WHEN Gordon Strachan touched down in Gothenburg with his St Mary's squad yesterday, memories from 20 years ago were surely not too far away.

For it was in this Swedish city on May 11, 1983 that Aberdeen created one of the greatest moments in British football history by beating the mighty Real Madrid to lift the European Cup Winners' Cup.

The Dons, led by Alex Ferguson, with Strachan at the hub of things in midfield, were enjoying a golden period in their history.

But it was their exploits in Gothenburg which provoked probably the most celebrated ever night in Aberdeen and perhaps Strachan's greatest achievement as a player.

There were 12,000 Aberdeen fans in Gothenburg that night, many of whom in those days had to drive to the south of England, cross on ferries to Holland and England, continue driving through Germany and Denmark, before making another ferry crossing to Sweden.

Strachan has recalled: "On the journey to the Ullevi Stadium, I was wearing my Sony Walkman headset and listening to music, cutting myself off from the atmosphere of the bus.

"It was also helping to divert me from the worrying situation of the weather. Lightening was flashing all around us.

"We couldn't venture too far out to inspect the surface since the rain was still deeming down.

"When I returned to the dressing room my hair was dripping down over my eyes.

"In one of those crazy scenes at a vital moment, the boss wanted to cut my hair but I insisted on taking the scissors and cutting it myself.

"So that is the last thing I did in the minutes before the European Cup Winners' Cup final - gave myself a do-it-yourself haircut!

"It looked a fair old mess in the morning, but who cared in the morning?"

In the match itself, Eric Black put Aberdeen 1-0 up, before Jim Leighton conceded a penalty to allow Real to equalise after just 14 minutes.

It stayed that way into extra time, when Mark McGhee, Strachan's best mate, crossed for John Hewitt to send Aberdeen into the history books as 2-1 winners.

By coincidence, the Echo's team in Sweden this week is staying at the same Europa hotel in Gothenburg as Strachan's wife Lesley did before the game and which provided the main scene of joyous Aberdeen fans' celebrations.

"It was one of those nights when nobody will be ashamed to say they were tipsy," he added.

That was Strachan's most prolific season, scoring 23 goals from midfield in just 55 games.

Fast forward just over two decades and the next seven days promises to be a busy and important time for Strachan and his team.

But while staying just a few minutes down the road, the Saints boss must surely be tempted to take a trip down memory lane.