Everton were the greatest team in the land in 1985, their swashbuckling side had clinched the First Division League title with five games remaining and on May 15 Howard Kendall’s men travelled to Rotterdam looking to conquer Europe and cap one of the greatest seasons in the club’s history.
The Blues had clinched their first league title in 15 years in emphatic style almost a month before thanks to a line-up which contained some of the greatest players ever to grace the Goodison turf and names which still trip off the tongue for Evertonians of all ages.
Neville Southall, who would be named the Football Writers Association's Player of the Year in goal, behind a back four which contained the likes of Gary Stevens, Derek Mountfield, Kevin Ratcliffe, and Pat Van Den Hauwe, a midfield of Reid, Bracewell, Sheedy and Steven; not to mention a forward line of Andy Gray, who had replaced the injured Adrian Heath that Christmas and one of Everton’s most prolific goal scorers ever Graeme Sharp.
As well as winning the league Everton maintained a three-pronged attack on silverware thanks to extended runs in the FA Cup and the European Cup Winners’ Cup, a tournament they had earned the right to compete in having overcome Graham Taylor’s Watford at Wembley the previous May.
And it was the European campaign which provided some of the most memorable nights Evertonians had enjoyed in years as the Toffees pitted their wits against continental opposition for the first time in five seasons.
Everton breezed through the early rounds, defeating University College Dublin, Inter Bratislava and Fortuna Sittard on their way to the semi-final; scoring ten goals and conceding none as they prepared to face German giants Bayern Munich.
One of the most memorable nights in Goodison Park history would see Everton overcome the likes of Augenthaler, Lerby, Matthaus and Hoeness in thrilling fashion and having let in the first goal in that season’s competition the Blues came from behind to eventually secure a stunning 3-1 victory and confirm the club’s first ever European final.
Their opponents that night would be the tough tackling Rapid Vienna, who had already dispatched Celtic in the earlier rounds and weren’t to be taken lightly; boasting prior to the match that they would take the game to their English opponents and come out fighting.
But the Austrians were rarely allowed to venture beyond their own half as their back-line was constantly harried by Sharp and Gray while Reid and Bracewell bossed the midfield and Steven and Sheedy posed a constant threat on both wings.
Somehow the game remained goalless at half-time with only a disallowed Andy Gray header to show for Everton’s dominance in the match despite being quicker, and showing far more intensity than their opponents; while Neville Southall was not forced into action until the 27th minute.
However, 12 minutes into the second-half The Blues’ dominance finally paid off as the ever dangerous Sharp pounced to intercept a careless back pass before wriggling free of the Rapid goalkeeper and deftly chipping the ball into the path of the onrushing Gray who couldn’t miss.
If anything Everton were even more rampant after their first goal and looked to turn the screw as Rapid appeared stunned by the onslaught like a rabbit in the headlights of an oncoming car.
Reid played like a man possessed in the centre of the park with Steven proving to be a constant menace on the right flank; all this, as well as Kevin Sheedy's wicked crosses from the left, pushed the Austrians’ defence to the limit.
It was only a matter of time before Howard Kendall’s side doubled the lead and when Sheedy’s corner deceived a Rapid defender, the ball bounced through to the far post where Trevor Steven made no mistake.
Even a late Rapid goal did little to stem the flow and barely a minute after being pegged back by Hans Krankl's late goal Everton struck back immediately as a Southall clearance was flicked on by Gray towards Sharp, who laid it into the path of the advancing Sheedy to thunder his shot in off the underside of the bar and make it 3-1.
“Everton quite simply took bewildered Rapid apart at the seams to prove conclusively that absolutely nothing is beyond them,” was how the Liverpool Echo reported the victory. “The Austrians were totally outclassed.”
While Rapid’s scorer that night Hans Krankl declared: "Everton were just too good for us. It's been a long time since we played against anyone of their class. They are possibly the best side in the whole of Europe."
As Kevin Ratcliffe lifted the trophy that night he proudly displayed it to an estimated 25,000 Blues fans who had been commended on their behaviour in Rotterdam in the build-up to the game at a time when English football was under more scrutiny than ever due to a number of violent clashes which had marred the game’s reputation on the continent.
Evertonians in the city that day had played football with the Dutch police in Rotterdam square and even swapped helmets with officers, while enjoying Everton’s first major European final enthusiastically and respectfully.
Under the headline “Fans are winners too in Holland” the Liverpool Daily Post the following day reported: “Dutch police last night praised Everton fans for their good behaviour. ‘It has been a very good match,’ a spokesman said. ‘There was very little trouble. Everyone behaved well.’”
Sadly for Everton and their fans the side would fall at the final hurdle in their quest for a League, FA Cup and European Cup Winners’ Cup treble when they were beaten by Manchester United in extra-time at Wembley.
Even so, May 15, 1985 will live long in the memory of Blues fans everywhere and all these years on still remains one of the greatest and most talked about nights in the history of the club which, to this day, is yet to be replicated.
