35 years since we won at the home of Real Madrid in the UEFA Cup final

Dukla Praha, PSG, Partizan Belgrade, Manchester United, FK Zseljeznicsar were the five teams that were beaten as our team reached the UEFA Cup Final 35 years ago, where the Spanish star team, Real Madrid, awaited as opponents. Real Madrid won the first leg of the final 3-0 in Székesfehérvár.

35 years ago, Madrid burned in the fever of the UEFA Cup final, and there was huge interest in the match on a Spanish scale as well. The local press covered the final in full, with television showing Real Madrid and Videoton training on midnight the night before the final. The daily Marca published a pictorial report on the training session and spoke about the main stars, such as Stielik, Camacho, Szabó, Májér and Csongrád on behalf of Videoton. Real Madrid prepared for the match at Hotel Real while Videoton stayed at the Hotel Mindanao. Members of the press were greeted by Luis de Carlos, president of Real Madrid, at the “treasury” at the Bernebau Stadium, where Real relics were collected. The main point of what the President had to say was that after 19 years, they wanted to celebrate again by winning a cup at European level.

"We have almost no chance of winning the cup, but now that we are free and have no tension, they can prove to the Spaniards that they were not at their best in the other leg," wrote Pál Borbély, a Nemzeti Sport correspondent before the UEFA Cup final. “According to the omens, at most you can only beautify against Real, winning the cup would be a miracle,” he added.

Ferenc Kovács throught carefully about two players even before the rematch. Csongrád had been injured in Manchester, and although he recovered quickly after his cartilage surgery, it was a question of whether he could withstand the intensity of the game. Lajos Májer was injured during the training of the national team against the Austrians, and according to the medical opinion, he was already fit and healthy. If they both would return, they would be back together with the original successful team. “The big event in the lives of the two excellent footballers would be a performance in Madrid. However, the question was: How much could he risk? I’m assuming we’ve actually lost hope for ultimate success. But you can beautify it. The footballing world is paying attention to this match. A good result would put us back in the main focus. That is why the decision is difficult. It is possible that those who would take the place of Májer and Csongrád would base their careers in Videoton for ten years, ”summed up manager Ferenc Kovács.

President Luis de Carlos Ortiz made no secret of the fact that the UEFA Cup showcase had already been prepared at the Real Madrid Museum.

Half an hour before the match, and the stadium was packed with the supporters encouraging Real Madrid to warm in a great atmosphere.

The match started with the home side on the attack in the 4th minute with the head of Valdano and in the 6th minute Santillana's shot was caught by Disztl. In the 8th minute, Májer shot wide from a promising position, but a few moments later, the Spanish star team seemed to continue the fiesta that they had began in the first match. Végh pulled Butraguen down inside the box, and the Madriders were awarded a penalty. Valdano stood behind the ball, but Péter Disztl's mind could not be surpassed! The shot to the bottom left corner was knocked out by our goalkeeper with a fantastic save!​​​​​​​

The next 10 minutes produced less opportunities in front of both goals, but then in the 26th minute, we almost went ahead through Vadász: his shot from 12 meters was blocked by Miguel Ángel. There was a chance before half time with a Michel free kick that went wide.

The second inning continued in the same way as the first, first Santillana shot next to him and then Butragueno's attempt was defended by Disztl. In the 52nd minute, Gallego's shot, and two minutes later at Míchel's bomb, we also had a goalkeeper in place. In the 66th minute, Wittmann, who had changed Csongrád a little earlier, fired with a little shot from a distance. In the 69th minute, Butragueno fired from 18 meters, the great shot hit by a corner from Disztl.

In the 76th minute Santillana, and then in the 77th minute Szabó scored a goal that was ruled offside. But not for long! 5 minutes before the end, Wittmann passed from the right, the ball bounced off Sanchis and fell in front of Májer, and our winger fired just below the bar from 17 meters (0-1)!

In the 88th minute, the Vulture known as Butragueno, scored again but it was not given by the Belgian referee, and the result did not change after that.

Playing with his best line-up at the home of the awesome Real, Videoton were a worthy partner for one of the world’s most renowned teams. We can only regret that in the first leg- for known reasons - several players missed the game in Székesfehérvár. After all, Májer's goal also proved that the name of Vidi is worthily recorded on the international cup stage.​​​​​​​

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