The encounter
Dinamo qualified · aggregate 4–3 · return won 3–2 after extra time
Match cassette · results and dates
Romanian club’s score first.
- 21 October 1981 · AwayDinamo București 1–1 Inter Milan (Italy)
- 4 November 1981 · HomeDinamo București 3–2 Inter Milan (Italy)
A draw to bring home
Inter Milano arrived in Bucharest with the tie finely balanced. The first leg, played on 21 October 1981, had ended 1–1: Michele Pasinato put the Italians ahead and Alexandru Custov replied for Dinamo. A draw in Milan was something to build on. It also meant that the return would begin with neither side able to feel comfortable.
Georgescu opens the door
On 4 November, Dudu Georgescu gave the home crowd its first release of joy. His goal after half an hour put Dinamo ahead on the day and across the tie. Inter’s response came soon after the interval, when Alessandro Altobelli equalised. The advantage Dinamo had worked for was gone. At the end of ninety minutes, the teams were level in Bucharest, level on aggregate and level on away goals. Another half-hour would decide it.
Two goals needed
Extra time brought the moment Dinamo supporters had feared. Herbert Prohaska scored for Inter, turning 1–1 into 1–2. The situation was worse than the one-goal deficit suggested: even an equaliser would leave Inter ahead on away goals. Dinamo had to score twice. With the minutes passing and elimination close, the players still had to find a way back through an Italian side that now had every reason to protect its lead.
Augustin, then Orac
Ionel Augustin supplied the first answer. His equaliser kept Dinamo alive, but there was little time to enjoy it: another goal was still needed. Then Costel Orac scored. In a handful of extra-time minutes, the meaning of the afternoon had changed completely. Inter had been heading into the next round; now the scoreboard read 3–2 to Dinamo. The remaining minutes had to be endured, but the comeback held.
An afternoon that stayed with Bucharest
Dinamo went through 4–3 on aggregate. Georgescu had started the scoring, Augustin had restored hope and Orac had delivered the goal that made qualification possible. The next round would end against IFK Göteborg, the eventual UEFA Cup winners, but it could not take this afternoon away. Against Inter, Dinamo had reached the point where one goal was no longer enough, and found two.
Match facts
- Competition
- UEFA Cup 1981/82 · second round
- First leg
- 21 October 1981 · Milan · Inter 1–1 Dinamo București
- First-leg scorers
- Michele Pasinato; Alexandru Custov
- Return
- 4 November 1981 · Bucharest · Dinamo București 3–2 Inter after extra time (1–1 after 90 minutes)
- Return scorers
- Dinamo: Dudu Georgescu, Ionel Augustin, Costel Orac. Inter: Alessandro Altobelli, Herbert Prohaska.
- Extra-time comeback
- Sportul’s contemporary report records Augustin 101′ and Orac 107′.
- Aggregate
- Dinamo qualified 4–3
Explore the archive
Sources & image credits
About the historical details and source differences
The supplied match table and Sportul’s contemporary report record Augustin in the 101st minute and Orac in the 107th. Other records use 100 and 107, or 100 and 108; Prohaska’s minute also varies. The narrative preserves the scoring order without presenting disputed minutes as exact. Scores and dates agree with Inter’s official match archive. Attendance estimates differ, so no exact crowd is asserted.
Match results and dates follow the archive records. Reference pages:
- Inter · first leg, 21 October 1981 ↗
- Inter · return, 4 November 1981 ↗
- Sportul · contemporary report, 5 November 1981 ↗
- RomanianSoccer · return match report ↗
Club crest: the image already stored in the club archive, used as a visual identifier rather than a photograph of this encounter.
← All European stories