Book Excerpt
Mike Owen

Christmas in Uruguay
13 December 2005

I BELIEVE the turning point in our history, and in the balance of power on Merseyside, was our failure to reach the European Cup final in 1970-71.  The first leg of the quarter-final at Goodison was where we slipped up.  Here are extracts on that tie from the recently published 260-page book Der Ball ist Rund, Everton in Europe 1962-2005.

Chapter 12
CHRISTMAS IN URUGUAY
Panathinaikos European Cup 1970-71

When the draw for the quarter-finals was made, it was generally thought that Everton had the easiest opponents in the last eight.  But Catterick thought differently.  He warned before the first leg at Goodison that Panathinaikos were a "much under-rated team" as they possessed a high degree of skill and were physically strong.  Their sweeper Aristidis Camaras was described as the top defender in Greek football, with 28 caps to boot.  But it was their captain Dimitri Domazos, a midfielder, who was said to be their best player.  Up front they had a tall, rangy striker Antonia Antoniadis who, at 24 years of age, was on his way to becoming a legend in Greek football.  Already a legend among legends was the Greeks' coach, Ferenc Puskas....

....Although the game was on a Tuesday, he had his squad in Liverpool in time to see the Blues' FA Cup tie at Goodison against Colchester on the preceding Saturday.  Howard Kendall and Colin Harvey were in brilliant form but Alan Ball was considered to be below par.  Jimmy Husband was outstanding as Everton won 5-0.

The Greeks were staying in Liverpool city centre and it had been arranged that they would train at Southport.  Even with subsequent road improvements, the journey today can easily take three-quarters of an hour.  Apparently the Greek squad was not too happy with the travelling time involved.  Who should come to their rescue?  None other than Bill Shankly who said the Greeks could train at his club's Melwood training ground, just three miles from the city centre.  Thanks Shanks.  It emerged that he was a huge fan of Puskas.

Catterick's gameplan centred around Joe Royle.  The Everton boss had concluded that the Greek defence was vulnerable in the air.  He wanted the wingers Husband and Johnny Morrissey to fire over as many crosses as possible.  Apparently, he also wanted the midfield to lob balls up to Big Joe whenever they saw fit.  Puskas also felt that Royle was a threat to his defence which was lacking in six-footers.  So he drafted in a reserve, Georgios Kapsis.  It was a tall order.  Everton were in only 10th place in the league and with just 11 games left, it looked unlikely that we would catch the top three of Leeds, Arsenal and Chelsea.  Still, we were confident of beating the Greeks by several goals.  The team was: Rankin, Wright, K Newton, Kendall, Kenyon, Harvey, Husband, Ball, Royle, Hurst, Morrissey.

....Husband had been in brilliant form in recent games and it appeared that he was marked out for special treatment.  As soon as he got the ball, there was two men on him and a third covering.  One blow to the knee put him out of the game — after only seven minutes.  On came 19-year-old David Johnson....

....It was to be one of the most frustrating nights in the history of the club.  Beat the Greeks and then there was just the semi.  The final that year was to be held at Wembley which would probably involve Ajax Amsterdam who had a great team including Johann Cruyff.  What a trip that would be, especially if we returned to the banks of the Royle Blue Mersey as only the second English team to win the European Cup.

Everton had the lion's share of possession against Panathinaikos but simply could not put the ball in the net although we hit the woodwork three times and got three efforts as far as the Greek goalline only for the ball to be cleared at the last moment.

The miserly nature of the Panathinaikos performance seemed so much at odds with the reputation Puskas had as one of the world's most delightful footballers.  He deployed just one man up front, Antoniadis, who was powerful in the air and with good ball control for a big man.  But he lacked the support to make much headway against Kenyon and Hurst who had few other attacking players to deal with.  Andy Rankin did not have a shot to save until midway through the second half.  By then the crowd was probably splitting in two between those who thought it was only a matter of time before we scored two or three and those who were beginning to worry about whether we would ever score.  Royle was being provided with a steady stream of crosses, but he put three over the bar, one wide and saw another effort kicked off the line.  Ball hit the bar from a free kick and Johnson struck it too....

Then eight minutes from time, the Greeks were given a free kick on the halfway line.  Of course, it was played up in the air to Antoniadis.  He headed the ball out to Grammos who had sporadically supported him in attack.  The wing man passed the ball back and Antoniadis turned and shot into the Park End goal.

The contingent of Greek fans, probably several hundred, went ballistic.  The mood among Evertonians was one of deep indignation.  The crowd got its voice back and roared the Blues on.  Just as it looked as if the Greeks were going home with a most undeserved victory, Royle headed down Everton's 17th corner of the game.  Yet another scramble was about to ensue in their goalmouth but Johnson, famed for his speed, got to the ball first and stabbed it home.  The goal celebrations were tinged with both relief and disappointment.  We were supposed to be going over to Athens with a two or three-goal lead.  Instead, it was 1-1.

Panathinaikos were booed off the pitch but Puskas was unrepentant afterwards.  "We came to defend," he said candidly.  "It was all we could do against a team like Everton on their own ground." .....

Mike Owen

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