De Mistwedstrijd: Ajax 5-1 Liverpool, 1966/67 European Cup - The Fog Game & Liverpool’s heaviest defeat in European Competition

Liverpool will face Ajax in the Champions League next

Liverpool’s indifferent start to the current season continued in their away game against Napoli. The Serie A side completely outplayed the Reds 4-1 at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium on Wednesday night.

The scoreline could have easily matched or even surpassed their biggest ever defeat in a European competition had Victor Osimhen tucked away his first-half penalty.

Recalling their heaviest defeat, Liverpool lost 5-1 to their upcoming Champions League opponents Ajax during their 1966-67 European Cup run. Led by a young and charismatic Johan Cruyff, the Dutch Champions annihilated Bill Shankly’s men at the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam on December 7, 1966.

The game was famously titled as the ‘De Mistwedstrijd’’ as the game took place in a shroud of thick fog with low visibility and blurred visions.

Background

Bill Shankly is regarded as Liverpool's greatest ever manager

Liverpool were a team on the rise during the 1960s under the leadership of the legendary Bill Shankly. They harbored realistic expectations of becoming the first British team to win the European Cup during the 1966-67 season.

The Reds had qualified for the competition on the back of winning the league title the season before.

The Reds had a strong team, led by World Cup Winners Roger Hunt and Ian Callaghan. Their recent performances in Europe - semi-finalists in the 1964-65 and runners-up in the 1965-66 Cup Winners’ Cup, resonated well with the favorites tag going into the competition.

19-year-old Johan Cruyff was a star in the making

Like Liverpool, Ajax also qualified for the tournament by winning the league title the season before. Ajax today are synonymous with 'Total Football' and are a hugely successful breeding ground for young talent.

Ajax were barely known outside of the Netherlands in 1966. They were yet to make a mark on the European stage as baby-faced 19-year-old Johan Cruyff was just starting to dazzle.

Earlier that season, Liverpool had beaten Romanian outfit Petrolul Ploiești 2-0 in a playoff match after the tie ended level at 3-3 after the conclusion of the home and away legs. Ajax, on the other hand, aggregated a 4-1 scoreline against Turkish side Besiktas to qualify for the second round.

Liverpool were drawn against Ajax in the second round, with the English side poised to travel to Amsterdam followed by the home leg at Anfield.

Match Day – ‘De Mistwedstrijd’ or the Fog Match begins

Ajax blew away favorites Liverpool at the Olympic Stadium

The Reds were the clear favorites going into the away leg on December 7, 1966. However, the weather gods had something different in mind. The game almost got canceled as Bill Shankly and his men faced trouble reaching Amsterdam due to the fog and the low visibility it brought with itself.

After inspection, Italian referee Antonio Sbardella gave the green light to start the proceedings despite the visibility being just 50 yards.

In fact, it was so low that the majority of the 65,000-strong crowd could not see the action. TV commentator Herman Kuiphof was tasked with providing a running commentary from his monitor to the stadium. Kuiphof recalls:

“The mist in the day was severe, but the weather forecasters said it would disappear in the evening. But it only got worse. When I sat in my commentary-booth, chairman Van Praag came to ask if I could also give commentary for the fans in the stadium. He was worried that they couldn’t see a thing.”

The Reds fell behind as early as the third minute after debutant Cees de Wolf headed past Tommy Lawrence in the Liverpool goal. Teenager Johan Cruyff doubled Ajax’s lead in the 17th minute and by half-time, the Reds were 4-0 down, courtesy of striker Klaas Nuninga’s brace.

As can be seen, visibility was very poor

The conditions were so bad that at one point in the first half, Liverpool had 12 men on the field as Shankly entered the field of play unnoticed to provide instructions to his players. Shankly mentions this story in his autobiography:

“We were 2-0 down and Willie Stevenson and Geoff Strong felt overrun. They got furious and tried to fight their way back into the game. While the game was going on, I walked out onto the field, through the fog, and said to Willie and Geoff: 'Christ, this is only the first game. There's another bloody game in Liverpool, so let's not give away any more goals. Let's keep it 2-0'. Then I left the field again, and the referee never saw me!”

The second half saw a spirited display from the Reds as the Dutch side were forced to retreat into their own half and defend in numbers against the growing pressure.

As Liverpool threw the kitchen sink, Ajax sprung a swift counter-attack in the 75th minute to extend their lead to 5-0 via Henk Groot. The Reds got a consolation goal in the 89th minute from defender Chris Lawler.

Realistically, Liverpool’s chances of winning the European Cup had vanished amidst the Amsterdam fog. Despite the humiliation, Shankly was confident of turning the tie around at Anfield when he infamously said:

“This tie is by no means over yet. We will win easily. We will smash in at least seven goals. This was ridiculous. Ajax played defensive football on their own ground. We never play well against defensive teams."

Aftermath – Return leg and remainder of the season for Ajax and Liverpool

Rinus Michels and Johan Cruyff formed a deadly duo for both club and country

Despite the daunting four-goal deficit, Liverpool supporters were fairly optimistic due to Bill Shankly’s power of persuasion and motivation. However, Ajax were no pushovers and when Cruyff gave Ajax the lead in the 49th minute, even Shankly would have known that there was no way back in the tie.

The game ended 2-2 on the night (7-3 on aggregate), with braces from both Cruyff and Roger Hunt.

Ajax went on to reach the quarter-finals where they lost 3-2 on aggregate to Czech side Dukla Prague. Celtic went on to win the tournament, becoming the first British side to achieve the feat.

Like their European campaign, The Reds had a season to forget domestically as well, finishing fifth in the league and exiting the FA Cup in the fifth round against arch rivals Everton. Ajax, on the other hand, enjoyed a diametrically opposite campaign, winning the domestic double that season.