1985 European Cup final

The 1985 European Cup final was an association football match between Liverpool of England and Juventus of Italy on 29 May 1985 at the Heysel Stadium, Brussels, Belgium. It was the final match of the 1984–85 season of the European Cup, Europe's premier cup competition. Liverpool were the reigning champions and were appearing in their fifth final, having won the competition in 1977, 1978, 1981 and 1984. Juventus were appearing in their third European Cup final.

Each club needed to progress through four rounds to reach the final. Matches were contested over two legs, with a match at each team's home ground. All but one of Juventus' matches were won by two goals or more; in the semi-finals, they beat French team Bordeaux 3–2 on aggregate. Liverpool also won the majority of their matches by more than two goals, except in the second round when they beat Portuguese team Benfica 3–2 on aggregate.

The match is overshadowed for the disaster that occurred before the kick-off. Liverpool fans breached a fence separating the two groups of supporters and charged the Juventus fans. The resulting weight of people caused a retaining wall to collapse, killing 39 people and injuring hundreds. Despite calls for an abandonment, the match went ahead due to authorities and organisers' making a joint decision for public policy doctrine reasons after a state of siege in the city was declared. The disaster prompted UEFA to ban English clubs from European football for five years.

Watched by a crowd of 58,000, the first half was goalless. Juventus took the lead in the 56th minute when Michel Platini scored from a penalty after Gary Gillespie was adjudged to have brought down Zbigniew Boniek in the penalty area, although the foul was actually committed nearly a yard outside the area and the referee was far from the action. The score remained the same throughout the remainder of the match and Juventus won 1–0, achieving their first European Cup win and became the first club to have won all three major European trophies at the time (European Cup/UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League, and the Cup Winners' Cup).

Juventus gained entry to the competition by winning the 1983–84 Serie A, entering as Italian champions. Their opponents in the first round were Ilves of Finland. The first leg in Finland, held at the Ratina Stadion, was won 4–0 by Juventus with a hat-trick by Paolo Rossi and a goal from Michel Platini. They won the second leg 2–1 at their home ground, Stadio Comunale, to win the tie 6–1 on aggregate.

In the second round, Juventus were drawn against Swiss team Grasshopper. Juventus won the first leg 2–0 in Italy, and achieved a 4–2 victory in the second leg in Switzerland, which meant that they won the tie 6–2 on aggregate. Juventus' opponents in the quarter-finals were Sparta Prague of Czechoslovakia. Goals from Marco Tardelli, Paolo Rossi and Massimo Briaschi ensured a 3–0 victory for Juventus in the first leg in Italy. They lost the second leg at Sparta's home ground, Letná stadium 1–0, but progressed to the semi-finals due to a 3–1 aggregate victory.

In the semi-finals, Juventus played French team Bordeaux and won the first leg 3–0 in Italy with goals from Zbigniew Boniek, Briaschi and Platini. The second leg was held at Bordeaux's home ground, the Stade Chaban-Delmas. Despite winning the match 2–0, Bordeaux lost 3–2 on aggregate.

Liverpool were the reigning European champions; they defeated Roma to win the 1983–84 European Cup, and were also the reigning English champions, having won the English league during the same season. They were drawn against Polish team Lech Poznań in the first round, and won the first leg at Poznań's home ground, Stadion Lecha, 1–0. Liverpool won the second leg 4–0 with a hat-trick from John Wark and a goal from Paul Walsh at their home ground, Anfield, to win the tie 5–0 on aggregate.