Fifty years on, Saint-Étienne’s PSV tie that sent Les Verts to the final | OneFootball

Fifty years ago, Saint-Étienne surged into the European Cup final, 17 years after the great Reims, after a semi-final against PSV Eindhoven. Fifteen days after a stirring win over Kiev, the first leg on 31 March found Geoffroy-Guichard far too small for the crowds who craved a slice of history. Saint-Étienne were resolute, and Larqué was clinical from a free-kick, then on 14 April Curkovic repelled the Dutch almost single-handedly as Les Verts became finalists.

On Thursday 25 March, number plates from across France filled the Geoffroy-Guichard car park, even though it was not a match night. According to Le Progres, fans from Metz, Dunkerque and Perpignan waited for the ticket office to open for the European Cup semi-final first leg with PSV. They braved a cold night to be sure of a seat, a queue formed at five in the morning and by evening every ticket had gone.

In all there were exactly 38,676 places, a record crowd and takings for the time. Yet demand soared to 150,000, a figure that would have blown the receipts apart had every request been met. Green fever was at its height.

It had been building from the moment of the draw, held two days after the hard-fought qualification against Kiev. Predictions flew around the country as excitement grew. The stadium simply could not contain it.

Within the squad, Larqué was already picturing revenge on Bayern, a year after a semi-final defeat. Curkovic’s defiance and collective steel did the rest. The Verts felt unstoppable, and they ended up in the final.

Source: Le Progres