It was the 1985/1986 season European Cup semifinal return leg. There was magic in the air at Camp Nou, it was one of those days. After losing 3-0 in Sweden, Barça needed a miracle to go through against Gothenburg and dream about making it to the final for the first time in 21 years. The player who would come to the fore that night was Ángel Pichi Alonso.

“The dressing room was delighted when we got Gothenburg”, he recalls. However, it all came crashing down in the Ullevi stadium: “They flew at us. They scored three and it could have been more”. He didn't get on the pitch and thought his chance had gone. That was until Terry Venables took him aside privately to tell him he would be starting the return leg. A decision that would change the tie and his career.

A hat-trick for the ages

On 16 April 1986, the plan was clear for Barça: score early. The first goal came from a long pass by Calderé. “I don't know how I hit it, but it went in”, says Pichi. The goal for 2-0 – vital as the team was starting to drop in intensity – came from a long ball that the forward made the most of, route one football! The goal for 3-0 that sent the game into extra time came from a cross by Lobo Carrasco that Alonso finished while falling over. The Camp Nou erupted. The comeback was now a thing of legend.

“It's one of those nights you dream about as a kid”, explains Pichi Alonso. Many fans still recall being at the Stadium that night. After no goals in extra time and a dramatic penalty shootout, Barça sealed a place in the final in Seville and that night against Gothenburg became the reference whenever Barça need a comeback.

If only they would have won in Seville…

The defeat to Fotbal Club FCSB (formerly known as FC Steaua București) in the final on 7 May 1986 left a bitter taste in the mouth. “It could have changed my life”, admits Pichi. During a time when games weren't shown worldwide, that semifinal against Gothenburg didn't resonate as much as it would have done today either: “They showed a recording. A lot more people would have seen it given how TV is today”.

All the same, that performance left a lasting legacy for him. “I'm really remembered at Barça for that. Some players were there for more years and they don't have such a specific memorable moment”. The night against Gothenburg remains a collective memory of legend, one of those glorious moments that only happen once… if you are lucky enough to be there.

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