Gothenburg Great Eric Black thinks justice will finally be done when six new medals marking Aberdeen’s 1983 European Cup Winners’ Cup win are awarded next month.
Figures from the club, the Aberdeen FC Heritage Trust and former Reds chief executive and Uefa delegate Duncan Fraser have arranged for the additional medals to be made ahead of a celebratory weekend marking 40 years since the Dons’ iconic 2-1 final triumph over Real Madrid next month.
The six medals will go to giants of Aberdeen’s history who played a major part in the Aberdeen conquering Europe, but who – due to rules at the time which meant only the starting XI and five substitutes received the mementoes – did not receive medals on the night of May 11, 1983, when the Continental campaign reached its climax at the Ullevi Stadium.
Legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson, his assistant Archie Knox and ex-midfielder Dougie Bell will be recognised, with the other three medals being awarded posthoumously to club stalwart Teddy Scott, vice-chairman at the time Chris Anderson and the family of Dick Donald, the former chairman whose son Ian was also a director during Aberdeen’s golden period.
Ex-striker Black, who scored the opening goal for the Dons in the final against Real in Sweden, thinks the medals are “absolutely” a just reward for the men’s contribution, adding: “They’re all great people who contributed enormously to the outcomes and a lot of their names aren’t mentioned as often as they should be.
“But they all played big parts in it.”
Scott helped instil ‘fantastic traits’ in Dons’ starlets
The medals will be handed out on Friday, May 11 at Pittodrie – the same day the Gothenburg Greats and the club will receive the Freedom of the City of Aberdeen.
One of the medals is a reminder of the indelible mark left by Scott on the players who came through Aberdeen’s youth system across the decades, including several members of the Reds’ history-making, double-European trophy-winning side.
Scott served the Dons indefatigably for half-a-century in a multitude of roles, including player, trainer, coach and kitman, passing away in 2012.
Black said: “I’d known him since I was 13 or 14, and he was that steady hand.
“He never let you off with anything and was fantastic in terms of keeping people’s feet on the ground and making sure they were disciplined, which were all fantastic traits going forward as a footballer.
“He really did put in an enormous amount of work and he was there morning, noon and night, but he was more than a trainer or whatever. He’d be a sports psychologist or into management now, because he just knew when to say or do the right thing.”
Black, who was coached by Scott in his early days as a youngster at Pittodrie, added: “I thought he was a fantastic individual, a capable individual, and Aberdeen through and through. There was nothing he wouldn’t have done for Aberdeen.”
Anderson the ‘innovator’, while Donald was man who managed Fergie
Former forward Black remembers late vice-chairman Anderson, who died just three years after the Gothenburg success, as an “innovator” and “bright man who was so ahead of his time”.
The great strength of club figurehead Donald – who passed away in 1993 – he thinks, was his “absolutely superb” management of the famously strong-minded Ferguson, who was in his early-40s when Aberdeen built on burgeoning domestic dominance with the European Cup Winners’ Cup and was already on the path to becoming the greatest British manager of all time.
Black thinks the mutual respect and harmony within the Dons’ top brass was a world away from how modern clubs operate and was a pillar of their unprecedented success in the early 1980s.
He said: “Unless Chris Anderson, Teddy Scott, Dick Donald and Alex Ferguson are on the same page and going in the right direction, all of these things don’t materialise.
“I know on the pitch it still needs to be done.
“But I’ve been in a lot of football clubs and it very rarely happens.
“As the clubs get bigger and bigger, it becomes harder and harder to align everybody, but there, they were 100% on the same path.”
‘Nobody deserves it more’ than Bell
In one sense, Black believes no-one deserves a medal for the European Cup Winners’ Cup win more than his former team-mate Bell – who was cruelly ruled out of the clash with Real by injury, having been a key figure in the semi-final win over Belgian outfit Waterschei.
Black said: “Without doubt he was a major part.
“When you name the 11, obviously Dougie isn’t in it, but his contribution prior to that, and throughout the seasons, was exceptional.
“Especially during the Cup Winners’ Cup run, he was outstanding.
“It’s just football unfortunately, justice doesn’t ring out at times. It is just the way it is.
“But I’m delighted to say he’s getting this medal, because nobody deserves it more than him.”
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