Leeds United were on the verge of sealing promotion back to the Premier League after a 16-year absence before football’s suspension, and every neutral would agree this is a club that deserves to be playing at the highest level.
Not only have Leeds won the title three times, but they have also represented England on the European stage in 18 different seasons.
Here, we take a look at their top five greatest ever moments in Europe.
1974/75 European Cup semi-final 1st leg: Leeds 2-1 Barcelona
Leeds’ second-ever participation in the European Cup, for which they qualified by winning the First Division title in 1974, saw them finish runners up to Bayern Munich despite a troubled domestic campaign.
Following Brian Clough’s dismissal in September, Jimmy Armfield took the reigns and almost won football’s ultimate prize, only to lose to Bayern 2-0 at the Parc des Princes.
The highlight of the campaign was undoubtedly beating Barcelona at Elland Road.
An early goal from Billy Bremner gave the hosts the perfect start, and after Juan Asensi equalised in the second half Allan Clarke scored a 78th-minute winner to send the Leeds fans into raptures.
They drew the second leg 1-1 to advance to the final two.
2000/01 Champions League quarter-final 1st leg: Leeds 3-0 Deportivo
The high point of David O’Leary’s tenure at Leeds was in the final eight of the Champions League when his side overcame the odds to take a commanding first-leg lead to Spain. Deportivo would win the return fixture 2-0, sending Leeds through to a semi-final against Valencia.
Deportivo were the Spanish champions at the time, but with the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Mark Viduka, and Harry Kewell in their ranks Leeds were just too good. Ian Harte opened the scoring with a thunderous free-kick before Alan Smith headed in a second just after the break.
Within ten minutes, a Ferdinand header triggered pandemonium in the stands.
2000/01 Champions League group stage: Leeds 1-0 AC Milan
Leeds’ inaugural Champions League campaign got off to a worrying start with a 4-0 defeat to Barcelona at the Nou Camp, raising fears that the club would not qualify through a devilishly difficult group.
And that’s why the narrow victory over AC Milan is such an important moment in their history. The team of Paulo Maldini, Gennaro Gattuso, and Andriy Shevchenko were humbled at Elland Road in the most dramatic fashion.
In the 89th minute, with the rain beating down and the game heading towards a tense 0-0 draw, Lee Bowyer hit a speculative shot straight at the goalkeeper - but Dida parried the ball down and let it squirm under his body.
1967/68 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final first leg: Leeds 1-0 Ferencváros
The first and only European trophy won by Leeds United was the 1968 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, the final ever edition of the tournament before it was taken over by UEFA and renamed the UEFA Cup. It is a largely forgotten competition, but should still be regarded as a major honour.
Leeds had been making incremental progress over the preceding years, reaching the semi-finals in 1966 and losing the final in 1967. But they finally lifted the trophy the following year courtesy of a Michael Jones goal against Hungarian outfit Ferencváros at Elland Road.
A 0-0 draw in the second leg sealed the title, giving Leeds an important taste of success before winning the First Division title the following year.
1995/96 UEFA Cup first round first leg: AS Monaco 0-3 Leeds
A masterclass from Tony Yeboah gave Leeds a surprise three-goal lead at the start of their first UEFA Cup campaign in 16 years. Although they would crash out of the tournament in the second round to PSV Eindhoven, Yeboah’s hat-trick will never be forgotten.
His first was an overhead kick into an empty net after a defensive mix-up. In the second half, he hit an incredible curling shot from outside the box into the top corner and then finished the night off with a lob over the goalkeeper with ten minutes remaining.
It would prove to be Howard Wilkinson’s last full season at the club and, with Leeds finishing 13th in 95/96, that Yeboah hat-trick was the final positive act of his tenure.
