MENTION Barcelona's 1961 visit to Edinburgh and immediately two images spring to mind, the near riot as the Spaniards lost the plot following a late penalty award to Hibs – and the nerve shown by Bobby Kinloch as he slotted away the winning spot-kick.
Even 47 years on, what has almost been forgotten against that frenetic background is the fact that night at Easter Road marked one of Hibs' most famous European victories as they knocked the Catalan giants out of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.
While
Hibs were in a state of transition, Barcelona had won the Spanish double in 1959 and retained the league title the following year, had beaten AC Milan 7-1 and English champions Wolves 9-2 before losing to arch-rivals Real Madrid in the 1960 European Cup semi-finals. Real, of course, were to go on to win their fifth successive European Cup, beating Eintracht Frankfurt at Hampden. But only a few weeks before facing Hibs, Barcelona had brought that reign to an end, knocking Real out in the second round.
Barca were also holders of the Fairs Cup, the forerunner to the UEFA Cup and, strange as it may seem today, were in both competitions, when they were drawn to play Hibs in the quarter-finals.
Even today, former Hibs star Tommy Preston shakes his head in disbelief as he recalls the drama which surrounded both legs of the tie, the first ending in a draw in Spain and the second that astonishing 3-2 win for the Edinburgh outfit.
With fog having forced the first leg in the Capital to be cancelled, Hibs flew out to the Mediterranean with more than a touch of apprehension.
Preston said: "Real Madrid had been beaten for the first time in the European Cup just a couple of weeks before by Barcelona, who had also thumped us 5-1 during a tour of Spain a couple of years earlier.
"We flew out on Boxing Day to play them on December 28 and, to be frank, we thought we were going to get another tanking."
Astonishingly, Hibs led 2-0 and then 4-2 with only minutes left before having to settle for a 4-4 draw, a result which was regarded as a fluke back home in Scotland.
Preston, who scored Hibs' third goal that night, with Joe Baker bagging a double and Johnny MacLeod the other, said: "It was obviously a terrible shock to them. I remember the white hankies waving in the crowd.
"They were a terrific side, guys like the Hungarian Sandor Kocsis, Luis Suarez, who was the European Footballer of the Year, Joan Segarra and Martinez who, I think, was a Paraguayan internationalist.
"I remember that game was the first time I'd ever seen a player take the ball on his chest with back to goal and execute a hitch-kick.
"Although we were winning 4-2 with just a few minutes to go, I think we were all pretty happy to get a draw. It was unexpected, but you'd never have known from our performance that night."
Hibs had to wait until February for the return leg when more than 50,000 packed into Easter Road, Baker making them wait a mere ten minutes before he headed the home side into the lead.
The dream, however, looked over when Martinez and Kocsis fired Barca into the lead only for Preston to nod home an equaliser as Hibs began one of their famous charges down the Easter Road slope.
German referee Johannes Malka, who had twice refused Hibs legitimate penalty claims, finally pointed to the spot as MacLeod was brought down, sparking fury among the Spaniards.
Preston said: "Suarez lost the head. They all did apart from Kocsis, who simply stayed out the way. We'd never seen anything like it and the fans who were there that night still talk about it to this day." The ugly confrontation caused a seven-minute delay before Kinloch, who took over the spot-kick duties from the experienced Sammy Baird, stepped up to ensure his place in Hibs folklore.
Again the Spaniards surrounded Malka, who was knocked to the ground and only rescued by dozens of police officers who swarmed on to the pitch. Incredibly, not one player was cautioned but Malka made sure he was beside the tunnel when he sounded the final whistle.
Preston said: "Going up the tunnel, one of their players even tried to kick down the door to the referee's room and had to be grabbed by a policeman.
"They certainly took it badly but it was a magnificent achievement for us and it's just a pity that, to this day, all the mayhem that surrounded the end of the game is what is remembered rather than a fantastic result."
Barcelona full-back Foncho claimed he'd been left with a black eye thanks to the elbow of a policeman, while coach Enrique Onzaola only offered an apology of sorts saying: "We cannot blame Hibs. The game was clean and sporting until the penalty incident. We will not be taking action against any of our players. When an obvious injustice has been done, it is part of our Spanish temperament to show feeling.
"Our players went too far, I admit. We have made our apologies to Hibs and to the referee."
Preston, who will attend Thurday's match between Hibs and Barcelona along with Kinloch and John Fraser, another team-mate from 47 years ago, expects Thursday night to pass without similar mishap. He said: "Obviously it's a totally different game, a pre-season friendly rather than a big European night.
"But there is still a mystique about Barcelona, they've had fantastic players down through the years and it will be terrific to see today's stars in the flesh rather than just watching them on television. I think it is obvious to anyone that there's a huge gulf between the clubs nowadays but Thursday night will be great for Mixu Paatelainen's players.
"They'll learn an awful lot from just being on the same pitch as the likes of Thierry Henry, Lionel Messi and so on."
• ITALIAN outfit Roma ended Hibs' dream of winning the Fairs Cities Cup, despite the Easter Road side drawing 3-3 in Rome following a 2-2 stalemate in Edinburgh.
Preston said: "There was no away goals rule in those days but, rather than toss a coin, we went back to Italy. I think it might have had something to do with more gate money to pay the summer wages."
Hibs were hammered 6-0 in the third match in the Olympic Stadium, Roma going on to beat Birmingham City 4-2 on aggregate in the two-legged final.
The full article contains 1130 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
