Previously unseen images document Dundee United’s biggest win in European competition.
The negatives sat undeveloped in the DC Thomson archive.
Until now.
Tommy McLean was in charge when United were drawn against amateurs CE Principat in the first qualifying round of the Uefa Cup in July 1997.
CE Principat was owned by a local restaurant.
They were the first Andorran club to compete in European competition.
The Tangerines, of course, established a European pedigree in the 1980s.
United reached the semi-finals of the European Cup in 1984, and, in 1987, advanced to the Uefa Cup final after beating the mighty Barcelona on the way.
McLean was working under the chairmanship of older brother Jim, who masterminded these ’80s glory nights during a time of unimaginable success.
Those heady times seemed light years away when United were relegated in 1995.
The Tangerines were returning to Europe for the first time in three years with the first leg taking place in Andorra on July 23 and the return on the 30th.
Such was the complete gulf in class between the sides that the tie turned out to be nothing more than a training exercise for United in Andorra.
United won 8-0 in front of 1,000 fans and Robbie Winters helped himself to four goals, Gary McSwegan scored three and Lars Zetterlund claimed the other.
Legendary referee Pierluigi Collina was the man in the middle.
Tommy McLean played a full-strength team
With qualification guaranteed, McLean was asked if there was a temptation to use the return leg on July 30 to give younger players European experience.
“It would be disrespectful to Principat if we fielded a team of kids,” he said.
“We’ll put out as strong a side as we possibly can.”
He did.
The Courier suggested the 10-0 Scottish record for a single-leg European victory set by Rangers against Valletta of Malta in 1983 could be shattered.
It almost was.
United’s 9-0 thrashing gave them an aggregate 17-0 victory over the two legs.
Six players from the first leg had been unable to get time off work to travel to Scotland, including goalkeeper Rui de Manel Castro Ramos.
New goalkeeper, same story…
He was replaced by Josi Maria Espot.
McSwegan scored the opening goal from eight yards on eight minutes.
Robbie Winters added to the four he scored in Andorra in the 23rd minute when he steered in a cross from Andy McLaren with his right foot.
Winters turned provider and McSwegan got the third a minute later.
Espot was stranded.
Principat had their first scoring opportunity but Josep Pascual Tercero Pasqui was denied getting a strike away by a Maurice Malpas tackle.
A long-range effort from Jordi Bazan Morros did not trouble Sieb Dijkstra.
Normal service was resumed by McLaren on 37 minutes.
His strike from the right went straight through the goalkeeper to make it 4-0.
Winters scored the fifth before the break from six yards.
Dave Bowman‘s long-range effort was pushed into his path by Espot.
The home players acted with dignity throughout the game, and had no wish to humiliate their rookie opponents with tricks and flicks.
CE Principat left the field at half-time to a hero’s ovation from the home crowd.
The players responded with waves and beaming smiles.
Dave Bowman missed chance to ensure Dundee United made history
Things got worse for Espot after the break.
Kjell Olofsson struck a low drive from 35 yards that squirmed under the goalkeeper.
Lars Zetterlund headed home from a corner on 59 minutes.
Espot came out and missed the punch.
In the 64th minute Bowman whipped in a cross from the right flank.
McSwegan shot on the turn to complete his hat-trick and the record looked on.
United had to wait until two minutes from time to make it 9-0.
Substitute Stevie Thompson bundled the ball home on his European debut.
In injury-time, Bowman, without a goal in 36 Euro matches, was left with a gilt-edged chance to make it 10 on the night and 18 overall.
He blasted the ball over the bar.
“I had no idea about the record being at stake,” he said.
“I was more concerned that the club doctor had promised to shave his moustache off if I scored!
“And now I’ve realised that Maurice Malpas has never scored in Europe I am absolutely sick about the miss because if I’d got the goal I’d have been able to wind him up no end!”
Could United repeat the heroics of 1987?
Bowman suggested United could go far in a competition, which featured teams like Ajax, Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, Benfica, Inter Milan, Liverpool and Lazio.
He said: “The year after I joined the club we reached the Uefa Cup final and I thought: ‘It will be like this every year’.
“And, even though we never got that far again, we continued to be European regulars, which is why it hit us so hard when we were relegated and the possibility of being involved at this level disappeared.
“This season is a bit like 1986-87 in that when we got through the first game then we weren’t rated.
“Despite that we went all the way to the final and I certainly wouldn’t completely dismiss us this year.
“I’m not going to say that we’ll do this or that but I do believe that this squad is well set up and, with Tommy McLean as manager, we won’t be found wanting tactically.”
CE Principat coach Manolo Marin remained defiant.
“Dundee United are the best team we have played in our history,” he said.
“Both technically and tactically, they were much better than us.
“We did not like losing by so many goals, but it has been a good experience and we want to be back in the Uefa Cup next year.”
United fans threw scarves at Andorrans
United fans won the hearts of the CE Principat players with their generous applause.
At the end of United’s 9-0 win, the home supporters tossed United scarves to the Andorran players and all bar one was able to catch them.
The man who couldn’t hold on to one of the scarves?
Espot – the goalkeeper.
Realising from the game that catching was not his strong point, United remedied the situation by presenting him with a scarf from their souvenir shop.
United would go out in the next round to Trabzonspor from Turkey.
The Andorran team qualified for the Uefa Cup again and lost 14-1 on aggregate to Ferencvaros in 1998 and 18-0 on aggregate to Viking Stavanger in 1999.
They are ranked last in the all-time table of all European Cups with six losses and 48 conceded goals and the club was dissolved in 2015.
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