In the 1980s Sir Alex Ferguson enjoyed a successful spell at Aberdeen FC. They won one trophy after the next in both Scotland and Europe. Since their foundation, The Dons have been playing their home games in the unique Pittodrie Stadium, located beautifully in a historical port city with pristine beaches.
Aberdeen FC is the only Scottish football club to have more than one European trophy in their collection. So also more than the illustrious clubs Celtic and Rangers, which have dominated Scottish football for decades. Aberdeen won the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup and the European Super Cup in 1983, led by a manager with whom some of you might be familiar: Sir Alex Ferguson (back then just Alex Ferguson).
Aberdeen has been playing its home games in Pittodrie Stadium ever since its foundation in 1903. In 1899, the stadium was already used by The Dons’ precursor. Pittodrie was the first stadium with a dugout, which was invented by Aberdeen’s former player Donald Colman.
Pittodrie consists of four separate stands, each with its own character. The old Main Stand has got a nice industrial facade with very narrow entrances. The exterior of the Merkland Stand is also remarkable and looks like an old city wall. The highlight, however, is the grand Richard Donald Stand, home of The Red Army ultras. The stand is way taller than the others. From the upper tier, you have a nice view of the city.
Pittodrie is also beautifully located: close to the city centre and the only thing that separates the sea from the stadium is a golf course. When strolling on the boulevard you get a splendid view of the Richard Donald Stand. Also, go to the top of Broad Hill. This is the perfect place to make a picture of Pittodrie.
Sir Alex Ferguson managed Aberdeen from 1978 to 1986 before becoming a legendary Manchester United manager. In Aberdeen, he is also very loved and known as the greatest manager of all time. During his tenure at the club, they managed to put a hold on Celtic’s and Rangers’ dominance in Scotland. With players such as Gordon Strachan and Willie Miller, The Dons won three league titles and four Scottish cups. Fergie also won the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in 1983 with Aberdeen. They beat the Bayern Munich of Karl-Heinz Rummenige in the quarter-finals and the Real Madrid of Juanito and John Metgod in the final. A few months later they also beat Hamburger SV to win the UEFA Super Cup.
After Ferguson left for Manchester United, Rangers and Celtic became the dominant teams again. They came very close to winning the title again in 1991, but since then the gap between the traditional top clubs and Aberdeen has only gotten larger. The last league title that Aberdeen won in 1984/85 is also the last time any other club than Rangers or Celtic became Scottish champions.
In 2022, the club unveiled a beautiful statue of a cheering Sir Alex Ferguson in front of the Richard Donald Stand.
When Aberdeen was Scotland’s best club in the 1980s, their biggest title challenger was Dundee United. The Terrors became champions in 1982/83 and were doing well in Europe, with a European Cup semi-final in 1984 and a UEFA Cup final in 1987 as their biggest achievements. Both clubs appeared to have become the new powerhouses in Scottish football and newspapers named the match between both the ‘New Firm’. Nowadays, it still is a big derby for Aberdeen, partly because of a lack of other clubs in the Aberdeen area. Dundee United, however, places much more importance on their local derby against Dundee FC. The Dons also have rivalries with Rangers, Inverness Caledonian Thistle (North Derby) and Celtic.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s favourite restaurant in Aberdeen is Borsalino. In his managerial spell at Aberdeen, Fergie already was a regular customer at the Italian restaurant. He still eats a meal at the restaurant when he visited his beloved Aberdeen. The restaurant is known as one of the best Italian restaurants in the Northeast of Scotland. Make a reservation if you want to eat pasta or pizza here, especially during the weekends.
The Pittodrie Bar is the most famous Aberdeen FC pub in the port city. On match days, the pub will be full of enthusiastic supporters. The walls are filled with signed shirts from old and current players, caricatures and other sports memorabilia. The pub is located at 339 King Street, which is a ten-minute walk from the stadium.
Do you prefer to have a pint in the city centre? Then the typical Scottish pub The Foundry might be the place for you. It is a perfect pub to watch a football match on the weekends.
Pittodrie will not remain Aberdeen’s stadium for long. The original plan was to move into a new stadium in 2023, but the stadium was never built because of the financial implications of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the club has made new plans to still build a new stadium within the next couple of years.
Tickets for Aberdeen FC can easily be ordered through the club’s official website. Be aware that you can only buy one ticket per account, so everyone who wants a ticket needs an account. This is to make sure that everyone gets Priority Points. For certain games, usually derbies or other big games, you will need to have a certain amount of points or ticket purchases in order to attend the match. So you will first need to buy tickets to watch a match against the smaller teams.
From Aberdeen’s train station, you can reach Pittodrie in 30 minutes by foot. From Guild Street, however, you can also take bus 1B to Pittodrie Place or bus 13 Platinum to Pittodrie Street.
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