second half with a goal by Henk Groot. Liverpool only managed a late consolation goal when defender Chris Lawler scored in the 89th minute, and the game ended 5–1 to Ajax. The spectators could not really see much of the match due to the fog's density and at times could only tell by the celebration of the team when a goal was scored.

A 2–2 draw in the second leg meant that Ajax progressed to the quarter-finals courtesy of a 7–3 aggregate victory. They would lose to Czech side

in European competition
.

Background

Main article: 1966–67 European Cup

Both teams had qualified for the European Cup by winning their respective national league championships. Ajax won the

Leeds United.[2]

Ajax faced Turkish team

Ian St. John and Ian Callaghan. Petrolul Ploiești won the second leg 3–1 in Romania to level the tie at 3–3 after the two matches. The tie would be decided by a play-off match, which Liverpool 2–0 to progress to the second round.[3]

Ajax had little success

2–1 against German team Borussia Dortmund.[5]

Liverpool were among the favourites to win the competition while Ajax were virtually unknown outside of the Netherlands. Liverpool manager Bill Shankly had made a scouting trip to watch Ajax before the match and witnessing them lose to lowly opposition returned confident Liverpool would progress.[6] A few of Liverpool's players, including striker Roger Hunt, were part of England's victorious World Cup campaign in 1966. Ajax were coming out of a poor period, after they had finished in 13th place in the 1964–65 Eredivisie, while the Netherlands national team had yet to make an impression on the international stage. The board of Ajax decided to hire Rinus Michels. He changed the team's formation to a 4–2–4, with an emphasis on passing and possession of the ball. The team showed improvement, winning the Eredivisie in his first full season in charge.[7]

Match

Ajax normally played their home matches at the De Meer Stadion. However, as demand for tickets to watch the match was high, it was switched to the higher-capacity Olympic Stadium. Amsterdam suffered from heavy fog in the 24 hours before the match was due to start, and with the fog not abating before kick-off, it was debated whether to go ahead with the match. One option was to postpone the match, which Liverpool manager Bill Shankly favoured. He was less keen on the match being replayed the next day as Liverpool were scheduled to face Manchester United in the next few days.[8] The referee Antonio Sbardella decided to go ahead with the match, despite visibility reportedly being down to 50 yards (46 m).[9]

First half

Klaas Nuninga scoring Ajax's fourth goal.

Ajax opened the scoring in the third minute when Cees de Wolf, who was making his debut for Ajax, scored. A throw-in by Cruyff was headed into the air, Liverpool goalkeeper Tommy Lawrence came to collect the ball. Realising he could not reach it, he moved back towards his goal, but de Wolf outjumped defender Chris Lawler to head the ball into the Liverpool goal.[10] The conditions were so poor, that the crowd celebrated in stages. Those closest to the goal celebrated immediately, while those at the other end of the stadium reacted to these celebrations.[8] Liverpool striker Hunt had a chance to score in the 12th minute, but his shot was saved by Ajax goalkeeper Gert Bals.[11] Following the goal Ajax continued to attack, midfielder Sjaak Swart ran past three Liverpool players before passing the ball to Klaas Nuninga, whose shot was saved by Liverpool goalkeeper Lawrence. However, Lawrence dropped the ball near Johan Cruyff, who scored to give Ajax a 2–0 lead.[12]

The conditions were so bad that when Liverpool coach

Tommy Smith fouled Cruyff outside the Liverpool penalty area. The subsequent free-kick taken by Frits Soetekouw was not cleared by the Liverpool defence and the ball rebounded to Nuninga, who scored to give Ajax a 3–0 lead.[10] The conditions did not only affect the Liverpool players. Towards the end of the first half, the referee blew his whistle. Swart, assuming that he had signalled half-time began to walk off the pitch, was stopped by a steward who pointed out that the match was still ongoing. He re-entered the pitch, received the ball and crossed the ball for Nuninga, who scored to make it 4–0.[13]

Second half

Johan Cruyff, Chris Lawler and Klaas Nuninga heading off the pitch after the final result.Tommy Smith is in the background

Liverpool came out in the second half determined to atone for their first-half performance. They forced Ajax into their own half of the pitch for majority of the second half but were unable to make their advantage count.[9] Smith had a chance to score 25 yards (23 m) from the Ajax goal, but his shot was saved by Bals.[10] Defender Ron Yeats also had a chance to score in the 61st minute, but his header was stopped by Bals.[10] A minute later Smith was cautioned for a foul on Nuninga and Ajax's Bennie Muller was also booked in the 70th minute.[11]

Liverpool had another chance to score in the 73rd minute, but Geoff Strong's shot following a corner went over the crossbar.[11] Ajax extended their lead towards the end of the half when they counter-attacked and scored courtesy of Groot. Liverpool managed to score in the last minute through Lawler, but they were unable to score any further goals and lost the match 5–1.[9]

Details

Ajax Netherlands5–1England Liverpool
De Wolf 3'
Cruyff 17'
Nuninga 38', 42'
Groot 75'		 Report Lawler 89'
Attendance: 55,722
Ajax
Liverpool
GK 1 Netherlands Gert Bals
RB 2 Netherlands Wim Suurbier
CB 3
Tonny Pronk
CB 4 Netherlands Frits Soetekouw (c)
LB 5 Netherlands Theo van Duivenbode
CM 6 Netherlands Henk Groot
CM 7 Netherlands Bennie Muller Yellow card 70'
RF 8 Netherlands Sjaak Swart
CF 9 Netherlands Johan Cruyff
CF 10 Netherlands Klaas Nuninga
LF 11 Netherlands Cees de Wolf
Manager:
Netherlands Rinus Michels
GK 1 Scotland Tommy Lawrence
RB 2 England Chris Lawler
LB 3 Scotland Bobby Graham
RH 4
Tommy Smith
 Yellow card 62'
CH 5 Scotland Ron Yeats (c)
LH 6 Scotland Willie Stevenson
RW 7 England Ian Callaghan
IR 8 England Roger Hunt
CF 9
Ian St. John
IL 10 England Geoff Strong
LW 11 England Peter Thompson
Manager:
Scotland Bill Shankly

Aftermath

Ajax manager Rinus Michels saw Ajax's victory as evidence that they could compete against Europe's best teams.

Following the first leg, Shankly was adamant that Liverpool would still progress: "This tie is by no means over yet. We will win easily. We will smash in at least seven goals. This was ridiculous. Ajax played defensive football on their own ground. We never play well against defensive teams."[9] Such was the shock at the result that Shankly's claim was taken seriously.[14] The defeat convinced Shankly that adopting Ajax's patient, passing style was the key to success in Europe.[15] The defeat is still Liverpool's record defeat in European competition.[16] Michels was worried that Liverpool might adopt aggressive tactics in the second leg: "Our fear is that Liverpool may try to eliminate us through rough play. They showed some of this rough play in the first leg and they will play even harder in front of their own supporters". He also admitted that his side had some luck in the first leg but was adamant they would progress: "There are not many great players in this Liverpool side, but they are all fighters. I agree we had some luck in Amsterdam, but I am sure we will go through."[17]

Liverpool had early chances in the second leg with midfielder Peter Thompson and defender Geoff Strong hitting the frame of the goal.[18] The first half finished goalless, but Ajax opened the scoring in the 49th minute when Cruyff scored. Liverpool striker Hunt equalised a few minutes later, but Liverpool conceded again when Cruyff scored a second goal. Hunt scored towards the end of the match, but they were unable to beat Ajax and the match finished 2–2. They progressed to the quarter-finals courtesy of a 7–3 aggregate victory.[9] During the early stages of the match, there was a crush on the Spion Kop. As fans struggled to see the match due to a low-hanging haze, people at the back pressed forward for a better view. This resulted in supporters at the front being swept off their feet and spilling onto the pitch. Over 200 people were injured, with 31 taken to hospital.[19]

Michels stated that the victory was proof that Ajax could match teams in Europe: "The Liverpool game was for me an important moment to be acknowledged and recognised internationally. Not only the first game, because that could have been an accident – with the weather conditions etc. No, the performance we achieved in Liverpool under bad circumstances – I've never seen such a hectic situation. We drew that game 2–2 and never really had problems. For me, it was the proof that we were at the international level."[20]

Ajax were drawn against

1978, losing on both occasions.[7]

The teams did not meet again until they were drawn together in the

2022-23 UEFA Champions League group stage, with Liverpool winning both matches again, 2-1 at Anfield and 3-0 at the Johan Cruyff Arena
.

Footnotes

  1. ^ Schoenmakers, Jan (20 February 2005). "Netherlands 1965/66". Rec. Sport. Soccer. Statistics. Foundation. Archived from the original on 27 December 2015. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  2. ^ Jackson, Stuart. "Season 1965–66". Rec. Sport. Soccer. Statistics. Foundation. Archived from the original on 19 November 2015. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  3. ^ Zea, Antonio; Haisma, Marcel (9 January 2008). "Champions' Cup 1966–67". Rec. Sport. Soccer. Statistics. Foundation. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  4. ^ Herbert, Ian (11 March 2008). "Did Italian job rob Shankly? Night of dark deeds at San Siro". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2011-05-22. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  5. ^ "1965/66: Stan the man for Dortmund". Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). 1 June 1966. Archived from the original on 10 May 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  6. ^ Mitten 2010, p. 176.
  7. ^ a b Wilson, Jonathan (22 May 2013). "The Great European Cup teams: Ajax 1971–73". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  8. ^ a b MacGuigan, Shaughan (26 December 2011). "Shankly, De Mistwedstrijd and The Birth of Totaalvoetbal". In Bed With Maradona. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  9. ^ a b c d e f Platt, Mark (27 July 2001). "Liverpool v Ajax 1966 revisited". Liverpool F.C. Archived from the original on June 10, 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  10. ^ a b c d e Yates, Horace (7 December 1966). "The Humiliation of Liverpool". Liverpool Echo.
  11. ^ a b c Wood, Colin (7 December 1966). "Liverpool crash to Ajax". Daily Mail.
  12. ^ "The Fog Game". LFC History. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  13. ^ Winner 2000, p. 22.
  14. ^ a b Wilson 2008, p. 224.
  15. ^ Hale & Ponting 1992, p. 48.
  16. ^ "Liverpool". Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). Retrieved 12 February 2012.
  17. ^ "Liverpool 'lost' in European fog agony". Liverpool Echo. 7 December 1977.
  18. ^ Hale & Ponting 1992, p. 53.
  19. ^ Corless, Frank (15 December 1966). "Panic on the Kop – 200 fans are injured". Daily Mirror.
  20. ^ Winner 2000, p. 23.
  21. ^ Wilson 2008, p. 225.
  22. ^ "Ajax 0–1 Liverpool". BBC Sport. 21 October 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  23. ^ "Liverpool 1–0 Ajax: Jones fires Reds into Champions League last 16". This Is Anfield. 1 December 2020.

References

External links

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