Southampton F.C. in European football

Southampton Football Club is an English football club based in Southampton, Hampshire. The club was founded in 1885 and has competed in the English football league system from 1920. Since their first qualification to major European cup competition in 1969, they have participated in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, the European Cup Winners' Cup, the UEFA Europa League and the Texaco Cup. The club qualified for European Football after the 2014–15 season through their league position for the first time since 1984.

History

1969–70 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

The Saints' maiden European voyage was the 1969–70 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, which they took part in with fellow English clubs Newcastle United, Liverpool and eventual winners Arsenal. Southampton's first opponents were Norwegian side Rosenborg. Despite losing 1–0 away, a comfortable 2–0 win at home in the second leg put Southampton into a Second Round tie with Portuguese side Vitória de Guimarães. A closely fought 3–3 away draw was followed by a 5–1 home win which saw them through to the last 16 where Southampton were drawn against fellow English side Newcastle United. A 0–0 away and 1–1 result at home meant that Southampton failed to progress to the Quarter-Finals after losing out on away goals.

First Round

Southampton won 2–1 on aggregate.

Second Round

Southampton won 8–4 on aggregate.

Third Round

Southampton lost 1–1 on aggregate after the away goals rule.

1971–72 UEFA Cup

After finishing seventh in the previous season, Southampton qualified for European competition for the second time in two years. Drawn in the First Round against Athletic Bilbao, the Saints came from behind to win the first leg 2–1. However a fortnight later, they lost 2–0 away after conceding a late goal which confirmed their exit from the competition.

First Round

Southampton lost 3–2 on aggregate.

1974–75 Texaco Cup

After being relegated to the Second Division the previous season, Southampton qualified for the final instance of the short lived Texaco Cup. Alongside 15 other English teams split into four groups of Round Robin format, the top two from each group would progress to the Quarter-Finals where they would be drawn against Scottish opposition. Southampton's group consisted of West Ham, Luton Town and Leyton Orient which they topped after being undefeated. The knockout stages were a two-legged affair and Southampton were drawn a tough fixture against Rangers F.C. but managed to win convincingly 5–1 on aggregate despite playing away in front of 35,000. The semi final against Oldham Athletic proved just as routine with Southampton winning 5–2 over the two legs which progressed them through to the final against Newcastle United. Despite winning the first leg, the previous season's FA Cup winners proved the gap between divisions was too large for Southampton to overcome and won the tournament with two goals in extra time.

Group Stages

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
England Southampton 321052+35
England Luton Town 312054+14
England West Ham United 310224-22
England Leyton Orient 301235−21

Quarter Final

Southampton won 5–1 on aggregate.

Semi Final

Southampton won 5–2 on aggregate.

Final

Southampton lost 3–1 on aggregate after extra time.

1976–77 European Cup Winners' Cup

Despite being in the Second Division, Southampton caused a huge upset in the 1976 FA Cup Final by beating Manchester United 1-0. This qualified the Saints for the European Cup Winners' Cup competition where they were drawn in the first round against Olympique Marseille who had won the Coupe de France the previous season. Although suffering an away defeat, a 4–0 victory at home saw them through to the Second Round. Southampton travelled to Carrick Rangers of Northern Ireland who had won the Irish Cup to qualify for the tournament. A 9–3 aggregate win progressed high-scoring Southampton into the Third Round against Belgian Cup champions R.S.C. Anderlecht. Despite levelling the aggregate score to 2-2 in the second leg, Southampton conceded late on to be eliminated from the tournament. Anderlecht went on to reach the Final.

First Round

Southampton won 5–2 on aggregate.

Second Round

Southampton won 9–3 on aggregate.

Quarter-Finals

Southampton lost 3–2 on aggregate.

1981–82 UEFA Cup

Southampton qualified for the UEFA Cup for the third time after finishing sixth in the First Division the previous season. In the First Round, the Saints travelled to Ireland for the first time to play Limerick F.C., after a convincing 3–0 win and a 1–1 draw at home Southampton were through to the Second Round against Sporting Clube de Portugal. Despite a very respectable 0–0 away in Lisbon, the home defeat proved too much to overcome and Southampton were eliminated from the competition.

First Round

Southampton won 4–1 on aggregate.

Second Round

Southampton lost 4–2 on aggregate.

1982–83 UEFA Cup

Southampton qualified for a European Cup competition in successive seasons for the first time and played Swedish team IFK Norrköping in the First Round. A 2–2 draw at The Dell meant that they exited the tournament on the away goals rule after a 0–0 result in Sweden.

First Round

Southampton lost 2–2 on aggregate after the away goals rule.

1984–85 UEFA Cup

In the 1983–84 Season, Southampton recorded their best ever finish in the First Division as runners up to Liverpool, just three points behind. In the First Round of the UEFA Cup, they drew German opponents Hamburger SV. Despite a 0–0 draw at home in the first leg, Southampton were unable to claim victory in Hamburg and eventually lost 2–0.

First Round

Southampton lost 2-–0 on aggregate.

2003–04 UEFA Cup

After almost two decades absent from European competition, Southampton qualified for the UEFA Cup after finishing runners up in the 2003 FA Cup Final. It was the first time that St. Mary's Stadium hosted a competitive European match. Following on from a 1–1 draw at home, Southampton conceded late on in Romania and found themselves eliminated from the First Round for the third time in a row.

First Round

Southampton lost 2–1 on aggregate.

2015–16 UEFA Europa League

Since the winners of the 2014–15 FA Cup, Arsenal, and winners of the 2014–15 Football League Cup, Chelsea, qualified for the Champions League based on league position, the spot awarded to the FA Cup winner (Europa League group stage) was passed to the sixth-placed team, Liverpool, and the spot awarded to the League Cup winner (Europa League third qualifying round) was passed to the seventh-placed team, Southampton. The draw for the Third Round was held on 17 July 2015, Southampton drew Dutch team Vitesse Arnhem who finished fifth in the previous season of the Eredivisie. Southampton comfortably beat Vitesse over two legs winning 5-0 on aggregate to put themselves into the Play-Off round as a seeded team where they were drawn against Danish champions FC Midtjylland.

Third Qualifying Round

Southampton won 5–0 on aggregate.

Play-Off Round

Southampton lost 2–1 on aggregate.

Overall record

Competition Pld W D L GF GA GD
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 6 2 3 1 11 6 5
UEFA Cup 12 2 6 4 12 13 −1
Texaco Cup 9 7 1 1 16 8 8
European Cup Winners' Cup 6 4 0 2 16 8 8
Europa League 4 2 1 1 6 2 4
Total 37 17 11 9 61 37 24

References

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