This year marks the 20th anniversary of the last European Cup Winners Cup.

For almost 40 years the tournament had stood the test of time alongside the more prestigious European Cup/Champions League as well as the UEFA Cup.

But it ultimately didn't survive the evolution that European football underwent from the mid-90s. The clubs that used to populate it now qualify for the UEFA Cup as domestic cup winners or runners-up.

However, many still fondly remember the Cup Winners Cup and it's been brought back to life in Steven Scragg's new book A Tournament Frozen in Time: The Wonderful Randomness of the European Cup Winners' Cup.

Steven joined me on this week's Team 33 to lift the lid on the tournament's history.

Themes

We covered a few key themes in the chat like why the 1980-81 edition was so memorable for Steven. Peeking behind the Iron Curtain was one reason as the Cup Winners Cup saw Eastern European teams enjoy more success than in the early decades of the old European Cup. With that in mind, Magdeburg's 1974 triumph for East Germany also got a mention.

Meanwhile, Barcelona won the most titles. But like Manchester United in 1991, their 1989 win proved to be monumental in terms of the future European Cup/Champions League successes they were about to enjoy.

Everton triumphed in 1984-85 but could they have repeated that in the European Cup if a ban had not been applied?

And of course, Aberdeen famously beat Real Madrid in the 1983 final. It would be a surprise in this day and age, but circumstances at the time dictate that that final result wasn't as shocking.

Those were among the intangibles including the reasons for the Cup Winners Cup's decline.

You can watch the full chat on the Cup Winners Cup above via YouTube or the podcast player just above.

If there are Cup Winners Cup finals that spring to mind for you, tweet us at @teamthirtythree or @raftastico. We'll also podcast rest of this week's show. Subscribe on iTunes to get the latest podcast episode from Wednesday.