Showing posts with label Aberdeen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Aberdeen. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Club Spotlight : "The Fergie's Furies" : Aberdeen Team of the decade 1980s

 Aberdeen have what money can't buy - a soul; a team spirit built in a family tradition.' The legendary Alfredo Di Stefano, Real Madrid manager, uttered those poignant words following his side's defeat in the 1983 European Cup-Winners' Cup final. The crestfallen coach summed up what the Dons were all about under Alex Ferguson. The success achieved during his time at Pittodrie was unprecedented. Never before and certainly not since has a team from the provinces had the temerity to launch such a sustained assault on the Old Firm's dominance. If the Aberdeen side was moulded in Ferguson's character, then they were not for messing with. It all began after strenuous efforts by Dick Donald and Chris Anderson failed to keep Billy McNeill in the manager's job. Ferguson was not unknown to the club: he had been touted as MacLeod's replacement twelve months earlier, but McNeill had been first choice. On this occasion the circumstances were different. Ferguson, who had dragged St Mirren into the Premier League, had fallen out with the Paisley club and was now clear to take up the vacancy. Since his own playing career had come to a close, Ferguson had unleashed his coaching talents with East Stirling and then St Mirren. It appeared a solid grounding, and the Aberdeen job was as big as he could have hoped for. If the board had gone out on a limb a year earlier when appointing the inexperienced McNeill, they took the mightiest gamble with Ferguson. 

 His playing career had been filled with controversy and at 35 he was barely older than the senior pros at Aberdeen. By his own admission, he irked his new players by comparing them unfavourably with those he had left behind at St Mirren, though with hindsight it was all part of his learning process. Ferguson did not have his troubles to seek in his first season. His first serious battle with the Old Firm came in the 1978-79 League Cup final against Rangers. Despite scoring first, circumstances conspired against the Dons who, with some justification, felt cruelly done by. Steve Archibald never recovered from a brutal Derek Johnstone challenge in the first minute; Doug Rougvie was sent off in controversial circumstances after allegedly stamping on the same Rangers player; and six minutes into injury-time added by referee Foote Rangers netted a winner to compound the Dons misery. The final left a bitter aftertaste, and is perhaps the source of the tension that has soured relations between the clubs ever since.

The main personnel changes made by Ferguson in his first season were, first, to put Jim Leighton in goal to cover for the injured Bobby Clark, and second, in April, to gradually introduce his first major signing, Mark McGhee, a £70,000 buy from Newcastle. The Aberdeen support was still in two minds over their new manager. Stories of dressing-room dissent kept surfacing, and the facts showed that Ferguson's team failed to live up to the standards set by McNeill's. That would all change in 1979-80, though the players and supporters had to endure another League Cup final defeat along the way. In December 1979 Aberdeen allowed Dundee United to lift their first major trophy, and basically the Dons just gifted it to them. Aberdeen had swept past the Old Firm en route to Hampden, defeating both Rangers and Celtic home and away. They had got to the final the hardest way possible. However, failing to score at Hampden - though Aberdeen dominated the game - offered Jim McLean's men a second chance they barely deserved. United took it to win the replay at Dens Park. On a real off night for the Dons, they were sunk 0-3. Looking back, that was perhaps the blackest moment of Ferguson's tenure. Midfielder John McMaster spoke afterwards of the graffiti scrawled on the Pittodrie perimetet the next morning: 'You have let us down again.1 McMaster, along with his team-mates, was determined to change that. Six months later they did, claiming Aberdeen's first Premier League title...


It was a most unlikely success. Celtic had headed the race for months and, by the time the country emerged from a bitter winter, they were twelve points ahead and cruising. The Dons had a serious backlog of fixtures to catch up on. Gradually Celtic's lead was clawed back, but the Parkhead side did not seem unduly worried about the challenge from the north. They still had to play Aberdeen twice at Parkhead. Anything short of Aberdeen victories in both games would surely send the title to Glasgow. The Dons hit a winning streak and, against the odds, they not only beat Celtic twice in their Parkhead cauldron, but they did so in style. 

 The closing weeks were nervy times: would Aberdeen hold their nerve? The answer came at a sunny Easter Road in May. A win for the Dons, coupled with Celtic dropping a point at St Mirren, would take the title north. Aberdeen obliged their massive support with a 5-0 win that was full of a swagger unimagined six months previously. As news came through that St Mirren had held Celtic, the Aberdeen support erupted. The League title had come to Pittodrie for only the second time in the club's history. Bobby Clark recalls his memories of that day with a clarity that is hard to imagine, considering it was over twenty years in the past: 'Winning a cup is special, but winning the League is the true mark of a champion. I think I would always have been disappointed if I had not managed a league medal before I retired. We had a very good team and I think Alex Ferguson was the person who gave us the belief to go along with our ability. Alex, as history has shown, had that magic to make teams believe and I think he must take the credit for making the team fulfil its potential. 'The thing that stood out with me was the last five minutes of the game [at Easter Road]. We had clearly beaten Hibs but the key to the equation was the Celtic game at Love Street. I think I was paying more attention to the fans behind my goal with their transistors. After our game finished there was an uncertain pause and then suddenly there was a rush of excitement as the Celtic score came through and the reality of what we had accomplished became clear.'

The mantle of Scottish champions was a fitting way to lay recent ghosts. The Dons had lost the 1978 Scottish Cup final and also two consecutive League Cup finals. The side that won the League did so without Joe Harper, who was never to fully recover from a knee injury sustained in a League Cup-tie at Parkhead in November 1979. Drew Jarvie returned to the side to play a cameo role that brought him vital goals in the run in. Perhaps the jewel in the crown was Gordon Strachan, who finally stamped himself as a player of real class. With the central-defensive duo of Alex McLeish and Willie Miller looking imperious in every sense, Aberdeen were on the threshold of greatness. Pittodrie underwent a major facelift that summer when a cantilever stand was erected over the South Terrace, transforming the ground and making it not only the first all-seated, but also the first all-covered stadium in Britain. No longer would patrons in that stand shiver in the biting wind or drown in the rain. History shows 1980-81 to be a season in which the Dons had nothing to show in terms of silverware, but it was then that they made their debut in the European Cup. After a spirited win over Austrian champions Memphis Vienna, they came up against the might of Liverpool in the second round. Ferguson insists his side learned a painful lesson against the Merseyside giants. A full-house at Pittodrie in the first leg were stunned by McDermott's clever goal for Liverpool. Aberdeen fans have, over the decades, unfairly gained a reputation of not backing their side, but a Liverpool journalist covering the game recalls his belief that had the Dons scored they would have taken the roof off. The experience at Anfield taught rather harsher lessons. After a promising opening, in which the Dons held their own, they fell behind and the floodgates opened. In many respects it was an inexperienced side that was torn apart that day, but the 0-4 defeat was still hard to take.

 Alex Ferguson had further tinkered with his side. Jim Leighton had permanently replaced Bobby Clark, while Mark McGhee was now first-choice striker in the wake of Steve Archibald's sale to Tottenham in a near £1 million deal. Some of the youngsters groomed in the Aberdeen tradition had started making their presence felt. Local lads John Hewitt, Neil Simpson and Neale Cooper were already laying claims to regular places, and they were soon joined by Eric Black. Despite leading the race for the title throughout the first half of the season, an inexplicable dip in form in the early weeks of 1981 proved decisive. Once Celtic assumed pole position, Aberdeen found nothing left in their tank. The signing of left-winger Peter Weir from St Mirren in the 1981 close season was to prove a master-stroke. Many observers considered Weir to be the final piece in the Aberdeen jigsaw. The fact that the £330,000 transfer established a new record between Scottish clubs underlines how much the game had evolved. The very idea that the costliest Scottish transfer would involve neither of the Old Firm as buyer or seller would today be unthinkable. Aberdeen posted their intent when they defeated West Ham and Southampton in a pre-season tourney at Pittodrie. Willie Miller celebrated his first ten years with the club in a testimonial against Tottenham. Meanwhile, Joe Harper had slipped quietly away, taking over as player-coach at Peterhead.

 The 1981-82 UEFA Cup campaign was as stunning as it was ultimately painful. The Dons reached the third round of a European competition for the first time, knocking out Ipswich and Arges Pitesti. Ipswich under Bobby Robson were defending the UEFA Cup, and displayed no little arrogance when faced with the prospect of opening their defence against the Dons. A gripping 1-1 draw at Portman Road set up a classic Euro night in the Pittodrie return. Robson had publicly claimed that Aberdeen could not play so well a second time, but he had underestimated his team's opponents, and a Peter Weir brace in the second half gave the Dons a 3-1 win. It was in the unlikely outpost of Pitesti, in the heart of an agricultural wasteland in Romania, that the legendary 'tea-cup' throwing tantrums of Alex Ferguson first came to light. The Dons had threatened to squander a three-goal first-leg lead, but the tea-cup missile had the desired effect and the Dons survived. SV Hamburg and 36-year-old sweeper Franz Beckenbauer ought to have been despatched in the third round, and perhaps they would have been but for a catastrophic closing spell at Pittodrie. Aberdeen were set to take a 3-1 lead to Germany, but suicidal late defending gave Hamburg a second goal, transformed the tie, and in the second leg Hamburg mercilessly made Aberdeen pay. In the League, the Dons took the race with Celtic to the last day. Facing Rangers at Pittodrie in a dress rehearsal for the Cup final a week later, the Dons required a five-goal win and needed Celtic to lose at home to St Mirren. At one stage it looked on: Aberdeen had raced in to a four-goal half-time lead, but Celtic responded to the news by turning the screw themselves.

The thrashing of Rangers set the Dons up nicely for the final. Never before or since have a provincial team been such overwhelming favourites against either of the Old Firm in a cup final. Rangers were an ageing lot, with several players about to play their last game in blue. Aberdeen, for their part, were an emerging force which already provided the backbone of the Scotland national side. On paper it was no contest. The final result of 4-1 to the Dons suggested that it was indeed so. However, it took an exquisite shot from Alex McLeish to level the scores, and Aberdeen only really turned the screw in extra-time. They clearly relished the idea of trampling over tiring opponents. Perhaps they were motivated by seeking retribution for previous defeats. In any case, the Dons had claimed the Scottish Cup and done it in style. From start to finish it had been a triumphal journey. John Hewitt's nine-second goal at Motherwell in round three had set the ball rolling, and it was the same player's deft overhead kick in the next round that had put paid to Billy McNeill's Celtic. Aberdeen now embarked upon a season yet to be surpassed. First of all, however, Ferguson had the task of persuading skipper Willie Miller to sign a new contract. Negotiations did not go smoothly, added to which Miller had also been invited to join Rangers as captain!
Te Following Season is part of History...



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"The Fergie's Furies" : Aberdeen Real Madrid Cup Winners Cup Final 1982 1983

Final
11 May 83
Ullevi Stadium, 
Goteborg

  Aberdeen opened up 1982-83 with a visit from Ipswich for Drew Jarvie's testimonial, from which Miller was conspicuously absent. Eventually a new deal was thrashed out and he remained with the club, and the fact that Miller opted to stay at Pittodrie spoke volumes about the changing balance of power in Scottish football. The Dons were faced with a fixture headache almost at once, when they drew the short straw and had to play a preliminary Cup-Winners' Cup-tie against Sion of Switzerland in August. Having to play in Europe so early was hardly ideal, but the Dons surged out of the traps, hitting the luckless Swiss for seven at Pittodrie. The return in a picturesque Alpine setting was little more than a holiday for the Dons.

The early running in the League saw Aberdeen, Celtic and Dundee United establish themselves as potential champions, while in Europe the Dons had to negotiate a potential banana skin against Dinamo Tirana. A John Hewitt goal at Pittodrie meant a trip fraught with danger to Albania, but searing heat and crowd intimidation could not prevent the Dons putting up the shutters. Next up were Lech Poznan from Poland. A 2-0 win at Pittodrie seemed likely to be good enough, but Poland was in political turmoil in those days. The Aberdeen party's flight touched down in Poznan to be greeted by the sight of antiaircraft guns and a welcoming party wearing military fatigues. Doug Bell scored the only goal, although to this day Mark McGhee lays claim to it. The Dons had booked their passage to the quarter-finals, which in those days were held over to March of the following year. Aberdeen therefore had several months in which to drool over the prospect awaiting them. Ferguson had wanted a big name, and he got his wish. Names did not come bigger than Bayern Munich.

In the League, Aberdeen kept in touch at the top of the table with a crushing 5-1 defeat of rival pretenders Dundee United. Big Doug Rougvie was in irresistible form, scoring twice, to the delight of the Aberdeen support. Rougvie was another unlikely hero. He had been with the club since 1972 and had bided his time before becoming a first-team regular. His giant frame was a daunting sight for opponents, but Rougvie was no admirer of reputations and was ideally suited for the battles that came his way. Cult status beckoned. By the turn of the year it was clear that Ferguson would need to draw deeply from his squad. The Dons were gunning on three fronts and a dream treble was on. Only the League Cup was beyond them, Dundee United having dumped them from the quarter-finals. 

 Whatever the team had learned from previous European campaigns was put to good use in Munich's Olympic Stadium, A travelling Red Army of around 1,000 made the trip and were rewarded with a display of true grit. The Germans had derided the Scottish challenge. Franz Beckenbauer was quoted in the Aberdeen Press & Journal before the tie: 'Aberdeen are technically inferior to Bielfeld, who Bayern beat 5-0. I expect Bayern to outplay them. As soon as the Scots set outside their country, they are only half as good as they are at home.' Yet it is hard to imagine a finer performance by a Scottish side on foreign soil. Solid in defence, Aberdeen surprised their hosts by displaying a tactical nous nurtured in the Ferguson way. A goalless draw set the stage for another famous European night, which was a common feature of Wednesday evenings during those halcyon days. Most supporters will claim this to be the biggest game ever staged at the venerable old stadium. For long spells the Dons looked out of it but they managed to hold on until a spectacular Pflugler strike put the visitors 2-1 ahead. Bearing in mind the away-goals rule, Aberdeen needed to score twice to win. Alex Ferguson rolled his last throw of the dice. On came John Hewitt. Within minutes the game was turned on its head. First Alex McLeish headed home a Strachan free-kick. How opportune that the McMaster-Strachan 'messed up' free-kick routine finally paid a handsome dividend. A minute later Hewitt squeezed a volley through the legs of Muller after the keeper had kept out Eric Black's header. Bedlam. The closing minutes were like hours. It was a time for big hearts, and it required stout work from Willie Miller &. Co to see the Dons through. A team of Scottish upstarts that could play a bit had humbled Bayern Munich. It appears that only Uli Hoeness, the Bayern manager, had heeded the warning signals. Observing the Dons beforehand he had warned that they would provide a formidable obstacle, but his opinions were lost in a sea of German arrogance. When all was said and done, Aberdeen woke up to the fact that they were in the semi-finals of the European Cup-Winners' Cup.

Also through were Real Madrid, Waterschei from Belgium, and former adversaries Austria Vienna. Ferguson did not hide the fact that he relished a crack at the little-known Belgians, with Madrid as his dream final. The Austrians were experienced and would be a tough prospect, but Waterschei on the other hand were beatable. The Dons' boss got his wish, with the first leg at Pittodrie. The excitement generated around the city was extraordinary. Never before had the Dons been so much in the limelight. Ferguson remained outwardly unmoved, but he knew his team would have to do the business at home. Waterschei were the other shock team that year. They were based in the town of Genk and were unfashionable in every sense. Aberdeen assistant boss Archie Knox took in the Dons' opponents and was convinced that, if Aberdeen could get at their defence early, they could be unsettled. Ferguson had often deployed the mercurial Doug Bell in key European games. Now he was given a starting berth and his inclusion was vital. Two early goals had Pittodrie in raptures. The Dons were in command, cutting through their opponents almost at will. There was no let up, and by the end Aberdeen had crushed the Waterschei challenge 5-1. Such a margin in a European semi-final exceeded all expectations, but the Aberdeen machine had been in full flow. The return two weeks later was little more than academic. Ferguson took the opportunity to draw deep from his squad, in the wake of a bruising Scottish Cup semi-final against Celtic. That Hampden clash presented a battle that the Dons could have done without, but the physical nature of the contest was hardly unexpected. A Peter Weir header was enough to carry the Dons to their first final of the season. Three days later they reached their second. Waterschei salvaged some respect with a 1-0 win on the night, but Aberdeen's achievement was marred by the loss of Stuart Kennedy, whose injury meant he would never play again. Their place in two finals confirmed, the Dons had six games left in which to clinch the League championship. But points had been squandered in March and April, and Dundee United seized their chance. Not for the first time, Aberdeen had opened the door for the Tannadice club. However, the Dons had more important matters on the horizon.

It was a relaxed Aberdeen squad that prepared for their biggest ever game. A shadow side defeated Kilmarnock 5-0 in a League fixture brought forward by two days to allow the team more time in which to prepare. Alex Ferguson was in surprisingly jovial mood as the team took their first training session on the Ullevi pitch in Gothenburg. More than 15,000 of the Red Army were undertaking the trip by air, land, and sea, leaving the city of Aberdeen severely under-populated. Awaiting Aberdeen were Real Madrid, coached by the legendary Alfredo Di Stefano. The Spanish giants had cost a mint to assemble, whereas the total cost of Fergie's Furies was just over £400,000. Surely this was a mis-match, but conditions favoured the Dons when torrential and persistent rain doused the pitch on match-day. From the outset the Dons were positive, and early pressure almost brought reward. Gordon Strachan crossed from the right and Eric Black's athletic volley crashed against the bar. Aberdeen continued to press and a text-book corner brought them the first goal. It was Strachan whose deep kick found Alex McLeish on the edge of the box. His downward header allowed Eric Black to clip the ball past Augustin in the Madrid goal. The Spanish side had not expected the Scots to come at them so early and it was fifteen minutes before they mustered their first attack. But it brought an equaliser. McLeish's pass-back slowed in the wet and gave Santillana the opportunity to tumble over Jim Leighton. Juanito scored from the penalty awarded. Real seemed content to hold the Dons and it was not until the second half that Aberdeen regained their earlier initiative. The heavy conditions had been energy sapping but wave upon wave of Aberdeen attacks might have been better rewarded. Gordon Strachan's volley was saved by the keeper's legs. Then Augustin kept out Black's header. Neale Cooper came close with a searing drive. It appeared that Real were content to take the tie into extra-time and, if necessary, penalties. John Hewitt had replaced Black late in normal time. Twelve minutes into the extra 30, Peter Weir fed Mark McGhee down the left. McGhee's perfect cross was missed by the Real keeper and dropped for John Hewitt to head home. The expected riposte from Real only materialised in the dying minutes. A twice-taken free-kick from Salguero whizzed past the post and it was all over. Amid scenes of unbridled joy the Dons had done it. In the cold light of day Aberdeen had achieved what only Celtic and Rangers in Scotland had done before them. For a provincial team it was all the more remarkable. The Dons returned to the city the following day to the now traditional open-top bus ride down Union Street. The only stragglers were the 500-strong Aberdeen supporters still on board the St Clair ferry, which had been hired for the purpose. The 'boat people' were not to arrive home until the day after...








Buts : Eric Black 1-0 (7e), Juanito (s. pen.) 1-1 (14e), John Hewitt 2-1
(112e).

Aberdeen : Jim Leighton, Doug Rougvie, John McMaster, Neale Cooper, Alex
McLeish, Willie Miller (captain), Gordon Strachan, Neil Simpson, Mark
McGhee, Eric Black (John Hewitt 87e), Peter Weir. Entr. Alex Ferguson.

Real Madrid : Agustín, Juan José, John Metgod, Bonet, José Antonio
Camacho (Isidoro San José 91e) - Uli Stielike, Ricardo Gallego, Ángel,
Juanito, Carlos Santillana (captain), Isidro (Salguero 103e). Entr.
Alfredo Di Stéfano.











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Sunday, December 25, 2011

Scottish Cup 1966 1967 Celtic Glasgow Aberdeen

Final
29 April 1967
Hampden Park,
Glasgow
Referee Willie Syme
Attendance 126,102

1967 was to be Celtic's best ever year. Celtic won every competition it entered: the Scottish League, the Scottish Cup, the Scottish League Cup, the Glasgow Cup, and the Bhoys became the first British side to win the European Cup. The "Lisbon Lions", managed by Jock Stein and captained by Billy McNeill, defeated Inter Milan 2–1 in Lisbon, Portugal. Jimmy 'Jinky' Johnstone, Bobby Lennox and Bobby Murdoch were three of the greatest ever Celtic players who also played in that famous team, who today have a stand in Celtic Park dedicated to them.


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