In the dark days following their Heysel Stadium disaster, it was almost inconceivable that two English sides would even meet in a European showpiece, never mind the final of UEFA’s signature club competition. It had been a long journey since the five-year ban began in 1985, as the subsequent dominance of Italian and Spanish teams in the 1990′s rendered the possibility of an all-english final impossible.
The foreigners rule introduced to promote home-grown talent also hindered the Premier League sides who were on the cusp of competing in the most multi-national league in the world. On that fateful day in Brussels, 39 people were killed in an incident that UEFA Chief Executive Lars-Christer Olsson described as “the darkest hour in the history of the UEFA competitions”.
The stage was set for the 1985 European Cup final between reigning champions Liverpool and Italian giants Juventus with the English side narrow favourites to win. The previous year had seen violent scenes erupt in Rome after Liverpool had beaten Italian side Roma to lift the European Cup and ill-feeling from these clashes lingered. An hour before kick-off at Heysel, the Liverpol fans reacted to taunting from the Juve supportors and breached a fence separating the two sides. The crowd charged towards the Old Lady faithfuls, forcing the Italians to retreat towards a dilapidated wall, which subsequently collapsed. Crushing 39 and injured hundreds more. Despite the tragedy, the match was played, and Liverpool lost 1-0. However, the incident had much more far-reaching consequences.
Under pressure from then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, the FA withdrew all English clubs from European competition, before UEFA banned all English competitors for five years. The ban from European competition ended the Anglo-dominance of the competition and set the evolution of English football back almost a decade. The only success on the continent for the next 14 years was in the European Cup Winner’s Cup – which rarely featured Europe’s elite, who were involved in the newly formed Champions League. Manchester United lifted the Cup Winners Cup in 1991, before Arsenal repeating the feat in 1004 and Chelsea in 1998. But amidst these glimpses of past glories, there were little to shout about in the European Cup.
The “foreigners rule” limited each side to three overseas players in the starting XI, and five in the squad. Although Manchester United dominated domestic football in the 1990s, they often suffered from the ruling. The most famous example is in Nou Camp, 1994. The rule forced Sir Alex Ferguson to leave experienced goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel on the bench, resulting in the Catalan side running riot. Goals from Romario and Albert Ferrer, coupled with a Hristo Stoitchkov brace condemned United to a 4-0 hammering that resounded around Europe. It was a lingering image for the Red Devils, which haunted them for the rest of the campaign. They missed out on qualification for the knock-out stages after an unlikely defeat to Gothenburg.
However, 1995 would prove to be a pivotal year as UEFA were advised that their foreigner limitation rule contravened laws of the European Union. Blackburn Rovers failed to use the new ruling to their advantage in the 1996 campaign. Contrastingly, Manchester United capitalized on the new ruling and made it to their advantage in the 1996/97 campaign. Ferguson’s men reached the semi-final stage, memorably beating Porto 4-0 at Old Trafford to announce English football’s European revival. The following season, Chelsea lifted the Cup Winner’s Cup with a 1-0 win over Stuttgart as the Premier League flexed its muscles and began to emerge as a force on the European stage for the first time in 13 years. United proved the transformation was complete in 1999 when they made a remarkable late comeback to beat Bayern Munich 2-1 in the Nou Camp, winning the Champions League.
With English clubs improving every season, the English Premier League began to attract the top stars while they were at their peak of their careers. In previous years, the best players would only consider a move to England if they fancied a substantial payday in the twilight years of their football career. Superstars such as Thierry Henry, Juan Sebastian Veron and Ruud van Nistelrooy, all turned down or moved away from the sunshine of Italy and Spain, to join the Premier League’s top guns in big-money deals. The shift in power did not produced instant results. Liverpool subsequently won the UEFA Cup in 2001 punctuated almost five years of continental dominance. The Reds were the team to break the cycle, as they marked the 20th anniversary of the Heysel disaster in 2005 with victory over AC Milan in the Champions League final.
Arsenal then reached the final in 2006, only to be narrowly beaten by Barcelona, but 2007 would prove to be another milestone for the English game. Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester United all reached the semi-final stage, with Liverpool suffering football karma against Milan in the final for their somewhat fortunate victory two years previously. The same trio reached the semi finals in the 2007/08 season, before United beat Chelsea on penalties in Moscow to lift their third European crown. The Red Devils’ dramatic victory gave English side’s 11 European Cup wins in total – matching the achievements of their Spanish and Italian counterparts in the process.