They are some of the most memorable occasions in the history of Aberdeen FC, encompassing championship glory and triumphs in cup competitions in Scotland and Europe.
And, now Dons chairman, Dave Cormack, has talked to the Press and Journal about his memories of five of the greatest results in his cherished club’s history.
European glory
They include, unsurprisingly, the spectacular, nerve-shredding wins over Bayern Munich and Real Madrid which propelled the club to unprecedented success by winning the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1983.
But Mr Cormack has also gone back to the 1970 Scottish Cup final when Aberdeen defeated what was effectively Celtic’s much-vaunted Lisbon Lions line-up 3-1 in a game which featured a dramatic climax at Hampden Park.
He believes these victories should not be regarded as a “millstone” around the present day club, but should “inspire the new generation” to pursue further honours when Scottish football returns from the lockdown imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mr Cormack added, in his wide-ranging interview, that he was proud of the way the staff at Pittodrie had “worked tirelessly to reach out to the community” and “ensure the well-being of our fans” in the last few months.
He said: “It’s their club and, at the end of the day, we want to do all we can to help them, on and off the football field. This has been an unprecedented situation and it has thrown up challenges for every club, including ourselves.
“But we will come out of this and I think everybody is looking forward to football’s return in August.
“I’ve been a fan for more than 50 years, so I’m passionate about it.”
Mr Cormack talked about the ways in which he aims to attract more youngsters through the turnstiles and his plans to spruce up “the old lady Pittodrie” in the future.
But let’s take a stroll down memory lane in his company.
1970: Scottish Cup Final. Aberdeen 3 (Harper, Mackay, 2), Celtic 1 (Lennox)
“Celtic were red-hot favourites, but Eddie Turnbull had pulled together a really good squad. I was glued to the radio, aged 11, and it was a fantastic achievement for the team and I recall Derek Mackay clinching it for us in the last minute.”
1976: Scottish League Cup Final. Aberdeen 2 (Jarvie, Robb), Celtic 1 (Dalglish)
“I always remember that Davie Robb shared a room with Bobby Clark before the final and Davie told him he would score the winning goal. Talk about a premonition!”
1980: Scottish League Championship clincher. Hibs 0, Aberdeen 5 (Archibald, Watson, Scanlon, 2, McGhee)
“I went down on the train to Edinburgh with my mates and the anticipation was incredible. It was a great day, the first time we had won the league for 25 years and that was really the beginning of Sir Alex Ferguson leading us to amazing success.”
1983: European Cup Winners’ Cup quarter-final, second leg. Aberdeen 3 (Simpson, McLeish, Hewitt), Bayern Munich 2 (Augenthaler, Pflugler) (Aberdeen won 3-2 on aggregate)
“That first game in the old Olympic Stadium earned us real kudos and deservedly so. It was a classic away performance. Then, once we got back to Pittodrie, the two goals in quick succession and the noise from the fans was just incredible.
“There is one strange footnote: Willie Miller lost a tooth that night when he was kicked in the face by Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. So, somewhere in the ground, under all that rubble, and after all these years, there is one of Willie’s teeth.”
1983: European Cup Winners’ Cup Final: Aberdeen 2 (Black, Hewitt), Real Madrid 1 (Juanito)
“It was just torrential rain all day in Sweden and I wondered if the game would even go ahead. But if you take a look at the highlights of that match, the pressing we did was phenomenal. We thoroughly deserved to win, there was no luck about it.
“The only downside was that the occasion deserved a 50,000 crowd, not the 17,000 or 18,000 who braved the conditions. But it was our game and we won it hands down.
“A lot of people maybe see it as a millstone round our neck. But we shouldn’t see it as that – it should be an inspiration, a proud part of our history and it will be forever.”
Chairman speaks on Aberdeen FC’s response to the Covid-19 outbreak
“We sat down when this happened, with the Trust people as well, and asked: ‘Who do we want to be through this?’
“Our community is hurting, our people are hurting and our fans are hurting. We got a call from London from somebody whose dad was self-isolating in Aberdeen, and was scared to go out for food and stuff. And we were able to help – and do the right thing.
“It’s not my club or the board’s club – it’s the community’s club.”
