Wrexham are the third oldest professional football club in the world and have an incredibly rich history.
To many football fans the achievements of Wrexham throughout their entire history are unknown, with the vast majority only aware of the success they have had under Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac.
While this success has been incredible, as Wrexham earned a historic three consecutive promotions from the National League to the Championship, for many Europeans, success has always been the pinnacle.
On this day 50 years ago, Wrexham celebrated one of their great European victories in their greatest ever campaign on the continent.
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Wrexham secured qualification past Djurgarden in the Cup Winners Cup
The Red Dragons qualified for the 1975-76 Cup Winners Cup, a competition that has since been discontinued, but teams can qualify for the Europa League in a similar fashion after they won the Welsh Cup the season prior.
Wrexham had qualified for the competition previously; however, this would be their best showing in the competition, as they reached the quarter-finals before being eliminated 2-1 by Anderlecht.
However, on October 1, 1975, Wrexham secured progression to the second round after a fine two-leg display over Swedish side Djurgården.
The Welsh side won the first leg 2-1 at home before securing their spot in the next round with a 1-1 draw.
In the second round they would face Polish side Stal Rzeszów, who they would progress past easily to reach the quarter-final.
A consolation to Wrexham fans may be that Anderlecht would go on to win the competition that season, beating West Ham in the final 4-2, meaning the Red Dragons came close to eliminating the eventual winners of the trophy.
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Wrexham’s record in Europe
Wrexham would qualify for the Cup Winners Cup on eight occasions, with their 1975-76 campaign being the best of them, with their worst coming in their most recent.
The Red Dragons would not progress past the qualifying round of the 1995-96 iteration of the competition.
| Season | Cup Winners Cup Round elimination | Opponent | Score |
| 1972-73 | Second Round | Hajduk Split | 3-3 (lost on away goals) |
| 1975-76 | Quarter Final | Anderlecht | 2-1 |
| 1978-79 | First Round | NK Rijeka | 3-2 |
| 1979-80 | First Round | Magdeburg | 7-5 |
| 1984-85 | Second Round | Roma | 3-0 |
| 1986-87 | Second Round | Zaragoza | 2-2 (lost on away goals) |
| 1990-91 | Second Round | Manchester United | 5-0 |
| 1995-96 | Qualifying Round | Petrolul Ploiești | 1-0 |
They did manage to reach the second round on four occasions in their history, while also featuring in the first round twice.
Wrexham have never participated in the Champions League as they have never finished in the qualification places in the Premier League, nor have they won the English top flight when that was the entry requirement, due to them competing in England’s football pyramid.