By Robin Bairner
Although cup competitions aren’t necessarily considered as important as league wins in many countries, they are unique in that they allow underdogs to wrestle face-to-face with the giants of the game. More often than not, these clashes end in the expected manner, with the favourites coming out on top, but on some magical occasions it is the less-fancied outfits who overcome the odds to emerge triumphant.
Quevilly are one such club, having marched to the Coupe de France final this season. Not content with a semi-final berth two years ago, the little club from Normandy went one better this term, and despite going down 1-0 against Olympique Lyonnais at Stade de France, they did so with pride.
A semi-amateur side playing in France’s third flight – the equivalent to the likes of Scunthorpe or Leyton Orient in England – they went past seven teams, including two Ligue 1 sides, to reach the final.
Racing Clermontois, Feignies, La Tour d’Auvergne, Angers, Orleans, Olympique de Marseille and Rennes all fell at the hands of Quevilly, who more than deserved the chance to play in front of 80,000 at the Stade de France, giving their fans and players a night to remember.
| Mirandes | Copa del Rey 2011-12 |
The nature of Spain’s Copa del Rey means that it is more difficult for smaller teams to cause upsets as ties are played over the course of two legs. In addition, fewer sides are allowed to enter the competition than in the likes of England and France, in which the cup encompasses hundreds of clubs.
Such impediments did not stop Mirandes putting together a memorable run earlier this season. Playing in the Segunda Division B, they were one of the lowest ranked sides in the competition, yet they overcame Racing Santander, Villarreal and Espanyol before Athletic Bilbao ultimately proved too good for them in the semi-finals.
Another memorable run in Spain came from Alaves in 1998, when they reached the final by defeating Oviedo, Compostela, Deportivo and Real Madrid before the fairytale was ended by Mallorca.
| Gretna | Scottish Cup 2005-06 |
Playing in Scotland’s third tier, Gretna caused quite a stir in the first decade of the millennium, catching the eye with their astronomic rise up the leagues, having only joined from English non-league football in 2002. Arguably the high point of their existence was their charge to the Scottish Cup final only four years later.
Under the “Living the Dream” banner held up by eccentric owner Brooks Mileson, they enjoyed a fortunate run of fixtures en route to the final, where over 50,000 watched them at Hampden Park against Hearts.
The match itself was a tight, tense affair, with the Jambos grabbing a first-half lead through Rudi Skacel, but Gavin Skelton would level for the Borderers with quarter of an hour remaining. Hearts, who would be reduced to 10 men deep in extra time, would ultimately come through on penalties, but it was the lower-division outfit who took the plaudits.
Sadly for Grenta, their success came at a price, as their ascent left a string of debts, which ultimately saw the club go under in the summer of 2008, having finished bottom of the SPL.
| CIENCIANO | 2003 Copa Sudamericana |
No side from the nation had previously won the competition, so little was expected of Freddy Ternero’s side when they met with Universidad Catolica in a preliminary encounter, yet a comprehensive first-leg win paved the way to qualification to the tournament.
Legendary Brazilian outfit Santos were the first giants to fall at the hands of Cienciano, who then defeated Atletico Nacional home and away to progress to the final, where they met Boca Juniors.
After a 3-3 draw in the first leg, the Estadio Garcilaso was deemed too small to hold such a vital encounter, so the match was shifted to the home of rivals Melgar, whose fans actively supported the Argentines in the final. Carlos Lugo, though, was the hero, scoring a free kick to secure a historic victory that remains Peru’s only continental triumph.
| CALAIS | 1999-2000 Coupe de France |
Lille, Strasbourg and Bordeaux were amongst the big names that the northern side managed to eliminate before facing Nantes at the Stade de France in front of nearly 80,000 fans. Jerome Dutitre gave the amateurs the lead 10 minutes before the interval, prompting great celebration, but Antoine Sibierski leveled the match five minutes after the break.
That was the beginning of the end for Ladislas Lozano’s side, who were on the wrong end of a stoppage-time dive by substitute Alain Caveglia, which led to a penalty that Sibierski converted to unjustly rob Calais of an extra-time period their play richly deserved.
| HERTHA BERLIN II | 1992-93 DFB Pokal |
Hertha Berlin have never won the DFB Pokal in their 119-year history, qualifying for the final on two occasions, yet remarkably their reserve side got as close as the first team in 1993 as they progressed all the way to the last two.
Although they lost 1-0 to Bayer Leverkusen at the Olympic Stadium, conceding the decisive goal 13 minutes from time, they became the first third tier side to reach the final and are to date the only reserve team ever to have reached that stage.
| HANNOVER | 1991-92 DFB Pokal |
Another example of a great cup run from Germany came only 12 months earlier when Hannover, then a 2.Bundesliga side, ousted Borussia Monchengladbach after a penalty shootout following a scoreless draw.
While winning the final was in itself a remarkable achievement, the real drama in Hannover’s run came en route to the final in Berlin. Four Bundesliga clubs, VfL Bochum, Borussia Dortmund, Karlsruher SC and Werder Bremen, were defeated as the 96ers progressed to face Monchengladbach.
| SWINDON TOWN | 1968-69 League Cup |
In 1969, Swindon Town of the Third Division defeated Arsenal 3-1 after extra-time at Wembley to win the Football League Cup. In the same season they finished second in the league and were promoted to the old Second Division.
As League Cup winners they qualified for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (forerunner of the Uefa Cup) – except that the English FA had previously agreed entry criteria with the organisers that meant only winners from the First Division could participate. They were therefore ineligible, but the short-lived Anglo-Italian League Cup was created, compensating English teams from lower divisions by giving them the experience of European football.
The first Anglo-Italian League Cup final in 1969 saw Swindon beat Coppa Italia winners Roma 5-2 over two legs. The following season Swindon entered the Anglo-Italian Cup (a different tournament, which Juventus, Fiorentina, Lazio and Roma also entered) and made it to the final, where they met Napoli in a ‘showpiece’ disrupted by hooliganism and abandoned on 79 minutes after pitch invasions and missile throwing. Swindon had been leading 3-0 when the trouble started, and were declared the winners.