My favourite game: Everton v Bayern Munich, 1985 Cup Winners' Cup

25-Mar-2020 11:59:00 | The Guardian

I was a ballboy that night and even though Jean-Marie Pfaff tried to waste time by miscontrolling my perfectly weighted passes Everton sent Bayern packing

When Søren Lerby sauntered into the Goodison cauldron without shin pads even my 13-year-old eyes could see it was a reckless act. Nearly 35 years on, the artful Bayern Munich midfielder’s decision can now be dismissed as the quaint machismo of a bygone age.

It was 24 April 1985, the night Howard Kendall’s Everton came of age to blow away the West German giants and reach the European Cup Winners’ Cup final. Somehow Lerby survived unscathed. Not so Bayern’s red shield of invincibility.