Magical assist v Bayern and I didn’t touch the ball on dream Dons night
JOHN McMASTER played a pivotal part in one of the most iconic goals in Aberdeen’s history without kicking the ball.
And he couldn’t be any more proud of the fact.
Exactly 40 years ago last Thursday, the Dons made history in the quarter final of the 1983 European Cup Winners’ Cup at Pittodrie.
Aberdeen, having drawn 0-0 with Bayern Munich in Germany, are 2-1 down and McMaster was thrown on to save the tie.
With time running out, the Dons get a free kick just outside the box on the right side – perfect for McMaster’s left boot. He and Gordon Strachan stand over, run up to it and get in each other’s way. Deliberately.
And with the Bayern defence switching off momentarily, Strachan swiftly crosses the ball in for Alex McLeish to power home the equaliser. Within a minute, John Hewitt had bundled in the winner, sparking unbelievable scenes.
“It was the best ever atmosphere of my life,” McMaster told the Off The Record podcast.
“We got that free kick on the edge of the box and they thought the wee man and I had messed it up.
“We’d actually tried it in two or three previous games but the Germans didn’t have a Scooby.
“We both ran past the ball and started arguing, but it was deliberate and
the wee man went back and curled it in to big McLeish and bang, the Germans are looking around saying: ‘what happened there?’
“We were all celebrating but John ran to get the ball and planked it on the halfway line, because we were still out at that stage.
“We got the ball back right away from kick off and I hit a 60-yard diagonal to the back post and Eric Black’s up like he’s standing on an invisible chair. “He was phenomenal in the air and he’s hit the bar - then John slides in to score the winner.
“Two goals in two minutes. The place erupted. We’d beaten one of the best teams in Europe.
“We brushed aside Waterschei in the semis then it was onto the final against Real Madrid. To this day, nobody other than Aberdeen has beaten them in a European final. It’s an amazing stat.
“The Boss went to watch them and came back and told us we had a great chance of winning.
“We went to the Ullevi Stadium on the Tuesday and Real were there before us. The boss was worried that we’d be starstruck by Alfredo di Stefano, their manager of course, but he brought along Jock Stein and he came out to train.
“All the Spanish boys were looking and saying: ‘that’s Jock Stein’. The Boss had reversed the roles.”