# 1960–61 European Cup

The 1960–61 European Cup was the sixth season of the European Cup, UEFA's premier club football tournament. The competition was won by Benfica, who beat Barcelona 3–2 in the final at Wankdorf Stadium in Bern, on 31 May 1961. It was the first time that five-time winners Real Madrid did not make it to the final, when they were knocked out by eventual first-time finalists Barcelona in the first round. Benfica was the first Portuguese team to reach the final and to win the tournament.
For the first time a team from Norway participated. However, again two teams withdrew from the competition after initial draw: Romanian CCA București was fearing a shameful elimination in front of the Czechoslovakians, while Northern Irish Glenavon and East German Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt were refused visas to the other's country. UEFA authorised neutral venues but Glenavon withdrew due to the higher cost and lower revenue.
On 9 November 1960, in a first round game against Real Madrid at Santiago Bernabéu Barcelona's Luis Suárez converted penalty to score a 1000th goal in the history of European Cup.

## Teams

A total of 28 teams were placed in the competition bracket, but finally only 26 participated since Romanian CCA București and Northern Irish Glenavon withdrew from the competition.
Spain continued to be represented by two clubs, with Real Madrid qualifying as title holders and Barcelona as Spanish champions. CDNA Sofia appeared in the fifth edition of European Cup, with only Real Madrid having more appearances in the competition.
Lierse, Spartak Hradec Králové, Burnley, IFK Helsingfors, Hamburger SV, Panathinaikos, Limerick, Újpesti Dózsa, Fredrikstad and IFK Malmö made their debut, while Rapid Wien, AGF, Reims, Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt, Juventus, Ajax, Legia Warsaw, Benfica, CCA București, Heart of Midlothian and Beşiktaş returned to the competition.
All entrants were their respective associations champions, except for title holders Real Madrid, as well as Swedish IFK Malmö and Polish Legia Warsaw, who were leaders of their respective leagues in spring, but later finished second.
| Rapid Wien (1st) | Lierse (1st) | CDNA Sofia (1st) | Spartak Hradec Králové (1st) |
| AGF (1st) | Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt (1st) | Burnley (1st) | IFK Helsingfors (1st) |
| Reims (1st) | Panathinaikos (1st) | Újpesti Dózsa (1st) | Juventus (1st) |
| Jeunesse Esch (1st) | Ajax (1st) | Glenavon (1st) | Fredrikstad (1st) |
| Legia Warsaw (2nd) | Benfica (1st) | Limerick (1st) | CCA București (1st) |
| Heart of Midlothian (1st) | Barcelona (1st) | Real Madrid (2nd) | IFK Malmö (2nd) |
| Young Boys (1st) | Beşiktaş (1st) | Hamburger SV (1st) | Red Star Belgrade (1st) |

## Preliminary round

The draw for the preliminary round took place at UEFA headquarters in Paris, France, on 7 July 1960. As title holders, Real Madrid received a bye, and the remaining 27 teams were grouped geographically into three pots. The first team drawn in each pot also received a bye, while the remaining clubs would play the preliminary round in September.
| | Pot 1 Northern Europe | Pot 2 Western Europe | Pot 3 Eastern Europe |
| Drawn | Northern Ireland East Germany Poland Norway Finland Sweden Denmark Netherlands | France Republic of Ireland Belgium Luxembourg Switzerland Scotland Spain Portugal | Austria Romania Bulgaria Turkey Czechoslovakia Hungary Yugoslavia Italy |
| Byes | Hamburger SV | Burnley | Panathinaikos |
The calendar was decided by the involved teams, with all matches to be played by 30 September.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Heart of Midlothian | 1–5 | Benfica | 1–2 | 0–3 |
| Red Star Belgrade | 1–5 | Újpesti Dózsa | 1–2 | 0–3 |
| Fredrikstad | 4–3 | Ajax | 4–3 | 0–0 |
| AGF | 3–1 | Legia Warsaw | 3–0 | 0–1 |
| Juventus | 3–4 | CDNA Sofia | 2–0 | 1–4 |
| IFK Helsingfors | 2–5 | IFK Malmö | 1–3 | 1–2 |
| Rapid Wien | 4–1 | Beşiktaş | 4–0 | 0–1 |
| Limerick | 2–9 | Young Boys | 0–5 | 2–4 |
| CCA București | (w/o) | Spartak Hradec Králové | – | – |
| Glenavon | (w/o) | Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt | – | – |
| Reims | 11–1 | Jeunesse Esch | 6–1 | 5–0 |
| Barcelona | 5–0 | Lierse | 2–0 | 3–0 |

### Second leg

Fredrikstad won 4–3 on aggregate.
IFK Malmö won 5–2 on aggregate.
Rapid Wien won 4–1 on aggregate.
AGF won 3–1 on aggregate.
Reims won 11–1 on aggregate.
Barcelona won 5–0 on aggregate.
Benfica won 5–1 on aggregate.
Young Boys won 9–2 on aggregate.
Újpesti Dózsa won 5–1 on aggregate.
CDNA Sofia won 4–3 on aggregate.

## Bracket

| First round | First round | First round | First round | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | | Final | Final | |
| Benfica | 6 | 1 | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Újpesti Dózsa | 2 | 2 | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Újpesti Dózsa | 2 | 2 | 4 | Benfica | 3 | 4 | 7 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | AGF | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| AGF | 3 | 1 | 4 | AGF | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| Fredrikstad | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Fredrikstad | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | Benfica | 3 | 1 | 4 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | Rapid Wien | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | |
| Rapid Wien | 3 | 0 | 3 (1) | | | | | | | | | Rapid Wien | 0 | 1 | 1 | | |
| Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt | 1 | 2 | 3 (0) | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt | 1 | 2 | 3 (0) | Rapid Wien | 2 | 2 | 4 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | IFK Malmö | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| IFK Malmö | 1 | 1 | 2 | IFK Malmö | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| CDNA Sofia | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| CDNA Sofia | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | Benfica | 3 | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Barcelona | 2 | |
| Real Madrid | 2 | 1 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | Barcelona | 2 |
| Barcelona | 2 | 2 | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Barcelona | 2 | 2 | 4 | Barcelona | 4 | 1 | 5 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Spartak Hradec Králové | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| Spartak Hradec Králové | 1 | 0 | 1 | Spartak Hradec Králové | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| Panathinaikos | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Panathinaikos | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | Barcelona | 1 | 1 | 2 (1) | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | Hamburger SV | 0 | 2 | 2 (0) | | | | |
| Burnley | 2 | 2 | 4 | | | | | | | | | Hamburger SV | 0 | 2 | 2 (0) | | |
| Reims | 0 | 3 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Reims | 0 | 3 | 3 | Burnley | 3 | 1 | 4 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Hamburger SV | 1 | 4 | 5 | | | | | | | | |
| Young Boys | 0 | 3 | 3 | Hamburger SV | 1 | 4 | 5 | | | | | | | | |
| Hamburger SV | 5 | 3 | 8 | | | | | | | | | | | | |

## First round

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Play-off |
| Benfica | 7–4 | Újpesti Dózsa | 6–2 | 1–2 |
| AGF | 4–0 | Fredrikstad | 3–0 | 1–0 |
| Rapid Wien | 3–3 | Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt | 3–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 |
| IFK Malmö | 2–1 | CDNA Sofia | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| Real Madrid | 3–4 | Barcelona | 2–2 | 1–2 |
| Spartak Hradec Králové | 1–0 | Panathinaikos | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| Burnley | 4–3 | Reims | 2–0 | 2–3 |
| Young Boys | 3–8 | Hamburger SV | 0–5 | 3–3 |

### Second leg

AGF won 4–0 on aggregate.
IFK Malmö won 2–1 on aggregate.
Rapid Wien 3–3 Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt on aggregate; play-off needed.
Barcelona won 4–3 on aggregate.
Hamburger SV won 8–3 on aggregate.
Benfica won 7–4 on aggregate.
Burnley won 4–3 on aggregate.
Spartak Hradec Králové won 1–0 on aggregate.

### Play-off

Rapid Wien won play-off 1–0.

## Quarter-finals

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Benfica | 7–2 | AGF | 3–1 | 4–1 |
| Rapid Wien | 4–0 | IFK Malmö | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| Barcelona | 5–1 | Spartak Hradec Králové | 4–0 | 1–1 |
| Burnley | 4–5 | Hamburger SV | 3–1 | 1–4 |

### Second leg

Barcelona won 5–1 on aggregate.
Hamburger SV won 5–4 on aggregate.
Benfica won 7–2 on aggregate.
Rapid Wien won 4–0 on aggregate.

## Semi-finals

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Play-off |
| Benfica | 4–1 | Rapid Wien | 3–0 | 1–1 |
| Barcelona | 2–2 | Hamburger SV | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 |

### Second leg

Barcelona 2–2 Hamburger SV on aggregate; play-off needed.
Benfica won 4–1 on aggregate.

### Play-off

Barcelona won play-off 1–0.

## Top goalscorers

The top scorers from the 1960–61 European Cup (including preliminary round) are as follows:
| Rank | Player | Team | Goals |
| 1 | José Águas | Benfica | 11 |
| 2 | José Augusto | Benfica | 7 |
| 3 | Evaristo | Barcelona | 6 |
| 4 | Uwe Seeler | Hamburger SV | 5 |
| 5 | Klaus Stürmer | Hamburger SV | 4 |
| 5 | Luis Suárez | Barcelona | 4 |
| 7 | John Amdisen | AGF | 3 |
| 7 | Josef Bertalan | Rapid Wien | 3 |
| 7 | Robert Dienst | Rapid Wien | 3 |
| 7 | Charly Dörfel | Hamburger SV | 3 |
| 7 | Claude Dubaële | Reims | 3 |
| 7 | János Göröcs | Újpesti Dózsa | 3 |
| 7 | John Jensen | AGF | 3 |
| 7 | Jimmy Robson | Burnley | 3 |
| 7 | Dominique Rustichelli | Reims | 3 |
| 7 | Santana | Benfica | 3 |
| 7 | Willy Schneider | Young Boys | 3 |