Paul Vaessen

Who was Paul Vaessen?

Paul Leon Vaessen was an English footballer.

Vaessen was born in Gillingham to a footballing family – his father Leon had played for Millwall and Gillingham. A centre-forward, he joined Arsenal in 1977 as an apprentice, and made his debut aged 16 against Lokomotive Leipzig in the UEFA Cup on 27 September 1978. He made his league debut the following year, against Chelsea on 14 May 1979. He turned professional in July the same year, scoring five goals in 13 appearances in 1979–80.

The most famous of these goals was the one Vaessen scored against Juventus at the Stadio Comunale, in the second leg of a 1980 Cup Winners Cup Semi Final on 23 April 1980. Arsenal had drawn the first leg 1–1 and thus, trailing on the away goals rule, needed to score to stand any chance of getting to the final. Arsenal manager Terry Neill sent Vaessen on as a substitute after 75 minutes and he headed home a late goal from a Graham Rix cross in the 88th minute to make the score 2–1 to Arsenal, which put them into the final. It was the first time Juventus had lost to a British team on home soil. Vaessen did not play in the final, which Arsenal lost on penalties to Valencia at Heysel Stadium.