Legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson owes a debt of gratitude to former Aberdeen chairman Dick Donald.
Aberdeen was the third stop in Ferguson’s managerial career after spells at Scottish clubs East Stirlingshire and St Mirren.
Sir Alex Ferguson made his name at AberdeenGetty
In fact, Ferguson initially declined the Aberdeen role in 1977, only to take over a year later.
Ferguson did not have to wait long to bring success to the Dons as they beat out the likes of Celtic and Rangers to win the Scottish Premier Division in his second season in charge.
But Ferguson’s crowning moment with the Scottish club came in 1983 via the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup.
The tournament, which was abolished in 1999, pitted the winners of domestic cup competitions across Europe against each other.
Aberdeen gained passage to the tournament thanks to their Scottish Cup victory in the 1981/82 season when they beat Rangers 4-1 in the final.
The Scottish side forced the rest of the competition to sit up and take notice when they beat German giants Bayern Munich 3-2 on aggregate in the quarter finals.
A win over now-defunct Belgian side Waterschei Thor sealed a spot against Real Madrid in the final.
Despite going in as major underdogs, Ferguson’s side pulled off the shock of a lifetime as they beat Madrid 2-1 in extra time to win the European Cup Winner’s Cup.
Ferguson also led Aberdeen to the UEFA Super Cup the following season as they beat Hamburg in November 1983.
To date, those two victories remain Aberdeen’s only success in Europe.
Ferguson led Aberdeen to a shock win over Real Madrid in the European Cup Winners’ Cup
To no-one’s surprise, clubs in England took a liking to Ferguson’s stunning achievements in charge of Aberdeen.
However, were it not for a conversation with then-Dons chairman Donald, Ferguson’s career could have taken a drastically different path.
“I turned down Arsenal and I turned down Wolverhampton Wanderers and I turned down Tottenham,” Ferguson told TNT Sports.
“I said [to Aberdeen chairman Dick Donald] that maybe it was time for me to leave, blah, blah, blah, and he said to me, ‘Don’t talk like that’. You should go only to one club – Manchester United.
“I never budged until that came along. When it came along, I couldn’t get there quick enough.”
Despite the grandeur of the Red Devils, Ferguson revealed there was still a slight sense of hesitation about taking on the role.
However, there was one key philosophy he was determined to introduce to United given how well it had served him at his two previous managerial stops.
“I have to say there was a lot of trepidation about it,” Ferguson said.
Ferguson oversaw significant success at Manchester Unitedgetty
“Travelling down that morning, in the plane with Martin Edwards and the lawyer Maurice Watkins, I was asking a lot of questions and I wasn’t getting all the answers. Wee Gordon Strachan used to phone me quite a lot and I didn’t get a great picture through that.
“I knew all the players, world-class names in many ways. I was determined to install something I did at Aberdeen and St Mirren, and that was to produce young players.”
As they say, the rest is history.
Ferguson took over United in November 1986 and went on to manage over 1,400 games for the Red Devils until his retirement in May 2013.
Under Ferguson, United won 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups and two Champions League titles to cement the club as the dominant force in English football.
But had it not been for the wise words of Donald, the decades of success at Old Trafford under Ferguson may never have transpired.
The full episode of Ally’s Social Club with Sir Alex Ferguson will be available to watch on TNT Sports’ YouTube channel from midday on 18 October and broadcast on TNT Sports 1 at 10.30am on Saturday 19 October.
