The Last King of Scotland

Spanish fans probably heard his name for the first time in the spring of 1983. The European Cup Winners' Cup Final was to be held in Gothenburg and Real Madrid's opponent was a little-known Scottish team called Aberdeen, with nowhere near the pedigree of Celtic and Glasgow Rangers, although back in those days they overshadowed the famous Old Firm domestically.

Their manager was an even less-known Scot aged 41: Alexander Chapman Ferguson. Back then he had yet to be knighted and no one knew he was a fan of horse-racing and good wine, but he had already acquired the nickname Fergie and his bad temper and angry outbursts had become common knowledge. He led modest St. Mirren to the Scottish First Division in 1976-77, before taking charge of Aberdeen, with whom he won the league in 1980 and the Scottish Cup in '82 before that magnificent run to the Cup Winners' Cup final, knocking out Bayern along way.

That Real Madrid team, Camacho, Gallego, Stielike, Juanito, Santillana..., who finished runners-up in all the competitions that season, went into the final as favourites. The match was played in torrential rain and in extra time the Scots claimed a famous 2-1 victory. "I've finally done something worthwhile in my life. Now I can say that my life has meaning," whispered Ferguson and then politely greeted a quietly fuming Di Stefano.