The midfield general of that final (two of them, as it was a two-legged fixture) was number ten, Benny Arentoft. Or Preben, to give him his proper name.He was sold to Newcastle from Scottish club Morton in February 1969 for £18,000, at the time the Magpies were already in the quarter finals of the Fairs Cup on their very first European adventure.
I was asked by a Danish magazine to write an article on Newcastle's Scandinavian players over the years, and obviously there was interest in one of their 'sons' as Benny was born in Copenhagen back in 1942.
Described as a "diminutive, tireless midfield worker who excelled in the marking game" by Newcastle historian Paul Joannou, he was one of the few foreign success stories in the English game in the 1960s.
But as I researched his past, I came upon his appearances for Morton in the Fairs Cup that very same season he signed for Newcastle 1968/69. So he was actually cup-tied!
I know Manchester United were allowed to field a player in the FA Cup (who was cup-tied) because of compassionate reasons back in 1958 following the Munich air crash.
But what about Benny?
Perhaps someone out there knows more of the story than I do, and please e-mail me if you do.
We will follow up this article.
Kevnumad@fsmail.net