After English sides had failed to win the UEFA Cup for four consecutive seasons, Ipswich Town wrote a new page in their history as they went all the way to lift their first ever European trophy at the expense of Dutch team AZ ’67 Alkmaar in 1980-81.
That season, Ipswich, led by manager Bobby Robson who died last year, also finished runners-up in the Football League First Division.
First round: Elfsborg IF (Sweden)-St Mirren 1-2, 0-0 (1-2); Ipswich Town-Aris Salonika 5-1, 1-3 (6-4); PSV Eindhoven-Wolves 3-1, 0-1 (3-2); Manchester United-Widzew Lodz 1-1, 0-0 (1-1); Slask Wroclaw-Dundee United 0-0, 2-7 (2-7).
Due to past results in previous competitions, Scotland lost one representative in the 1980-81 UEFA Cup.
Yet, both Scottish sides in competition advanced while Manchester United lost on the away-goal rule.
Second round: St Mirren-Saint-Etienne 0-0, 0-2 (0-2); Dundee United-Lokeren (Belgium) 1-1, 0-0 (1-1); Ipswich Town-Bohemians Prague 3-0, 0-3 (3-2).
Third round: Ipswich-Widzew Lodz 5-0, 0-1 (5-1).
Quarter-finals: St Etienne-Ipswich 1-4, 1-3 (2-7).
Semi-final: Ipswich Town-FC Cologne 1-0, 1-0 (2-0).
Final: Ipswich Town-AZ ’67 Alkmaar 3-0 (Wark penalty, Thijssen, Mariner). Alkmaar-Ipswich 4-2 (Thijssen, Wark).
Ipswich formation: Cooper, Mills, Osman, Butcher, McCall, Thijssen, Wark, Muhren, Mariner, Brazil, Gates.
Note: Ipswich fielded the same team for the second leg.
In the season that followed, 1981-82, English and Scottish sides lasted only up to the quarter-finals of the tournament.
Holders Ipswich Town fell to their north-of-the-border rivals Aberdeen.
First round: Grasshopper-West Bromwich Albion 1-0, 3-1 (4-1); Panathinaikos-Arsenal 0-2, 0-1 (0-3); AS Monaco-Dundee United 2-5, 2-1 (4-6); Limerick (Ireland)-Southampton 0-3, 1-1 (1-4); Ip-swich Town-Aberdeen 1-1, 1-3 (2-4).
Second round: Winterslag (Belgium)-Arsenal 1-0, 1-2 (2-2); B. M’gladbach-Dundee United 2-0, 0-5 (2-5); Southampton-S. Lisbon 2-4, 0-0 (2-4); Aberdeen-Arges Pitesti (Romania) 3-0, 2-2 (5-2).
Third round: Winterslag-Dundee United 0-0, 0-5 (0-5); Aberdeen-Hamburg 3-2, 1-3 (4-5).
Quarter-final: Dundee United-Radnicki Nis (Yugoslavia) 2-0, 0-3 (2-3).
Dundee United waved the British flag once more as they strove to keep their place among the elite in the competition, even if they succeeded in doing so until the quarter-finals of the 1982-83 UEFA Cup.
First round: Spartak Moscow-Arsenal 3-1, 5-2 (8-4); Manchester United-Valencia 0-0, 1-2 (1-2); Dundee United-PSV Eindhoven 1-1, 2-0 (3-1); Roma-Ipswich Town 3-0, 1-3 (4-3); Southampton-IFK Norrkoping (Sweden) 2-2, 0-0 (2-2); Bor. Dortmund-Rangers 0-0, 0-2 (0-2).
All four English clubs were halted in their stride, including big guns Arsenal and Manchester United. The Gunners suffered one of their most humiliating defeats in the history of the club.
Second round: Viking Stavanger (Norway)-Dundee United 1-3, 0-0 (1-3); Rangers-FC Cologne 2-1, 0-5 (0-5).
Third round: Dundee United-Werder Bremen 2-1, 1-1 (3-2).
Quarter-final: Bohemians Prague-Dundee United 1-0, 0-0 (1-0).