European Soccer Teams Finally Complete Match Postponed for 65 Years

When you explore the rich history of the Champions League—previously known as the European Cup—you'll discover two vacant spots in the 1961 tournament bracket. This past Saturday, one of those gaps was finally closed.

The story unfolds as follows: back in August 1960, Glenavon from Northern Ireland and Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt from East Germany, both domestic champions, were set to face each other in the opening round's two-legged fixture. Unfortunately, during the intense period of the Cold War, neither club managed to secure visas for travel to their opponent's territory, forcing the financially constrained Glenavon team to pull out.

During the early 2010s, as reported by Rory Carroll from The Guardian, supporters from both clubs reestablished contact. They made a pact to complete the unfinished tie across two years beginning in 2024, and this Saturday saw Glenavon and Erzgebirge Aue (previously Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt, rebranded following German reunification) complete their historic encounter.

Erzgebirge Aue claimed victory in the initial friendly match in Germany with a commanding 5–0 scoreline last year, and on Saturday the third-division team also secured the second leg in Northern Ireland with a 2–0 triumph.

"When we initially began discussing this fixture, it was essentially to honor two title-winning sides that never had the opportunity to compete against one another," Glenavon supporters liaison Adam Carson explained to the BBC's Ralph Hewitt before the encounter.

After waiting sixty years, the mission was finally completed.