1990–91 European Cup
Stadio San Nicola in Bari hosted the final. | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 19 September 1990 – 29 May 1991 |
| Teams | 31 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Red Star Belgrade (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Marseille |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 59 |
| Goals scored | 188 (3.19 per match) |
| Attendance | 1,614,372 (27,362 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Peter Pacult (Swarovski Tirol) Jean-Pierre Papin (Marseille) 6 goals each |
← 1989–90 1991–92 → | |
The 1990–91 European Cup was the 36th season of the European Cup, a tournament for men's football clubs in nations affiliated to the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). It was won for the first time by Red Star Belgrade on penalties in the final against Marseille; both were first-time finalists. This was only the second time that an Eastern European side had won the competition, after Steaua București of Romania in 1986. It was also the last tournament to be solely knock-out based, with a group stage added for the next season. Red Star won the tournament as the only Yugoslav club shortly before the breakup of Yugoslavia. This was also the last season to feature a team from East Germany, since the East and its West counterpart reunified in October 1990. Although this was the first season which English clubs were readmitted to European competition Liverpool did not compete in the European Cup as English champions due to the last year of their six year ban.
Milan were eliminated by Marseille in the quarter-finals after the second leg had been awarded as a 3–0 win for Marseille when the eventual runners-up were leading 1–0, and 2–1 on aggregate, in injury time, when the floodlights failed. Milan refused to play on when floodlights were fixed and were banned, giving Marseille a 3–0 automatic win.