page_title: Aberdeen F.C.
section_title: Skovdahl to Brown (1999–2013)
hierarchical_section_title: Aberdeen F.C. / History / Skovdahl to Brown (1999–2013)
caption_attribution_description: English: The Red Army having a pre-match display, organised by the supporters group, The Red Ultras.
context_page_description: Aberdeen Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen, Scotland. They compete in the Scottish Premiership and have never been relegated from the top division of the Scottish football league system since they were promoted in 1905, despite twice finishing within the relegation zone. Aberdeen have won four Scottish league titles, seven Scottish Cups and six Scottish League Cups. They are also the only Scottish team to have won two European trophies, having won the European Cup Winners' Cup and the European Super Cup in 1983.
  Formed in 1903 as a result of the amalgamation of three clubs from Aberdeen, they rarely challenged for honours until the post war decade, when they won each of the major Scottish trophies under manager Dave Halliday. This level of success was surpassed in the 1980s, when, under the management of Alex Ferguson, they won three league titles, four Scottish Cups and a Scottish League Cup, alongside the two European trophies. Aberdeen were the last club outside the Old Firm to win a league title, in 1984–85, and also the last Scottish team to win a European trophy.
context_section_description: Aberdeen's first and only foreign manager, Ebbe Skovdahl, was appointed in 1999 and his time in charge coincided with some of the heaviest defeats in the club's history. The low point of the club's history came in the 1999–2000 season, where they finished bottom of the table. As the Scottish Premier League was being expanded to twelve teams, there was then a three team play-off. However, as Falkirk's stadium did not meet SPL requirements, Aberdeen retained their status in the top flight. This was followed by an early-season defeat to Ireland's Bohemian F.C. on the away goals rule in the next season's UEFA Cup.
  Steve Paterson was appointed to replace Skovdahl following his resignation in 2002, but lasted only two seasons. Paterson's tenure with Aberdeen was marred by his addiction to alcohol. In March 2003 he failed to attend a home game against Dundee due to being too hungover after a night of drinking prior to the match.
  Jimmy Calderwood took over in 2004 and Aberdeen posted more consistent results than in previous seasons. In the 2006–07 season, the club finished in third place in the league and entered the final qualifying round for the 2007–08 UEFA Cup. Aberdeen defeated Dnipro on the away goals rule to progress (the first time Aberdeen had won on away goals in European football for 40 years). They went on to beat F.C. Copenhagen 4–0, which was the biggest margin of victory and one of Pittodrie's biggest crowds since the 1980s. This set up a meeting with German giants Bayern Munich, which they lost 7–3 on aggregate after a 2–2 draw which saw Aberdeen lead twice in the first leg. Calderwood was sacked by Aberdeen on 24 May 2009, hours after he took the club to a fourth-place finish and back into Europe. Poor domestic cup performances were thought to be the reason for Calderwood's dismissal.
  Mark McGhee of Motherwell was appointed as Calderwood's replacement in June 2009.  McGhee controversially dismissed Aberdeen legend and goalkeeping coach Jim Leighton in August 2009 and replaced him with Colin Meldrum. Aberdeen suffered a 9–0 defeat to Celtic on 6 November 2010, their heaviest ever defeat. McGhee and his assistants were eventually sacked in December of that year.
  Aberdeen approached Craig Brown, who was working without a contract at Motherwell, to replace McGhee. Brown initially rebuffed an offer, but after further discussions with the club Brown resigned as manager at Motherwell to be announced as the next manager at Aberdeen two days later. The first act of the new management team of Brown and Archie Knox was to re-instate Leighton. Aberdeen failed to produce better results under Craig Brown's tenure, and in March 2013 he announced his retirement to take up a non-executive director role on the club's board.
caption: A display by Aberdeen fans in the Richard Donald Stand
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