Brian Clough’s team went to the 1980 final without their record signing. They returned as two-time European champions
By Steven Pye for That 1980s Sports Blog
“You win something once and people say it is all down to luck,” reflected Brian Clough after Nottingham Forest had successfully defended the European Cup on 28 May 1980. “You win it twice and it shuts the buggers up.”
Winning the 1979 European Cup was hardly a fluke. Defeating
Liverpool and Cologne on their way to the final in Munich, Nottingham Forest could not be accused of having things easy. Admittedly, Malmo were not the most testing of opponents in the final. But a year on, Forest’s opponents in the final at the Bernabéu could not be dismissed so lightly.