The Dons in Europe Story | 1970 to 1980
 

The 1970 Scottish Cup campaign was probably the most memorable in the club’s history, and that success had offered renewed optimism that the Dons could impress further on foreign fields. Honved of Hungary were a team with a proven European pedigree, and in two classic ties, it was Aberdeen who was to create European history by becoming the first team to be eliminated after a penalty shoot out. The Dons had won the first leg 3-1, and it took a late Steve Murray goal to take the tie in to the realms of farce as the hapless officials were at a loss as to how to officiate over the shoot out. It was the unfortunate Jim Forrest who missed the vital kick as the Dons went down in Budapest. It came down to the Honved keeper to score the goal that put Aberdeen out.
 
Aberdeen had yet to progress past the second round of any European tourney, and that sequence was to continue in 1971. In the new UEFA Cup competition Celta Vigo had been accounted for following an impressive 2-0 win in Spain. Goals from Joe Harper and Jim Forrest contributed to what was easily the Dons best away performance in Europe at that time. The return at Pittodrie confirmed this as Vigo outplayed Aberdeen for long spells but a late Joe Harper goal gave Aberdeen an impressive 3-0 aggregate win. Next up were the Italian giants of Juventus, who went through 3-1 on aggregate, the damage being done in a 2-0 reverse in the Stade de Alpi. It was a torrid evening for the Dons as young centre half Willie Young was substituted before running the risk of being sent off as Aberdeen came up against the most expensive attack in world football. A classic return at Pittodrie witnessed the ultra defensive Italians grind out a 1-1 draw, with the Dons scoring through a brilliant piece of Joe Harper opportunism.
 
Aberdeen were renowned for being paired with top drawer European opponents, and a year later it was the slick German outfit Borussia Munchengladbach that went on to inflict the Dons first defeat on Scottish soil in European competition in a thrilling Pittodrie encounter. The visitors had the likes of Gunther Netzer one of the finest ever German midfield players. A 3-2 reverse was clawed back in the first half of the return at neutral Nuremberg, after the tie was switched because of previous crowd trouble in Germany. Three late goals consigned the Dons to defeat once more. Consistency in the higher reaches of the Scottish League had seen the Dons compete in Europe on a regular basis, and in 1973, Aberdeen faced Irish and English opponents for the first time. Finn Harps were easily accounted for in the first round as the part time Irish club struggled to compete with Aberdeen. The return leg in the quaint Balbofey saw a record crowd for the Irish side. In the second round English side Tottenham defeated the Dons comfortably in the return at White Hart Lane in a 4-1 win. Aberdeen struggled in the home leg to take an advantage to London and Jim Hermiston penalty was all Aberdeen had to show for their efforts in a 1-1 draw. Despite some stout resistance in the White Hart Lane return, late goals compounded the Dons misery.
 
Aberdeen had seen two managers come and go by the time European football returned to Pittodrie in 1977. Jim Bonthrone and Ally MacLeod had moved on in different circumstances, leaving the way clear for rookie boss Billy McNeill to lead the Dons in against Molenbeek. An excellent draw away in the first tie was undone by a poor home performance as a naïve Aberdeen crashed out. McNeill was disappointed at the outcome and he promptly set about changing his squad as he took in a young and promising Gordon Strachan from Dundee following the European exit.  
 
A year later Fortuna Dusseldorf posed a formidable obstacle in the ECWC, and so it proved in a 3-0 defeat in Germany. A gutsy performance in the return leg was not enough, and once again the Dons had fallen to German opponents despite a 2-0 win.
 
Jim Leighton made his European debut for the Dons in the first leg. A year later it was another crack German side that put the Dons out, on this occasion it was Eintracht Frankfurt who scraped through by the narrowest of margins, but there was clear evidence that boss Alex Ferguson was in the process of assembling a side that could compete more favourably at a higher level.
 
1980 was too prove a significant year as the Dons secured their first Premier League title and subsequent entry into the European Champions Cup. In their first ever-European Cup tie, Aberdeen came of age in European terms as they defeated Austrian champions Memphis Vienna. Mark McGhee scored the only goal of the tie at Pittodrie in the first leg. It took a monumental rearguard action in the Vienna return to see the Dons through to a glamour tie against English champions Liverpool. The Anfield club was on the verge of greatness, and they swept past the Scottish challenge, winning both legs in convincing fashion. After a 1-0 defeat at Pittodrie where it was reported that the club could have sold their 24,000 ticket allocation three times over such was the interest in the ‘Battle of Britain.’
 
The lessons learned against Liverpool were to augur well for the Dons immediate future in Europe. The nucleus of the side had been retained as Jim Leighton, Alex McLeish and Willie Miller were emerging as a defensive combination of real strength. Stuart Kennedy provided experience at the back, and the time was right for youngsters Neal Cooper, Neil Simpson, John Hewitt and Eric Black to make their mark. Arguably the Dons most potent weapon was the sublime skills of Gordon Strachan and Peter Weir on the flanks. The natural width offered by the Dons pair was too prove the scourge of many a side, and in the often-defensive fields of Europe, Strachan and Weir were given the opportunity to excel. With the likes of Doug Bell, a free transfer from St Mirren to call upon and offer something different, the Dons squad looked well equipped for the challenges that lay ahead.