BBC Sports Aberdeen: Dons pilgrims share stories of the Gothenburg glory in 1983

A message in a bottle

Jill McIntosh, 57, took the St. Clair ferry from Aberdeen to Gothenburg. My father had gone to Munich for Bayern Munich’s quarter-final, and I was upset because I wasn’t permitted to go, so he told me that if Aberdeen made it to the final, we’d go. When we arrived at the ferry station, there appeared to be a lot more people on the boat than there actually were. Fergie came in to say bon voyage, which was incredible. I don’t remember how many people participated in the keepy-uppy competition, but I’m not sure how they did it with the boat moving backwards and forwards.

There was a talent competition – I don’t recall much talent in it – and the resident band performed. I just knew we’d win. John Hewitt had always been my favourite player, and to see him triumph was beyond my wildest fantasies. We needed to catch a bus to get back to the St Clair right away, so there was no time to waste. I am not sure if everyone made it back to the boat; there are reports that some did not. We were sitting in the lounge, and there were glasses and bottles all over it, when my father remarked, “I’m going to stick a little message in this bottle and see where it ends up.” I think he wrote the result and the date, and ‘we were there’.

We threw it over the side and three months later my dad got a postcard. A German couple had found it while they were walking along the beach in Denmark.

A fountain, a Saab and a Swedish busker ransacked

Andy Lyall is 59. He took his first flight from Aberdeen. We walked into a retail mall in Gothenburg since the cup was on display and there was a busker. Every time he started with a Swedish folk melody, he would be drowned out by “Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Aberdeen” after about 15 seconds. So he didn’t get anywhere, but he did get a lot of money, so he was satisfied with the outcome. We didn’t have a drink after the game since we didn’t have the money. We were having a fantastic time anyway. There was a fountain outside that I suppose was spanking new, just built that week, and we were all piling through the fountain.

We’d all gotten soaked in the rain before, so it didn’t matter; everyone was dancing around in the fountain like crazy. Our trip home was at 03:30 that night. There was a Saab up on a revolving plinth in the middle of the airport, and I just recall four mannies fast asleep, two in the front and two in the back, since there was nowhere else to sit; the area was completely stowed out. When we returned, there was a tremendous vibe; individuals who had never attended a Dons game before, and most likely never will again, were out. My wife’s grandmother went to Pittodrie to witness the cup arrive; she had never been there before and had never returned.

‘We got back, landed our fish, and nobody was talking about Aberdeen’

Drew Mair is 59. He travelled to Gothenburg on the fishing boat he worked on. Many of us on the boat were Aberdeen supporters. If we were at sea, we listened to sports on the radio, and if we got home, I was done with the games. We listened to the Bayern Munich game from the wheelhouse. When we won, there was an uproar, and someone suggested that if we made it to the final, we travel to Gothenburg. We made the catch on that trip, and it was discussed in the office. Back then, the Don Fishing Company handled the boats, I don’t know who was in charge but he told the skippers he would manage to get tickets for Gothenburg. The rest is history, the boys went.

Before the game we got some photos of the crew sitting in their seats. I noticed Jock Stein going down the stairwell to the park, and I shouted to him ‘can I get your photo, Jock?’ He says, ‘no bother’. That was an occasion I will not forget.

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