LORD Willie Haughey, one of the businessmen who helped bankroll the Scottish Football Association's purchase of Hampden Park, has spoken of his most abiding memories of the national stadium.

And the two that stick out are two Champions League finals. The first was Real Madrid's 2-1 victory in the 2002 final against Bayer Leverkusen of Germany.

The second was 26 years earlier, when Bayern Munich of Germany beat French champions Saint-Étienne in a European Cup final. The city had already seen Saint-Étienne defeat Rangers during the competition.

The Herald: MEMORIES ARE MADE OF THIS: Just as those who saw the 1960 final will never forget it, Zinedine Zidane's goal has gone down in Hampden folklore. Picture: Jim Galloway

Lord Haughey, who grew up in the shadow of Hampden Park and played for Queen's Park at junior level, joined forces with billionaire Scots businessman Sir Tom Hunter in the deal to rescue Hampden.

The SFA confirmed on Tuesday that it will buy the national stadium from Queen's Park for £5million instead of decanting to Murrayfield.

Following the long-awaited decision, the governing body thanked Lord Haughey for an "enormous" financial contribution in retaining Hampden as the home of Scottish football.

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Sir Tom, who was once Scotland's richest man and is estimated to be worth £1.05billion, pledged to match Haughey's commitment.

Mr Haughey said he got involved because he was a "big supporter" of the national team along with Sir Tom and felt that Glasgow had to remain the home of Scottish football.

When asked about his abiding memories, the two that sprung to mind did not involve any Scottish teams or players.

"I've had a lot of laughter and a lot of tears over the years, but probably the thing that sticks out is in the best club competition in the world, Zidane's goal in the Champions League final. I was there for that," said the 62-year-old chairman of City Facilities Management Holdings.

"I was also there in 1976 when St Etienne played Bayern Munich. It was a boring game which St Etienne edged and Bayern Munich stole it by one goal. "

The Herald: 1976 European Cup Final, Hampden Park, Glasgow
Bayern Munich 1  St Etienne 0
Newsquest Media Group
1976

He said things now have to change with the stadium but it was all now down to the Scottish FA under the leadership of chief executive Ian Maxwell.

"I watched Ian Maxwell's interview and he made that big big point that we have got to do something with the design of the stadium to make it a better experience to create a better atmosphere for the players," he said.

"Hopefully the one thing that will come out of this is that they [the SFA] will open up to thinking from people like Sir Tom who has more idea about stadia than I have. I think a bit of guidance and working closely together, I think the SFA will work with people to strive to create a stadium that we can all be very proud of."

He said the money was a gift with "no caveats".

"There's no stand getting called after us or anything like that, it's just so the gap could be matched between what Queen's Park were looking for and what the SFA were willing to pay.

"I think there's work to be done now. It's not the best experience for fans with the running track, so the SFA and Hampden Park will look at that and I am sure that over the next few years we will be trying everything we can to make the experience of being a supporter much much better than it is at the moment."