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One of the most incredible football stories is the journey of "Nottingham Forest" from the depths of the second division in England to triumph in the European Cup. Founded in 1865, the club remains the only club to have become champions of the continent more times than it won its own national championship, and last year also became the only club to reach such heights and later to play in the third division. They didn't win the European Cup with superstars, they won it with underdogs, of which only John Robertson, Trevor Francis, and coach Brian Clough were more famous. Let's look at the extraordinary journey of the team towards the top of European football, and the people who turned the dream into reality. On the morning of January 6, 1975, Brian Clough arrived at the "City Ground" in a bright blue "Mercedes" that he received for leaving "Leeds" and moving to the position of head coach at "Nottingham Forest" club. He found a club that, in his own words, was "sinking and dying. Few players in the dressing room could properly kick or head a ball, not to mention possessing the ability to play. They didn't just need a new coach, the entire cursed place needed a breath of fresh air."
Over more than a century-long period, the little-known East Midlands club won only two FA Cups. Now they were close to bankruptcy, with just 12,000 spectators in the stadium, and their best players, John Robertson and Martin O'Neill, were listed as for sale. But Clough was undeterred: "Nottingham Forest has one thing that makes them successful, and that's me!" Since winning the championship with "Derby" in 1972, Clough had tarnished his reputation with short, messy, and confidence-sapping spells at "Brighton" and "Leeds" clubs. Now, after four months of being unemployed, he wanted to demonstrate what he was capable of again. "The first day is so vivid in my memory," said John Robertson. "I was sitting in the dressing room in front of the door, and suddenly it opened. Clough took off his jacket and hung it on a hook in one motion. I didn't even know there was a hook there. I remember thinking, 'Jesus, this man means business.' You could just feel that extraordinary energy."
