What happened over the following five years is nothing short of a miracle and, to put the story into perspective, just try to imagine Preston North End, currently 13th in the Championship, winning promotion next May, then the Premier League at the first attempt, back-to-back Champions Leagues, a couple of EFL Cups and creating a record for going unbeaten in the top division – 42 matches in Forest’s case – that would last a quarter of a century.īrian Clough football manager celebrating after his Nottingham Forest team had beaten Hamburg to win the 1980 European Cup. “You'll never achieve anything there,” were his precise words. One of their own committee members had described them as “the least progressive club in the country” and one of the previous managers, Dave Mackay, had warned off Clough. ![]() ![]() Perhaps the best way to sum up the almost implausible journey that finished with unfashionable, unheralded Nottingham Forest winning the European Cup, twice, is to think back to what the club were like before a certain Yorkshireman with a wagging finger, a nasal accent and a habit of kissing television interviewers sprinkled his precious magic on the club.įorest were 13th in the old Division Two when Brian Clough landed his coat on the peg for the first time on a freezing January morning in 1975. The Forest team celebrate with the trophy after the match. Nottingham Forest played in the Football Alliance league 1889-1892.1980 European Cup Final at the Santiagio Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid. The 1939-40 season was abandoned after three rounds and is therefore excluded. In 1999, the club was relegated to the Championship.įirst title: 1977-1978 All seasons Season Relegation to the ChampionshipĬlough led the club to two more League Cup trophies in 19 before deciding to retire in 1993, thus bringing an end to Forest's glory days. History repeated itself the very next season, with Forest once again reaching the final, where they defeated Hamburger SV 1-0 on the back of a tremendous performance by goalkeeper Peter Shilton. Even more impressively, it seemed like Forest became a contender overnight after winning promotion to the First Division in 1977, they won a Double the following year by claiming a League title and defeating Liverpool in the League Cup final.Īfter retaining the League Cup in 1979, Forest one-upped it by going all the way in the European Cup, outlasting Malmö FF 1-0 in the final. Together with his assistant Peter Taylor, Clough would transform Forest into a competitive club with a penchant for attractive football. This would all change with Brian Clough taking over the managerial role in 1975. With only a single FA Cup trophy in 1959 during the next seven decades, Forest were not seen as particularly threatening. Their first major honor came in 1898, with a win over Derby County in the FA Cup final. Yet, it was the football section that had the most success in 1892, they won the Football Alliance league once before being admitted to the Football League. The club participated in the FA Cup for the first time in the 1879-1880 season, almost ten years before the English Football League was inaugurated.Īt first, Forest were a multi-sports club, with bandy (the club was actually initially named Nottingham Forest Football and Bandy Club) and baseball sections being a large part of the club's identity. ![]() ![]() With a foundation date of 1865, Nottingham Forest are one of the oldest football clubs in the world (it should not be confused with Forest Club, though, founded six earlier and later renamed as Wanderers FC). Nottingham Forest FA Cup Final team from 1898. Grenville Morris, Viv Anderson, Nigel Clough, Trevor Francis, Des Walker, Martin O'Neill, Archie Gemmill, Peter Shilton, Kenny Burns, Neil Webb, Stuart Pearce, Roy Keane Club records
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