It was an evening that changed everything for Dundee United, as they jousted with giants in the heat of European battle.
A night where, even as Aberdeen were beating Hamburg 3-2 at Pittodrie – which still meant they were eliminated from the Uefa Cup that season – their Tayside rivals produced a stunning 5-0 demolition of another German team, Borussia Moenchengladbach, which sparked a plethora of tangerine dreams.
In the space of 90 fast, furious and fabulously entertaining minutes – at least, if you were a United aficionado – Jim McLean’s personnel exhibited the powers which would bring them so much success in the next few years.
And their pace, prowess and penetration even caused ripples on the continent, where the big beasts of Germany, Italy and France sat up and started to take notice of the prodigious feats which McLean – and his assistant Walter Smith – were orchestrating with a group of home-grown players.
It was tremendous performance, and they did Scottish football proud.”
Jim McLean
McLean, the restless perfectionist, who continually demanded higher standards from his charges, was perfectly complemented by Smith, who might only have been 33, but had already become the beetle-browed mediator whenever his tough-as-teak boss was in danger of turning the screw too hard.
And, backed by a squad brimming with a mix of precocious youth and steely experience – and the harum-scarum brilliance of Ralph Milne – this Tannadice collective were never afraid of any challenges as the 1980s rolled on.
As McLean later declared, he had no doubt that putting Borussia on the rack was a pivotal occasion where his men proved their mettle in difficult circumstances after they had conceded a late brace in the first leg of the tie.
‘We won when nobody expected it’
He said: “The Uefa Cup return match with Borussia Moenchengladbach was where it all changed for us.
“Nothing compares to a real European night under the lights, especially when you are expecting to do well, but up until then, we hadn’t expected to succeed, and we thought we were just making up the numbers in the tournament.”
He added: “We had gone into the second-leg trailing 2-0 after giving away a couple of late goals in Germany.
“But we went out at Tannadice and knocked five past Borussia and suddenly the players realised that we had become good enough to play anyone in Europe and give them a game.”
If anybody doubted the scale of the improvement McLean and Smith had engineered, the adulatory response from the fans testified to how their players had cranked through the gears and advanced to a different level.
And if the Germans arrived thinking they could shut up shop and stroll away with a place in the next round, they were soon made to think again.
Suddenly, any sign of an inferiority complex had vanished and United truly believed they could meet and beat anybody on their European odysseys.
Why not, given the copious amounts of swagger, insouciance and aggressive threat they demonstrated as Borussia were left bewitched and bewildered?
There was no holding back, no indecision, no hint of nerves from the hosts as they set about dismantling and discombobulating their opponents.
From the kick-off, the message was all-out attack and up and at ’em.
Despite their pedigree, the visitors were knocked out of their stride and the tournament after a display from United that left them reeling.
Only two late defensive lapses had blemished an otherwise outstanding first-leg performance from the Scots in the Bokelberg Stadium a week earlier.
But while that meant the hosts had a significant deficit to overcome and had to do their utmost to ensure they didn’t concede any more goals, the stage was set for one of the most swashbuckling shows they ever produced.
The renowned German club managed to weather the early storm with some stubborn resistance, but United kept swarming at them in wave after wave and Borussia’s defiance was finally broken 10 minutes from the interval.
It followed a flash of brilliance from Paul Sturrock with a defence-splitting crossfield pass to Milne, who swept home inside the box from 10 yards.
Then, a minute from the interval, Billy Kirkwood latched on to a loose ball 20 yards out and beat Wolfgang Kleff with a shot that bounced over the keeper to square the tie and ensure that McLean could deliver a Churchillian message to his men: ‘You have done the hard part. Now go out and finish the job’.
Hard times from the first leg had turned to great expectations for the second period and McLean’s men put on a Dickens of a show after the resumption.
They carried on where they had left off, dominating their rivals, and the packed ground erupted when United went in front in the 51st minute.
Norbert Ringel’s misplaced headed clearance fell into the path of the ubiquitous Sturrock, who steered home the third.
Unsurprisingly, it provoked screams of delight, but the party was only just getting started.
The one scare of the evening came with 18 minutes left. Hamish McAlpine, who had been a virtual spectator throughout the proceedings, prevented a certain goal, keeping out a ferocious effort with his outstretched leg.
But two goals in as many minutes shortly afterwards killed off any lingering German hopes and emphasised United’s refusal to rest on their lead – a failing that had previously led to them being fined by McLean for “sloppiness”.
There was no chance of similar punishment being enforced on this occasion.
First, Sturrock – a coiled spring of boundless energy – nodded a corner against the post and Paul Hegarty knocked in the rebound.
Then Eamonn Bannon delivered the coup de grace, leaving two defenders sprawling in his wake as the prelude to slotting home the fifth.
It was the first time United had survived two rounds of European competition and the manner of their triumph left McLean overcome with emotion.
He said afterwards: “I have never felt so proud of my team as I did tonight.
“It was tremendous performance, and they did Scottish football proud.”
Smith, meanwhile, revealed the manner in which McLean had grabbed the club by the scruff of the neck and transformed attitudes on and off the pitch.
He said: “Jim was one of the most thorough managers you could ever meet. And I mean anywhere. I don’t care where you go.
“It would be hard to find anybody who put more into planning for games and training sessions than he did.
“That was always one of his great qualities, that he would leave absolutely nothing to chance.”
“His tactics whenever he was going into specific games were worked out to the nth degree.
“And his own discipline, and the discipline which he imposed on other people, was often very tough to live up to.
“But that was Jim. He was every bit as hard on himself as he was on others.
“He had very high standards and he always led by example.”
The results spoke for themselves. Two-and-a-half years later, United reached the semi-finals of the European Cup and, in 1987, advanced to the Uefa Cup final, disposing off Borussia again on the journey.
That memorable campaign was marked by McLean’s side knocking out Barcelona, Borussia and Universitatea Craiova en route.
They might have lost 2-1 on aggregate to IFK Gothenburg in the final, but these were still glorious exploits in what seems like an different age for Scottish clubs from the current, rather sorry state.
And the launchpad for that eighties extravaganza was the wonderful five-star display in November 40 years ago this week.
