In 1964 West Ham won their first ever FA Cup. This success meant that for the first time in the clubs history, we would be representing England in the European Cup Winners Cup. The added bonus that year (1965) was that the final was to be held at Wembley. The Hammers started their first European campaign well and in the first double header leg we advanced beating Gent 2-1 on aggregate. The trip to Belgium was not so easy as today’s players would enjoy, with a coach, train, boat and coach trip via Ostend providing an endurance test before the game itself. Ronnie Boyce scored the only goal of the game and in the return leg at Upton Park Johnny Byrne scored in a 1-1 draw and that was enough to progress. The second round saw us beat the highly regarded Czech team Sparta Prague 2-0 at home with goals from Alan Sealey and John Bond and lose 2-1 away to progress 3-2 on aggregate. John Sissons had saved the day with a late goal which completely rattled the home side. The Sparta side displayed the ugly side of football with some rugged tackling that displeased the Hammers and Ron Greenwood in particular but thankfully we came through relatively unscathed. Bobby Moore had missed both games and Greenwood played Ronnie Boyce as a sweeper – a great tactical move by the great man as “Ticker” played a couple of blinders.
In the quarter finals we beat Lausanne Sport of Switzerland 2-1 and followed up with a 4-3 win at home. Three of our six goals in that round were scored by Brian Dear. We were perhaps a bit fortunate to have him in the side as the day of the first match Geoff Hurst saved Brian’s life in a swimming pool incident. It is not a good idea to stumble into the deep end when you can’t swim! Good job Sir Geoff was on hand to save the day again! Indeed we were probably lucky to have Bobby Moore in the side as well. He had recovered from testicular cancer the year before after having a testicle removed. Dear and Byrne had scored in the away leg victory while Dear’s brace together with a Martin Peters strike and an own goal saw us through in the second leg.
The semi final saw us play Real Zaragoza. The Spanish team were beaten 2-1 at Upton Park with goals again from Dear and Byrne. John Sissons popped up with another vital goal in the second leg which finished 1-1 to see West Ham through to the final. Zaragoza had been the hot favourites to win the trophy and were famous for having an impressive forward line known as the “The Magnificent Five”. Their side showcased some of the greatest players that played in Spain during that decade.
The opponents for the final were the German team Munich 1860. It was an opportunity for the Hammers to become only the second English team to win a European trophy. Munich 1860 were still to play a semi-final play off match against Torino in Zurich to decide the other finalist. Greenwood suggested the whole team travel to Zurich to watch the match and insisted that “it was too good an opportunity to miss”. Despite sitting in the open in appalling weather the players were grateful to be able to watch their final opponents and gain invaluable insight on the strengths and weaknesses of their upcoming opponents. This was an era where little was known of foreign opposition – an era well before the internet or World Wide TV coverage of football. The German side won 2-0 and the following season were to go on and win the Bundesliga, proving they were a very decent team indeed.
In its time the ’65 ECWC Final was remembered as a game for the purists. The game was considered to be one of the best matches ever played at Wembley as both teams played magnificently. Unfortunately Budgie Byrne had been ruled out with injury which was a major blow to the Hammers. John Sissons missed an excellent early chance and whilst the German side looked more refined in their attacks it was West Ham that looked the more dangerous. Munich’s midfielder Bena was having an impressive match and Bobby Moore was equally as impressive breaking up the slower German attacks. The match was end to end stuff and played in a tremendous spirit – a far cry than Inter Milans cynical display later that month in winning the European Cup. Two goals in two second half minutes from Alan Sealey secured a 2-0 winning score line and “Bubbles” rang around Wembley for the second successive year. The two goal hero was to break a leg a few weeks later, playing an impromptu game of cricket at Chadwell Heath. He only played four more times for West Ham and his career took a spiralling downward turn after the injury.
Much of the success of the campaign has to go to the manager Ron Greenwood. He changed normal tactics to counter the European game, especially the away legs. Bobby Moore would play as a deeper sweeper and Geoff Hurst was dropped back into a deeper role behind either Budgie Byrne or Brian Dear. The wingers also fell back to help defensively in a 4-4-1-1 system. As winners the Hammers had automatic entry to the competition the following year and just failed by going down in the semi-finals to eventual winners Borussia Dortmund. The win in 1965 was considered to be manager Ron Greenwood’s finest moment. At the end of the year West Ham were voted the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year Team Award.