Aberdeen’s first venture in the UEFA Cup

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Although Aberdeen first qualified for European football back in 1967 and appeared in both the European Cup Winners Cup and the old Inter Cities Fairs Cup, it was not until 1971 that Aberdeen played their first UEFA Cup tie in the first ever season of the competition.
 
The outdated Inter Cities Fairs Cup was scrapped by UEFA and the new UEFA Cup would replace the competition that had been set up initially as ties between the bigger city clubs. Aberdeen went in to the 1971.72 competition unseeded and were certain to attract some of the better sides in the early rounds. After a disappointing exit to Honved in the ECWC the previous season, the nucleolus of that great side from 1970 was still there and hopes were high that Aberdeen could make an impression in the new tournament. Aberdeen came up against Spanish side Celta Vigo in the 1^st round and it was a tough draw for the Dons. Aberdeen travelled to Vigo for the 1^st leg on the back of a great start in the domestic scene. The Spanish side were making their debut in European football but were defending an impressive home record having gone all of the previous season unbeaten at home. What was strange for the Dons was that they were playing in the new competition and the actual trophy had still not been made; UEFA were in the process of commissioning the new trophy, which would not be available until the latter rounds. In Vigo Aberdeen adopted a stout defensive approach and also utilised their famous offside tactics, which were superbly marshalled by skipper Martin Buchan.
 
Unfortunately for the dons both linesmen were Spanish assisting the French referee and their decisions prompted a hasty rethink on Aberdeen’s approach. Having weathered the storm in the first half, the Dons opened up in the second half and top scorer Joe Harper scored the opening goal after 51 minutes with a clever lob that beat Celta keeper Alarcia. That goal gave the Dons great confidence although they continued to keep things tight at the back. The tie was effectively over in 73 minutes when Aberdeen struck again. Kim Forrest was never the usual taker of any corner kicks but the Aberdeen striker scored direct from his corner kick to send the Dons well on their way to the second round. Despite a late onslaught from Celta in the closing stages, the Dons held out to record one of their finest ever performances on foreign soil. The 30,000 home crowd were stunned as they had become used to winning at home. In the return leg at Pittodrie it took a superb late Joe Harper rocket in the 89^th minute to give Aberdeen victory in both legs. Celta were a class act despite the score line and showed real quality in the Pittodrie tie but it was Aberdeen that had all the aces in forward positions and with the likes of Joe Harper in the side, the Dons feared no side. Although Joe missed a penalty in what was his 100^th appearance for Aberdeen, the Dons legend made up for that miss with his late stunning strike.
 
It is not often that the most expensive assembled team in the world come calling, to play in competitive action but back in the second round, Aberdeen drew a plum tie when they came out of the hat against Italian giants Juventus. While it was expected that Aberdeen could have earned a far easier draw, there was no respite for the Dons as they came out against tournament favourites Juventus when the draw was made in Belgrade. Almost immediately after the draw was made there were doubts over the dates of the two ties. As Juventus great rivals Torino had also been drawn at home in the ECWC against Austria Vienna, that tourney took preference over the UEFA Cup and initially it was thought that Aberdeen would have to play the first game in Scotland and not Turin. Torino of course shared the Stado Communale in Turin and they took delight in the Juventus predicament.
 
For their part Aberdeen were having none of it and chairman Dick Donald categorically refused to switch the first leg to Pittodrie, which would have provided a remedy to the fixture chaos. Aberdeen were determined to play the first game in Italy and hope to still be in the tie when the return was at Pittodrie. UEFA then stepped in to the wrangle and ordered Aberdeen to switch the tie. Aberdeen immediately responded with their own protest and for once UEFA relented by declaring that the ties could be played as drawn if both clubs could agree on a suitable date. Aberdeen then offered three different dates to the Italian club, which were all, turned down by Juventus as ‘unsuitable’, which meant that the first game was indeed coming to Aberdeen. Chairman Donald was still not happy at the Italian reluctance to accept any of the dates given, so the Dons enlisted the help of the SFA and finally UEFA ruled that the first leg would be played in Turin on October 27^th 1971.
 
With the entire pre match aggravation relations between the clubs were strained although as the Aberdeen party touched down in Turin they were not met by any officials from Juventus and either at the hotel on their arrival. There was perhaps far less pressure on the Dons as they were not expected to take anything from Turin as Juventus were riding high at the top of the Italian league. As the Italians had invested heavily in their squad they were under intense scrutiny from their support to produce the goods. Aberdeen were virtually unheard of in Italian football and were seen as fodder for the Juventus side. Dons boss Jim Bonthrone watched the Italians before the tie and was impressed: “Juventus are streets ahead of Celta Vigo. They are one of the most talented sides I have ever seen. Make no mistake Juventus know how to play and their possession football was something else.” Much of the talk in Italy before the game centred around their new big money signing Pietro Anastasi, the worlds most expensive player at £440,000. The Sicilian born striker didn’t take long to make his mark in the game. After five minutes he ghosted past big Willie Young and cut through the Dons defence and hit a superb swerving shot that totally deceived Bobby Clark to give Juventus an early lead. Billy Williamson who was a youngster in the Aberdeen squad back then recalled: “Anastasi was a superb player, my big pal Willie Young was getting a torrid time of it from him. We had all heard about this record signing before the game, but watching up close he was the real deal, a superb player and it was no disgrace for Willie to be outclassed by a player of his quality. Maybe Willie never got near enough to kick him!” 
 
With Aberdeen falling behind so early in the game the pressure was really on the Scots to hold an eager Juve team at bay. Dons keeper Bobby Clark recalled that early onslaught: “Juventus were all over us like a rash. Anastasi hit that shot and I was going towards the ball but it swerved the other way and I had no chance of getting near it. It was a superb shot from a real talented player. The only other team I had ever seen with that kind of quality was world champions Brazil. Juventus were that good.” The twin spearhead of Anastasi and Roberto Bettega were causing the Aberdeen defence all sorts of problems with their quick running and positional play. At times Aberdeen were outplayed but a determined Dons held out without further loss before half time.
 
It was a different Aberdeen that came out in the second half and they almost snatched an equaliser when a fierce George Murray shot went just wide with Juventus keeper Carmigani well beaten. Just when it looked as though Aberdeen had weathered the storm they were hit with a cruel blow in 55 minutes. After a free kick was awarded on the edge of the box, Capello’s effort was cruelly deflected past Bobby Clark to put Juventus firmly in control. That goal forced a change of tactics for the Dons who decided to sit back and hope they would not concede a third that would have ended their UEFA Cup interest. Willie Young was withdrawn and replaced by Ian Taylor before the big pivot was perhaps sent off as he had been given a tough time of it. Juventus piled on the pressure in the closing stages as they gained territorial advantage and Anastasi had the ball in the net in the closing minutes but he was given offside to keep Aberdeen hopes alive. The ‘Scotsman’ reported after the first leg; “Individually I would rate Juventus as skilful a team as I have seen anywhere in the world but Italian footballers are the world’s worst travellers and Aberdeen still have a chance at Pittodrie where they will certainly give the Italians a warm welcome…”
 
Although Aberdeen had been outplayed for much of the tie, the feeling was that they could possibly make things tough for Juventus back in Scotland. The Dons were a formidable force on their own patch and the side had a belief that they could beat any side at home. The two-goal deficit from the first leg was always going to be a tall order but the Dons remained optimistic. Henning Boel the Dons Danish full back was keen to get at Juventus at Pittodrie: “We got a bit of a going over in Turin but although we were two goals behind, we believed that we could beat any side at Pittodrie. We had got used to winning there and I think we only lost once at home on almost two years. Pittodrie was a nightmare to visit for any side.”
 
A light covering of snow covered the Pittodrie surface for the return at Pittodrie on 17^th November 1971. A crowd of 29,500 turned up in hope rather than expectation. Manager Bonthrone decided to take a chance and go for it from the outset: “We took the view that Juventus would defend in depth and try to pick us off on the break. We had to gamble and really take the game to them at every opportunity. I was confident we had enough pace in defence and with Joe Harper in our side, anything was possible.” While Juventus had all the skill in the world, they also showed a vicious streak with a succession of bruising challenges that was a cynical and as cunning as Italians had become renowned for. Tempers frayed as Aberdeen dished out some of their own physical strengths and players became embroiled in off the ball clashes. The crowd was a fever pitch as Aberdeen set about their illustrious visitors. It was not Willie Young’s night again as he was taken off in the first half as the Dons really went for it.
 
Unfortunately that decision backfired as that allowed Anastasi free from his shadow and he scored a spectacular goal to put Juventus 3-0 ahead on aggregate and effectively finish the tie. Aberdeen retained their pride and were seeking to maintain their proud Pittodrie record. Constant pressure reaped several chances but the Italian goal led a charmed life until the Dons persistence finally paid off with 13 minutes left. Steve Murray knocked down Arthur Graham’s deep cross and Joe Harper bravely edged in front of his marker to head past Carmigani to almost bring the roof of the old Beach end at Pittodrie. Bonthrone was disappointed but proud of his players—“Our equalising goal did not really come quick enough to give us a chance. I thought we were unlucky not to win the tie and to say that against a team of their quality, is testimony to our players.” The Aberdeen team for the 2^nd leg against Juventus was; Bobby Clark, George Murray, Jim Hermiston, Steve Murray, Willie Young, Martin Buchan, Jim Forrest, Dave Robb, Joe Harper, Alec Willoughby, Arthur Graham Subs; George Buchan, Ian Taylor.
 
Juventus went on to defeat Rapid Vienna 5-0 in the third round before being shocked in the quarter finals when Wolves put the Italian giants out in a 3-2 aggregate win. Tottenham went on to defeat Wolves in the first ever UEFA Cup final, which was played over two legs back then.