October 19 – Norwich Stun Bayern
IT’S back to 1993 today and a look at the best English result on the continent since D-Day. Back when the Uefa Cup was more than a chance for Harry Redknapp to rest his starting XI, plucky little Norwich City became the only British club to ever beat Bayern Munich in their Olympic Stadium.
These days the most notable achievement of the last few seasons at Norwich have been the boozy half-time antics of their chairman and their impact on Asian betting markets. Allegedly. Back in the early ’90s though the Canaries were making a decent stab of the newly formed Premiership, finishing third in the inaugural season.
This gave them their first, and so far only, European jolly, as it meant qualification for the Uefa Cup. In the first round Vitesse Arnhem of the Netherlands were dispatched, only for the mighty Bayern Munich to be drawn in round two.
No British side have ever won at Bayern’s Olympic Stadium and no one expected this to change. Martin Samuel of The Times later claimed that “Norwich’s expedition was regarded as little more than an exotic day out with a football match attached.”
Manager Mike Walker was having none of this though, as he big-upped his side’s chances. His charges, featuring the likes of Ruel Fox, Mark Robins and Chris Sutton, went at Bayern from the get-go and, incredibly, after half an hour they were 2-0 up, thanks to a screaming 20-yard volley from Jeremy Goss and a header from Mark Bowen. “This is almost fantasy football!”, exclaimed a breathless John Motson in the commentary box.
Bayern would pull one back before half-time through Christian Nerlinger, but despite throwing the kitchen sink at the Norfolk side in the second half, the German’s couldn’t find an equaliser.
Norwich’s 2-1 win gave them the distinction of being first, and as Bayern moved to the Allianz Arena in 2006, only ever British side to beat to win at the Olympic Stadium.
Three weeks later they played the return leg at Carrow Road, drawing 1-1 in a game where a certain OTFD favourite by the name of Ade Akinbiyi made his debut. A 3-2 aggregate win sealed their passage to the third round where they would become unstuck by Internationale.
That famous night in Munich (no, not that one) has gone down in Norwich folklore as the pinnacle of their history. See the goals below and check out who else was scoring today here. We’ll be back tomorrow to banish those Monday morning blues, so until then, stay classy.
No related posts.
Loading ...2 Comments
October 19 - Norwich Stun Bayern and ‘Remember the name: Wayne Rooney’ | On This Football Day on October 19th, 2009
[...] 1993 – Norwich Stun Bayern [...]
April 10 - Bruce to the Rescue | On This Football Day on April 10th, 2009
[...] United were locked in a battle with Aston Villa in the race to win the first ever Premier League, with the Villians leading the pack for most of the season. Norwich City also had a spell on top over the Christmas period, but they eventually had to settle for a Uefa Cup spot, but this would bring about one of the greatest days in the history. [...]