It seems some footballers are not content with just one golden goal in their career. Some get a little greedy, gorging on the glory, delighting at making their mark in history. In 1983, Aberdeen's John Hewitt achieved this and some, inflicting pain on two European giants and cementing his place in the Dons' Hall of Fame.
This piece could just as easily be about that winner on that rainy night in Gothenburg. But before Hewitt's header against Real Madrid came a goal on a memorable evening in the north east of Scotland that surely must rank as the most remarkable in the history of Aberdeen's Pittodrie stadium. You can't have one without the other.
After seeing off Sion, Dinamo Tirana, and Lech Poznan in the previous rounds of the 1982/83 European Cup Winners' Cup, the strength of the competition was demonstrated when Alex Ferguson's team avoided Real Madrid, Barcelona and Inter Milan, only to be confronted with the small matter of Bayern Munich in the quarter final.
"So many good things have been written and said about us and this is the perfect occasion for us to go out and show that we deserve that kind of recognition," Ferguson said before the two clubs met at the Olympic Stadium in the first leg in March 1983. Aberdeen were top of the Scottish Premier League. Yet the test facing them against Bayern was immense.
A team containing players such as Paul Breitner, Klaus Augenthaler, and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, and a club that had reached the 1982 European Cup final would make most take a backward step, but not Ferguson and his men. "We have players of great temperament and stamina and are better prepared for this kind of challenge than ever before," Ferguson noted.
The 0-0 draw in West Germany was not just a case of parking the bus, as most newspaper reports emphasised that Bayern had been slightly fortunate to gain a draw. "I have never seen a better performance by a Scottish team on German soil," Jupp Derwall declared after the match. As a man who had led West Germany to Euro 80 success and the previous World Cup final, this was praise indeed.
It set up the return leg beautifully. Understandably, the demand for tickets was off the scale, with £3 tickets reportedly being sold for ten times as much. For those lucky enough to be among the 23,537 inside Pittodrie it would be a night to remember.
Ferguson was typically bullish before the March 16 date with destiny. "I would rather be in our position than theirs. It is important not to be afraid of the big occasion. I feel the big part of my job has been done in Munich and our lads should be looking forward to enjoying themselves."
Obviously the lack of away goal in Munich was a concern. But Ferguson was determined that anxiety would not engulf his players. "Of course they won't be going out doing anything daft lie throwing caution to the wind," he stated. "But they must forget any fears about losing a goal at home. It must be positive thinking."
Anyone associated with Aberdeen would need huge quantities of belief as the match progressed. When Augenthaler fired a free kick past Jim Leighton in the 10th minute, the task facing the home team was significant. A tiny ripple of applause could be made out as the ball flew past Leighton; it was perhaps surprising that it was not drowned out by a huge sigh from the terraces.
As Ferguson had requested, his team seemed unperturbed by falling behind. Eric Black struck the crossbar from a Stuart Kennedy cross, and in the 39th minute Aberdeen levelled, Neil Simpson tapping home after Augenthaler had cleared a Black header off the line. With 45 minutes left to find a winner, the tie was on a knife-edge.
However, all hope seemed to be extinguished on the hour mark when a volley from Hans Pflugler handed Bayern a seemingly insurmountable advantage. The sound of silence and of a bubble bursting filled the night sky. Commentator Jock Brown noted the goal "might well end Aberdeen's challenge in Europe." But one thing that was clear; this Aberdeen team was shaped in the mould of their manager. Giving in was not an option.
Ferguson made some tactical changes - pushing John McMaster into midfield and bringing on Hewitt - but with just 15 minutes remaining things were looking desperate for the home team. Yet in two minutes of madness, Pittodrie would be transformed.
Alex McLeish headed home a Gordon Strachan free kick in the 77th minute, and Hewitt's glorious denouement arrived so quickly after the equaliser, that the cameras were still focussed fully on the centre back who had just given Aberdeen a glimmer of light.
For Hewitt this moment was a silver lining on what had been a hugely frustrating season. Injured for five months, the forward had only been on the pitch for a minute at the time of McLeish's goal. He had not even touched the ball when a chance presented itself inside the six-yard box. His first touch back in the Aberdeen first team would prove cathartic.
From a left wing cross, Black soared to send a header towards goal, which goalkeeper Manfred Muller could only palm out. Pouncing on the opportunity, Hewitt slipped slightly, but fortunately made decent contact with his left foot to fire through the legs of the scrambling Muller. Cue mayhem.
"Pittodrie goes berserk," Brown shouted, as bodies merged together on the terraces and Hewitt was engulfed by celebrating team-mates on the pitch. "He's scored the goal that might make European history for Aberdeen." Bayern were in state of shock - perhaps not quite on the scale as another Ferguson night of joy in 1999 - and had just 12 minutes to respond. But their race was run.
"The final whistle goes. Aberdeen have won perhaps their greatest victory ever," Brown screamed, as Ferguson danced down the touchline after the 3-2 aggregate win. This was not hyperbole. "They [the players] had struck a magnificent blow for Scottish football and now everyone on the continent knows that Aberdeen have arrived," Jim Reynolds wrote in the Glasgow Herald.
Aberdeen had reached their first European semi-final and after the exits of Aston Villa, Liverpool and Dundee United, they were now the sole British representative in Europe. "But they, or no scriptwriter, would have dared to imagine the dramatically complicated and thrilling route that they were to take to the destination of their dreams," Clive White wrote about the club in the Times. It was indeed the stuff of dreams.
When Aberdeen were drawn against Belgian side Waterschei in the last four, the tantalising prospect of a European final became a reality. But surely a final against Real Madrid would be stretching the credulity of this Hollywood script too far? And another late winner from super sub Hewitt would be ridiculous.
Maybe the Eurythmics were right though regarding their number two single of the time. Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) would be an appropriate song to accompany Hewitt's late winner and the whole European adventure of Aberdeen under Ferguson in 1982/83. Come Gothenburg it was more a case of Here Comes The Rain Again for the mighty Real Madrid.
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