The 1976 European Super Cup was played between Anderlecht of Belgium and Bayern Munich of West Germany, with Anderlecht winning 5–3 on aggregate.[1]
It was difficult to pick a clear favourite, although in retrospect Bayern Munich (who had won three European cups in a row) were past their prime, while Anderlecht were younger and hungrier.[2]
At the Olympiastadion, in front of 41,000 fans, Bayern went behind due to a goal by Arie Haan, scored in the 16th minute, who was good at taking advantage of a shot that hit the post of the German goal. However, Bayern came back thanks to a nice brace by Gerd Müller, with goals in the 58th and 88th minutes.[3]
At the Stade Émile Versé in Anderlecht, Bayern's game got off to a bad start from the middle of the first half. The Bavarians quickly fell behind in the 20th minute, following a fine goal by Rob Rensenbrink, who headed in a pass from about forty meters away. The goal by the Dutchman from Anderlecht was followed five minutes later by a second goal by François Van der Elst, who was able to take advantage of an uncertain exit by Sepp Maier.[4] Less than a quarter of an hour into the second half, one of the other Dutch players on the Belgian team, Arie Haan, scored the third goal. His run through three Germans in the Bayern area was followed by a powerful right-footed shot that went past Maier to his left. The Germans managed to close the gap thanks to a goal of Gerd Müller in the 63rd minute.[5] But it was too late to turn the tide of the game, and with less than ten minutes left in regulation time, Rensenbrink scored his second goal of the match, making the score 4–1 in favor of the home team.[6]
And so Anderlecht won the Super Cup for the first time (two years later they would do it again).[7] Bayern, on the other hand, lost the chance to win the trophy for the second time in a row (defeated by Dynamo Kiev in 1975).[2]
Anderlecht
58', 88'
