How Ferguson masterminded Aberdeen's greatest win

As Sir Alex Ferguson turns 83, anyone attempting to distil his greatest career achievement has their work cut out given his incredible footballing CV.

But a new BBC Sport documentary - Sir Alex - to be shown on BBC Scotland on 1 January might have unearthed a frontrunner.

It concerns a confidence trick featuring a bottle of malt whisky and a poker face that enabled Ferguson to hoodwink one of the greatest footballers of all time – and arguably the sport's greatest club in the process.

Aberdeen's victory in the 1983 Cup Winners' Cup final against Real Madrid stands as the most famous night in the Dons' history.

It's a victory that endures, not least because Ferguson's Aberdeen remain to this day the last team to overcome Real Madrid in a European final.

But it's also a tale that, like the whisky that provides the story's main plot line, gets better with age because of a Ferguson masterclass the night before the match itself.

Ferguson famously looked up to Jock Stein, so when the former Celtic and Scotland manager suggested a ruse to unsettle Real's feted coach, Alfredo di Stefano, the then-Aberdeen boss was all ears.

"Jock Stein was in our party in Gothenburg," former Aberdeen defender Stuart Kennedy says. "He had a big presence and Fergie admired him as a man.

"He wasn't there to tell the boss anything about the game – he was there for streetwiseness.

"The Aberdeen dignitaries were meeting their Real Madrid counterparts the night before the game for a meal. And Stein knew – well in advance - that Di Stefano had a partial to a malt.

"And Jock said to the boss, 'It'd be nice if you take Di Stefano a bottle of malt'. So, at the meal, Fergie hands over a bottle. They had nothing to hand over in return."

Aberdeen captain Willie Miller and renowned Scottish football writer Hugh MacDonald pick up the tale in the documentary.

"He'll think you are just here to enjoy the moment," Miller says of what Ferguson was told about Di Stefano.

"And then go into your dressing room and tell your players that these opponents just think you are here to make up the numbers.

"He's playing Real Madrid in a cup final, but he's still saying to Stein, 'What would you do?'"

What the ploy did was lull both Di Stefano and Real into a false sense of security while riling up the Dons players.

Ferguson's Aberdeen flew out of the blocks in Gothenburg.

Eric Black put them ahead after seven minutes before a Juanito penalty levelled proceedings.

The match entered extra time and, with penalties looming, John Hewitt headed a 112th-minute Aberdeen winner.

Former Brighton & Hove Albion, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Aberdeen manager Mark McGhee teed up that famous goal – and he also speaks revealingly in the BBC Sport documentary about how Ferguson had played a trick on both dressing rooms.

Aberdeen's 1983 side, much like the Class of '92 Ferguson was to eventually oversee in Manchester, put youth to the fore and McGhee says: "We were pretty gullible in the sense that we believed what he told us."

McGhee's unwavering belief in his manager was reflected in how Ferguson backed his players, even before the match kicked off.

Immediately following the Di Stefano dinner, Stein caught up with Ferguson to see whether his plan had been swallowed by his opposite number.

"Stein asked the boss, 'How did that go?' Kennedy says. "And the boss said, '1-0'."