ABERDEEN, Scotland (AP) — Alex Ferguson is getting another medal to add to his extensive collection.
Forty years later, some of the key people behind Scottish team Aberdeen’s win over Real Madrid in the European Cup Winners’ Cup final in 1983 have been granted medals by UEFA.
They include the 81-year-old Ferguson, the great Manchester United manager who coached Aberdeen to victory that night in Gothenburg.
Only the 11 Aberdeen players who started the game and five substitutes received winner’s medals.
However, following a campaign by Aberdeen’s heritage trust as well as the club’s former chief executive Duncan Fraser, who is a UEFA delegate, European soccer’s governing body agreed to provide six additional medals.
Aside from Ferguson, then-assistant coach Archie Knox and midfielder Dougie Bell, who missed the game because of injury, are among the others to receive medals.
“Given the significance all these individuals played to the Dons’ success that night, these medals will now ensure they are all suitably recognized for the contribution they played and will further underline their place in the club’s history,” Aberdeen said.
Ferguson, one of the most successful managers in soccer history, won 48 titles in his coaching career including 10 with Aberdeen, where he started forging a strong reputation that earned him a chance at United.
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