The memories of Aberdeen’s greatest achievement will come flooding back for Neil Simpson when he arrives in Gothenburg today.
Once a key component in Sir Alex Ferguson’s all-conquering squad of the 1980s, Simpson will take a stroll down memory lane before the Dons tackle BK Hacken in the second leg of the Europa Conference League qualifying tie tonight.
Now part of manager Stephen Glass’s coaching staff, he will relay tales of the 1983 European Cup-Winners’ Cup triumph over Real Madrid in Sweden’s second city to the current group of players, none of whom was born at the time, and remind them of the history of Aberdeen and what it means.
Glass, himself a former Dons player between 1994 and 1998, is well aware of what “Gothenburg” means to the fans, but his principal focus will be on successfully navigating a way into the next round of the competition, a safe bet given his side’s 5-1 lead from last week’s first leg at Pittodrie.
“If you are at this team and you draw a club from Gothenburg, the win against Real Madrid is obviously going to get brought up at some point,” he said. “We have to respect it and represent it the way it should.
“We are fortunate that we have Neil Simpson coming with us as well so he knows what it takes in Gothenburg. It is brilliant to have someone like him around as he has actually lived it.”
There are no plans to visit the Ullevi Stadium, the scene of the 1983 final, as Glass urges his men to concentrate on what will happen across the city at the Bravida Arena and the determination of opposition eager not to allow the visitors to trample all over them as they did six days ago.
Importance will be placed on how the Reds handle the tie so that, as Glass insisted “nothing silly happens”.
The former Newcastle, Watford and Hibs midfielder, still finding his feet as a new manager in the Premiership, reiterated how crucial Scott Brown, a former team-mate at Easter Road and his first signing as the Aberdeen boss, is to his strategy for the club.
Brown, sitting in front of his defenders for the overwhelming 5-1 home win against Hacken, might be learning the ropes in the world of coaching, but it is his leadership on the pitch that is of great significance.
“There might have been doubt when it was being talked about that Scott might come,” Glass said. “Anybody who wants to win will be delighted he is at this club. He showed last week what it means to captain the team and drive the team on.
“He has got the desire to continue. He has a desperation to win football matches which is what I want at the club from all the players.
“They have a leader who has done it for however many years and for as long as he can keep doing it we will see it.”
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