The 1987–88 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup finished with a shock victory by Mechelen in the final against defending champions Ajax. This led to their 1988 European Super Cup title in the club's first ever European campaign (1987–89). As the next season's Belgian league victor it defended its title in a semifinal of the 1988–89 European Cup Winners' Cup. Financial problems have been keeping this last Belgian holder of any European cup away from a position to be as successful again.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 23 August 1987 – 11 May 1988 |
| Teams | 32 (first round) 33 (qualifying) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Mechelen (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Ajax |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 63 |
| Goals scored | 131 (2.08 per match) |
| Attendance | 957,273 (15,195 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Paulinho Cascavel (Sporting CP) 6 goals |
Preliminary round
edit| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AEL Limassol |
1–6 | 0–1 | 1–5 |
First leg
edit| AEL Limassol | 0–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Majoros |
Second leg
edit| Dunajská Streda | 5–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Mičinec J. Medgyes Pavlík Majoros |
Report | Aristotelous |
Dunajská Streda won 6–1 on aggregate.
First round
edit| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mechelen |
3–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | |
| St Mirren |
1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | |
| Real Sociedad |
2–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | |
| Dinamo Minsk |
4–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | |
| Vitosha Sofia |
2–3 | 1–0 | 1–3 | |
| Merthyr Tydfil |
2–3 | 2–1 | 0–2 | |
| ÍA |
0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 (aet) | |
| Sporting CP |
6–4 | 4–0 | 2–4 | |
| Vllaznia |
6–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 | |
| RoPS |
1–1 (a) | 0–0 | 1–1 | |
| Lokomotive Leipzig |
0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | |
| Aalborg BK |
1–1 (2–4 p) | 1–0 | 0–1 (aet) | |
| Újpesti Dózsa |
2–3 | 1–0 | 1–3 | |
| Dunajská Streda |
3–4 | 2–1 | 1–3 | |
| Avenir Beggen |
0–8 | 0–5 | 0–3 | |
| Ajax |
6–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 |
First leg
edit| Vllaznia | 2–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushati Jera |
Report |
| Sporting CP | 4–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Sealy Cascavel |
Report |
| Mechelen | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| den Boer |
Report |
| Dinamo Minsk | 2–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Zygmantovich Gotsmanov |
Report |
| Vitosha Sofia | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Sirakov |
Report |
| Merthyr Tydfil | 2–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Rogers Ceri Williams |
Report | Progna |
| Aalborg BK | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Boye |
Report |
| Újpesti Dózsa | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Herédi |
Report |
| Dunajská Streda | 2–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Mičinec Kašpar |
Report | Zuffi |
Second leg
edit1–1 on aggregate. RoPS won on away goals
Vllaznia won 6–0 on aggregate.
| Dinamo București | 0–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Hofkens den Boer |
Mechelen won 3–0 on aggregate.
St Mirren won 1–0 on aggregate.
| Śląsk Wrocław | 0–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Loren Begiristain |
Real Sociedad won 2–0 on aggregate.
| Gençlerbirliği | 1–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Tuncay |
Report | Derkach Kondratiev |
Dinamo Minsk won 4–1 on aggregate.
| OFI Crete | 3–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Tsimbos Marinakis Charalambidis |
Report | Kurdov |
OFI Crete won 3–2 on aggregate.
| Atalanta | 2–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Garlini Cantarutti |
Report |
Atalanta won 3–2 on aggregate.
| Kalmar FF | 1–0 (a.e.t.) | |
|---|---|---|
| Alexandersson |
Report |
Kalmar FF won 1–0 on aggregate.
| Swarovski Tirol | 4–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Marko Roscher Pezzey Linzmaier |
Report | Sealy Cascavel |
Sporting CP won 6–4 on aggregate.
| Marseille | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Allofs |
Report |
Marseille won 1–0 on aggregate.
| Hajduk Split | 1–0 (a.e.t.) | |
|---|---|---|
| Asanović |
Report | |
| Penalties | ||
| Bursać Dražić Miljuš Asanović |
4–2 | |
1–1 on aggregate. Hajduk Split won 4–2 on penalties.
Den Haag won 3–2 on aggregate.
| Young Boys | 3–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Zuffi Weber Maissen |
Report | Majoros |
Young Boys won 4–3 on aggregate.
Hamburg won 8–0 on aggregate.
Ajax won 6–0 on aggregate.
Second round
edit| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mechelen |
2–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | |
| Real Sociedad |
1–1 (a) | 1–1 | 0–0 | |
| OFI |
1–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | |
| Kalmar FF |
1–5 | 1–0 | 0–5 | |
| Vllaznia |
0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | |
| Marseille |
7–0 | 4–0 | 3–01 | |
| Den Haag |
2–2 (a) | 2–1 | 0–1 | |
| Hamburg |
0–3 | 0–1 | 0–2 |
- Notes
- Note 1: With Hajduk Split winning 2–0, the match was interrupted for 15 minutes due to tear gas being thrown onto the stands The match was voided and awarded 3–0 to Marseille due to the crowd trouble.
First leg
edit| Real Sociedad | 1–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Gajate |
Report | Kondratiev |
| Kalmar FF | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| T. Arvidsson |
Report |
Second leg
editMechelen won 2–0 on aggregate.
Sporting CP won 5–1 on aggregate.
RoPS won 2–0 on aggregate.
| Young Boys | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Fimian |
Report |
2–2 on aggregate. Young Boys won on away goals.
Ajax won 3–0 on aggregate.
1–1 on aggregate. Dinamo Minsk won on away goals.
Atalanta won 2–1 on aggregate.
The match was interrupted in the 10th minute with the score 0–0 due to tear gas being thrown in the stands by Hajduk fans. The resulting commotion was accompanied with the same fans throwing flares onto the pitch followed by a pitch invasion. The match was resumed some 15 minutes later and completed with Hajduk winning 2–0 on the night and Marseille advancing 4–2 on aggregate. At a disciplinary hearing several days later, UEFA voided the match due to the crowd trouble, awarding a 3–0 win to Marseille and banning Hajduk from European competition for two seasons.
Marseille won 7–0 on aggregate.
Quarter-finals
edit| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mechelen |
2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | |
| Atalanta |
3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | |
| RoPS |
0–4 | 0–1 | 0–3 | |
| Young Boys |
0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
First leg
edit| Mechelen | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| De Wilde |
Report |
| Atalanta | 2–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Nicolini Cantarutti |
Report |
| Young Boys | 0–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Bosman |
Second leg
edit| Dinamo Minsk | 1–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Kisten |
Report | Ohana |
Mechelen won 2–1 on aggregate.
| Sporting CP | 1–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Houtman |
Report | Cantarutti |
Atalanta won 3–1 on aggregate.
Marseille won 4–0 on aggregate.
| Ajax | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Larsson |
Report |
Ajax won 2–0 on aggregate.
Semi-finals
edit| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mechelen |
4–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | |
| Marseille |
2–4 | 0–3 | 2–1 |
First leg
edit| Marseille | 0–3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Rob Witschge Bergkamp |
Second leg
editMechelen won 4–2 on aggregate.
Ajax won 4–2 on aggregate.
Final
editTop scorers
editThe top scorers from the 1987–88 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup are as follows:
| Rank | Name | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | ||
| 2 | 4 | ||
| 4 | |||
| 4 | |||
| 4 | |||
| 4 | |||
| 7 | 3 | ||
| 3 | |||
| 3 | |||
| 3 | |||
| 3 | |||
| 3 | |||
| 3 |