The first leg on 6 September 1972 would be memorable not for the football, but for the unsporting manner in which the game was played. Ajax had just taken an early lead through Johan Cruyff when the goalscorer was forced to leave the field after a vicious tackle from Mírcoli. Ajax coach Stefán Kovács' first job at half-time was to calm down his furious players who were refusing to take to the field for the second half. Kovács implored his players to keep a cool head and, despite a Francisco "Pancho" Sa equaliser inside the last fifteen minutes, the Dutch team were in a strong position heading into the return leg three weeks later. In Amsterdam , Ajax would deliver a football masterclass, denying the Argentinians any foothold in the game. Johan Neeskens and Johnny Rep secured an emphatic 3-0 victory and a first victory on the world stage for Ajax.
It was Johan Cruyff, the figurehead of the Ajax team of that era, who laid the foundations for the Dutch club's victory with his early opening goal in the first leg. Despite leaving the field prematurely through injury, he was fit for the return leg where he led his team to a new level of international success. The European Footballer of the Year for 1971, 1973 and 1974 won the hearts of football fans with his inimitable style and stunning talent.
He would rarely be out of the headlines in a replete playing career.
Stefán Kovács followed Rinus Michels in 1972 and continued the "General's" success seamlessly, refining the philosophy of total football. Opponents were forced into submission as Ajax moved the ball at electric pace from one end of the field to the other. The team boasted fabulously talented midfield players who performed defensive and offensive duties with equal aplomb. At the back nothing was given away. Kovács, a Hungarian by birth who subsequently gained Romanian citizenship, won almost every honour available during his reign at Ajax and would go on to coach in France and Romania.
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