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A few days away from it being 53 years since we locked horns with Real Zaragoza in the UEFA Cup Winners Cup at Dens Park, there is no better time to have a look back at the matchday programme from that very tie. There’s not many pages to look at, eight in total, so let me try and give you a little bit more information about this tie. Dundee gained entry to the 1964-65 Cup Winner Cup despite being beaten by Rangers in the Scottish Cup the previous season due to the Glasgow club winning the League title. The team were also giving a bye from the first round along with old enemies, Sporting Lisbon. In the second round, we would be paired up with Spanish side Real Zaragoza. Zaragoza had the season before won the Inter Cities Fairs Cup with a 2-1 victory over fellow Spaniards Valencia at the Nou Camp. They also finished fourth in the La Liga behind winners Real Madrid, Barcelona and Real Betis. Their first tie in the Cup Winners Cup seen a resounding 8-1 aggregate score Malta side, Valletta. A 3-0 win in Malta was followed by a 5-1 thumping at the La Romareda. So Real Zaragoza rolled into Dundee on the 18th November 1964 to take on Dundee at Dens Park with no fewer than SIX internationals in their team: Severino Reija, Jose Cuellar (Pepin), Santos, Marcelino, Juan Manuel Villa and Carlos Laperta. Dundee would be missing their lethal marksman Alan Gilzean even though the striker had just signed a two-month deal in October after he had initially refused to sign a new contract in the summer that year. Back then many moons before the Bosman ruling, Gilzeans refusal to pen a new deal meant he couldn’t not only play for Dundee but also he wasn’t allowed to sign for another team unless the club agreed a fee to sell him. The deadline for signing players to play in Europe was on August 15th and despite last minute appeals, it would prove to be fruitless and Dundee would have to do without their star-man. In front of 21,000 fans and our first European tie since our 1-0 victory over AC Milan in the European Cup Semi-Final, Dundee were back in Europe. Donaldson, Hamilton, Cox, Cousin, Beattie, Stuart, Penman, Murray, Waddell, Houston and Robertson lined up that evening and the team started brightly when Steve Murray headed the Dee into an early lead but two goals in three minutes from Santos and Villa put the Spanish side ahead. It would take a last-minute goal from Doug Houston to level things and the tie would end two-a-piece. In the return tie, Roque Olsen’s side would beat Dundee 2-1 to go through to the next round 4-3 on aggregate. Hugh Robertson would give us an early lead but just like in the first leg, two quick goals this time from Laperta would give Zaragoza the win. Real would make it to the Semi-Finals after defeating Cardiff City 3-2 over two ties in the next round. They would not make it past that stage though, being beaten to eventual winners West Ham.

“Oh, there’s Robertson, Penman and Alan Gilzean, “With Cousin and Smith they're the finest you've seen, “A defence that is steady, heroic and sure, “Liney, Hamilton, Cox, Seith and Wishart and Ure.” Hector Nicol’s song ‘Up Wi’ The Bonnets’ pays homage to the great Dundee side who became the Champions of Scotland for the first and only time on the last day of the of 1961/1962 season. Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, you can now read the matchday programme in full along with a few extra pages from that night’s Sporting Post. The programme includes notes and comments, the team line-ups, that days fixtures and a hell of a lot of advertisements. Who cares about adverts though? It’s the programme from the day we won the league! Most present-day Dundee supporters weren’t lucky enough to see the side in action that Bob Crampsie described as the best footballing team that Scotland ever produced but that doesn’t stop fans of all ages celebrating them as heroes to this day. We are reminded of these players and their accomplishments on a regular basis and rightly so. For the fans that were there to witness this marvellous event, a mere mention of this will bring a wry smile along with the words, “I was there.” Saturday, 28th April 1962 was the day when Dundee stood at the top of Scottish football. We were the best team in the county and about to clinch our greatest-ever achievement. With the sun shining down on Muirton Park, over 20,000 Dundee supporters would make the short trip to Perth as they hoped to see to the coronation of the new kings of Scotland. Dundee went into the match needing only a point to clinch their first title. A dramatic midweek had seen them beat St Mirren at home while closest challengers Rangers stumbled to a 1-0 defeat against Aberdeen. St Johnstone also needed a point, but to stave off relegation. Ian Ure recalled in his book, Ure’s Truly, that: “A message was passed to the players that they could collect £50 each if thy made it a draw. The idea was treated with contempt and only served to double our determination.” Dundee had previously lost the League Championship on the last day of the 1948/49 season with defeat away to Falkirk but there would be no similar heartbreak for players and supporters this time around. The Gods were smiling on the Dark Blues and the team grabbed their shot at glory with both hands, an emphatic 3-0 win (Gilzean 2, Penman) sealing the title. When the final whistle went, the team were mobbed by wave after wave of Dundee supporters as their joy at seeing The Dee finally winning the top prize was too much for them to remain in the terraces. The heroes were lost among the thousands who swarmed the turf before being hoisted upon the shoulders of delirious fans. Some players attempted to make their way up to the directors’ box only to be swallowed up by jubilant Dees in the Muirton stand. For the 6,000 or so St Johnstone fans in attendance, the sight of Dundee fans holding a party on their own patch compounded their misery. They sat 5th bottom of the league at kick off time, only to find themselves relegated to the Second Division on goal average (this being before the introduction of goal difference) 90 minutes later. The celebrations continued through the night and beyond for everyone of a Dark Blue persuasion. Thousands lined the streets of Dundee to welcome the team bus home and cheer them as manager Bob Shankly, captain Bobby Cox and the rest of the immortals acknowledged the huge support from the balcony of City Chambers. That night’s Sporting Post headline was one of the simplest in the illustrious history of that publication but ‘It’s Dundee’s League’ said all that you needed to know and remains a joy to read nearly six decades on. Goalkeeper Pat Liney later admitted that no one at the club expected to be challenging for the title that year. “I remember it like it was yesterday especially as our triumph was so unexpected,” he said. “If you had said to me at the start of the season that we would be top four or five then we would have settled for that. “We started the season not expected to win the League and we also did not do too well in the League Cup sections that opened the season. There was no big thing that just happened, we clicked together and with Rangers two points behind, we ended up at St Johnstone needing a point to win the League. The team were a close-knit unit with seven of them living in one big house in Roseangle, a vital factor in Dundee’s success, according to Pat. “We lived together, played football together, went to the dancing together and became great friends together,” he recalled. More importantly, they became Champions together and, for that, we Dundee fans will forever be grateful.

We look back at one of dundee's most famous victories which occurred during that glorious title winning season of 1961/62 when we visited fortress ibrox only to dismantle our host with an emphatic 5-1 score line, with alan gilzean scoring four of them. Table toppers Dundee were five points clear of Rangers who sat third in the table although we had played two-games more. The Dens Park outfit had the previous week just beaten Celtic and were hoping to make it eight wins in a row while the current Scottish Champions were unbeaten at home and in all competitions and eager to close the gap at the summit of the league. The chairman John F. Wilson praised Dundee in his notes for the matchday programme declaring, “They are the type this country needs as we strive to recapture the reputation that was once ours of being the greatest footballing country on earth.” Of course, our run in the following year’s European Cup where we tore apart some of the finest sides in Europe, would make his words ring true. Until then, he would have to watch on as Dundee laid down their Championship credentials in incredible fashion. In the ‘Up Wi’ The Bonnets – The History Of Dundee FC’ book, Norrie Price wrote how a dense fog had descended upon Glasgow and despite an anticipated large crowd, rumours around the games postponement and countless supporters buses being turned around by police less a mile to the ground meant that only half of the stadium was full. The fog started to lift with just half an hour before kick-off and the fans who were on their way back home would miss an all-time classic Dundee victory. It’s hard to believe that a game that ended 5-1 would remain goalless at half time but that’s what happened here. All the action would happen with a flurry of goal activity in the last forty-five minutes. In the opening two-minutes of the restart, Alan Gilzean put Dundee ahead with two quick-fire goals and would then claim his hat-trick on the 73rd minute when he slotted home following a quickly taken corner from Gordon Smith. Rangers would pull a goal back but this would not deter the Dark Blues. Alan Gilzean would dummy the unlucky Rangers defender who was marking him before drilling the ball home into the bottom corner of the net. Andy Penman would add number five when Jim Baxter attempted a pass back which was short and the striker was on hand to take full advantage. This result put Dundee seven points ahead of the reigning champions and five ahead of second place Kilmarnock who were beaten 3-2 at home to Raith Rovers. The previous season, Rangers had beaten Kilmarnock to the Championship title by one point, also defeating the Ayrshire outfit 2-0 in the League Cup. They also made it all the way to the European Cup Winners’ Cup Final but had to do with being runners up to Fiorentina. This made this result even more special as it came against a Gers team who had ‘been there and done it.’ The national newspapers lauded Dundee with praise after this victory. The Daily Record went with the headline ‘Rangers Smashed By Terrible Trio’ with reporter Rex Kingsley describing that days events as, “The home fans were stunned as the prancing, cultured Dundee side reduced their idols to wide-eyed, fear-stricken units.” Other headlines such as ‘A Fabulous Fiver’ and ‘Gilzean Leads Massacre Of Rangers’ were put out by the media while the Evening Times describe this result as ‘This Ibrox “Slaughter” Was No Surprise.” Gair Henderson could not speak highly of this Dundee time in his match report for the Evening Times by praising the Dee numerous times throughout it. ‘But to those of us who have seen Dundee recently this was no shock and no sensational result. I hinted a few weeks that the cry this season might not be “who will stop Rangers?” but “who will stop Dundee?” ‘ ‘This is the best footballing playing team I have seen this season – and last season too for that matter of fact.’ ‘Alan Gilzean, for instance. He strides through and he hits ‘em in a way which is both a lesson to Rangers and Scotland these days. And there is Gordon Smith, the man who was said to be “past it” five years ago.’ ‘They were thrashed because the forwards, a shadow of the forwards of a month or two back, could make nothing at all of the granite-looking defence of Ure, Hamilton, Cox and Liney.’ It was a truly sensational victory for the soon-to-be Scottish Champions and if no-one knew it before, they would know now that Dundee were genuine title contenders.

It's been a few weeks since we delighted you with a programme for yesteryear but seeing as it's the anniversary of our famous League Cup win over Celtic, we thought it would only be right to grace you with the match day programme from that historic day. The scene was set. Blizzard conditions had laid siege to Scotland in the days leading up to this final and with the national energy crisis that stemmed from the miners strike, it was agreed that the kick-off time would be brought forward to 1.30pm in case the match went to extra-time and would need the extra daylight. In all, it took the teams coach three hours to reach Glasgow and there was even reports of Dundee supports busses being sent back by the Police who told them the game had been called off. Thankfully for the Dee, this would not be the case. The 70's would often see Dundee drawn against Celtic in the cup competitions, with the Glasgow club coming out on top in near enough all of them. In the League Cup we seen Celtic eliminate Dundee in the Quarter Finals in 1970, 72 and 78. While in the Scottish Cup, we would fall to them in the Semi-Final in 1970, 73, 74, 75 and 77. An exit to them would also occur in the fourth round in 1972. 1973 would however have a different ending, much to the delight of the Dark Blues. Despite neither club wanting the match to go ahead, Bobby Davidson would give the tie the green light to kick off in what would be his fifth League Cup Final to officiate in. His last came in 1967 when Celtic beat Dundee 5-3 which was looked upon as one of the best games of that season. So the game kicked off in front of a crowd of 29,974, the lowest ever for a final in this competition, with the conditions worsening. The pitch had took a battering and this effected the way Celtic played and by half time, Dundee were the ones who had created the better and more chances. It was in the second half that we would see one of the clubs make the breakthrough and that club would be Dundee! There was only fourteen minutes left to play when Bobby Wilson took a free-kick from the halfway line which landing at Gordon Wallace who had his back to the Celtic goal. With Celtic shirts surrounding him, the striker took the ball on his chest, before turning and placing the ball behind Ally Hunter. The Dark Blues would hold out and when the final whistle went, players and supporters would forget all about the appalling conditions surrounding them and start celebrating the club lifting it's first piece of silverware since Dundee won the league in 1961-62. It was the fifth major honour the club had won and also the third time they have came away celebrating success in this tournament. Gordon Wallace was asked about his goal and his reply was: "Ach, I just turned and hit it!" The players would celebrate the night away in the old Angus Hotel but a few of them would sneak away from the reception to secretly visit former coach Jim McLean who they feel, helped improve the team. McLean had of course took over the hot seat at rivals Dundee United in 1971. Unsurprisingly, Dundee manager Davie White wasn't impressed at all with this and fined each player. None the less, it was a great achievement for the club but it would also be the clubs last so far. Trips to Hampden have been few and far between and with no major silverware lining the cabinets of Dens Park since, fans like myself often look back at this victory with immense pride but with even more frustration that the club has been starved of any success since. Still, that Dundee team of Allan, Wilson, Gemmell, Ford, Stewart, Phillip, Duncan, Robinson, Wallace, J. Scott, Lambie will be fondly remembered.

Over the next few months we will be looking back at some programmes involving the Dee. It may stem from memorable victories to Derby wins or maybe one or two unique programmes. The first programme we will look at is from our very first match in a European competition, which is also our largest ever victory in the competition and to this day, our opponents biggest defeat. I give to you, Dundee 8-1 FC Cologne. Being paired up with the early favourites of the European Cup, Dundee welcomed the West German Champions FC Cologne to Dens Park as we looked set to tussle with the crème de le crème of the top European teams. With ten West German internationalists in their team and labelled one of the early favourites to win the trophy, this looked like a daunting task for The Dee. When the full-time whistle went though, it was the Germans who were shell-shocked after the Dark Blues had blasted eight past them. We can maybe take into consideration that the German keeper was knocked out only a few minutes into this game and he only lasted until half-time when he failed to return to the field. Back in them days, there weren’t any substitutes so Cologne had to play the reminder of the game with only ten men. Our goals came from Alan Gilzean (who bagged a hat-trick), Bobby Wishart, Hugh Robertson, Gordon Smith and Andy Penman. Our first goal was scored by Matthias Hemmersbach who headed the ball into his own net. As you can see, DC Thomson published a souvenir programmes for this and all of Dundee’s other games in the European Cup and unsurprisingly, the first one featured the team with the Scottish League title. A photo that gives ever Dee a sense of pride. At only sixpence a programme, it's no doubt a steal on how much I had to pay for my own copy 50 odd year later!

Our next ‘Dundee Programme from The Past’ may not have ended in a happy manner for Dundee but seeing as how I've never laid my eyes on the programme until recently, I thought It would be something that would interest our readers. Now there isn't much to the programme itself, it's pages are filled with 'Player Profiles' but it's still worth publishing. Also, Keep a keen eye out for the choice of Dundee player they pick in our squad page! We take you back to 23rd June 2001 when Dundee took on FK Sartid at the Gradski Stadium in the Intertoto Cup 1st Round 2nd Leg. The first leg had seen just 6,511 fans attend Dens Park with the game ending 0-0. It was filled with controversy as the Sartid players time wasted for most of the match. Many of them were stretchered off only to spring back into life when they were off the field in a tactic that left Dundee players, management and fans frustrated. The second leg would also be filled with controversy that had then manager Ivano Bonetti seething at the end of the match. Just eight Dundee fans made the trip to Serbia after the Foreign Office advised supporters not to travel who were taking into account the NATO air-strikes on Belgrade during the Kosovo conflict back in 1999. 7,500 fans packed the stadium with both teams knowing a win for either would hand them a tie against Munich 1860 in the next round. Fabian Caballero put Dundee ahead after four minutes but Bulgarian referee Marinov Svetlozar would award Sartid two very soft penalties in a three-minute spell which were converted by Vladimir Mudrinić. Marcello Marrocco dithered on the edge of the penalty box and was easily disposed of by Sasa Antunovic who then went down easily when Jamie Langfield committed himself, earning the keeper a yellow card. The next penalty was given when the referee adjust Chris Coyne had handled the ball in the box but that was a highly dubious decision. Then with around seven-minutes to before half time, Sartid added a third courtesy of a Srdan Aleksic header. Dundee did find a way back into the match in the second half when Caballero beautifully set up Juan Sara at the back post to nod home Dundee’s second. Unfortunately, any notion of a comeback was killed by the inept referee when Caballero was given a straight red card despite many believing the striker was the actual one being fouled. That was it for Dundee and the home team would add two more goals from Demir Ramovic and Ivan Krizmanic to give them a 5-2 victory and a place in the second round. Chris Coyne told the The Scottish Daily Mail that: “The Sartid boy lashed the ball straight at me and when it hit my arm, I just knew the ref would give a penalty. We were getting so frustrated, working our socks off for absolute nothing and most of the bookings were for talking to the referee.” Ivano Bonetti said after the match: “I have never seen refereeing like that in my life. If I had known before the competition started that we would be faced with referees like that, then we would not have entered the tournament. “The standard of officiating was a joke. We have worked hard and wanted an honest match today. But, with a referee like that, in my opinion, you can't have that. “We will make a report which will go to UEFA - I saw things before the match and at half-time. Because of what I saw, I was not confident that we could win this game even before it started, and I told my colleagues Dario Magri and Jim Thomson how I felt at the time.” The Italian then added: 'I want to be sure before I say anything more in public. “I have not seen the UEFA observer - I don't even know what he looks like. Not even when I was a child have I seen refereeing like that - it makes me sick. “Caballero was sent off when he thought it would be a free kick for us. The second penalty he awarded against us was also laughable. “It seems to me like there was one measure for Dundee and one measure for Sartid. I also thought it was a little strange that the fourth official - Zoran Fipcic - was Yugoslavian. “We have lost all this time coming here and preparing for this game for nothing. Instead of encouraging clubs to enter this competition, referees like that will discourage teams. Caballero was crying his eyes out in the dressing room.” Bonetti also decided to call time on his Dens Park playing career and would only put his boots back on in an emergency. “I think I'm more or less finished with playing. I want to dedicate all my time to just being a manager. “It's difficult to do both jobs because you need so much time to train properly to ensure you are in the right physical condition. “It's also hard enough to think about tactics when you are just sitting on the bench. But when you are playing you just don't have an opportunity to do that.” The teams that day were: FK Sartid: Lukic, Mrdak, Antunovic, Glogovac, Vaskovic, Mirosavljevic, Mudrinic, Aleksic, Bogdanovic, Radosavljevic, Socanac Dundee: Langfield, Smith, Coyne, Wilkie, Garrido, Marrocco, Artero, Rae, Romano, Caballero, Sara Attendance: 7,500

Following on from last week’s first article in our new feature entitle ‘Programmes from the Past, we have a look at the next tie in our European Cup run from 1962. Yes that’s correct, it’s our four-one victory over Sporting Lisbon at Dens Park. Following on from the 1st leg of the second round that seen the Dark Blues go down one-nil in the Jose Alvalade stadium in Portugal to a Gerald De Carvalho 90th minute winner, the Dees would have it all to do. With near enough 32,000 fans packing Dens a week later, would the Dee be able to produce some magic to overturn the one-goal deficit? As well all know too well, we would not only defeat Sporting Lisbon, we would do so in style with a commanding win. Alan Gilzean opened the scoring on the thirteenth minute when his low shot glided past Joaquim Carvalho then just before half time, Alan Cousin headed home from a Gordon smith corner to put the Dee ahead on aggregate. Dundee never showed any signs of slowing down in the second half and Gilzean went about netting another two goals to complete his hat-trick. This was Gilzean’s second hat-trick of the tournament after he had earlier scored three against Cologne at Dens in ur 8-1 victory over the German champions. Ernesto Figuerido would pull back a consolation goal but it was all but over for the Portuguese Champions and Dundee’s name went into the semi-finals, winning 4-2 on aggregate. After that result, the Sporting President tipped Dundee to go on to win the European Cup. Alan Gilzean reminisced later on about that night. “These European nights were very special. “The Dundee public turned out in their thousands and although we had a very good side, the atmosphere generated by the huge crowd gave us a tremendous lift.” The Dundee team that night was: Slater, Hamilton, Cox, Seith, Ure, Wishart, Smith, Penman, Cousin, Gilzean, Robertson. Sporting Lisbon’s team: Carvalho, Hilário, Lino, Carlos, Abraão Júlio, Soares, De Carvalho, Figueiredo, Morais, Silva, Mascarenhas

The first ‘Programmes from the Past’ this year looks back to when Dundee took part in their first Scottish Cup Semi Final since 1987, when they took on Inverness Caledonian Thistle at Hampden Park on the 20th April 2003. Dundee’s road to what would ultimately end in the team reaching the final started off with a 2-0 victory away to Partick Thistle. Georgi Nemsadze and Gavin Rae gave the Dee a deserved passage into the next round. Next up was a visit from struggling Aberdeen and goals from Steve Lovell and Nacho Novo once again ensured a safe route into the next round of the cup and our first back to back victories at home against the Granite City club since 1964. Falkirk would then be the opposition that stood between Dundee and a long overdue visit to the national stadium and they would push The Dee all the way. In what would be the last ever cup tie at Brockville, the match would end one a piece with Nacho Novo grabbing our equaliser to see this tie going the extra mile with a replay at Dens. A massive Dundee support of just under 10,000 fans turned out but Falkirk drew thirst blood by taking an early lead. Fabian Caballero would draw the teams level and yet again after ninety-minutes, the game was level with a goal apiece. Dundee flexed their muscle and in Extra-Time, Mark Burchill and a Steve Lovell double killed off the tie and sent the huge Dens Park crowd happy into the night. The scene was now set, Dundee would take on Inverness Caley Thistle who had seen off Raith Rovers, Hamilton and Celtic on route to Hampden. The tie was originally pencilled in to be played on a Monday night but both clubs protested to the SFA to bring the tie forward a day to the Sunday which was agreed. Of the 14,429 supporters there that day, around 10,000 of them were Dundee fans who hadn’t seen the Dee play in this venue since the 1995 League Cup Final. Dundee were understandably the strong favourites for this tie but Caley were the ones who threatened first through a Bobby Mann header and a Paul Ritchie whose shot went just passed the post. Then Julian Speroni pushed a long-range drive from Dennis Wyness on to the post. The Dark Blues would eventually find their feet and just before the half hour mark, nearly took the lead when Steve Lovells shot caught the legs of Mark Brown and went agonisingly past the post. In the second half, Dundee would have a marvellous chance to take the lead after Caballero broke the offside trap but his lobbed shot over the Caley keeper floated over the bar. It wouldn’t be long until Dundee would take the lead. Caballero waltzed past two defenders before teeing up Nemsadze on the edge of the box and despite scuffing his shot, it made its way in off the post to the keepers left hand side. The fans erupted into jubilant celebrations and when they finally died down, a sense of relief seemed to be in the air. Dundee had another opportunity to seal the win Zura Khizanishvili created and ran from his own half with the ball but his attempt whistled over the bar. It would not matter as the final whistle went and Dundee would participate in their first Scottish Cup Final since 1964 and against the same team from that year, Rangers. As the fans celebrated in the stand at Hamden, it soon dawned on may that the club would also be making a welcome return to a major European competition for the first time since 1974. One player who wouldn’t make the final would be towering defender Lee Wilkie whose booking meant he would have to sit in the stands for the game. “I remember it clearly to this day and I didn’t make a movement towards him and, even if the referee was giving a foul, it should never have been a booking. “Knowing that was me out of the final was hard to deal with and there was still a game to be won and I had to concentrate on that.” A jubilant Jim Duffy was quick to praise his players on reaching the final. “Dundee have had phenomenal sides since 1964 but for one reason or another, they never got to the Scottish Cup Final. “Now we are there and that speaks volumes for my players. Today they had to show a really determined mentality and dig out the result. We have had plaudits for playing good football this season, and deservedly so -today we deserve plaudits for perseverance.” "Inverness closed us down and deserve credit," said Duffy. "Georgi didn't play well today, but the fans will always thank him for that goal." The teams that day were: Dundee (4-3-3): Speroni; Mackay, Wilkie, Khizanishvili, Hernandez; Rae, Nemsadze, Brady; Milne (Novo, 62), Lovell (Mair, 88), Caballero. Substitutes not used: Langfield (gk), Beith, Robb. Inverness Caledonian Thistle (4-4-2): Brown; Tokely, McCaffrey (Christie, 83), Mann, Golabek; Hart, Duncan (Bagan, 83), McBain, Robson; Wyness, Ritchie. Substitutes not used: Fraser (gk), Stewart, Keogh.

After covering all our European home ties from 1962/63 against Cologne, Sporting Lisbon and Anderlecht, it's now time to have a look at our semi-final. We continue our programmes with the past with our last game in the European Cup that came at Dens Park in a 1-0 victory over AC Milan on the 1st May, 1962. The scene was set but the it was to be an uphill battle for Dundee in this Semi-Final 2nd leg after AC Milan had beat us 5-1 at the San Siro. Alan Cousin got our goal in that tie, becoming the first British player to score at the Italian venue. It was later revealed that the referee for the tie in Milan, Vincente Caballero, was found guilty of being wined, dined and accepting lavish gifts from the AC officials and was banned from officiating any other games. Also, the Italian press situated their selves behind the Dundee goal and every time Bert Slater went for the ball, the camera flashes were blinding him. So, it was onto the second leg at Dens Park with 38,000 fans descending onto to Dens with the hope that their club could stage an unlikely comeback. The first half was constantly interrupted for fouls being committed but the Dee would take the lead before half time when Alan Gilzean headed home from a Gordon Smith cross. This was Gilzean’s ninth goal in this competition and to this day, remains the clubs top goal scorer in all European competitions There would be no more goals in the second half and despite winning the tie 1-0, Dundee would exit the competition 5-2 on aggregate. Alan Gilzean would also be sent off when after becoming frustrated by the Italians rough tactics, lashed out with minutes to go. It was the end of Dundee’s European adventure and despite being disappointed with missing out on reaching the final at Wembley, the team had not only done their city proud, but also Scotland. The teams that night were: Dundee: Slater, Hamilton, Seith, Stuart, Ure, Penman, Smith, Wishart, Cousin, Gilzean, Houston AC Milan: Ghezzi, Benítez, Maldini, Trebbi, Rivera, Altafini, Barison, Mora, Pivatelli Attendance: 38,000

We have already had an interview with Ally Donaldson this week so it's only fitting that the next instalment for 'Programmes From The Past' looks at the goalkeeper in questions testimonial. After 408 appearances and a club record 126 clean sheets, Ally was awarded a testimonial at the end of the 1979-80 season against nearest rivals, Dundee United. Dundee had just suffered relegation from the Premier Division a few weeks before with the club finishing second bottom, behind Kilmarnock, seven points adrift to them. A 2-0 defeat to Celtic at Dens Park on the last game of the season was to prove to be his last in a competitive match for Dundee due to a fall out with Don MacKay who would take over from Tommy Gemmell at the end of that season. Donald's last win in a Dundee top would however prove to be quite spectacular. Celtic visited Dens Park knowing a win would edge them that further to the League title but an already relegated Dundee side would not only beat them but do so 5-1. Many a Celtic fan note that score as the day their titles hopes crashed and burned. So Donaldson's last win with Dundee would be against Celtic and his last competitive game, also against Celtic but on different occasions. Donaldson would play in every game except one that season, an Anglo-Scottish Cup tie at home to Sheffield United. All together in his final season, he would play 46 times also adding five clean sheets to his record. His testimonial would take place four days after the end of the season on a Sunday. Dundee United provided a strong team for the opposition and the game would prove to an eventful match with goals galore. A crowd of 4,874 turned up to see the match end 4-4. Dundee's goals came from Billy Williamson, Eric Sinclair, Ian Redford and Peter Mackie. That was that. The end of Ally Donaldson's career with Dundee. It had been eventful for the big keeper. One that will keep his name in the Dundee history book for many years to come. A place in the Dundee Hall of Fame was deservedly given to him in 2016. The squads that day were: Dundee: Donaldson, Kennedy, Schaedler, Strachan, McPhail, Glennie, Duncan, Ferguson, Fleming, Shirra, Murphy, Barr, Sinclair, McGeachie, McLaren, Mackie Dundee United: McAlpine, Kopel, Stark, Philip, Hegarty, Narey, Sturrock, Payne, Pettigrew, Bannon, Holt, Gray, Dodds, Milne, Addiso, Cochrane Attendance: 4,874

Since we've already looked back at the programmes from the first and second round home ties of our European Cup run in '62, we may as well continue and look at Dundee's programme from our 2-1 win over Anderlecht in the Quarter Final of that tournament. We went into this match on the back of an excellent victory against the Belgian champions Anderlecht in the Heysel Stadium. Such was the demand and interest in this tie, Anderlecht decided to move from their home ground Émile Versé Stadium to the National stadium which seen 64,000 supporters attend the game. A double from Alan Gilzean and strikes from Alan Cousin and Gordon Smith gave the Dee a comfortable 4-1 lead to take back to Scotland. The return tie at Dens Park a week later seen a 40,000-sell-out crowd turn up to cheer on the day to a potential Semi-final place in the prestigious European Cup. Anderlecht started proceedings the hungrier team an eventually took the lead just before the half hour mark when their talisman Jack Stockman slotted home. The second half seen Dundee settle into the game and slowly start to pressure the Belgium champions as they tried to make a breakthrough which they eventually did. Alan Cousin levelled the scoring with just over ten minutes left to go to ease the relief that had settled into the Dens Park crowd then with eight minutes left, Gordon Smith's goal meant that Anderlecht's European journey was over and the game would end in a 2-1 win for the Dee, 6-2 on aggregate. Dundee were in the Semi-Final's along with huge names such as Benfica, Feyenoord and AC Milan. Imagine saying that in this day and age? Of course, we would be drawn against the Italian Champions AC Milan for a place in the European Cup Final and the chance to lift the trophy at Wembley Stadium. We will look at that programme from the AC Milan game next week but in the meantime, I hope you've enjoyed another edition of 'Dundee Programmes From The Past.' The teams that night were: Dundee: Slater, Cox, Hamilton, Seith, Ure, Penman, Smith, Wishart, Cousin, Gilzean, Robertson Anderlecht: Trappeniers, Cornelis, Plaskie, Hanon, Lippens, Janssesn, Jurion, Puis, Stockman, Himst Attendance: 40,000