On Friday night, we welcome back to Pittodrie some real legends and cult heroes, all of whom have played an important part in shaping the history of this football club. During the half time interval, they will roll back the years and take part in a charity game.

THEO SNELDERS

Theo started his career with FC Twente but is best remembered for his spell at the Dons. Given the almost impossible task of replacing Jim Leighton, he was a £300,000 signing by Alex Smith. The big keeper soon made his presence felt with a series of fine displays and had a very good first season at Pittodrie, winning the Scottish PFA Players’ Player of the Year in 1989. He will always be remembered for his save from Anton Rogan’s penalty in Aberdeen’s penalty shootout win over Celtic in the 1990 Scottish Cup Final. Whilst at Pittodrie, he was capped by the Netherlands and was part of their Italia ‘90 World Cup squad. After leaving Scotland he then played two seasons at MVV before he retired from playing and is now a goalkeeping coach in his native Netherlands with FC Twente. A true Dons legend, who always gets a very warm welcome when he returns, Theo made 290 appearances for Aberdeen.

BRIAN IRVINE

Brian began his career with Falkirk in 1983. After two years and nearly 40 league appearances for the Bairns, the central defender was brought to Aberdeen by Sir Alex Ferguson. During his twelve years with the Dons, he famously helped us win the 1990 Scottish Cup by scoring the winning penalty in a 9-8 shootout against Celtic. A self-confessed Aberdeen fan, he was a huge favourite with the Red Army for the way he wore his heart on his sleeve. After playing 384 matches, scoring a very impressive 40 times, he left Pittodrie in 1997 and moved to Dundee, before finishing his career with Ross County in 2003. Since retiring, Brian has had a number of coaching roles at home and abroad. He has also been a very popular AFC Ambassador on a matchday in recent seasons.

ROBERT CONNOR

Bobby began his professional career with Ayr United in 1977 and the midfielder went on to make nearly 600 appearances in the Scottish Football League, and earned four caps for the Scottish national side between 1986 and 1990. Bobby also had a spell in management, managing Ayr between 2005 and 2007. The skilful left footed midfielder joined the Dons in 1986 from Dundee in a deal that took Ian Angus to Dens and went on to become an integral part of the Aberdeen midfield that won the cup double in 1989/90. He left the Dons in 1994 to join his home town club Kilmarnock. Bobby also played for Partick Thistle and Queen of the South. He made 263 appearances and scored 22 goals for the Dons, the most memorable was in a 3-0 win at Celtic Park. His star jump celebration will live long in the memory.

PAUL SHEERIN

The left footed midfielder signed for Southampton in 1992 and while at The Dell he played under Graeme Souness. During his time at Southampton he earned international recognition for the Scotland Under-21s. After playing in Sweden, he eventually landed up in the Highlands and a stint with Caley Thistle in which period he made 136 appearances, scoring a very impressive 45 goals. He then had a spell at Ayr United before Steve Paterson brought him to Pittodrie where he finished as the top scorer in the 2002/03 season. Although the Dons struggled for much of the campaign, Paul was a stand-out player and became a favourite with the Red Army. After leaving, Sheerin joined St. Johnstone and helped them win the First Division title under the management of Derek McInnes and Tony Docherty. As player/manager of Arbroath he guided them to the Third Division championship in his first season in charge, the club’s first national trophy win in their 133-year history. This summer he left Arbroath and returned to Pittodrie, taking charge of the Aberdeen under-20 team. His young side currently sit top of the SPFL Development League, highlighting just how good a coach he is. All the U20 players say he can still play a bit when he joins in training – hopefully we will see an example of this on Friday!

PAUL MASON

The midfielder’s career ran from 1984 until 2000. Paul played for Liverpool Schoolboys and joined life-long heroes, Everton, as a youth player. After not getting a professional contract, Paul made the decision to follow his eldest brother to the Netherlands for a labouring job. Paul soon started playing for a local amateur side and a year later, FC Groningen, impressed with his performance in a trial, offered him a three year professional contract. Paul went on to become an established first team member before Alex Smith offered him the chance to move back to the UK which he did in 1988 for £400,000. Paul joined Aberdeen at the same time as Theo and the two remain good friends to this day – a photo of the two of them after the UEFA Cup game in Groningen early this season is one of our most popular tweets! He will always be remembered for his two goals that won Aberdeen the Skol League Cup against Rangers in the 1989. He went on to make 193 appearances in an Aberdeen shirt and his goal tally was 37. After a very successful five years at Aberdeen during which time he was utilised in a variety of roles, Paul moved to Ipswich Town FC in 1993 where he made 112 appearances scoring 36 goals. Paul retired from football in 1999 after a great career.

WILLEM VAN DER ARK

Willem played for Aberdeen in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He was one of a series of Dutch players signed for the Dons during this time and Van der Ark was bought as a striker and noted for his height, he is one of the tallest players to have ever played for the Dons. During his time at Aberdeen he made 77 appearances (38 of them as substitute), scoring 17 goals and securing two winner’s medals – the 1989/90 Skol League Cup and 1989/90 Tennent’s Scottish Cup. He also played for Cambuur Leeuwarden, FC Utrecht and Willem II. A true cult hero who will get one of the biggest cheers this evening. Who will ever forget his hat-trick at Firhill in the Scottish Cup?

EUGENE DADI

Eugène Dadi spent one season at Aberdeen, making 33 appearances and scoring five times. He was a firm fans’ favourite and had become somewhat of a cult hero with Aberdeen fans as his last name inspired the popular terrace chant of “Who’s your, who’s your, who’s your Dadi?” Highlights of his time at Aberdeen included four SPL goals, but perhaps he is most remembered for bamboozling Celtic defender Bobo Balde during a 2–0 win at Pittodrie in December 2001. The Ivory Coast international moved to Livingston and also had two seasons on the Wirral with Tranmere Rovers before joining Nottingham Forest. He then played for Perth Glory, Wellington Phoenix and Manado United. Before playing for the Dons, he had a season in France with Toulouse and played alongside Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes. Eugène amongst other things owns his own fashion label. Everyone at club is really looking forward to welcoming him back to Pittodrie.

ARILD STAVRUM

During his playing career Arild’s career included spells at Brann, Molde, Stabæk, Helsingborg, Aberdeen and Besiktas. At Molde he formed a partnership with Ole Gunnar Solskjær and Ole Bjørn Sundgot known as “the three S’es”. He arrived in Scotland at the turn of the century. In his first season he made 32 appearances and scored 12 goals. Stavrum continued with Aberdeen in the 2000/01 season, where he was the club’s top scorer with 17 goals. He was popular with the fans in Aberdeen, particularly after he cut and collected his trademark long hair, posting the offending follicles to local journalist Charlie Allan, who had previously claimed said locks were holding the Norwegian back. On the international level, Stavrum played for Norway twice. After a spell coaching Arild turned his hand to writing and became a novelist and was back in Aberdeen last year promoting his latest book. One of the most intelligent footballers ever to have played for the club!

Also involved in Friday night’s game:

RICHARD GORDON

Richard needs little introduction. He currently hosts BBC Radio Scotland’s football programme Sportsound. A big supporter of the Dons, he has regularly contributed to RedMatchday for over 10 years now and is our host at the annual AFC Player of the Year event. He is also a keen goalkeeper in his spare time!

JIM SPENCE

Jim is a Sports broadcaster from Dundee who works for BBC Scotland. Jim also hosts the station’s weeknight programme Sportsound twice a week.