UNITED 4, VfB STUTTGART 1

September 30, 1992

European Cup, first round second leg

LEEDS UNITED: Lukic, Sellars, Dorigo, Batty, Fairclough, Whyte, Strachan, Cantona, Chapman, McAllister, Speed. Subs not used: Shutt, Hodge. Newsome, Day, Rocastle.

VfB STUTTGART: Immel, Schafer, Frontzeck, Dubajic, Strunz, Buchwald, Buck, Sverrisson, Walter (Knup 81), Gaudino (Simakic 83), Kogl. Not used: Golke, Trautner, Strehmel.

For excitement, passion, drama and sheer edge-of-the-seat entertainment, it is difficult to think of many games that are on a par with United's thrill-a-minute second leg victory over VfB Stuttgart in the European Cup first round tie on Sept 30, 1992.

United had been swamped 3-0 in the first leg against the German champions and were not really fancied to pull that margin around in the return leg at Elland Road.

European nights at Elland Road have always been pretty special as far as I am concerned and this particular game saw United end up 4-1 winners. An incredible victory on the night left the aggregate scores at 4-4 with Stuttgart going through on the away goals rule.

As far as progressing in Europe's premier club competition was concerned it was, sadly, a case of so near yet so far - or so we thought.

It wasn't until the following day that events began to emerge of Stuttgart breaching tournament rules by using four 'foreign' players, rather than the three allowed. Stuttgart's blunder came to light when fans of an opposing German club saw the game live on German TV and spotted the error.

I first became aware of the situation when a German journalist contacted the newspaper I worked for then, to inform me of what was happening. After much to-ing and fro-ing UEFA awarded the game to United 3-0 which left the clubs level on aggregate at 3-3 and decreed that a play-off game should take place in Barcelona.

So the tremendous efforts of the United players in the second leg at Elland Road had brought them reward after all. "You can talk all you like about Italian and Spanish football," Gordon Strachan told me, "but there is no better spectacle than a British team, going at it as we did against Stuttgart."

Most United players were too choked to say much immediately after the game but manager Howard Wilkinson said most of them would wake up feeling that their stomach was eight feet deep and that they had a pain somewhere near the bottom of it.

United's intentions were quickly signalled by Gary McAllister, who surged forward with pace and power and let fly with three fierce shots, two of which zipped wide, the other being saved by the keeper.

The break-through came in the 17th minute when Gary Speed ghosted through to volley a left-foot shot in from near the six-yard line after Eric Cantona and Strachan had set up the chance.

Andreas Buck's equaliser on the night, after 34 minutes, might well have knocked the stiffing out of most sides, faced with the task United had, but Wilko's men took the blow and hit back four minutes later with a penalty from McAllister.

When United went 3-0 up in the 66th minute, Strachan was again the provider, his lofted pass being fought for by the outstanding Cantona and the ball went in as defender Gunther Schafer thrust out a leg in a late challenge on the Frenchman.

United went 4-1 up when Lee Chapman got in on the scoring act and there were then ten minutes left for United to get the goal that would have settled the tie. But, try as they might, they couldn't get it and the game ended with a 4-4 aggregate and Stuttgart having the valuable away goal.

Stuttgart team boss Christoph Daum said at the end: "We weren't the better side? but we were the luckier." At least that was the case until the events unfolded the following day.

*United won the play off 2-1 with goals from Strachan and Shutt.

DON WARTERS

Leeds United Press Officer and former soccer correspondent of the Yorkshire Evening Post