Kevin Beattie
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Thomas Kevin Beattie was an English footballer. Born into poverty, he played at both professional and international levels, mostly as a centre-half. He spent the majority of his playing career at Ipswich Town, the club with which he won both the FA Cup and the UEFA Cup. He was also named the inaugural Professional Footballers' Association Young Player of the Year at the end of the 1972–73 season, and featured in the film Escape to Victory alongside many of his Ipswich teammates.
Bobby Robson, Beattie's first professional manager and a lifelong admirer of the player
Perry Groves, who began his career playing alongside Beattie, included him in the book he wrote about his 20 "football heroes".
Statue of Beattie outside Portman Road
1981 UEFA Cup final
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The 1981 UEFA Cup Final was an association football match played over two legs between AZ '67 of the Netherlands and Ipswich Town of England. The first leg was played at Portman Road, Ipswich, on 6 May 1981 and the second leg was played on 20 May 1981 at the Olympic Stadium, Amsterdam. It was the final of the 1980–81 season of European cup competition, the UEFA Cup. Both Ipswich and AZ '67 were appearing in their first European final.
The first leg of the final was played at Portman Road.
The Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam hosted the second leg of the final.
John Wark scored a record fourteen goals during Ipswich's 1980–81 UEFA Cup campaign.