This time against crack Spanish side Athletic Bilbao, a club which served as the focal point and cultural embodiment of the passionate and proud Basque region.
The first leg was played at Bilbao’s legendary and atmospheric San Memes stadium, an intimidating venue known locally as The Cathedral.
And for the 40,000 pilgrims lucky enough to attend the tie, they bore witness to a veritable match for the ages.
For teenage goalkeeper Corrigan, newly thrust into the City first team and experiencing his first-ever foreign trip, that night in Bilbao remains indelibly printed in his memory.
“To be going abroad with City it was just a dream come true. Everybody wanted to play for your local team, and for a young kid to be given that opportunity was indescribable,” Big Joe admits.
“That first tie was away at Bilbao was remarkable.
“The furthest I’d ever been beforehand was Pwllheli! So, to step out and see the ground packed with an amazing atmosphere and the fans behind the goal drinking wine out of these porrons, shaped like a sheep’s stomach, was a massive eye-opener.”Joe Corrigan
On the pitch, it initially looked as if City’s European aspirations were once again headed for the rocks.
Amidst a raucous cacophony of noise, Mercer’s men found themselves 2-0 down inside the opening 15 minutes and though Young reduced the deficit, when Athletic added a third goal midway through the second half, the portents looked ominous.
Fortified by the lessons of the previous year however, City dug deep and launched a ferocious fightback, inspired by a wondrous performance from Summerbee.
A Tommy Booth goal injected fresh impetus into City’s system and our second half dominance was justifiably rewarded as we drew level on 86 minutes with an own goal to a cap a remarkable recovery.
“That game in Bilbao was one of the most exciting you will see in Europe. From being 3-1 down at one stage to come back and draw 3-3 spoke volumes about us,” recalls Buzzer.
“I remember that game very well as Ronnie Allen was the manager of Bilbao back then and the night before when we went to train, Ronnie had arranged to put us on a field covered in all sorts of dog muck and what have you!Mike Summerbee
“It was like a park – that was Ronnie trying to put us off.
“But it was a special match for me as I felt I had one of my best-ever games for City over there.
“It was the old atmospheric San Memes stadium, the crowd was very close to you as a player and it was such a good game.”
Buzzer’s legendary fellow sparring partner Francis Lee concurs and hailed Summerbee’s ferocious impact that evening.
“Mike had a corking game,” Franny declared. “Bilbao was a wild scene and wild place. They were tough guys up there in the Basque country and it was a very hard physical match.”