Aberdeen remain the last team to defeat the mighty Real Madrid in a major European final after Los Blancos captured a record 15th Champions League title with a win against Borussia Dortmund.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side’s victory at Wembley has extended their astonishing record to 11 major wins in finals of major European competitions, a spell that goes all the way back to May 1983 when Sir Alex Ferguson‘s Dandies shocked the continent by beating the Spanish giants in the final of the old UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup.
On a dreary wet night at the Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg, the Dons had taken the lead through an early goal from Eric Black, only for Madrid to hit back through Juanito’s penalty minutes later. The teams could not be separated after 90 minutes, with the game then going into extra time. Just eight minutes before the end of play, Aberdeen then struck the killer blow, when Mark McGhee’s cross was met by a diving header from local boy John Hewitt to write himself into the club’s history books until the end of time.
Ferguson’s men then furthered their claim as the best club side in Europe in the calendar year of 1983, when they defeated European Cup champions Hamburg over two legs in the final of the European Super Cup. The Reds won 4-0 on aggregate, following up a 2-0 win on German soil with another win by the same scoreline courtesy of goals from Neil Simpson and McGhee on an electric night at Pittodrie in December 1983.
Dortmund looked as though they may finally be the side to stop Real at the final hurdle. The Bundesliga outfit passed up some great first half chances, and were punished after the break as a Dani Carvajal header and Vinicius Jr’s opportunistic finish meant the Spanish champs were crowned Kings of Europe yet again.