Brawls, Bribes and Broken Dreams

How Dundee Almost Won the European Cup

Graeme Strachan

• Publisher: Pitch Publishing
• eBook ISBN:
  9781801502658
• Year: 2022

Dundee were the punch-drunk underdogs when they chased European Cup glory after winning the league in 1962. AC Milan, Benfica and Real Madrid were at the peak of their powers and Ipswich would represent England after winning the league under Alf Ramsey. Dundee were about to enter a new world of glamour. Expectations were so low that just ten Dundee fans put their names forward for a special flight to mark the club's first venture into the unknown. The Dark Blues were up for the fight though, and destroyed Cologne 8-1 in a blitzkrieg at Dens Park that left the German Embassy reeling. In the week they shared the same bill as boxing legends Sonny Liston and Sugar Ray Robinson, the British Army rescued Dundee from a mass riot with as many punches thrown in the return leg. As this remarkable Cinderella story unfolded, fans of city rivals Dundee United were soon hitch-hiking across the continent to watch Dundee as they came close to conquering Europe, before it all ended in brawls, bribes and broken dreams.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Dedication
• Acknowledgements
• Foreword
• Prologue
• 1. The Other Shankly
• 2. Smoke and Mirrors
• 3. The Blitzkrieg that left the German Embassy Reeling
• 4. Planes, Trains and Automobiles
• 5. Sonny Liston, Sugar Ray Robinson and the Battle of Cologne
• 6. Tall Ships Go
• 7. Taming the Lions of Lisbon
• 8. The Big Freeze
• 9. From Bayview to Brussels
• 10. Tears of a Clown?
• 11. Meet the Mad King of Catenaccio
• 12. Bobby Cox and the Magic Lamp
• 13. Flashbulbs and Flashpoints
• 14. Singing the Blues
• 15. Absent Friends
• Photos