These are just a few lines from a few of the tributes give to Jamie which will appear in RedMatchday Magazine Issue 03 – a special production for the Jamie Langfield Testimonial match between Aberdeen and Brighton.

Derek McInnes

Jamie Langfield has been a great servant to Aberdeen Football Club and, like Andy Considine earlier this year, he is one of that rare breed that spends more than a decade at one club. Although he is now in what could be termed the twilight of his career, Jamie still has much to offer. He should also be very proud of the major part he’s played in the upturn of this club’s fortunes over the last couple of seasons. He was the goalie in the League Cup winning run, making the vital penalty save in the final after several potentially match winning saves in the run to that brilliant day at Parkhead.

Over the years, Jamie has displayed a resilience and character that has seen him bounce back from whatever setback has been thrown at him, none more so than when he suffered a serious illness four years ago, and his professionalism has always shone through.

Jamie’s been a very popular guy in the dressing room during his time here and the fact he was part of the side that brought home our first trophy in nineteen years will rightly ensure his place in the history of this wonderful club.

Craig Brown

I knew the history of Jamie before I came to Pittodrie. He was a very capable goalkeeper for a lot of years in the SPL. My time in charge of the national team was before he was on the scene but such was his capability that five or six of my successors selected him for the Scotland squad.

Over the years, he has made some great saves and has been a game changer on many occasions. One of the biggest plaudits I can pay Jamie was when I was an opposition manager playing against Aberdeen. When we looked at the team we identified him as being one of Aberdeen’s strengths. We identified him as a good goalkeeper with no weaknesses. I must praise his courage, his resilience, his determination as well as his ability.
 

Russell Anderson

I have played with Jamie over two spells for quite a few years and I would say that 2013/14 was by far his best season. There were a lot of key moments in that season and although we normally remember all the important goals, it was the saves that Jamie made that helped make that such a successful season. That goes to show how important a player he has been just over the last couple of years, never mind over the ten years he has been here.

Someone who has been here for that length of period deserves the recognition he is getting this afternoon. He especially deserves recognition for some of the personal challenges, which have been well documented, that he has overcome. He has shown a great strength of character to battle his way back from real adversity.

Derek Young

I would definitely say he is the best goalkeeper I have played with and during my career and I have played with a fair few now!

He was one of the funny guys in the dressing room – well, he thought he was funny! When it came to the football side of things, he was always very serious but off the park he was one of the jokers along with Darren Mackie. A dressing room is a unique environment, different to any other workplace. You spend a lot of time in each other’s company so you need big characters like that in there. It cannot be too serious all the time. When things are not going well, you need people who can calm things down a bit, so guys like Jamie are worth their weight in gold. They are hard to come by.

Darren Mackie

Langers is a fantastic guy. He has come through a lot and has still got a smile on his face. He was always one of the boys and good fun to be around. From 2005 to 2008 or so it was a fantastic time to be at the club. We had a very good side and much of the success we enjoyed was because we did not give many goals away. We were very strong defensively and obviously Jamie was a big part of that.

Adam Rooney

I get the recognition for scoring the winning penalty in the League Cup Final but Langers was the one who got us off to a good start with that save from Billy McKay’s penalty. I was standing on the halfway line with the rest of the boys and the confidence we got from that was massive. It was such a big moment that helped settle us all down.

He is a good lad who always picks the boys’ spirits up if things are a bit quiet. He is always the one who gets the lads going. You would think he was 18 the way he behaves and not 38 or whatever he is!
 

Mark Reynolds

It is easy to forget just how long he has been at the club. During that time he has pretty much been the number one the whole time.

That is a great achievement in itself. He has produced a great level of consistency, especially over the last few years, and his crowning glory was the cup final.

The biggest thing about a goalkeeper is that they are the last line of defence. Even myself as a centre-half, on the very rare occasion that I make a mistake I have got the keeper who can bail me out and Jamie has certainly done that on a few occasions!

Ryan Jack

Since I first came into the dressing room as a youngster, Jamie has always been there. Through all the good times and the bad, he has always been there, sitting in the corner as you go in the door. We have a fantastic team spirit amongst the squad and Jamie is a big part of that. He is the first one to try and lift spirits if we are going through a rough patch.

He helps integrate all the new players into the club as well as the young boys who step up from the youth team. As a senior player, he has always been there for me as a player and passed on advice. That personality and the fact that he is so good in the dressing room shouldn’t be underestimated. It is a huge part of helping a club be successful.

Michael Grant

Could he have looked any more relaxed? Seriously, have you watched the penalties again recently? He doesn’t so much walk towards the end containing the Caley Thistle fans as swagger his way towards the goalmouth in front of them, like a contestant who’s just heard the last question on “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” and knows he has the answer.

The grin on his face is almost absurd: he’s reached one of those career-crossroads moments and he looks like he doesn’t have a care in the world. He even does a weird, exaggerated side-to-side shaking of the head to loosen up his muscles. It actually looks like he was enjoying every second of it, while the rest of us were in the stands with our chests tightening and the sweat running down our backs.
 
Billy McKay stepped up to take Caley Thistle’s first penalty. It wasn’t a good one, too close to the goalkeeper, but Langfield was still down sharply to block it with his right hand. What a roar went up. And so it began, the Dons’ flawless shoot-out to bring a cup back home after 19 years, extra time and then ******* penalties.

A “one Jamie Langfield” chant was sweeping the stands by the time Barry Robson stepped up to ram away the first of the four which won the shootout, but it was Langfield who turned that jittery, horrible, anxiety ridden mess of a game Aberdeen’s way. It was the only save he had to make – Greg Tansey ballooned their next penalty over the bar and Nick Ross and Aaron Doran scored – but one was enough. It was the save of his career, and some of us will be eternally grateful that he pulled it off.

Derek Rae

Aberdeen fans have had a particular affection for goalkeepers down the years. I’m not quite old enough to remember Fred Martin, but Bobby Clark, Jim Leighton and Theo Snelders deserve their special place in Dons history. They all had different qualities but served the club magnificently and those of us privileged to watch that trio in action will never forget their inspirational moments.

Jamie Langfield belongs on that same list. Although not an Aberdonian by birth, he very quickly became adopted as one and his personality has always seemed to fit in with the North East landscape. His bravery off the pitch in dealing with what would have ended many a career tells you all you need to know about Jamie Langfield, the person.

You won’t find many nicer people in the game. Never one to act the big shot, you are always likely to receive a friendly greeting or wave from Jamie when visiting Pittodrie. There will be many younger fans who don’t remember a time without Langers as part of the club story. After a decade of committed service, he fully deserves to be recognised in this way by Aberdeen FC.

Richard Gordon

It has not been easy for Jamie. Quite apart from his health scare a few years back – and he showed remarkable fortitude in battling back from that – he has, it seems, constantly been under pressure to hold his position, and it says much for his talent and determination that he has seen off all-comers during that time.

There have been spells when it has appeared he would be on his way, most infamously under Jimmy Calderwood, but he has always knuckled down, worked hard, and reclaimed his place in the team.

In the current football climate, few players stick with one club for as long as Jamie has; the modern day professional tends to have a more transient career, and so his loyalty is to be welcomed.

Andrew Shinie

Jamie went through that entire Cup campaign without being beaten – a feat equalled by few in the history of the competition – and that statistic, allied to a record of 120 clean sheets in 336 competitive appearances for a club he has served with distinction through thick and thin, both on and off the field, sees us here at Pittodrie this afternoon to honour him.

For me, though, the ultimate performance from Jamie came in the European away tie against Dnipro eight years ago when Darren Mackie scored the “million pound” goal. Time and again he repelled waves of Russian attacks to seal the Dons’ passage into the group stages of the then UEFA Cup and set us up for some more of those fantastic European nights under the lights at Pittodrie.

Away from football, this dedicated family man inspires a huge amount of loyalty from his teammates and friends at Pittodrie. And he is a very charitable ‘chiel’ as they say in these parts, never slow to help others in the wake of the health problems which beset him a few years back.

A good guy – enjoy your special day Jamie!