On This Day in Football: Historic day for Barca and Real as both lift European Cups

On this day in 1992, Barcelona won their first ever UEFA European Cup by beating Serie A side Sampdoria 1-0 in the final.

Played at the Wembley Stadium in London, the match remained 0-0 at the end of 90 minutes. Opportunity to salvage a late winner came in the 111^th minute when Sampdoria defender Giovanni Invernizzi, who had come on as a substitute in the 73rd minute, fouled Barcelona winger Eusebio Sacristán just outside the box.

Up stepped Barca’s free-kick specialist Ronald Koeman who had won the European Cup with PSV Eindhoven in 1988.

Koeman’s shot blasted past Sampdoria keeper Gianluca Pagliuca and put the Catalans 1-0 ahead. The Dutchman had scored 16 goals in the league that season but this was his first goal in Europe in 11 appearances. And what a time to score!

The win gave Barcelona their first ever European Cup title.

Seventh Heaven For Real

On this day in 1998, Real Madrid won their seventh European Cup by beating Juventus 1-0 in Amsterdam.

Predrag Mijatović’s 67^th minute strike was enough for Real to lift the European Cup and inflict a second consecutive final defeat on Juventus.

The Serie A giants had suffered heartbreak in 1997, losing to Bundesliga outfit Borussia Dortmund.