“I read today of Horst Blankenburg, who won the European Cup three times with Ajax, but never played for his country, West Germany. Have any other uncapped players won as many (or more) European Cup/Champions League medals?” asks Robbie Paterson.
Horst Blankenburg had the misfortune to play in a position as specific as sweeper at a time when Franz Beckenbauer was the boss of world football. We only know of one team that has played with two sweepers, and that was Steve Coppell’s Crystal Palace away at Nottingham Forest in 1990-91. Blankenburg played with Beckenbauer only once: in the Common Market Match of 1973, a celebration of the UK’s entry into the European Economic Community.
