The 1973 Intercontinental Cup was an association football match played on 28 November 1973 between Juventus, runners-up of the 1972–73 European Cup, and Independiente, winners of the 1973 Copa Libertadores. The match was played at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. It was Juventus' first appearance into the competition and Independiente's fourth appearance after the defeats against Internazionale in 1964 and 1965 and against Ajax in 1972. Despite initially refusing to participate in the competition, Juventus replaced Ajax as representative UEFA team in the competition after Ajax as the European champions declined to contest a possible meeting in South America officially for financial reasons. The Cup was played in a single match instead of a two-legged final as happened in the previous and following years until 1979. Background Independiente was the 1973 Copa Libertadores title holder after beating Chilean club Colo-Colo with a goal in extra time. The Intercontinental Cup was a long longing for the club so they had lost the previous final v Dutch team Ajax –led by Johan Cruyff, most of its players would were part of the Netherlands national team that showed the revolutionary tactical theory (called the "total Football") at the 1974 FIFA World Cup – just one year before and had the opportunity to take revenge of that defeat. Nevertheless, the Dutch club refused to play the 1973 edition alleging they didn't want to suffer the "rough game" of the Argentine team again. Therefore, the runner-up of 1972–73 European Cup, Juventus, took Ajax's place to contest the competition. The Italian club refused to come to Buenos Aires, putting as a condition to play a unique match at Rome. Independiente executives accepted it, scheduling the match for November 28, 1973. José Pastoriza, who had been the captain and leader of the Copa Libertadores winning team, did not play the match because he was transferred to AS Monaco short before the final in Rome. Match Summary During the match, dominated by the Italian team, the Bianconeri had several opportunities to take the lead with two shots on the cross, a penalty kick, drawn by Cuccureddu, ended up over the bar and a shot in the last minutes of the race, which was blocked by the goalkeeper Santoro in daring action. Ten minutes from the end, an own goal by Gentile in a Bochini's shot, the only significant offensive action made by Independiente in the match, was decisive