The Trophy Years Part 3

In 1972 We Won The UEFA Cup For The First Time With England International Duo Alan Mullery And Martin Chivers Very Much To The Fore. The Pair Look Back On Another Glory Night In Our History

We lifted the inaugural UEFA Cup with amazing scenes at a packed White Hart Lane where skipper Alan Mullery concluded his Spurs career by cementing his own unique place in our history.

We had qualified for the competition by beating Aston Villa in the League Cup Final the previous season and straightforward victories followed over Keflavik, Rapid Bucharest and UT Arad.

However Nantes provided a tough hurdle in the second round when a Martin Peters goal at the Lane proved the decisive moment.

We also came up against AC Milan in the semi-final with Steve Perryman scoring twice in the home first leg while Mullery’s strike in the return was again key as we went through 3-2 on aggregate.

At the conclusion of our European challenge, it was disappointing to then face Wolverhampton Wanderers at the competition’s most important moment. Like Spurs that season, they were very much a mid-table side in Division One, so the final lacked that vital spark of excitement that novelty in terms of opposition would have brought.

Because, with all due respect to Wolves, a Euro final demands new frontiers and the men from Molineux shared that view.

However, our domestic meetings gave us confidence as we had drawn 2-2 at Molineux on the opening day and then hammered them 4-1 in the October return.

Martin Chivers scored three goals against Wanderers over both games and he would prove to be their nemesis once again as we ended their European dream by winning 2-1 on their ground and then completing the job with a 1-1 draw at the Lane.

It would prove to be Wolves’ most successful season to date in Europe – and we upset them again the following year when we knocked them out of the League Cup in the semi-finals to regain a UEFA Cup place after also overcoming Norwich City at Wembley.