DBasia.news – Bayern Munich won the Champions League title in 1976 over a narrow 1-0 victory against Saint Etienne at Standion Hamden Park, Glasgow. These results were the third time for Bayern for becoming champions.
The victory has made Bayern Munich the third club in history to be able to win the Champions Cup three times in a row after Real Madrid (1956-1960) and Ajax (1971, 1972, 1973). However, for Saint Etienne, what was experienced at Hamden Park also still clings for a different reason, Les Poteaux Carres. Saint-Etienne had bad memories with Les Poteaux Carres or the pole box. Even the pillar of the box is considered a curse for Saint-Etienne.
Saint-Etienne arrived at Hampden Park on May 12, 1976 as an underdog. They were the first French club to fight in the Champions Cup final since Reims seventeen years earlier. On this Scottish soil, Etienne facec Bayern Munich giants, Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Muller and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. Bayern were favored to be champions, as they did two previous seasons.
But on the pitch, Etienne who at that time dominated French football was able to keep up with the defending champions. Until now, Etienne’s living supporters still consider their beloved club should have won. They believe, if it wasn’t for the pole box, Etienne would have came home with a trophy.
Yes, at that time the pole and crossbar at Hampden Park were still in the form of blocks. In the 30th minute, young Etienne midfielder, Dominique Bathenay dribbled from the center of the field, then cleverly overcame Kaiser Franz’s escort before firing a long range shot that could not be reached by Bayern keeper, Sepp Maier.
Seen towards the goal, the ball had hit the underside of the crossbar, bounced to the face of the goal, and finally Meier could be secured. Something similar happened when Jacques Santini’s header hit the post. Commentators, Brian Moore and Jack Charlton wondered if the ball would go in if the crossbar was round, not a box, which at that time was typical of Hampden Park.
Able to complicate, Ettiene failed to break down Bayern’s goal. Until disaster came in the 57th minute. Receiving feedback from Beckenbauer, Franz Roth shook Etienne’s goal. Despite trying hard to catch up, les Verts had to go home empty-handed. After the whistle sounded, Etienne players were seen crying as they felt unlucky. Nevertheless supporters still conside Etienne’s fleet as heroes.
Saint-Etienne still believes that the pillars and box-shaped crossbar is what made them fail and the legend of Les Poteaux Carres was born. Richard McBrearty, a curator from the Scottish Football Museum, said he really understood why the pillars and crossbar have their own meaning for Saint-Etienne.
“That was their first European final, and they were against the brilliant Bayern, who had legendary players like Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Muller and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge,” McBrearty said.
“Bayern became favorites after winning the previous two seasons, but it was the French fans who really made the match special. They brought color and atmosphere to the match. Their clear scarves and green clothes, along with their extraordinary voices, made the game a spectacle. Outstanding.”
In 2013, with the help of the Scottish Football Museum, Saint-Etienne brought the goalpost as a display in their club’s museum. “This goalpost is a symbol of the 1976 final, which creates an emotional bond between the people of France and Saint-Etienne,” said Roland Romeyer, club president.
“Even though Saint-Etienne lost that night, the goalpost serves as a reminder of the fond memories many fans had of the final, along with the bitter truth on ‘what could have happen'”.
Hampden Park used the iconic pillar and bar from 1903 to 1987, before FIFA rules stated that it had to be replaced.
The goal had previously been kept at the Scottish Football Museum at Glasgow Stadium. Saint-Etienne spent 20 thousand to purchase the goal.