RRI Sports Club – Monte Carlo 1987
Faced with subpar performances at national and international level, Romanian football is of late relishing its past glory.
Ștefan Baciu, 01.03.2017, 12:45
Faced with subpar performances at national and international level, Romanian football is of late relishing its past glory. All the more reason to commemorate one of the greatest performances of a Romanian football club: 30 years ago, on February 24, 1987, Steaua Bucharest won the European Supercup in Monte Carlo, winning 1-nil against Dinamo Kiev of Ukraine.
In the early 80s, Steaua Bucharest was growing into one of the most powerful sides in the history of Romanian football. The domestic championship at the time was a struggle for hegemony between Univesitatea Craiova and Steaua’s Bucharest rivals Dinamo. In 1983 Universitatea also got as far as the UEFA Cup semi-finals, while Dinamo qualified in the European Champions’ Cup’s semi-finals the next year. It was then that Steaua Bucharest started to make its stand. In 1984 it ranked 2nd in the first league, after Dinamo, only to win the trophy the next year after a 7-year break.
Steaua then had an excellent run in European competitions. On May 7, 1986 the club won the European Champions’ Cup. In the match played in Seville, Spain, Steaua defeated Barcelona 2-nil after regular time, extra time and the penalty shootout.
On February 24, 1987, Steaua played Dinamo Kiev in the European Supercup in Monte Carlo. The Romanian side featured several world-class players in its lineup, such as Gheorghe Hagi. His stellar performance made a solid contribution to Steaua winnion the trophy, as Hagi scored the winning goal on minute 44 from free kick.
Steaua remained at the top of European competitions until 1989, when it played the European Champions’ Cup final against AC Milan, which it lost nil-4.
