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The club made their European debut on the 25th October 1966 and what a debut it turned out to be. They came up against the mighty Barcelona of Spain in the famous Nou camp for the first leg of the second round in the Fairs Cup (United having a bye in the first round). That night in Spain the club made history by becoming the first British side to beat Barcelona on Spanish soil. They ran 2-1 winners. Bill Hainey wrote himself into the history books by scoring the first in thirteen minutes followed by a second half Finn Seamann penalty. The history making team lined up:-
Davie, Millar, Briggs, Neilson, Smith, Wing, Seeman, Hainey, Mitchell, Gillespie, Personn.
The second leg proved the tie was no fluke as the Terrors finished off the Spaniards at Tannadice on a bitterly cold Dundee night, goals from Hainey and Mitchell saw United win the night 2-0 and a remarkable 4-1 on aggregate.
Two seasons later they fell to English F.A Cup-holders Newcastle United in the Fairs Cup 1-2 at Tannadice 1-0 at Newcastle. Apart from a Frank Kopel wonder goal in Belgium which knocked out Anderlecht the club's brief appearances in the seventies were nothing to write home about. This however was all to change.
After years of focusing on youth development and some domestic success Jim Mclean implemented a style of play that made the club a household name on the continent. United went on to reach the semi finals of the European Cup in '83 and only missed out by one goal. They were beaten 3-2 on aggregate by A.S Roma. During the eighties Tannadice played host to teams such as Man United, Barcelona (again), Borrusssia Munchen Gladbach and of course A.S Roma of Italy. The clubs climax in Europe came in '87 when they went all the way to the U.E.F.A Cup Final but sadly lost to 2-1 over two legs to Gothenburg of Sweden.
United produced some mesmerizing performances on the European stage so that even today the name Dundee United is held in high esteem by our European neighbours. Shock demolitions of clubs like Monaco of France and Borrusia of Germany are still remembered and talked about today. Can United reach the dizzy heights of the eighties in Europe again? Why not !
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Bill Hainey scores against Barca
Clark scores against
Gothenburg at Tannadice
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