Statue unveiling date revealed

As Sir Alex Ferguson celebrates his 80th birthday, the Club is pleased to confirm that our greatest-ever manager is set to return to Pittodrie on Friday 25th February 2022 as a statue is unveiled in his honour.

Sir Alex will attend the official ceremony with family and friends before taking in Saturday’s match against Dundee United as a guest of the Club, with supporters getting the opportunity to view the statue on matchday.

Aberdeen FC Commercial Director, Rob Wicks, has closely overseen this project from fruition and is pleased to reveal further details which will celebrate a manager who provided many Dons supporters with their greatest ever footballing memories.

He said: “Plans are now picking up pace and we are excited to be able to share this important date with the fans. It is something that everyone connected with the Club is looking forward to, having Sir Alex back at Pittodrie as we recognise his outstanding achievements.

“Full details of the unveiling ceremony and the exciting plans we have for our match with Dundee United will be announced in the coming weeks but in the meantime, everyone connected with Aberdeen FC would like to wish Sir Alex a very happy 80th birthday.”

Earlier this month the Club shared a maquette of the statue, which has received the seal of approval from Sir Alex.

Sculptor, Andy Edwards, is pleased with the progress and looks forward to welcoming Sir Alex to his studio in early January to provide him with an update. He said: “We are now well into the final stages of preparing the statue for its full reveal. The one-and-a-quarter life size clay model is really taking shape and it is an amazing honour to have been asked to take this project on for the Club. I can’t wait to see it in Aberdeen where Dons supporters and the wider population will be able to enjoy it.”

The bronze statue will be completed and installed on the external concourse outside the Richard Donald Stand and the installation has been designed in such a way as to allow the statue to be moved to a new stadium.

This will be one of a series of statues which are being planned to celebrate and honour Aberdeen FC heroes and is being brought forward by the Club in conjunction with the AFC Heritage Trust.

The statue is based on images taken of Sir Alex on one of the Club’s greatest days.

On Saturday 3rd May 1980 at Easter Road, Aberdeen had just beaten Hibernian 5-0, then shortly after the final whistle news came through on the radio that Celtic had drawn with St Mirren to all but hand the Dons the League title. A vastly superior goal difference meant our final game at Firhill was of little significance.

Fergie famously danced across the pitch before saluting the Red Army, arms aloft, as the gravity of what had just happened began to sink in – 1979/1980 Premier Division Champions!

What made the events on that sunny afternoon in Leith even more unbelievable, was that Aberdeen had looked well out of the title race after a defeat against Morton in early January. The Dons though would go a remarkable run over the closing months of the season to clinch only their second League victory.

The win would be the catalyst for a truly historic period for the Club and Scottish football as Aberdeen would go on and dominate the domestic game and beat the best in Europe.

Everyone at Pittodrie would like to wish Sir Alex a very Happy 80th Birthday!