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Dino Zoff on the 1983 final: “Hamburg was simply better than us”

Hamburg Dino Zoff on the 1983 final

“Hamburg was simply better than us”

As of 8:03 a.m

The Night of Athens: Horst Hrubesch and Ditmar Jacobs present the National Champion Cup

The Night of Athens: Horst Hrubesch and Ditmar Jacobs present the National Champion Cup

Source: dpa

The legendary Italian goalkeeper remembers his defeat 40 years after the 1-0 win in HSV’s national championship final against Juventus Turin – while the Hamburg legends have special experiences in Athens.

FSoccer World Champion Dino Zoff is still annoyed 40 years later about losing the European Cup final with Juventus Turin against Hamburger SV. With a goal by Felix Magath, HSV won the European Cup in Athens in 1983 1-0 against the big favorites from Italy.

Former national soccer goalkeeper Dino Zoff was also in goal when his club Juventus surprisingly lost the 1983 European Cup final against Hamburger SV

Former national soccer goalkeeper Dino Zoff

Source: dpa

“Hamburg was simply better than us. That often happens in sports when you already think you’re stronger,” said the 81-year-old Zoff. However, the then Juventus captain cleared up a legend: that his team had underestimated HSV and was too confident of winning the final of the national champions’ cup. “This is all nonsense!” said Zoff. “Of course we were favourites, Italy were world champions and we also had Platini. So everyone guessed us. But the fact that we thought about the celebration after the game even before the game: let’s not exaggerate.”

Eleven of the legends of the European Cup victory met last weekend in the Volksparkstadion

Eleven of the legends of the European Cup victory met last weekend in the Volksparkstadion

Source: dpa

The triumph of HSV in the final of the European Cup 40 years ago is probably not only remembered by “Dino National” and Hamburg football nostalgists. Even in the place where the final was played at the time, many people still remember May 25, 1983 and the 1-0 win of the North Germans against the favorites Juventus Turin. Especially the winning goal by Felix Magath stuck. Magath (69), Bernd Wehmeyer (70) and Manfred Kaltz (70) felt that when they traveled to the scenes in the Greek capital again for an NDR documentary.

“Felix, get your ID out!”

One evening in the old town, the trio had dinner in a restaurant, Wehmeyer said. When the waiter heard that the three former HSV heroes were from Hamburg, he immediately spoke of the final. “‘Oh Hamburg. Hrubesch, Magath, Juventus’, the man said,” Wehmeyer described the scene.

He pointed out to the waiter that it was Felix Magath sitting there. “Then I said: ‘Felix, get out your ID. He doesn’t believe us,’” said the current Vice-President of HSV eV The man had hardly realized who was sitting there when he ran into the kitchen and got three more colleagues. “They then showed Felix’s goal on their cell phones,” said Wehmeyer.

And that didn’t just happen to them once in Athens, the former defender assured. Whenever people heard Hamburg, “they didn’t talk about the Elbphilharmonie, they said: Magath, Hrubesch, Kaltz”.

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