Real Madrid face off against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena in tonight’s European glamour tie, However, in 1980, they faced a much less familiar foe at Landsdowne Road when they took on Limerick FC.
Gary Spain, a Limerick man and an Irish football historian, went to both games and described how important it was for Limerick FC to play Real Madrid.
“They won six European cups at the time, it was an incredible draw, we were delighted to draw them.”
The Superblues took the lead early in the second half as Des Kennedy opened the scoring after a Duggan header found him alone.
Spain spoke on the shock of being 1-0 against the Spanish side: “We couldn’t believe it; we were in shock when we went ahead. It was incredible to go ahead against Real Madrid!”
He gave high praise to the goal scorer: “Des was Limericks all-time top scorer. I particularly remember both goals home and away; they were both fantastic finishes. Des was a great striker.”
He recalled how well Limerick played on the night and how his uncle “jinxed” the Irish side. “I remember with about 20 minutes to go, my uncle saying, ‘remember when we beat Real Madrid!”
However, the lead didn’t last long when Los Blancos equalised the scoring. Limerick’s luck ran out as Real Madrid nicked a winner with minutes to spare.
Spain spoke on the rollercoaster of emotions they experienced: “We were in some ways really proud, but also really disappointed to lose the game because we came so close to beating Real Madrid”.
He described the trip to Madrid as “absolutely fantastic” and reminisced about how he and his father were two of about 50 people to make the trip to Madrid for the second leg.
Limerick lost 5-1, with Kennedy getting himself on the scoresheet again.
Gary spoke very highly of Real Madrid as a football club. “They were an incredible club, and I know they were still 10 years later sending Christmas cards to Limerick directors. Just a sign of the class, the way they treated everyone. They’re a classy club, they were in 1980, and they still are today”.
For a gargantuan club like Real Madrid, big European ties are an annual formality. However, for the 50 odd Limerick people that made the trip to the iconic Santiago Bernabeu, it’s something they’ll never forget.