"I don't think it will be the same result as it was the last time I played at Pittodrie" was Martin Buchan's prediction ahead of the Dons clash with Manchester United. Buchan was referring to the Dons meeting with the Old Trafford side in October 1972 when Aberdeen defeated United 5-2 with Martin Buchan in the United side, several months after he moved from Pittodrie to Old Trafford.

These days Martin is busy helping his fellow professionals through his work with the PFA in Manchester; "It can get a bit hectic but it worthwhile. I have been working for the PFA for the last eight years. Previously I was with Puma and that was my last involvement with Aberdeen as we supplied their kits some years ago."

Buchan's affinity with Aberdeen stretches back to the days before substitutes were allowed in Scotland, joining Aberdeen from Banks O' Dee in 1966; "I was training with the part timers at Aberdeen from the age of 12, in those days they had part time players like Ian Burns, Dave Bennett and Doug Coutts. The club would get the most promising youngsters along to train in the car park outside the Main Stand at Pittodrie on a Monday and Thursday nights. That was when I first came across Teddy Scott who was a real early influence on me in my football career. I was involved with Banks O' Dee which was almost an unofficial nursery for Aberdeen. Although there were others from Sunnybank and King Street 'A', there were a number of lads like Ian Taylor and Ian Cumming that came from the Dee. That was my first involvement and it was actually Tommy Pearson that first signed me as probationary schoolboy. I was about 15 and I got £1 per week. I was at Gordon's College at the time and in my fifth year I was playing for Aberdeen reserves. In the summer of 1966 I had managed to get enough highers at school to go to university and I was going to go back to do a sixth year, taking extra subjects but I was offered the chance to sign for Aberdeen after training with the club for pre-season."

It was at that point that Martin faced his first career decision after manager Turnbull contacted him on the eve of the new season; "Eddie Turnbull came up to me and offered me professional terms with Aberdeen. My parents had sacrificed a lot to put me through the Gordon's school after I had won a bursary after sitting my 11 plus exam. My fees were paid but my parents had to help with the rest of the costs. I did not want to give up my education after all that they had done to help me so it was a time to decide. I thought that it best to try the football and if it did not work out before I was 21, then I could return to go to university."

Martin's first impressions of Pittodrie were carved out long before he had signed for the Dons; "My first impressions of Pittodrie were playing for Cummings Park primary school when they always played the final of the Craigmyle Cup at Pittodrie. It was a huge game, the biggest of my life, my first experience was fantastic, we grew up with that and to play at Pittodrie was a huge experience. For an Aberdeen schoolboy it did not get any bigger than that."

Later that season a first team debut followed and Martin was given a specific role by Turnbull; "I made my debut later that year against Dunfermline. I played four times in that first season. Against Dunfermline and in those other games I was given a man-for-man marking job. Against Dunfermline I was told to watch Alex Edwards. Later that season Pat Quinn, Dave Sneddon and Jim Mclean at Dundee came under my close attentions. Eddie had identified them as skilful inside forwards who could cause us some bother and it was my job to stop them playing. It was a disciplined job but I did enjoy that side of the game. I never really saw that as a long term task but that was just the way things were developing in football at that time and Eddie was always looking at the opposition and to take out the better opponents. Not in any illegal way of course, but I did relish the task."

Martin settled into his new surroundings well and two Aberdeen players in particular made an impression on him; "Jimmy 'Jinky' Smith was a great talent, but my hero was Jens Petersen. I liked the way he took the ball out of defence and linked up with the side. I learned from that and tried to build my own game in that way. It was a different approach that was coming more and more into the game and I was keen to follow that lead."

After establishing himself in the Aberdeen side at such a young age, Aberdeen boss Eddie Turnbull stated that he simply had to find a place for Buchan in his side. Buchan played for the Dons in their first ever European tie against Reykjavik in 1967; "They were not up too much, amateurs in the true sense. We gave them a going over down here (10-0) and the return game in Iceland was quite an easy game as well."

By 1970 the Aberdeen side had changed beyond all recognition as Turnbull adopted a more methodical approach to the team. Gone were the combined talents of Jimmy Smith and Tommy Craig as the Aberdeen manager wanted more strength to his side. It can be argued that Scottish football was no place for the silky talents of Smith, but the new approach was tailor made for Buchan who was at the heart of the new Turnbull team. In February 1970 the Dons welcomed Clydebank on Scottish Cup duty and Martin Buchan became the youngest captain in the Dons history; "The Clydebank game was played at Pittodrie on what was like an ice rink. The conditions were freezing and the pitch did not help us. I was proud to lead Aberdeen as captain but even though we won 2-1 we were jeered off the field at full time! It was not the best start to my career as Aberdeen captain."

Less than two months later the jeers turned to cheers as Aberdeen went on to win the Scottish Cup against Celtic at Hampden; "I remember that we played Celtic at Parkhead two weeks before the final. The game was not that important to us as it did not have any bearing on our league position. We were gearing everything towards the cup final. Celtic on the other hand were looking to clinch the league title. It was Eddie that noticed the Celtic dressing room was getting stocked up of champagne, before the game. Eddie was furious when he came into see us and he continued to channel that anger into motivating us for the game. It worked well as we went on to beat them 2-1 in a game that we controlled for long spells. It gave us real confidence for the final as we knew we could beat them. In the build up to the final at Hampden, Eddie gave us some more of his Parkhead pep talk and that was all that we needed to hear."

Ninety minutes later it was 21-year-old Martin Buchan who was leading his Aberdeen side up the stairs at Hampden to receive the old trophy; "It all seemed to pass so quickly. Right from arriving at the ground and to us celebrating on the pitch afterwards. It was a fantastic occasion and to become the youngest ever captain to lift the cup was a real thrill." A day later the Aberdeen party made their way back to Aberdeen after the team party had celebrated at the Gleneagles Hotel on the Saturday; "I remember we changed to an open-top bus just outside the city. We really did not know what was going to happen, but as we crawled into Aberdeen the crowds just got bigger and the welcome by the time we got to Union Street was incredible, there were people everywhere and it was a real emotional occasion. Aberdeen had not won the cup since 1947 so we appreciated the history of it all."

While Aberdeen had broken the Old Firm domination by winning the Scottish Cup, the next target was to end Celtic's unbroken spell in the league. In season 1970.71 the Dons came mightily close; "That season we thought that we could take the title. We knew that Celtic would be the team to catch but we had the measure of them and they did not like the fact they we never feared them where other sides perhaps did. What was important was that Eddie Turnbull had made sure that we had a tough defence first and foremost. If we were difficult to break down then we would be in with a great chance. When we went on that 12-game run without conceding a single goal, it gave us huge belief. Every time we went out to play we were confident that we would give the opposition nothing. Eventually we did concede, against Hibernian at Easter Road. I remember I was an inch away from getting to the ball; had I made contact our tremendous run might have continued. It was a record at that time and we were all proud of that."

Looking back at his time in Scotland, Martin declared that there was only one team that were the toughest; "Celtic were some side back then. Although we really did well against them back then, they were a real footballing side and you always had to be at your best against them. They were marvellous games to play in as you simply had to be on your guard at every turn. Rangers at that time never really gave us much trouble, they were a more physical side and we could handle that. Hibernian were always a threat as well, they had some great players in their team like Pat Stanton, Alec Cropley and Peter Cormack."

While Pittodrie was always Martin's favourite ground he did like to play in the bigger matches; "Parkhead was always difficult as they really would make a noise down there. Ibrox to was a very intimidating venue. It was always like that but when you won at these places it made the win all the more sweet. I suppose my least favourite ground was Gayfield in Arbroath. No matter what time of year it was, it always seemed to be so windy down there. Being so close to the sea also had an effect. It was just not the best place to play football."

It was in February 1972 that Martin Buchan was sold by Aberdeen to Manchester Utd in what was a record deal for the Dons with £125,000 coming to Pittodrie in a transfer fee. "I had the opportunity to go to Liverpool as well. They were far more successful than United were back then. I knew that if I went to Anfield that I would probably end up with some winners' medals but I would not be a regular in the side. I preferred going to United where I could really make a difference and go on to become a regular with them. They were not enjoying the best of times back then but they were a huge club with great potential. When I went down to Old Trafford for the first time it only struck me then what a huge club United are.

The stadium was massive and everything felt right about the move. Frank O'Farrell who was the manager was a great help and you could always speak to him. When I arrived at United it took some getting used to with the different surroundings and new team mates. The side back then was a real mixture of experience and playing ability. There were some great players but we also had more than our share of mediocre players which surprised me. If you wanted to compare Aberdeen and Manchester United back then there would be very little between the sides. It was clear that we were struggling to make an impact but there seemed to be a lack of ambition at first. That was soon to change when the new manager came in. Unfortunately success did not follow and we had a new manager months later when Tommy Docherty came to United.

The 'Doc' was a great manager and you will remember that he left Old Trafford for personal and not football reasons. I always wondered just how far that team would have gone if Tommy had been allowed to stay. We had won the FA Cup and we were pushing for the league title in the first season after promotion. They were memorable days as playing for United back then was a happy experience. Playing at Wembley and taking United to FA Cup success was a great time for me. To lift the cup on both sides of the border remains a highlight and a record that I remain proud of."

Martin's career with United was coming to a close when his testimonial fixture came around in 1983. There was only ever going to be one choice for Buchan and that was to invite his former Aberdeen side to Old Trafford to celebrate his career. In August 1983 the Dons battled to a 2-2 draw against United. Aberdeen were ECWC holders at the time and they paraded the trophy at half time. "I was delighted Aberdeen came down to Old Trafford. However I had not even had the luxury of having any pres season training behind me before that game. In fact I had not been able to play for months and I managed to play in the first half of my testimonial. After the game I was being released in any case and my Old Trafford career came to a close. I had no regrets; United were a great club to me and I would certainly never have managed 34 caps for Scotland had I not been playing for such a high profile club. Back then playing for Scotland as an 'Anglo' was very different than it is now. There always seemed to be a division in the squad. For those of us playing in the English league we were never given the same backing by the support and usually it would have been one of the 'Anglo' lads that would be made a scapegoat. It is very different now with so many foreign players in all leagues, but back then there was no little animosity."

After leaving Manchester United, martin moved to Oldham where he finished his playing days and also took the first steps into coaching; "That did not last too long as I had my own ideas about how to do things but there was too much interference from others. I was never one to be so diplomatic so my experience at Oldham was short and I left the club."

Martin always looks out for the Aberdeen results these days; "I always look out for my old teams scores, Aberdeen and Manchester Utd gave me a career that was a great experience and one that has helped me see the world and play football in some of the best stadiums in the world."

Martin was the second generation of the Buchan family to play for Aberdeen. His father was signed by Aberdeen from St Clements before he went to Dundee Utd and latterly Buckie thistle where he spent 10 seasons as their top scorer. Martin's son Jamie was also signed by Aberdeen and he is currently still playing in the Scottish league with Montrose. Martin's brother George was the Dons substitute in the 1970 Scottish Cup final and they both played for Aberdeen before George was released by the Dons in 1973. Martin recalled how his brother came to join him at Old Trafford;

"There was also the story about how Geordie (George, Martin's brother) came to join me at Manchester United. Geordie was released by Aberdeen and he was due to speak to Bury. He was also due a benefit payment from Aberdeen and he was told that he would be paid then put him up for sale or alternatively he would be given a free without the benefit. Bury made the initial approach, but Frank O'Farrell was always helpful and made my way to Old Trafford to speak to Frank to see what the going rate would be at Bury. When I got there I bumped in to Tommy Docherty and I thought I could ask him. After I mentioned that George was available, Doc turned to me and said; "Bring him down here, I will give him a year at United and see if it works out. He has got something about him, I remember watching him in Aberdeen matches when I was with Scotland; he has a bit of pace." Doc mentioned that he had brought down Pat McMahon from Celtic on a free when he was manager at Aston Villa, and that he had been a great success. I will take a chance with him no problem." Docherty never really gave George a chance; he came on as a sub on four occasions but he never gave him a chance to start the game. That was a bit disappointing as I was sure that he was better than some of the players that were already there. The end of the season came and Doc sold George to Bury for £11,000."