# 1982–83 Aberdeen F.C. season

Aberdeen competed in the Scottish Premier Division, Scottish Cup, League Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup in season 1982–83. They finished third in the Premier Division behind champions Dundee United and runners-up Celtic. In the cups, they retained the Scottish Cup and won the European Cup Winners' Cup with a 2–1 win over Real Madrid in Gothenburg.

## Results
### Friendlies

In late July/early August 1982, Aberdeen played three games against Highland League opposition. On 7 August, English club Ipswich Town provided the opposition for Drew Jarvie's testimonial game, which the English League Division 1 club won 1–0.
| Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Aberdeen Scorer(s) | Attendance |
| 31 July | Ross County | A | 5–0 | McMaster (2), Harrow (30, 34), Black, (50, 53) | 0 |
| 2 August | Nairn County | A | 5–0 | Harrow (4, 22), McLeish (30), McGhee (41), McCall (81) | 1,006 |
| 3 August | Inverness Thistle | A | 4–0 | Black (16), Strachan (84 pen., 86, 90) | 2,500 |
| 7 August | Ipswich Town | H | 0–1 | | 8,200 |

### Scottish Premier Division

| Match Day | Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Aberdeen Scorer(s) | Attendance |
| 1. | 4 September | Dundee United | A | 0–2 | | 11,683 |
| 2. | 11 September | Morton | H | 4–1 | Strachan (15 (pen.), Black (42), Simpson (55), Hewitt (77) | 7,500 |
| 3. | 18 September | St Mirren | A | 1–1 | McGhee (64) | 4,800 |
| 4. | 25 September | Rangers | H | 1–2 | Strachan (73 pen.) | 20,300 |
| 5. | 2 October | Motherwell | H | 2–1 | Cowan (66), Miller (89) | 9,000 |
| 6. | 9 October | Celtic | A | 3–1 | Strachan (54 pen.), Simpson (58), McGhee (86) | 29,733 |
| 7. | 16 October | Dundee | H | 1–0 | Weir (34) | 10,800 |
| 8. | 23 October | Kilmarnock | A | 2–0 | Black (2), Hewitt (76) | 3,400 |
| 9. | 30 October | Hibernian | A | 1–1 | Weir (90) | 6,400 |
| 10. | 6 November | Dundee United | H | 5–1 | Cooper (23), Rougvie (29, 41) Black (72), Strachan (85) | 14,000 |
| 11. | 13 November | Morton | A | 1–1 | Simpson (85) | 2,500 |
| 12. | 20 November | St Mirren | H | 4–0 | Black (39), Strachan (66 pen.), McGhee (79), Hewitt (90) | 10,300 |
| 13. | 27 November | Rangers | A | 1–0 | Black (69) | 23,000 |
| 14. | 4 December | Motherwell | A | 2–0 | Strachan (50 pen.), Weir (66) | 4,929 |
| 15. | 11 December | Celtic | H | 1–2 | McGhee (18) | 24,000 |
| 16. | 18 December | Dundee | A | 2–0 | McGhee (28, 54) | 6,528 |
| 17. | 27 December | Kilmarnock | H | 2–0 | Weir (4), Miller (89) | 14,500 |
| 18. | 1 January | Hibernian | H | 2–0 | McGhee (28, 54) | 14,000 |
| 19. | 3 January | Dundee United | A | 3–0 | Simpson (27), Weir (43), McGhee (89) | 17,851 |
| 20. | 8 January | Morton | H | 2–0 | Simpson (70), McGhee (84) | 12,600 |
| 21. | 15 January | St Mirren | A | 1–1 | Black (75) | 4,530 |
| 22. | 22 January | Rangers | H | 2–0 | Rougvie (34), McGhee (77) | 21,600 |
| 23. | 8 February | Motherwell | H | 5–1 | McLeish (36), McMaster (38), McGhee (52), Black (67), Cooper (71) | 13,300 |
| 24. | 12 February | Celtic | A | 3–1 | Black (44, 45, 71) | 42,831 |
| 25. | 26 February | Dundee | H | 3–1 | Weir (58), Black (85), Bell (90) | 11,500 |
| 26. | 5 March | Kilmarnock | A | 2–1 | Watson (13), McGhee (26) | 2,400 |
| 27. | 19 March | Dundee United | H | 1–2 | Strachan (66 pen.) | 22,800 |
| 28. | 26 March | Morton | A | 2–1 | Watson (83), Black (90) | 2,800 |
| 29. | 2 April | St Mirren | H | 0–1 | | 16,400 |
| 30. | 9 April | Rangers | A | 1–2 | McLeish (15) | 19,800 |
| 31. | 23 April | Celtic | H | 1–0 | McGhee (33) | 24,000 |
| 32. | 27 April | Motherwell | A | 3–0 | McGhee (11), Strachan (58), Hewitt (74) | 6,715 |
| 33. | 30 April | Dundee | A | 2–0 | Hewitt (3), Strachan (40) | 10,076 |
| 34. | 3 May | Hibernian | A | 0–0 | | 8,000 |
| 35. | 5 May | Kilmarnock | H | 5–0 | Strachan (30, 58), McMaster (39), Angus (46, 85) | 12,000 |
| 36. | 14 May | Hibernian | H | 5–0 | Brazil (9 o.g.), McGhee (30), Strachan (70 pen.), Cowan (78), Angus (87) | 24,000 |

#### Final standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Dundee United (C) | 36 | 24 | 8 | 4 | 90 | 35 | +55 | 56 | Qualification for the European Cup first round |
| 2 | Celtic | 36 | 25 | 5 | 6 | 90 | 36 | +54 | 55 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 3 | Aberdeen | 36 | 25 | 5 | 6 | 76 | 25 | +51 | 55 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 4 | Rangers | 36 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 53 | 41 | +12 | 38 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 5 | St Mirren | 36 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 47 | 51 | −4 | 34 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |

### Scottish League Cup
#### Group stage

| Round | Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Aberdeen Scorer(s) | Attendance |
| G2 | 11 August | Morton | A | 2–2 | Strachan (12), McGhee (53) | 3,500 |
| G2 | 14 August | Dundee | H | 3–3 | Black (30, 45, 85) | 9,000 |
| G2 | 21 August | Dumbarton | H | 3–0 | McGhee (5), Strachan (13, 70) | 6,500 |
| G2 | 25 August | Morton | H | 3–0 | Rougvie (19), Bell (27, 48) | 11,000 |
| G2 | 28 August | Dundee | A | 5–1 | Strachan (23, 52, 53, 63), McGhee (28) | 7,000 |
| G2 | 8 September | Dumbarton | A | 2–1 | Bell (76), Hewitt (85) | 750 |

#### Group 2 final table

| Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| Aberdeen | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 7 | +11 | 10 |
| Morton | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 11 | +5 | 8 |
| Dundee | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 19 | −5 | 6 |
| Dumbarton | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 18 | −11 | 0 |

#### Knockout stage

| Round | Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Aberdeen Scorer(s) | Attendance |
| QF L1 | 22 September | Dundee United | A | 1–3 | McGhee | 14,000 |
| QF L2 | 6 October | Dundee United | H | 0–1 | | 11,700 |

### Scottish Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Aberdeen Scorer(s) | Attendance |
| R3 | 29 January | Hibernian | A | 4–1 | Simpson, McGhee, Weir, Watson | 14,289 |
| R4 | 19 February | Dundee | H | 1–0 | Simpson | 19,000 |
| R5 | 12 March | Partick Thistle | A | 2–1 | Cooper, Weir | 12,092 |
| SF | 16 April | Celtic | N | 1–0 | Weir | 51,152 |
| F | 21 May | Rangers | N | 1–0 | Black | 62,979 |

### European Cup Winners' Cup

After winning the Scottish Cup in 1982, Aberdeen qualified for the 1982–83 European Cup Winners' Cup. After a large preliminary round victory over Sion of Switzerland, the Dons knocked out Dinamo Tirana of Albania and Lech Poznan of Poland to set up a quarter final tie with the West Germans Bayern Munich. After a 0–0 draw in Munich, Aberdeen fell behind early on at home in the second leg before Neil Simpson equalised. Another goal for Bayern Munich seemed to put the game beyond Aberdeen, but two quick goals in the last 20 minutes gave Aberdeen a 3–2 victory. In the semi-finals, Belgian team Waterschei of Genk were beaten 5–2 over two legs, and put Aberdeen into the final. Thousands of fans made the trip from Aberdeen to Gothenburg in Sweden to see the Scottish Cup holders play the Spaniards Real Madrid. In a wet evening at the Ullevi Stadium, Aberdeen won 2–1 after extra time to win their first European trophy.
| Round | Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Aberdeen Scorer(s) | Attendance |
| P L1 | 18 August | Sion | H | 7–0 | Kennedy, Simpson, Strachan, Black, McGhee, Hewitt, Balet (o.g.) | 13,000 |
| P L2 | 1 September | Sion | A | 4–1 | Miller, McGhee (2), Hewitt | 2,400 |
| R1 L1 | 15 September | Dinamo Tirana | H | 1–0 | Hewitt | 15,000 |
| R1 L2 | 29 September | Dinamo Tirana | A | 0–0 | | 20,000 |
| R2 L1 | 20 October | Lech Poznań | H | 2–0 | McGhee, Weir | 17,600 |
| R2 L2 | 3 November | Lech Poznań | A | 1–0 | Bell | 30,000 |
| QF L1 | 2 March | FC Bayern Munich | A | 0–0 | | 35,000 |
| QF L2 | 16 March | FC Bayern Munich | H | 3–2 | Simpson, McLeish, Hewitt | 24,000 |
| SF L1 | 6 April | Waterschei | H | 5–1 | Simpson, McGhee (2), Weir, Black | 24,500 |
| SF L2 | 19 April | Waterschei | A | 0–1 | | 15,000 |
| F | 11 May | Real Madrid | N | 2–1 | Black, Hewitt | 17,800 |

## Squad
### Appearances & Goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Premier Division | Premier Division | Scottish Cup | Scottish Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Europe | Europe |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| | GK | SCO | Bryan Gunn | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | GK | SCO | Jim Leighton | 59 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Stuart Kennedy | 44 | 1 | 25 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 1 |
| | DF | SCO | Willie Miller (c) | 60 | 3 | 36 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 11 | 1 |
| | DF | SCO | Brian Mitchell | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Alex McLeish | 56 | 3 | 34 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 1 |
| | DF | SCO | Doug Rougvie | 56 | 4 | 35 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 9 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Ian Angus | 10 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Doug Bell | 39 | 5 | 23 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 1 |
| | MF | SCO | Neale Cooper | 52 | 3 | 31 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Derek Hamilton | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | John McMaster | 42 | 2 | 25 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Ian Porteous | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Neil Simpson | 56 | 10 | 33 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 11 | 3 |
| | MF | SCO | Gordon Strachan | 52 | 20 | 32 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 1 |
| | MF | SCO | Andy Watson | 26 | 3 | 19 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Peter Weir | 52 | 11 | 31 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 2 |
| | FW | SCO | Eric Black | 52 | 19 | 31 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 3 |
| | FW | SCO | Steve Cowan | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | Willie Falconer | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | John Hewitt | 33 | 11 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 9 | 5 |
| | FW | SCO | Walker McCall | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | Mark McGhee | 55 | 27 | 32 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 6 |