1980 to 1986. Ten major honours. Just over half the total the club has amassed in the whole history of Aberdeen FC. There is no wonder that we look back with deep pride at that time in our history. At the Hall of Fame Dinner recently we remembered and celebrated when Sir Alex Ferguson breezed into the North East of Scotland and changed our beloved club forever.

RedTV | exclusive interview with Sir Alex Ferguson please click here
RedTV | AFC hall of Fame Dinner highlights please click here
 
“It is always special coming back to Aberdeen. It is difficult not to remember all the special memories and I also have a lot of good friends here.

“The first time I came here as manager, I had just lost my job at St Mirren. Aberdeen had made an approach the previous week.  I drove up and met Mr Donald in his office opposite the theatre, we then had a spot of lunch and met Chris Anderson and had a look around Pittodrie. Chris was going to America the next day. I landed up going down to London to get a visa and then flew out on the Saturday morning and met him in Washington.  

“Before I came to Pittodrie Ally McLeod had won the League Cup in 1976. I had a lot of time for Ally. People maybe don’t understand someone who is enthusiastic but believe me it is a talent. Then Billy McNeill came in and was very unlucky not to win anything. But when I came in I still had my own ideas of what I wanted to do with the team.

“To get the players to believe (we could do something special) that was a long journey. During that journey you have inspirational moments. For Aberdeen that inspiration moment was in January 1980 when every game was off in Scotland. We were at Pittodrie at 6.00am in the morning clearing the snow off the pitch so we could get that game on. I knew we could close the gap on Celtic. We played the game and won 1-0. We then went on a run of fifteen games without defeat to win the league. That was an inspirational moment for everyone.

“I think the younger players did see me as a father figure. One thing you have to do when you are managing any group of people is create a trust, a loyalty and a unity. One of the great character building things you have to do is to create a good human being. They can be resilient, responsible and when they grow older that character comes out more than ever. And I think when you look at the Aberdeen players at that time, they were like that – good human beings. Good character. And they have all done well as human beings. I don’t hear silly stories about them, they have lived their lives well. That was a responsibility I always took as a manager.

“Winning the European Cup was a bit of a miracle when you consider we beat Bayern Munich in the Quarter Finals and beat Real Madrid in the final. But it was such a positive team with such a good team spirit.

“When we played that final in Madrid I thought the most telling factor was when Di Stefano said we they could not beat our sprint. I thought that was a fantastic accolade to the team. It was a team that had grown up together. They were all from Scotland. I think the oldest player was about 28.  It was a young team. Although it was the greatest moment in the history of Aberdeen FC it was also the worst moment for Aberdeen because everyone then wanted our players. Within a year the team had started to break up. And then I eventually left myself. But I would not have swapped it for the world. It helped create my career as well as a lot of the players.
 
“I have no doubt that if that Aberdeen team had stayed together they would have dominated Scottish Football for many years to come. And I also think if they were in England they would have been in the top four, they were as good as that.

“It is amazing the amount of grounds I went to in England and people would come up and say to me and say ‘I remember watching you beat Real Madrid’. Everyone was cheering us on that night, it was astonishing.

“Without the learning curve at Aberdeen I would never have achieved what I did at Manchester United. When I was 32 I wanted to rule the world. When I came to Aberdeen I soon realised I had a lot to learn. It was a settled club. Dick Donald understood me and did more than anyone to help me be the manager I became.”

RedMatchday | There will also be a longer interview with Sir Alex Ferguson in the next edition of RedMatchday Magazine, our special retro edition which will be available at the Ross County game.