Video: Giant Aberdeen letters lit up in red and white to celebrate 40th anniversary of Gothenburg victory

On this day in 1983, Aberdeen won the European Cup Winners' Cup by beating Spanish giants Real Madrid 2-1 in Gothenburg.

By Chris Cromar

May 11 2023, 10:16 pm

Aberdeen’s giant letters at the Castlegate are paying tribute to the 40th anniversary of the Dons’ European triumph by lighting up in red and white.

The Gothenburg Greats display, which also includes old footage of their success, will be on display until Sunday during the hours of darkness.

It has been specially programmed by local company Luxous Group and is the first display on the letters to mark an event/occasion in the city.

The Aberdeen letters with the Gothenburg Greats on them. — Aberdeen’s giant letters are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the club’s greatest ever triumph. Image: Wullie Marr/DC Thomson.

People are being urged to share their photos and selfies of the Gothenburg Greats letters by using the official hashtags of #ABZletters and #Gothenburg40.

May 11 is a special day in Aberdeen’s history, as it is when they beat Spanish giants Real Madrid 2-1 in the final of the 1983 European Cup Winners’ Cup in the Swedish city of Gothenburg.

In the December of the same year, the side became the first and only Scottish outfit to win two European trophies after defeating German side Hamburg 2-0 on aggregate to win the Super Cup – the last time a club from Scotland won a European trophy.

The Aberdeen letters lit up for Gothenburg anniversary — The red and white letters celebrate Aberdeen’s European success of 40 years ago. Image: Wullie Marr/DC Thomson.

The Dons team – led by Sir Alex Ferguson – that triumphed at the Ullevi Stadium will go down in memory as the greatest Aberdeen side of all time, with legends including Jim Leighton, Alex McLeish, Willie Miller, Gordon Strachan, the late Neale Cooper, Neil Simpson and winning goal scorer John Hewitt going down in folklore.

To celebrate the club’s unprecedented success – an achievement unlikely to be reached again by a Scottish side – a number of events have been put on to celebrate the anniversary, including the players being be presented with the freedom of the city by Aberdeen City Council at Pittodrie tomorrow.

Aberdeen legend Willie Miller lifts a trophy. — Aberdeen captain Willie Miller lifts the European Cup Winners’ Cup in Gothenburg. Image: Shutterstock.

It is hoped that the 6.5ft letters, which were installed last week and has 98,000 bulbs, will be a boost for tourism in the area, as well as positively promote the city on social media platforms.

Despite this, the letters which are managed by Aberdeen Inspired and can be moved to other locations has caused some controversy, with people questioning if they should be facing the other way (i.e. with Union Street in the background), however this was done to avoid distracting nearby vehicles due to its bright lights.