Civil war now a foreign affair

14 April 2012

On the same spring day in 1971, Chelsea and Liverpool both faced English opposition in the semi-finals of different European competitions. Chelsea triumphed, Liverpool didn't.

Jose Mourinho, disappointed at the failure to secure the Premiership title before meeting Liverpool in the first leg of their European Cup semi-final, might be encouraged by the fact Chelsea have tended to do rather better than Rafael Benitez's Liverpool in all-English showdowns in Europe over the years.

Chelsea have won both of their European clashes with English rivals while Liverpool have lost to both Nottingham Forest and Leeds.

In the distant past, these clashes showcased the strengths of UK football on the wider European stage. This, of course, is no longer the case with both Chelsea and Liverpool now fielding more foreign than British players. Chelsea have players from 14 countries in their squad while Liverpool have 11.

All-English clashes in Europe have been relatively rare since Manchester United met Tottenham Hotspur in the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1964.

Although United triumphed in a thrilling tie, these all-English affairs are rarely classics. They tend to be cautious counter-attacking stand-offs and I don't envisage either Mourinho or Benitez encouraging an offensive spectacle at Stamford Bridge and Anfield.

Here is a history of the all-English clashes in Europe:

MAN UTD v TOTTENHAM, 1964

The FA Cup winners, Manchester United, beat Spurs, holders of the European Cup Winners' Cup, 4-3 on aggregate.

The second leg of the tie at Old Trafford produced an epic match, with Bobby Charlton scoring twice, as United overhauled Spurs' 2-0 lead.

United then faced Sporting Lisbon in the quarter-finals but despite winning the first leg at Old Trafford 4-1, they were knocked out after being thumped 5-0 in Portugal. Foreign players over the two games: None, although Spurs' Tony Marchi, born in Edmonton, was of Italian origin.

CHELSEA v MAN CITY, 1971

Compared to today, it was a very different world when Chelsea first enjoyed a European victory over English opponents. This was the Chelsea of Peter Osgood, Ron Harris and Charlie Cooke and the club's record fee was £100,000 for Tony Hateley from Aston Villa.

FA Cup winners in 1970, Chelsea followed this with their first European success in the Cup Winners' Cup 12 months later. In the semi-final, they beat Manchester City 2-0 on aggregate before overcoming Real Madrid 2-1 in a final replay. Foreign players: Chelsea striker Derek Smethurst, who was born in Durban, South Africa.

LIVERPOOL v LEEDS, 1971

In the same season as Chelsea's triumph, Leeds beat Liverpool 1-0 on aggregate in the old Inter Cities Fairs Cup semi-final. Leeds, managed by Don Revie, and Liverpool, led by Bill Shankly, were among the fiercest of rivals in the First Division at the time.

A crowd of 52,000 watched the first leg at Anfield. Billy Bremner, the fiery Leeds captain, scored the decisive goal of the tie in the 67th minute. Liverpool, who had beaten Bayern Munich in the previous round, simply couldn't get past Jack Charlton and Norman Hunter in the return at Elland Road. Foreign players: None.

TOTTENHAM v WOLVES, 1972

The only all-English European final saw Bill Nicholson's Spurs meet Wolves over two legs in the climax to the UEFA Cup.

Spurs had knocked out mighty AC Milan in the semi-final and Wolves had been equally impressive in the quarter-final, beating Juventus.

In the first leg, Tottenham's England striker Martin Chivers scored twice at Molineux, while Scotland's Jim McCalliog netted for Wolves. Alan Mullery scored first for Spurs in the return and, although Dave Wagstaffe equalised, Wolves were foiled by the excellence of goalkeeper Pat Jennings.
Foreign players: None.

LIVERPOOL v TOTTENHAM, 1973

Tottenham were looking to retain the UEFA Cup, while Liverpool were still searching for their first European trophy.

The two clubs met in the semi-final and it was Shankly's Reds who triumphed.

Liverpool won the first leg 1-0 at Anfield with a goal from full-back Alec Lindsay and, although they lost the return 2-1, they went through to the final on the away goals rule and beat Borussia Monchengladbach 3-2 on aggregate.

Four years later Liverpool won their first European Cup, again beating Monchengladbach in the final. Foreign players: None.

LIVERPOOL v NOTT'M FOREST, 1978

Bob Paisley's Liverpool had won back-to-back European Cups and were widely expected to extend their domination into a third season when they met Nottingham Forest in the first round.

Forest were managed by the Mourinho of the day - Brian Clough. Brash and unpredictable, Clough drew the best out of his Forest team in the first leg. They won 2-0 in Nottingham with goals from Gary Birtles and Colin Barrett.

Liverpool had all their big guns in action for the return but they could not get past Peter Shilton who was superb in a goalless draw at Anfield. Foreign players: None.

CHELSEA v ARSENAL, 2004

I've seen most of the all-English European matches and this one ranks among the best. Unbeaten in the Premiership, Arsenal were favourites to progress to the semi-finals of the European Cup.

A 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge, plus increasing speculation about Claudio Ranieri's future, seemed to make the second leg at Highbury a foregone conclusion.

Wrong! Although Jose Reyes scored at the end of the first half for Arsene Wenger's side, Chelsea produced an epic second-half recovery and clinched the tie 3-2 with goals from Wayne Bridge and Frank Lampard. Foreign players: 20.

LIVERPOOL - 11 countries
* Have not appeared in Champions League this season

Australia
Harry Kewell (26, midfielder)

Croatia
Igor Biscan (26, midfielder)

Czech Republic
Milan Baros (23, forward)

England
Chris Kirkland (23, goalkeeper)
Scott Carson (19, keeper)
Paul Harrison* (20, keeper)
Jamie Carragher (27, defender)
Stephen Warnock (23, defender)
David Raven* (20, defender)
Zak Whitbread* (21, defender)
Steven Gerrard (24, midfielder)
John Welsh (20, midfielder)
Neil Mellor (22, forward)

Finland
Sami Hyypia (31, defender)

France
Djimi Traore (25, defender)
Anthony Le Tallec (20, forward)
Djibril Cisse (23, forward)
Florent Sinama Pongolle (20, forward)

Germany
Dietmar Hamann (31, midfielder)

Norway
John Arne Riise (24, defender)

Poland
Jerzy Dudek (32, goalkeeper)

Republic of Ireland
Steve Finnan (29, defender)
Richie Partridge* (24, midfielder)
Darren Potter (20, midfielder)

Spain
Josemi (25, defender)
Luis Garcia (26, midfielder)
Xabi Alonso (23, midfielder)
Antonio Nunez (26, midfielder)

CHELSEA - 14 countries

Cameroon
Geremi (26, midfielder)

Czech Republic
Petr Cech (22, goalkeeper)

England
Lenny Pidgeley* (21, keeper)
Glen Johnson (20, defender)
Wayne Bridge (24, defender)
John Terry (24, defender)
Frank Lampard (26, midfielder)
Joe Cole (23, midfielder)
Scott Parker (24, midfielder)

Finland
Mikael Forssell (24, forward)