Leeds were out. Then someone counted Stuttgart's foreigners

Leeds United went to Stuttgart for the first leg of their European Cup first-round tie and lost 3–0. For the second leg at Elland Road on 30 September they needed three goals just to draw level, and more than that if Stuttgart scored.

The night

They got close. Gary Speed scored after 17 minutes. Stuttgart pulled one back before half-time, but Gary McAllister scored a penalty in the 38th minute. In the second half Eric Cantona made it 3–1, and with 12 minutes left Lee Chapman got the fourth.

It was 4–1 on the night and 4–4 on aggregate. Stuttgart had scored an away goal and Leeds had not. Leeds were out, having beaten the German champions by three goals in front of 24,457 at Elland Road.

The substitute

The significant moment had come late on, and it had nothing to do with the goals. Stuttgart's coach, Christoph Daum, sent on Jovo Simanić, a Yugoslav defender, for the last eight minutes. The rules for European competition allowed three foreign players. Simanić was the fourth.

Leeds contacted UEFA after the match. UEFA ruled that the result of the second leg should be replaced by a 3–0 win for Leeds. That made it 3–3 on aggregate and level on away goals. The tie would be settled by a play-off at a neutral ground.

Barcelona

The play-off was played at the Camp Nou, a stadium built for 100,000, on 9 October. It was mostly empty. Gordon Strachan scored for Leeds, Golke equalised for Stuttgart, and then, with 14 minutes left, Carl Shutt scored the winner. Leeds won 2–1.

"We'd been given a second chance," said the defender Jon Newsome. "You've experienced being knocked out and the bitter taste that leaves, and you don't want to experience that again."

What came next

The prize was a second-round tie against Rangers, billed as the Battle of Britain. Leeds lost 4–2 on aggregate.

It would be easy to see the whole episode as a technicality. It was more than that. Leeds had played well enough at Elland Road to put themselves in a position where a rule mattered, and then, given a second chance in an empty stadium in Spain, they took it.