On This Day in Football: Spurs become first English club to win a European trophy

On this day in 1963, Tottenham Hotspur became the first English club to win a European competition by beating Atletico Madrid 5-1 in the final of the European Cup Winners’ Cup.

The Cup Winners’ Cup is contested among winners of Europe’s domestic cup tournaments. Spurs won the FA Cup in 1962 by beating Burnley 3-1 at Wembley and therefore had the chance to try their luck against some of Europe’s trickiest teams.

A first round victory against Scottish heavyweights Glasgow Rangers was followed by wins over Czech side Slovan Bratislava and Yugoslavian outfit OFK Beograd.

Played at Rotterdam’s Feyenoord Stadium, the game was watched by 49,000 fans. Jimmy Greaves opened the scoring in the 16^th minute before Scotsman John White added another to establish a 2-0 lead at half-time.

Atletico responded immediately after the break through an Enrique Collar penalty in the 47^th minute. Terry Dyson restored Spurs’ two goal advantage in the 67^th minute before Greaves completed his brace in the 80^th minute. Dyson added another towards the end to help his side register an emphatic 5-1 victory.

Spurs XI: Bill Brown, Peter Baker, Ron Henry, Danny Blanchflower (c), Maurice Norman, Tony Marchi, Cliff Jones, John White, Bobby Smith, Jimmy Greaves, Terry Dyson.