| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 20 August 1980 – 13 May 1981 | 
| Teams | 34 | 
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Dinamo Tbilisi (1st title) | 
| Runners-up |  Carl Zeiss Jena | 
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 65 | 
| Goals scored | 176 (2.71 per match) | 
| Top scorer(s) | David Cross (West Ham United) 6 goals | 
The 1980–81 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup was won by Dinamo Tbilisi in the final against Carl Zeiss Jena. Dinamo Tbilisi's side defeated English Second Division side West Ham United away before beating Carl Zeiss Jena in a final watched by 4,750 people in Düsseldorf. This win was the high point of the Georgian side and is still the club's greatest achievement.
The competition included the Real Madrid reserve team, Castilla CF, who qualified as the runners-up of the 1979–80 Copa del Rey.
Preliminary round
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Celtic  | 7–2 |  Diósgyőr | 6–0 | 1–2 | 
| Altay  | 0–4 |  Benfica | 0–0 | 0–4 | 
First leg
Second leg
Celtic won 7–2 on aggregate.
Benfica won 4–0 on aggregate.
First round
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castilla CF .svg.png.webp) | 4–6 |  West Ham United | 3–1 | 1–5 (aet) | 
| Celtic  | 2–2 (a) | .svg.png.webp) Politehnica Timișoara | 2–1 | 0–1 | 
| Hibernians  | 1–4 |  Waterford | 1–0 | 0–4 | 
| Kastoria  | 0–2 |  Dinamo Tbilisi | 0–0 | 0–2 | 
| Spora Luxembourg  | 0–12 |  Sparta Prague | 0–6 | 0–6 | 
| Slavia Sofia .svg.png.webp) | 3–2 |  Legia Warsaw | 3–1 | 0–1 | 
| Hvidovre  | 3–0 |  Fram | 1–0 | 2–0 | 
| Ilves  | 3–7 |  Feyenoord | 1–3 | 2–4 | 
| Roma  | 3–4 |  Carl Zeiss Jena | 3–0 | 0–4 | 
| Valencia .svg.png.webp) | 5–3 |  Monaco | 2–0 | 3–3 | 
| Sion .svg.png.webp) | 1–3 |  Haugar | 1–1 | 0–2 | 
| Newport County  | 4–0 | .svg.png.webp) Crusaders | 4–0 | 0–0 | 
| Omonia .svg.png.webp) | 1–7 | .svg.png.webp) Waterschei Thor | 1–3 | 0–4 | 
| Fortuna Düsseldorf  | 8–0 |  Austria Salzburg | 5–0 | 3–0 | 
| Malmö  | 1–0 | .svg.png.webp) Partizani Tirana | 1–0 | 0–0 | 
| Dinamo Zagreb .svg.png.webp) | 0–2 |  Benfica | 0–0 | 0–2 | 
First leg
| Celtic  | 2–1 | .svg.png.webp) Politehnica Timișoara | 
|---|---|---|
| Nicholas  19', 43' | Report | Manea  78' | 
| Kastoria  | 0–0 |  Dinamo Tbilisi | 
|---|---|---|
| Omonia  | 1–3 | .svg.png.webp) Waterschei Thor | 
|---|---|---|
| Kanaris  88' | Report | Van Poucke  17' R. Janssen  69' Patikkis  82' (o.g.) | 
Second leg
| Politehnica Timișoara .svg.png.webp) | 1–0 |  Celtic | 
|---|---|---|
| Păltinișanu  81' | Report | 
2–2 on aggregate; Politehnica Timișoara won on away goals.
| Carl Zeiss Jena  | 4–0 |  Roma | 
|---|---|---|
| Krause  26' Lindemann  38' Bielau  71'  87' | 
Carl Zeiss Jena won 4–3 on aggregate.
| Dinamo Tbilisi  | 2–0 |  Kastoria | 
|---|---|---|
| Shengelia  52' Gutsaev  80' | 
| Waterschei Thor .svg.png.webp) | 4–0 |  Omonia | 
|---|---|---|
| R. Janssen  17' Plessers  65' (pen.) Van Poucke  68', 75' | Report | 
Waterschei Thor won 7–1 on aggregate.
| Benfica  | 2–0 | .svg.png.webp) Dinamo Zagreb | 
|---|---|---|
| Nené  17' César  56' | Report | 
Benfica won 2–0 on aggregate.
Second round
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Ham United  | 4–1 | .svg.png.webp) Politehnica Timișoara | 4–0 | 0–1 | 
| Waterford  | 0–5 |  Dinamo Tbilisi | 0–1 | 0–4 | 
| Sparta Prague  | 2–3 | .svg.png.webp) Slavia Sofia | 2–0 | 0–3 | 
| Hvidovre  | 1–3 |  Feyenoord | 1–2 | 0–1 | 
| Carl Zeiss Jena  | 3–2 | .svg.png.webp) Valencia | 3–1 | 0–1 | 
| Haugar  | 0–6 |  Newport County | 0–0 | 0–6 | 
| Waterschei Thor .svg.png.webp) | 0–1 |  Fortuna Düsseldorf | 0–0 | 0–1 | 
| Malmö  | 1–2 |  Benfica | 1–0 | 0–2 | 
First leg
| Waterford  | 0–1 |  Dinamo Tbilisi | 
|---|---|---|
| Shengelia  50' | 
| Sparta Prague  | 2–0 | .svg.png.webp) Slavia Sofia | 
|---|---|---|
| Vdovjak  14', 45' | 
| Hvidovre  | 1–2 |  Feyenoord | 
|---|---|---|
| Manniche  2' | Wijnstekers  32' Bouwens  51' | 
| Carl Zeiss Jena  | 3–1 | .svg.png.webp) Valencia | 
|---|---|---|
| Sengewald  1' Schnuphase  9' (pen.) Trocha  31' | Morena  69' | 
| Haugar  | 0–0 |  Newport County | 
|---|---|---|
Second leg
Newport County won 6–0 on aggregate.
West Ham United won 4–1 on aggregate.
| Dinamo Tbilisi  | 4–0 |  Waterford | 
|---|---|---|
| Daraselia  66', 79' Chivadze  74' Chilaia  87' | 
| Slavia Sofia .svg.png.webp) | 3–0 |  Sparta Prague | 
|---|---|---|
| Velichkov  38' Zhelyazkov  41' Tsvetkov  45' | 
Feyenoord won 3–1 on aggregate.
| Valencia .svg.png.webp) | 1–0 |  Carl Zeiss Jena | 
|---|---|---|
| Botubot  61' | 
Carl Zeiss Jena won 3–2 on aggregate.
| Fortuna Düsseldorf  | 1–0 | .svg.png.webp) Waterschei Thor | 
|---|---|---|
| Bansemer  5' | 
Benfica won 2–1 on aggregate.
Quarter-finals
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Ham United  | 2–4 |  Dinamo Tbilisi | 1–4 | 1–0 | 
| Slavia Sofia .svg.png.webp) | 3–6 |  Feyenoord | 3–2 | 0–4 | 
| Carl Zeiss Jena  | 3–2 |  Newport County | 2–2 | 1–0 | 
| Fortuna Düsseldorf  | 2–3 |  Benfica | 2–2 | 0–1 | 
First leg
| West Ham United  | 1–4 |  Dinamo Tbilisi | 
|---|---|---|
| Cross  54' | Chivadze  24' Gutsaev  31' Shengelia  55', 67' | 
| Carl Zeiss Jena  | 2–2 |  Newport County | 
|---|---|---|
| Raab  22', 85' | Tynan  40', 90' | 
| Fortuna Düsseldorf  | 2–2 |  Benfica | 
|---|---|---|
| Wenzel  2' Dusend  39' | Carlos Manuel  35' Coelho  77' | 
Second leg
| Dinamo Tbilisi  | 0–1 |  West Ham United | 
|---|---|---|
| Pearson  87' | 
Dinamo Tbilisi won 4–2 on aggregate.
| Feyenoord  | 4–0 | .svg.png.webp) Slavia Sofia | 
|---|---|---|
| Notten  18' Van Deinsen  48' Vermeulen  77', 85' | 
Feyenoord won 6–3 on aggregate.
| Newport County  | 0–1 |  Carl Zeiss Jena | 
|---|---|---|
| Kurbjuweit  27' | 
Carl Zeiss Jena won 3–2 on aggregate.
| Benfica  | 1–0 |  Fortuna Düsseldorf | 
|---|---|---|
| Chalana  87' | 
Benfica won 3–2 on aggregate.
Semi-finals
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dinamo Tbilisi  | 3–2 |  Feyenoord | 3–0 | 0–2 | 
| Carl Zeiss Jena  | 2–1 |  Benfica | 2–0 | 0–1 | 
First leg
| Dinamo Tbilisi  | 3–0 |  Feyenoord | 
|---|---|---|
| Sulakvelidze  23', 51' Gutsaev  30' | 
| Carl Zeiss Jena  | 2–0 |  Benfica | 
|---|---|---|
| Bielau  8' Raab  15' | 
Second leg
| Feyenoord  | 2–0 |  Dinamo Tbilisi | 
|---|---|---|
| Bouwens  43' Notten  56' | 
Dinamo Tbilisi won 3–2 on aggregate.
| Benfica  | 1–0 |  Carl Zeiss Jena | 
|---|---|---|
| Reinaldo  59' | 
Carl Zeiss Jena won 2–1 on aggregate.
Final
| Dinamo Tbilisi  | 2–1 |  FC Carl Zeiss Jena | 
|---|---|---|
| Gutsaev  67' Daraselia  86' | (Report) (Report 2) | Hoppe  63' |