Gothenburg Great Alex McLeish is proud Aberdeen remain the last club to beat Real Madrid in a European final.
It is 40 years since Sir Alex Ferguson’s Dons overcame the Spanish giants to win the European Cup Winners’ Cup final in Sweden.
McLeish insists it was a “dream come true, a fairytale” to lift a European trophy by beating one of the biggest clubs in world football.
The enormity of the achievement continues to reverberate – as no other club has beaten Real Madrid in a Euro final since the Dons in 1983.
Last season’s Champions League-winners Real Madrid have been involved in 10 European finals since losing to Aberdeen.
They have won them all to claim eight Champions League titles (1998, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016- 18, 2022) and, before that, two UEFA Cups (1985, 1986).
Liverpool (twice), Juventus (twice), Atletico Madrid (twice), Valencia, Bayer Leverkusen, FC Koln and Videoton have all tried – and failed – to beat Los Blancos on such an occasion.
Real are gunning for another Champions League final this season, and are tied 1-1 with Manchester City after the first leg of their semi-final.
McLeish said: “When the referee blew the final whistle, it was all pretty surreal as we had just beaten the mighty Real Madrid.
“Winning the trophy was the dream come true, a fairytale.
“Even now, 40 years on, Aberdeen are the last team to have beaten Real Madrid in a European final.
“What a stat! It is one that we should all be proud of.”
McLeish’s mistake leads to penalty
Aberdeen got off to a dream start against Real Madrid when Eric Black fired them ahead early on.
However, in the 14th minute, disaster struck for McLeish and the Dons.
Rain had battered the Ullevi Stadium all day and the pitch was heavy – so much so that McLeish had warned his team-mates to chip the ball if they attempted any pass-backs to keeper Jim Leighton (pass-backs to keepers were allowed at the time).
However, McLeish did not heed his own advice and his pass to Leighton caught up in the water on the pitch. Santillana capitalised on the error before bursting into the penalty area, where Leighton brought him down for a spot-kick which was converted by Juanito.
McLeish said: “I was normally one of the players who stayed out doing longer warm ups.
“When I came back to the dressing-room, I said: ‘when we’re passing the ball, we’re going to have to chip it a little because of the water out there’.
“It was instinctive when the ball came to me, as in those days you could pass to the keeper.
“I didn’t do what I had said to the players and did a daisy-cutter to Jim that stuck.
“In normal weather conditions, that would have went back to Jim.”
‘Just get on with it big man’
The duo of McLeish and captain Willie Miller were arguably the best defensive partnership in Europe, if not world football, at the time.
Miller acknowledges McLeish made the wrong decision.
He says he heard the pain in his team-mate’s voice when the realisation of the imminent implications of his poor call with the pass-back hit home.
Skipper Miller’s advice to McLeish after Real Madrid converted the penalty to draw level was “just get on with it big man”.
Miller said: “In games you make decisions and Alex made the decision to go for the pass-back.
“It was the wrong decision from Alex, there is no doubt about that.
“We had spoken before the game about watching the pass-backs and to try to avoid them as much as possible.
“I could hear the pain in Alex’s voice as he passed it back. He knew, and I knew, that it wasn’t going to reach Jim.
“The outcome was a penalty.
“After that, it was a case of saying: ‘Just get on with it big man. It’s gone so let’s focus on the game.’
“You have to hand it to Alex, as that’s exactly what he did.
“He managed to put it out his mind and focus on the game.”
Willie Miller hails defensive partner McLeish’s mentality
Being culpable for conceding the equalising goal in a Euro final against a team of the stature of Real Madrid would have broken many players. Not McLeish.
He delivered a defensive masterclass for the remainder of the final. And John Hewitt would go on to net the winner in extra-time to secure the trophy.
Rather than break future Scotland boss McLeish, Miller believes the mistake was a defining moment in his fantastic playing career.
Miller said: “Alex was not going to get any stick from his team-mates.
“It was disappointing yes, but it was a case of rallying around and supporting him.
“And making sure he got the opportunity to put it right.
“He certainly did that with his performance on the night.
“It could have broken lesser characters, but it certainly didn’t break Alex McLeish.
“He got over that disappointment.
“We knew what Alex was capable of and the character he is.
“It was a moment that was disappointing, but one that he came through and it probably made him a better person for it. Being able to deal with that situation at that level, particularly after the conversation about not getting involved with pass backs.
“He grew in stature after that mistake and went on to be a standout in the game.”
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