The final was played over two legs at the Rheinstadion, Düsseldorf, West Germany, and at the Diekman Stadion, Enschede, the Netherlands.

It was won by Borussia Mönchengladbach of West Germany, who defeated FC Twente of the Netherlands by an aggregate result of 5–1 to claim their first UEFA Cup title.

No team from West Germany had ever won the UEFA Cup, or its unofficial predecessor Inter-Cities Fairs Cup before Borussia's first conquest, which came two years after reaching the final in 1973.

In that edition, both teams had already faced in the semi-finals, which ended with the same aggregate score.

For the first time since the 1966 edition of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, no English team reached the final.

The original allocation scheme was as follows: The Netherlands and Austria were the two associations selected to have an extra third birth for this season, while Scotland and Belgium went back to two qualified teams.

In the first round, both legs of the match-up between FC Amsterdam and Hibernians F.C.

were played over five days in the Netherlands, with the second leg being held on a Sunday Lyon won 11–1 on aggregate.

3–3 on aggregate, Velež Mostar won on away goals rule.

2–2 on aggregate, Royal Antwerp won on away goal rules.

1–1 on aggregate, Dynamo Dresden won on away goal rules.

4–4 on aggregate, Raba ETO Győr won 5–4 in penalty shoot-out.

4–4 on aggregate, Derby County won 7–6 in penalty shoot-out.

1–1 on aggregate, Dynamo Dresden won 4–3 in penalty shoot-out.