On this day 25 years ago, Celta wrote one of the most glorious chapters in its history. On 22 August 2000, the sky blue team won its first official title: the UEFA Intertoto Cup, a historic milestone not only for the club, but also for Galician football as a whole, which thus won its first European trophy.
That Celta team, led by Víctor Fernández, had finished the 1999/2000 season in seventh place, which allowed them to compete in the Intertoto Cup and dream of a place in the UEFA Cup. To achieve this, the Vigo team had to overcome Pelister, Aston Villa and finally Zenit St Petersburg in a two-legged tie that will remain forever etched in the memory of Celta fans.
In the first leg, played at Balaídos, Zenit took the lead, but goals from Karpin and Jesuli, already in injury time, turned the result around and left a 2-1 lead for the return leg in Russia. Despite this, nothing would be easy at Petrovski. The home side took a 2-0 lead, a result that seemed to rule out Celta’s first European title. Then the character of that team, which shaped the legendary EuroCelta, came to the fore, and in the dying minutes, Karpin and McCarthy scored to secure a draw that was worth a title and a new European qualification.
The team that achieved this feat consisted of Pinto, Velasco, Cáceres, Noguerol, Juanfran, Doriva, Giovanella, Karpin, Mostovoi, Tomás, and Benni McCarthy; names that still resonate with pride in the history of the club.
Today, 25 years later, we remember that summer of 2000 with pride, because not only did they win the Intertoto Cup, but they also cemented the spirit of a brave team that made the city of Vigo and all of Europe dream.
The Intertoto Cup
The Intertoto Cup, organised by UEFA, allowed teams that did not qualify directly for Europe to compete in an alternative route to the UEFA Cup. In Spain, only five clubs can boast of having achieved this: Villarreal, Valencia, Málaga and Celta.
