60 Years of European Football

1,2,3 - Lars Ricken was brought on - 4,5,6 - his Dortmund team was leading but the favorites from Italy were putting on the pressure. 7,8,9 - the 20-year-old sees Möller's control of the ball and makes his run - 10,11,12 - the through-ball lands at his feet - 13,14,15 - his first touch sends the ball over goalkeeper Peruzzi and made me a champion in 1997. What a goal! (H. Hesse)

A 2-0 defeat in the first leg of the European Cup Winners' Cup against Dynamo Dresden saw Bayer Uerdingen in trouble. At half time of the second leg, they were 3-1 down and looking down the barrel. What followed was one of the craziest comebacks in football. Wolfgang Funkel scored the first on 58 minutes and the final score was 7-3 and Uerdingen advanced. My Dad woke me to tell me. (J. Krepela)

35 minutes in and Spurs were 4-0 down against the defending champions, and only had 10 men on the pitch. All signs pointed towards a torrid evening. Gareth Bale had a different idea in mind, though. With three near-identical goals, including two in injury time, he scored a second-half hat-trick to save Spurs' honor. (C. Penfold)

My earliest UEFA Cup memories: After Karlsruher lost their last 16 first leg 3-1 to Spain's table-toppers Valencia, they needed a miracle. And "Euro Eddy" delivered. In the 7-0 victory in the second leg, Edgar Schmitt, who was in a car accident that saw his car roll four times just the week before, scored four goals. They went out in the semifinals. (S. Wiertz)

I stood in the south stand as a 13-year-old. My FC lost the first leg of the UEFA Cup last 16 tie 3-0 to Queens Park Rangers. In the second leg, they went 1-0 down after four minutes. All over? No chance! After an hour, it was 4-1 to Cologne. They went after the fifth, but it just wasn't to be. At the end of it all, the Cologne players were shattered - so was I. (S. Nestler)

It's not possible to be more of an underdog than Aachen in 2004. My team stood no chance against Zenit in the UEFA Cup. "Football God" Erik Meijer scored the opener for the second-division side, Stefan Blank equalized in the 89th minute from the spot. Goosebumps in the stadium: Alemannia had made it out of the group. AZ Alkmaar proved too strong in the knockout rounds. (A. Sten-Ziemons)

It should have been the crowning of an era: English clubs had won seven of the previous eight European Cups. Liverpool - looking for their fifth trophy of the decade - was warming up and suddenly hooligans caused a catastrophe in Heysel stadium in Brussels. 39 people died, 600 were injured. English clubs were banned from the European Cup for six years. (M. Trobridge)

The first goal was a beauty. The white framework of the goal lay on the pitch in Real Madrid's Bernabeu stadium, because the home fans were running riot. A replacement? Not one to be found. A mesmerizing 76-minute-wait followed and I never wanted it to end. "Never has a goal done a game so good," said TV commentator Marcel Reif. How right he was. (J. Weber)

The Cup Winners' Cup was in Nuremberg and I was 180 kilometers away. I couldn't stand up. I was stuck in my own body. There wasn't even a television around. I shouted "Bayern, Bayern" but no one understood me. I celebrated when Bulle Roth scored. No one heard me. I missed the first sporting highlight of my life. 14 hours earlier, I arrived in the world. (T. Oelmaier)

The image that stays with me is the shot of Lothar Matthäus sat on the subs bench with a cold beer by his side, wearing a face of utter disbelief. A moment before, he was ready to celebrate winning the final, but there was something about Manchester United that year. It wasn't a final dahoam, but it was a brutal loss - just watch Sami Kuffour's post-match reaction. Goosebumps. (J. Harding)

I watched the game with a friend of mine, Jamie, who was a Liverpool fan. At half time, we were already talking about what else to do that evening - my Dad called posing the same question. But we watched on and what a decision that proved to be. Jamie jumped on me when the third went in. He was running around the house by the end. It was the most remarkable final I have ever seen. (J. Harding).

In the final game of the first group stage phase, Leeds travelled to the San Siro knowing that a win or draw was needed against AC Milan to progress. Dominic Matteo's header seconds before half time put Leeds in front and secured a draw after Serginho's solo-effort. It was one of the best nights in the history of the club, with a song of Matteo's heroics still sung today. (A. Chaffer)