Keep Fighting (10 page)

‘It was a bad result for us, Leeds were beatable today but we failed to capitalise on their frailties. They are a rugged outfit, not very pretty to watch, but they have an extremely strong midfield. Billy Bremner strikes me as the kind of player who will forge a good career for himself, I wish we had half a dozen of his sort playing for us.' Good fortune appears to have deserted the Arsenal manager who was removed from his position the following summer, after Arsenal finished a lowly fourteenth in the league, their lowest position since 1930.

There was a lot of comment about Bremner by this time:

‘By now, many people were making comparisons with my style of play and that of other more experienced players. Other than those who counted, such as my dad or the boss, I never really listened to anyone else about my play. I realised through bitter experience that some journalists and outsiders tended to be deliberately cynical and more critical about individual performances. If Pop and the boss thought I was playing alright, then that was good enough for me. I always gave my best and if you do that in all you do, then no one has any right to criticise.'

As previous season runners-up in the First Division championship, the team had qualified for European football. The challenge
of pitting their skills against some of the best football opposition in the world beckoned Bremner and his colleagues. The first round of the Inter Cities Fairs Cup competition saw Leeds paired with Italian side Torino, who visited Elland Road in the first phase of the two-legged tie. It was a far from easy draw but Leeds pulled off a 2-1 victory courtesy of goals from Bremner and Alan Peacock.

The second leg, in Turin, however, was an entirely different proposition:

‘We knew that Torino would come at us as soon as the whistle blew. We had more than a few ball winners in our side, certainly enough to unsettle them, and perhaps give us the chance to hit them on the break.'

In the fiftieth minute of that game, United skipper Bobby Collins was clattered to the ground in a vicious tackle by Torino full back Poletti. As a result Collins suffered a broken thigh. With substitutions not yet introduced into European football, Leeds were forced to play out the remaining forty minutes with just ten men. Hang on they did, right through to the final whistle, to win the tie 2-1 on aggregate.

Don Revie believed that the performance of the team in Turin was as good as his side had ever produced. Bremner was less than complimentary in his assessment of Torino:

‘They were the dirtiest set of players I had ever come up against, kicking, punching, pinching and spitting at us. They were a bunch of spoilers and the foul on Bobby (Collins) was sickening. I swear you could hear the bone break. To lose a player of his influence was a real blow, but we did our bit and resolutely fought on.'

The second round provided opposition in the form of SC Locomotiv Leipzig. United repeated the first-round formula, taking a 2-1 lead to East Germany, and once again Bremner netted in the Elland Road triumph. A dour 0-0 draw in East Germany ensured further progression in the competition.

Spanish club side Valencia were next on the European agenda:

‘I don't think any of the team could really believe that we were
successfully marching through Europe. There was a different atmosphere about the European games and even when we played in Leeds it felt like we were in some far-off cosmopolitan district of Europe. The night we played Valencia there was a peculiar, almost hostile atmosphere around the stadium. Some of their players ignored us when we met them during the pre-match build-up. It was not unlike two boxers winding each other up before a fight. I cannot stand rudeness in any form; there is no excuse in the world for ignoring someone who acknowledges you. A few of our players made comments about it and I told them to ignore the foreign bastards.'

Little could anyone have realised how such a glamorous-looking European tie would be recounted for everything but football memories. Valencia knew all about how to win European encounters, having won the Fairs Cup in 1962 and 1963, and had only been narrowly beaten by Real Zaragoza in the 1964 final. An injury to centre forward Alan Peacock in a league game at Sunderland had left Leeds with few options up front. Revie toyed with the idea of moving Bremner forward, but didn't want to upset the equilibrium of the team too much. Instead he opted to play an inexperienced youngster, Rod Belfitt, as centre forward. Valencia were clearly aware that Leeds could rough it up with the best of them, and so applied their tactics accordingly. One commentator stated: ‘Valencia's tactics smacked more of the bullring than the football field. They were the roughest continental side I have ever seen.'

An eleventh-minute Valencia goal silenced Elland Road early on, giving the visitors a 1-0 lead which was consistently defended; at times all eleven Valencia players were committed to protecting the lead from the edge of their own penalty area. The Spanish giants undoubtedly used every trick in the book to suffocate the Leeds threat, with blatant strong-arm tactics, and they brought down a Leeds player with every tackle. It was a nasty and hostile atmosphere both on and off the pitch. Supporters yelled at referee Leo Horn to bring the Spanish side to rights for their continued fouling. The match official ignored
all shouts from the crowd and from the players and, ultimately, his refusal to act fairly caused the game to degenerate, as scenes of violence were witnessed all over the Elland Road stadium, not least amongst the players on the pitch. Leeds continued to push forward but couldn't break open the heavily manned Valencia rear guard. Trailing 1-0 at half time they left the pitch looking disconsolate and clearly wound up.

In the second half there was some reward for their efforts, when a Bremner cross was met by Peter Lorimer, who gleefully fired home the Leeds equaliser. It was game on and it was Leeds who were clearly in the ascendancy. As the match moved into its final quarter, Leeds continued to attack. During one such raid, Jack Charlton was clearly punched and kicked by a Valencia defender. Charlton recalls the incident:

‘What had been a sizzling atmosphere became downright white hot, as we threw everything into an assault which, we hoped, would bring us a winner. Fifteen minutes to go, and I raced upfield to add my weight to one of our attacks. As I challenged an opponent in the Valencia penalty area, I was kicked. This angered me, of course – but before I knew where I was I found myself having to take much more when one of my opponents slung a punch which would have done credit to Cassius Clay. Right there and then, my anger boiled over. I chased the culprit around that penalty area and I was intent upon only one thing – getting my own back. I had completely lost control of myself after these diabolical fouls upon me, and neither the Spaniards nor the restraining hands of my team mates could prevent my pursuit for vengeance. Then I saw police appear on the field, they were there to stop this game of football from degenerating into a running battle.'

Finally, on police advice, referee Leo Horn walked from the pitch with both of his linesmen and he signalled to club officials of both sides to get their players off, too.

Charlton continues: ‘I was still breathing fire when I reached the dressing room – then I got the word that I need not go back. For a moment I thought the referee had called off the match …
then it sank home that it was only Jackie Charlton's presence which was not required any longer. For eleven minutes the teams remained off the field, to allow tempers on both sides to cool down. By that time, I was beginning to feel sorry for myself, and not a little ashamed of the way I had lost my temper.'

Bremner recollected:

‘It was an awful night; some Valencia players were more keen on kicking us rather than the ball. It was complete mayhem; no one seemed to know what to do. Jack was very angry, the worst I have seen him, but he was right to be so. I was trying to tell everyone involved to calm down but I don't think the Spaniards could really understand an angry Scotsman.

‘The referee had lost control; the police were pulling players apart and pleading for common sense to prevail. When we were ready to return, we got the word that Big Jack could stay where he was – he'd been sent off, and so had a Valencia man. We all assumed it was the number five, who had started the trouble which had angered Big Jack. But when we got back out onto the pitch, there, large as life, was their number five! The man who the referee had sent off was the left back; I don't think it was a coincidence that the same left back had been given a real roasting all game by Jim Storrie, who skinned him time and again. Valencia risked very little by losing the left back. Whichever way it was, this case of mistaken identity was worked to their advantage.'

Seven minutes from time Valencia inside forward Sanchez-Lage felled Storrie and was promptly dismissed and the game, if that is what it can be termed, ended 1-1. The situation deteriorated further when referee Leo Horn inflamed proceedings by claiming to reporters of several daily newspapers around the world, that Leeds players were on a £1,500 bonus to win:

‘Money was the cause of the trouble; you could see it in the nervousness and the excitement of the players. There was something in the air … something unpleasant … there was too much at stake. It was unbelievable. I was reminded of South American cup finals I have taken, where players were on a bonus of 3,000
dollars. It was the same then. Since European football began we have seen this sort of thing spreading. These games have become too important for the players.

‘When Leeds lost a goal this nervousness spread among them. Valencia had nine men in front of their goal. They too were gripped by this terrible feeling. I understand professional players, but they have changed. Money has made them too eager. After sixteen years of international refereeing I believe money causes all the trouble … all the nervousness and desperate play. It is no use clubs expecting referees to impose discipline. The referee is there to control a match. Players must be taught to control themselves.

‘I have always regarded Charlton as a fine man. He was the cleanest player on the field, until he lost all control. I saw a Spanish defender kick him, and if Charlton had given a reprisal kick, I could have understood it and let it pass, because it happens so often. As captain of Leeds, and an international, he should have been the first player to exercise complete self-control.'

Don Revie later refuted the allegations of the match official:

‘It's untrue. My players were on no special bonus. Mr Horn is guessing, or has been misinformed. I resent these allegations, but I am saying no more now. It's time for the whole thing to simmer down. The referee was a complete fool and an attention seeker. He had no control of the game at Elland Road. It was funny, mind you, seeing Big Jack chasing that Spaniard around the pitch. If he had got hold of him, I dread to think what he would have done to him, all hell would have broken loose.'

The referee, just as he had during the game, failed to take responsibility for his part in the débâcle. It was not his place to question or discuss players' financial incentives; he continued to apportion blame for the violence, anywhere and everywhere, but not on his own performance. He did not escape criticism for the integral role he played in the affair. Not only was he replaced for the second leg of the tie in Spain, he was also told that any ambition he held to officiate at the forthcoming World Cup finals had completely evaporated.

Some of the comments made by Horn display him in a poor light but the official was well known for his behaviour and verbal outbursts, as recorded in his 1963 autobiography. He continually demanded from FIFA that referees should be provided with five-star hotel accommodation. On another occasion, he took a corner kick himself, as the player concerned was dithering. What he says about Leeds doesn't even compare with how he described Chilean football supporters. ‘Nice friendly, even pious people until they enter the stadium, then they turn into devils.' It seems that Horn believed himself to be greater than the teams and fans in any game he officiated. Hardly a man whose opinion could be considered well balanced, one would think.

The second leg was a much less volatile affair with a Mike O'Grady goal sufficient to give Leeds a 1-0 victory in Spain and a mouth-watering quarter-final tie with Ujpesti Dozsa. A lively attacking performance against the Hungarians saw Leeds run out 4-1 winners at Elland Road, and once again Bremner added his name to the score sheet. The result was followed by a 1-1 draw in Hungary. A 5-2 aggregate victory saw Leeds through to play Real Zaragoza.

Bremner was loving the European excursion:

‘It was amazing stuff; after the battle of Elland Road against Valencia, Ujpesti were a much more controlled and skilful side. We wanted to take a lead with us into the second leg in Hungary, so pressured them the entire game, the crowd really got behind us and we looked like scoring every time we went forward. It finished 4-1 to us and again I got myself a goal.

‘I thought we delivered a much more disciplined performance in the second leg in Hungary. I was impressed by Ujpesti; they looked a really good football side and had we not been on top of our game they would have punished us. Thankfully we held them to a draw and went through to our first European semi-final against Real Zaragoza.'

The semi-final was not to be a straightforward affair. The first leg in Spain ended in defeat. Bremner was cruelly adjudged to
have handled the ball in the penalty area, giving the Spaniards a penalty which was duly converted:

‘It was an absolute bloody joke that penalty, I never used my hand to intentionally stop it or control it, if someone strikes a ball at you there is little you can do to stop it hitting you, sometimes your reflexes cause involuntary actions. It was never a penalty. The referee got it wrong and I told him so; I told him he couldn't manage a game of tiddlywinks. I don't suppose he knew what that was! Ultimately, he bowed to player and crowd pressure in my opinion.'