Mark McGhee doesn’t need to look far for a reminder of the family bond he believes was key to Aberdeen’s rise to European glory.
A framed photograph of the Gothenburg Greats with their families hangs proudly in his Brighton home.
Manager Sir Alex Ferguson is pictured at the front – the father figure of a footballing family who conquered Europe.
The photograph is like a time machine.
When McGhee gazes at it he is immediately transported back 40 years to their glory night in Gothenburg.
Back to the moment when he delivered the cross against Real Madrid for John Hewitt to head home the winner.
Returning to the euphoria when captain Willie Miller lifted the trophy in front of 12,000 travelling Aberdeen supporters at the Ullevi stadium.
Then Real Madrid manager Alfredo Di Stefano famously said: “Aberdeen have what money can’t buy; a soul, a team spirit built in a family tradition.”
McGhee regularly looks at a frozen moment in time which proves Di Stefano was right.
He said: “There was such a strong bond within the team that lifted the European Cup Winners’ Cup.
“What had been established at Aberdeen is that we were a family in terms of how we were with each other.
“I have a picture on my wall here. I can see it from where I am sitting.
“It is all the squad with their wives and children who are all wee toddlers, with Sir Alex kneeling at the front.
“We were all of a similar age, with wives and young children.
“Sir Alex used to bring his boys on the bus to games as well.
“All of that added to the camaraderie that existed within the squad.
“Family – that’s what it was. We were a family.”
Dreaming of conquering Europe
While in Sweden, the Dons were based in the secluded Fars Hatt hotel, hidden away in a forest.
That allowed Sir Alex to further fortify a siege mentality within the Dons family he had built over the years.
It was Aberdeen against the world – and they were confident of shocking the mighty Real Madrid.
McGhee said: “We all lay in our beds the night before the final and dreamed about winning it.
“On the day of the game we were all focused on our own performances.
“We believed that if we could produce our best it would be good enough to take care of Real Madrid.
“We all knew if we played our best we would have a better than average chance of beating any team with the way we were at that stage.”
The influential presence of Jock Stein
Aberdeen’s travelling party in Gothenburg included the presence of legendary manager Jock Stein, then Scotland national boss.
Stein had guided Celtic to European Cup glory in 1967.
Sir Alex had invited Stein to the final as an official guest to offer a valuable voice of experience.
It was the brainwave of Stein for Sir Alex to present Real Madrid boss Di Stefano with a bottle of malt whisky on the eve of the final – a psychological trick to make Di Stefano feel important and that Aberdeen were just glad to be in the final and make up the numbers against the Spanish giants.
They weren’t.
McGhee said: “All of these little incremental things such as having Jock Stein there are what made it extra special.
“I have a great picture that someone sent me ages ago.
“They said it was the world’s first ever photo bomb.
“It is Sir Alex and Jock Stein and I am looking in between them, I don’t know what I was doing.
“But it reminds me that Jock was there – a big personality and presence.
“Sir Alex would have valued that, that people like him were behind us.”
‘Extraordinary’ trophy parade
Prior to Gothenburg, under Ferguson’s management, Aberdeen had already won the league title (1980) and Scottish Cup (1982).
There had been previous homecoming cup parades in an open top bus in the Granite City for the squad.
However, they were nowhere near the magnitude of the welcome the Gothenburg Greats received when returning with the Cup Winners’ Cup.
The streets were packed as they slowly paraded the cup through the city on the way to Union Street.
Aberdeen then travelled to Pittodrie to show off the cup to jubilant supporters.
McGhee said: “On the day we got back to Aberdeen the reaction of the supporters down Union Street and at the stadium was extraordinary.
“Although we had other big days when there were open-topped buses, this one was different.
“It was something special as everybody was out.
“It wasn’t just people who would normally have supported the team.
“That was when we all realised we were part of something really historic.
“And how it is being celebrated now, 40 years on, also shows how special it was.
“It wasn’t just a case of winning the trophy – we also beat Real Madrid to win it.
“Real Madrid have been in a few European finals since then and not lost one.
“I think we can count that as another notch in the list of things that cup win achieved.”
McGhee feared for his Aberdeen career after bust-up with Sir Alex
Last season’s Champions League-winners Real Madrid have been involved in 10 European finals since losing to Aberdeen in Gothenburg.
They have won them all to claim eight Champions League titles (1998, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016- 18, 2022) and, before that, two UEFA Cups (1985, 1986).
Remarkably McGhee rapidly went from the euphoria of the cup win and homecoming parade to fears his Aberdeen career was over following a bust-up with Sir Alex.
When the cup parade arrived at Pittodrie, the players lined up in the stadium’s tunnel, ready to walk out in front of fans for a lap of honour.
The trophy was lying on its side and McGhee bent down to stand it vertical.
Sir Alex then grabbed the trophy and said it was Willie Miller’s duty to carry it out.
There followed an exchange of views with the manager which left McGhee fearing he would be axed.
McGhee is missing from the official photo of the team at Pittodrie that day.
The club’s official statement in 1983 claimed the striker missed the picture opportunity because he “was overcome with the emotion of the occasion”.
However, the next day he was at Aberdeen harbour with Sir Alex, and the trophy, to welcome back fans who had travelled to Sweden on the St Clair ferry.
McGhee said: “That incident got me into a position where I thought my career was over.
“It was only fleeting. It was all put right the next morning and there was never an issue.
“Sir Alex went on to be a huge support for me for the rest of my playing career and then on into my managerial career as well.
“Due to Sir Alex’s magnanimous attitude to us all, I ended up meeting the St Clair. That became a special moment for me.
“That was a privilege to do that with Sir Alex and also because it was for the fans who had been over in Gothenburg.”
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