Sporting Bygones: Goss’s goals leave Matthaus and company fuming as little old Norwich give mighty Bayern Munich a night they’ll never forget

Few expected anything other than a masterclass from the three-time European champions when the Canaries, who had finished third in the inaugural Premier League season, headed out to Bavaria for the first leg of their UEFA Cup second round tie on October 20, 1993.

Walker, though, had other ideas.

“The season before we had a similar thing in England, when we were in the top four and everyone was saying we would blow up and fall away, but we didn’t. I certainly felt the same way when we tackled Europe,” said Walker.

“We just gave it a good go, we were playing some decent football and always thought we would have a chance.

“After we disposed of Vitesse (3-0 in the first round), we had blooded ourselves in Europe and when we pulled out the big one, we viewed it very much as okay, it was Bayern, but we were still going well in the Premier League and fancied our chances of giving a good account of ourselves over there in the first leg – obviously we did a bit better than that.”

Walker revealed how Norwich had looked to use the deployment of veteran midfield maestro Matthaus in a deeper role to their advantage.

“I had looked at it and felt Matthaus could possibly be the weak link – there was no doubt he was a great midfield player, but perhaps not so when he played at the back, especially in the air,” said Walker.

“Maybe there was a bit of complacency by Bayern, that they thought ‘well, it is only Norwich, so we can play Matthaus at the back and there will be no problems’.”

There were plenty, though as Matthaus’ tame header was promptly fired back past Raimond Aumann by Jeremy Goss from 20 yards – and when Mark Bowen nodded the Canaries into a 2-0 lead after just 26 minutes, even commentator John Motson had to declare “this is almost fantasy football!”

While the Germans pulled a goal back before half-time, Walker’s men – made up of all British players – held firm for a famous victory, which will forever be Bayern’s only defeat by an English team at their old home.

“Matthaus was quite put out afterwards actually,” continued Walker. “I heard him shouting his mouth off, ‘it is a disgrace we have lost to them, this was a fluke and when we get over there we will give it to them’, and I thought that was a bit out of order to be honest.”

Bayern were pilloried in the German press and even flew out Franz Beckenbauer to Norfolk for inspiration in the second leg.

Yet despite falling behind to an early Bayern goal, another crucial strike from Goss, this time at close quarters at the start of the second half, put the tie beyond the Germans – with wild celebrations greeting the final whistle.

That glorious November evening was, though, as good as it got for Norwich, who went out in the next round to eventual winners Inter Milan, losing both legs 1-0 to goals from Dennis Bergkamp.

“Even with losing to Inter Milan, there was nothing to be ashamed of. When we went to the San Siro, two or three of our key players were not there, and we still gave a good show of ourselves,” said Walker.

“Who knows, though, what would have happened if we had gone there with a full side, things might have been different.

“But just to have done all that, for a club of our standing, to have beaten Bayern and then draw a side like Inter Milan, it took the imagination of all of the fans, of me and the players. It was just fantastic.”

Norwich were unable to maintain their domestic form, eventually finishing 12th after Walker had left for Everton in January 1994 and relegation followed the next season.

Indeed, the Norfolk club would find themselves down in the third tier before a meteoric rise under Paul Lambert saw them again sustain a place in the Premier League, with current chairman Alan Bowkett setting an ambitious target of a top-10 finish for Chris Hughton’s side.

The achievements of Walker and his industrious team, though, are unlikely to be matched anytime soon.

“It was difficult enough in our day, but now you have got these bigger clubs spending silly money and they are getting stronger and stronger,” said the 67-year-old, who now lives in Cyprus after a spell as head coach at APOEL Nicosia.

“A well-run club can break into that top eight, for sure, but the top four or five? I think that is extremely difficult now.”