For younger generations of football lovers, it is hard to believe that Romanian teams were, at one point in time, at the very top of Europe. Older fans, however, will never forget that on May 7, 1986, in Seville, at the Ram\u00f3n S\u00e1nchez Pizju\u00e1n Stadium, Steaua Bucharest defeated FC Barcelona in the European Champions\u2019 Cup final, becoming the first team from Eastern Europe to win the prestigious trophy.<\/p>\n
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Steaua reached the final after defeating the Danish side Vejle Boldklub, the Hungarian club Honv\u00e9d Budapest, Kuusysi Lahti of Finland and Anderlecht Brussels. The match in Bucharest against the Belgians, which Steaua won 3-0, was considered the best game ever played by a Romanian team in European competitions.<\/p>\n
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The final against Barcelona was played on Spanish soil. In Seville, Barcelona arrived with 40,000 fans who were expecting their team\u2019s first victory in the European Cup. Playing for Steaua were: Helmut Duckadam, \u0218tefan Iovan, Adrian Bumbescu, Miodrag Belodedici, Ilie B\u0103rbulescu, Gavril\u0103 Balint, Ladislau B\u00f6l\u00f6ni, \u0218tefan Majearu, Lucian B\u0103lan, Marius L\u0103c\u0103tu\u0219, Victor Pi\u021burc\u0103, Marin Radu (also known as Radu II), and Anghel Iord\u0103nescu. The team was coached by Emerich Jenei, assisted by Iord\u0103nescu. Missing from the squad was the very man who had led the entire qualifying campaign as captain up until the final: Tudorel Stoica.<\/p>\n
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The clash in Seville was difficult for Steaua, who nevertheless proved their tactical superiority. They defended well and were strong on counter-attacks. 120 minutes passed without a goal. During the penalty shootout, the miracle occurred. Steaua’s goalkeeper, Helmut Duckadam, saved all four of Barcelona’s penalty kicks.<\/p>\n
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Few people remember that the Spanish goalkeeper, the late Javier Urruticoechea, also blocked two shots, a rare feat at such a high level. However, the fact that the Spaniard was beaten twice, specifically by Marius L\u0103c\u0103tu\u0219 and Gavril\u0103 Balint, left only Duckadam to enter legend.<\/p>\n
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Today, many of those who contributed to the success in Seville are no longer among us. Emerich Jenei, Helmut Duckadam, Lucian B\u0103lan and Ilie B\u0103rbulescu have passed away. Many members of Steaua\u2019s “Golden Team” became coaches. A few even proved their mettle, and the one who reached the furthest was Victor Pi\u021burc\u0103, a manager who brought Romania to two European Championships. (VP)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For younger generations of football lovers, it is hard to believe that Romanian teams were, at one point in time, at the very top of Europe. Older fans, however, will never forget that on May 7, 1986, in Seville, at the Ram\u00f3n S\u00e1nchez Pizju\u00e1n Stadium, Steaua Bucharest defeated FC Barcelona in the European Champions\u2019 Cup […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":93,"featured_media":110450,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[40940],"tags":[188236,41186,30425],"coauthors":[113302],"class_list":["post-1000496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport","tag-1986-en","tag-european-champions-cup","tag-steaua-bucharest"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n