Last update October 21, 2020 by Javier Argudo
Sometimes in football there are the necessary circumstances for the weakest to win over the greatest. Others talk that miracles in football exist. The Recopa de 1988 won by him FC Malinas can be defined as miracle.
FC Malinas one he KV Mechelen a Belgian team that was the watchword of their country's golden age of soccer. The 80 it was a great decade for Belgium, players of the stature of Pfaff, Scifo O Ceulemans they almost managed to take home the European Championship 1980.
Resurgence that seems to come to life in the 21st century, Belgium being one of the big favorites for the Eurocup according to data in betfair.
The winning inertia of 80 Belgian football continued to bear fruit. At the beginning of this each team from the city of Antwerp began a reconstruction process that led them to get second place in the league in 1987 and win the cup (first title in 50 years). Achievement that gave them the privileged pass to Europe by the hand of the extinct competition called Recopa.
What could be expected from the first European experience of FC Malinas? The truth was that nothing supposed that the trip to Europe could be as beneficial as it was..
Coach Aad de Mos had set up a very good team, where balance was the great quality together with the potential of several of its players.
Mechelen really didn't have a bad team, In fact, seen with perspective, it combined experience and youth. The mythical Belgian goalkeeper stood out in the goal Preud´homme, and a surprising Ohana recognized as the best young player in Europe or Den Boer.
What was the best virtue of the Mechelen of Aad de Mos? A millimeter defensive patience that came to stun his rivals. The defensive seriousness was key to be able to handle the games and win them.
So that, left teams like Dinamo Bucharest in the gutter, Saint Mirren, Dynamo of Minsk and Atalanta, good references of the time. Reaching the final in front of a Ajax devastating and reigning European football.
Could a final be more difficult? Ajax were the current champion of the Recopa and wanted to revalidate their title. Danny Blind, Rob Witschge, Aron Winter and a "stranger" Dennis Bergkamp they led this great team.
But miracles exist in football ... or not. In this case it can be said that it was a fair triumph. The defensive wall of the Belgian team returned to do its thing, dynamiting the attacks of the Dutch team.
Blind's expulsion to the 15 minutes balanced the game in an extreme way, arriving the Den Boer header goal in the minute 53. The rest of the party is a clear example of the desperation of the Ajax for creating danger in a Belgian team that showed its great quality: balance and defense.
In this way, achieved his greatest sporting milestone of all time, raising Belgian football to the top.
