UEFA Europa League - Club Brugge KV

FCB have a glorious history of goal nets and, like NK Maribor, went to extreme lengths to keep their stanchions when box nets were deemed a necessary requirement.

In the mid-60's Brugge sported stanchions of a curve that suggested the Latin influence of Madrid and Santiago and would lead to similar at Feyenoord.



By the late 70's FCB were a force in European football and played between skinny A-frames that were classically Low Country.




The A-frames were still there in the mid-90's and the era of box net homogeneity. Exactly like those at  NK Maribor, Brugge maintained their identity by draping the box nets over the stanchions.

UEFA Champions League - NK Maribor

Slovenia's most successful side NK Maribor have a very interesting history of goal nets.

They love their stanchions soooo much that soon after Slovenian independence in the early 90's, they eschewed convention and suspended their nets by, not 2, but 3 stanchions.





Later, when obviously instructed they needed box nets to compete in Europe, Maribor couldn't bear to give up their stanchions so basically draped the box nets over the (now only 2) stanchions.

UEFA Champions League - ŠK Slovan Bratislava

In an era when Central and Eastern European sides played between Continental D's, Slovan Bratislava borrowed from Feyenoord and installed cosmopolitan L-supports. 

UEFA Champions League - Steaua Bucuresti

Most veterans of the European Cup era would remember Steaua as 1986 Champions, and may just recall the 1986 final. After an infamous 120 minutes of football, Barcelona famously failed to score any of their penalties in the resultant shoot out.




Goal nets fans may choose to remember Steaua for the gorgeous sloping stanchions at their old Stadionul Steaua.

UEFA Champions League - Dinamo Tbilisi

Check out the great stanchions at Dinamo Stadium as Tbilisi destroy Liverpool in the old European Cup.




Dinamo maintained their wonderful on-field architecture until the late 1990's.

UEFA Champions League - Partizan Belgrade

FK Partizan join Budapest Honved FC in the annals of totally awesome on-field architecture by combining stripey posts with classic Central European 1970's Continental D's.

UEFA Champions League - Sligo Rovers

League of Ireland champions Sligo Rovers play Denmark's Molde in the 2nd round of qualifying for this season's Champions League.

The Bit O Red have in recent years preferred Continental D's. Last season's were pulled back by into a peculiar box-net format.




The Continental D's at the Showgrounds were once more conventional, almost like Newcastle's...



However, you dig far enough back and you find Rovers were really A-frame aficionados all along.