When Rangers touched down in Barcelona ahead of the 1972 Cup Winners’ Cup final against Moscow Dynamo, the heat they were feeling wasn’t coming from the Catalan sun. They had lost at this stage in 1961 and 1967, while their great rivals Celtic had won the European Cup, so the pressure was on Willie Waddell’s side to finally claim a European trophy.
Having seen their team dispatch Rennes, Torino, Sporting Lisbon and tournament favourites Bayern Munich in previous rounds, Rangers fans were expecting victory. More than 27,000 made the trip to the Nou Camp but they knew little about the Russians, who travelled from behind the Iron Curtain without any supporters. “We were desperate to win,” recalls Peter McCloy, who played in goal for the Ibrox side. “We had a very good team and it was made up of 11 Scots.”
On May 24, 1972, Colin Stein opened the scoring and Willie Johnston struck either side of half-time to leave Rangers cruising. Dynamo hit back twice, but the Scots held on, though a pitch invasion by their supporters meant captain John Greig was presented with the trophy inside the stadium. The club was banned from Europe for two years as a result, though it was reduced to a season on appeal. [The numbers refer to a photograph, which is not carried on the website.]
1 Graham Fyfe The winger’s inconsistency saw him largely deployed as a substitute. In later years, he claimed the reason he could not break into the team was because his wife was Catholic. He scored 31 goals in 87 matches during seven years at Ibrox, but played no part in this final and left for Hibs in 1976, along with Alistair Scott in exchange for Iain Munro. He later moved to Pittsburgh Spirit in the North American Soccer League, then Dumbarton, and has since worked in an abattoir.
2 Willie Johnston Along with his two goals in the final he hit vital away strikes against Rennes and Torino. A left-winger of captivating skill, he made his debut in 1964, aged 17, and was a full Scotland international a year later. However, by December of 1972 he had been sold to West Brom for £135,000, as Rangers tired of on-field indiscipline that would see him sent off more than 20 times in his career. He became a cult hero at the Hawthorns, but was sent home from the 1978 World Cup after failing a drug test. He returned to Rangers in 1980 and, after spells with Hearts and Falkirk, he retired aged 39. He now runs the Portbrae Bar in Kirkcaldy.
3 Peter McCloy Nicknamed the Girvan Lighthouse on account of his 6ft 4in frame, he can claim an assist in the winning goal, his massive punt being missed by the Moscow defenders and nodded in by Stein. He joined Rangers from Motherwell in 1970, in exchange for Bobby Watson and Brian Herron, and played 644 games for the club — an Ibrox record for a goalkeeper — winning the title in 1976, four Scottish Cups, four League Cups and four Scotland caps. He was a goalkeeping coach at Rangers under Graeme Souness and later worked at Hearts and Inverness, while also running a sports shop and hotel in his home town. He is now head starter at Turnberry golf course.
4 Alex Miller Joined in 1967 from Clydebank juniors, initially as a striker, and spent the next 16 years at Ibrox, playing 305 games, mostly as full-back. He did not feature in Barcelona, but won three titles, two Scottish Cups and four League Cups. His management career has taken him to Morton, St Mirren, Hibernian — where he won the Skol Cup in 1991 — and Aberdeen. He has also been No2 to Gordon Strachan at Coventry and Scotland manager Craig Brown. He joined Liverpool as a scout in 1999, and he is now first-team coach at Anfield, preparing for the Champions League final.
5 Derek Parlane The striker turned 19 a few weeks before the final but didn’t make the team, though his stunning volley sealed a 2-0 semi-final, second-leg victory over Bayern. The son of former Ibrox player Jimmy Parlane, he was signed from Queen’s Park in 1970 and scored 111 goals over 10 years, finishing the club’s top scorer in four seasons. He won 12 Scotland caps and joined Leeds for £160,000 in 1980 before playing for Manchester City and Swansea. He later became a director of non-league Macclesfield Town, and is sales manager for Reebok.
6 Derek Johnstone Played at centre-half in the Nou Camp after Colin Jackson injured his ankle in training, but although this was his favoured position he is best remembered as a striker of exceptional heading ability, his 131 league goals a post-war club record until the arrival of Ally McCoist. He joined Chelsea for £30,000 in 1983 before returning two years later, and won 14 Scotland caps. Had a short spell as manager of Partick Thistle and is now a radio and newspaper pundit.
7 Alfie Conn Played on the right wing against Dynamo and spent six years at Rangers before moving to Spurs in 1974. He joined Celtic in March 1977 and played in the winning Scottish Cup final side against Rangers a few months later. Having already scored in Rangers’ 1973 final triumph over Celtic, it gives him a unique place in football history. In 1979 he headed to Pittsburgh, and a year later joined Hearts, the team where his father had been a legend, then Blackpool and Motherwell. He works at Glasgow’s famous Rangers pub, the Louden Tavern.
8 Gerry Neef Arrived from West Germany in 1968 and spent five years at Ibrox, mostly as understudy to McCloy. He moved on to FC Nuremberg, and also coached women’s football in the city, but is now a businessman back in Glasgow. His daughter, Melanie, is a former 400m runner.
9 Alex MacDonald In his 12 years at Ibrox this pocket battleship midfielder made 500 appearances, won three titles, five Scottish Cups and five League Cups, but gained just one Scotland cap. In 1980 he became co-manager of Hearts with Sandy Jardine, while playing on until he was 37. Six years later his side agonisingly missed out on the title and Scottish Cup, and he was sacked by Wallace Mercer in 1989. He then guided Airdrie to two Scottish Cup finals before leaving in 1999. Now a matchday host at Ibrox.
10 Bobby Watson The keeper joined in the summer of 1970, aged 20, from junior side Ardrossan Winton Rovers but continued to work for a bank. He started a League Cup tie against Dunfermline that August, but after the 3-1 Glasgow Cup final defeat to Celtic he was blamed for two goals and dropped, not playing again. He was released after the 1972-73 season and remained in banking.
