How Bayern Munich ended Ajax’s European reign in 1974 | OneFootball

In 1974 Franz Beckenbauer’s Bayern Munich ended Ajax Amsterdam’s European reign by lifting the European Cup against Atlético Madrid, the first of three successive titles.

Eight years after reaching the Bundesliga, 1973-74 delivered Bayern’s first European Cup and began a treble alongside West Germany’s rise. As reported by L'Équipe, the national team underpinned that surge.

Rinus Michels’ Ajax reinvented the game with total football, asking defenders to attack and forwards to defend. By 1973-74, post-Cruyff to Barcelona, they fell to CSKA Sofia.

After a scare against Atvidabergs in round one, the Heysel final turned on late drama. Atlético led with six minutes of extra time left before Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck levelled from distance, forcing a replay two days later that Bayern won as Uli Hoeness and Gerd Müller took charge.

Behind Sepp Maier, Beckenbauer and Müller, Bayern mixed Uli Hoeness and Paul Breitner with diligent stopper Schwarzenbeck. A 1972 move to the Olympiastadion fuelled ambition. Udo Lattek won the first before Dettmar Cramer kept faith with a 1-3-3-3 and retained the trophy in 1975 and 1976.

Müller’s numbers were extraordinary, 365 league goals in 427 games and 68 in 62 caps, and he struck the World Cup-winning goal against the Netherlands in 1974.

West Germany lifted that World Cup on home soil soon after Bayern’s breakthrough. Maier later said the first European crown mattered most, and that the team prioritised Europe while often easing off in the league.

Source: L'Équipe