Champions Cup 1985

The most prestigious cup, narrowly missed out on in 1983 in Athens, was the proclaimed objective of season 1984-85. A positive start was made, beating Finnish side Ilves Tampere (4-0 away and 2-1 at home) and Swiss outfit Grasshoppers (2-0 in Torino and 4-2 in Zurich with a double from Platini). Juve edged into the quarter finals and faced the in-form Sparta Prague, a valuable side from the Danube region. The Stadio Comunale was packed out on 6th March for the second leg against the Czechs. The fans were rewarded with a 3-0 victory and a fine spectacle. Tardelli opened the scoring, Rossi doubled the lead and Briaschi ended the contest. Prague were unable to recover, even though the Czech side won the second game, playing well in a 1-0 victory.
Semi-finals. Again another tough encounter: Bordeaux already had silverware in their sights and it required a great Juve performance to overcome the French side in Torino, on 10th April. Turning out for the Bianconeri that night were: Bodini, Favero Cabrini; Bonini Caricola Scirea; Briaschi Tardelli Rossi Platini Boniek. The pressing tactics displayed by the French were difficult to play against but Juve had Platini and Boniek, who made the difference. The Polish striker broke the deadlock on the half hour mark, controlling the ball and going on the counter. Briaschi took his chance to make it 2-0, and a splendid volley from Platini made it 3-0. Juve had troubles in Bordeaux but Bodini did all he could to keep the score down to 0-2. The final arrived on 29th May 1985 in Bruxelles. An evening tainted by sadness, which saw 39 innocent victims lose their lives. The game still went ahead in order to avoid further violence. Juventus clinched the trophy with a penalty from Platini. The most wonderful cup won on the most tragic evening.