Jeunesse Esch - European Competition

European Competition

Jeunesse Esch has qualified for UEFA European competition thirty times.

  • UEFA Champions League
Qualifying round (4): 1997-98, 1998-99, 1999-00, 2004-05, 2010-11
First round (15): 1958-59, 1960-61, 1967-68, 1968-69, 1970-71, 1973-74, 1974-75, 1975-76, 1976-77, 1977-78, 1980-81, 1983-84, 1985-86, 1987-88, 1988-89
Second round (2): 1959-60, 1963-64
  • UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
Qualifying round (2): 1995-96, 1998-99
  • UEFA Cup
Qualifying round (3): 1995-96, 1996-97, 2000-01
First round (4): 1969-70, 1978-79, 1986-87, 1989-90

Jeunesse Esch is the only club from Luxembourg to have reached the second round of the European Cup, and it has achieved that feat on two occasions, both under the leadership of George Berry in the early years of the competition:

  • In 1959–60, Jeunesse were drawn against ŁKS Łódź, champions of Poland. In an incredible first leg, Jeunesse put five past the Poles without reply, practically guaranteeing their place in the second round regardless of the return leg (in the event, Łódź won 2-1, but only after Jeunesse had gone ahead). In the next round, Jeunesse faced somewhat harder opponents: Real Madrid, champions of Europe four times in a row. The first match, in the Bernabéu, was no contest, as Real Madrid trounced Jeunesse 7-0, with Puskás scoring a hat-trick. Despite their comfortable victory, Real Madrid took no chances in the second leg and fielded a full-strength team, including Puskás, Di Stéfano, and Gento. The array of stars did nothing to over-awe the Luxembourgers on their home patch; Jeunesse scored twice within fifteen minutes, and made a good account of themselves, put succumbed to lose 5-2, 12-2 on aggregate. Real went on to win the European Cup for a fifth straight season, beating Eintracht Frankfurt 7-3 in a memorable final.
  • In the first round of the European Cup in 1963–64, Jeunesse was given a relatively easy tie against FC Haka. Although they had avoided the biggest sides in the competition, Jeunesse was facing the dominant Finnish side, and Jeunesse was thrashed 4-1 in Valkeakoski. In the return, Jeunesse mounted a come-back, but were winning by only 2-0 after 84 minutes. Suddenly, two goals in as few minutes put the Luxembourgian side through. The second round pitted Jeunesse against the Yugoslav champions, Partizan Belgrade for a place in the quarter-finals. Jeunesse won the first match 2-1, thanks to another late goal. However, the tie was turned on its head by four goals by Vladimir Kovačević, and Partizan won 6-2, and 7-4 on aggregate. 1963-64 turned out to be the annus mirabilis of Luxembourgian football, as the national team almost reached the semi-finals of the European Championship.

Overall, Jeunesse's record in European competition reads:

P W D L GF GA GD
AS la Jeunesse d'Esch 67 8 8 51 53 216 -163

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