The victory was the pinnacle of Brian Clough's 18 years at the City Ground as it rounded off an incredible sequence of success which would be almost inconceivable today. Having been promoted to Division One in 1977, they immediately claimed their one and only English title the following season before Trevor Francis, the first million-pound player, delivered the 1979 European Cup with a header against Malmo.

Their quest to retain the trophy was aided by a great deal of luck in the draw. Facing Osters IFC, FC Arges-Dacia Pitesti and Dynamo Berlin, they avoided a team of genuine quality until the semi-finals when they met Ajax. Though hardly the force that won the trophy three times in the early '70s, the Dutch champions had established their credentials by scoring 30 goals in the competition up to then. They could only manage one against Shilton's supremely organised defence, however, as Forest's 2-0 first-leg win at the City Ground proved enough.

In the other semi-final, Real Madrid carried the same lead to Hamburg, fully confident of securing a place in their first final for 14 years - and one that happened to be at their home ground. However, with a team containing Horst Hrubesch, Felix Magath and Kevin Keegan, Hamburg showed why they were one of Europe's most feared teams as they devastated the Spaniards 5-1.

Fully expected to usurp Forest in the final, the Germans got a shock as Robertson fired in a low shot from outside the box after 19 minutes. Despite an attacking performance on a par with their semi-final against Real Madrid, Keegan and co simply couldn't beat Shilton and Forest were champions of Europe again.