How Cloughie’s hard men burst Keegan’s bubble
Our European Cup finals week, celebrating the anniversary of English victories in the tournament, has reached day four and marks 40 years since the second of back-to-back wins for Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest. Despite finishing fifth in England that year and surviving multiple scares in front of Peter Shilton’s goal on the night, Forest returned from Madrid in triumph.
NEVER in the history of the game has a piece of pink bubble gum had such a major impact on a European Cup final.
Larry Lloyd was about to ignore Brian Clough’s instructions and try to put the frighteners on England superstar Kevin Keegan.
Nottingham Forest’s centrehalf reckons his timing could not have been better as he had a word in the tunnel before his team’s 1980 final against Hamburg in Madrid.
Keegan was the poster boy of English football – European Footballer of the Year in 1978 and 1979 and expected to sign off at the German club to join Southampton by delivering the European Cup.
Clough told his men to ignore Keegan, saying: “Don’t have anything to do with him. If you ignore him, it’ll put him on edge.”
Lloyd recalls: “When Cloughie brought Kenny Burns to Forest it was a masterstroke. Kenny and me clicked and for five years we ruled the roost, terrifying the opposition.
“Nobody should have to go face-to-face with Kenny. There stood a man who fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down.
“But he was a magnificent player and that night in Spain will go with me to the grave if only for my attempt to scare the s*** out of Keegan in the tunnel.”
They had been team-mates at Liverpool.
“I said, ‘Burns’ job tonight is to break you in two if you come near him. His one job is to kick the s*** out of you.’
“Kenny was just removing his teeth and ramming some pink gum in his mouth. It might just as well have been a piece of raw meat. Keegan’s face was a classic!” Hamburg dominated but Keegan cut a lonely figure after a couple of assaults from Burns, one of which left him clutching his windpipe. Virtually Forest’s first excursion out of their own half on 20 minutes saw John Robertson put Forest ahead, and it was a lead they wouldn’t surrender. Burns said: “There were one or two tackles that weren’t too nice but it was a different game back then. “We all came together and did what we had to do. There’s a word that comes after my name: Kenny Burns – defender.”