Are we talking about a revolution? Many in Scottish football would hope so. They paraded Dundee United, they thought about Hearts.
Now it may be Aberdeen’s turn.
Many coaches had tried and failed. From Ebbe Skovdahl to Craig Brown, via Mark McGhee and Roy Aitken – outsiders, former Scotland managers and legendary players – yet no one was able to restore Aberdeen’s status as a Scottish powerhouse.
Aberdeen has tradition aplenty, from the first all-seater stadium in the UK to winning the Uefa Cup Winners’ Cup and Super Cup in 1983.
But silverware has been hard to come by, not through want of trying, in recent and not-so-recent times. The last time Aberdeen picked up a trophy at the top of the steps at Hampden Park was in 1996.
But – and this is a big but – they might just be finding their way back.
They already are guaranteed a semi-final in the League Cup against St Johnstone and, with Rangers still out of the picture, are sitting second in the new-look Scottish Premiership.
The reasons are many, from prolific scorers Niall McGinn and Calvin Zola to the manager Derek McInnes.
Culling 11 players, including fan favourites such as Gavin Rae, was controversial to say the least, but McInnes has shown the vision and bravery a club need if they are to keep up with Celtic – a team who think reaching the last 16 of the Uefa Champions League is normal.
Aberdeen have never been in the tournament.
They cannot pretend to keep pace with Celtic, who famously defeated Barcelona in last season’s version of the Champions League, but they are looking like the best of the rest.
Celtic have a vastly superior fan base and the funds to mount a consistent assault on Europe.
Aberdeen have more frugal ownership and more realistic targets.
Other than Celtic, they are the only Scottish club never to have suffered relegation.
Next up, in what has been their most impressive season since the 1980s, are beleaguered Hearts at Pittodrie today.
The Edinburgh side started the season 15 points in arrears to the rest of the top flight due to penalties imposed for falling into administration. Aberdeen will be expected to pick up all three points and stay on Celtic’s coattails.
Long gone are the Sir Alex Ferguson-era days of the 1980s, when they won the league three times and the Scottish Cup four times in seven years, not to mention those two continental trophies. But the club is in better financial shape than in the 1990s, and the team are performing something like their fans of a certain age can remember.
Where they go from here is anyone’s guess, but things are certainly looking up in the north-east of Scotland for the first time in a long time.
And maybe they can look forward to taking on European competition once again in the near future.
msmith@thenational.ae
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ITALY
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Juventus and Napoli hope to draw Roma, who host Sassuolo tomorrow, closer.
Top fixtures
Saturday
Inter Milan v Livorno, 11.45pm
Sunday
Roma v Sassuolo, 6pm
Juventus v Napoli, 11.45pm
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SPAIN
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Real Madrid look to keep sight of table-toppers Barcelona when they meet Real Sociedad.
Top fixtures
Saturday
Real Madrid v Real Sociedad, 11pm
Sunday
Real Betis v Barcelona, midnight
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FRANCE
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Paris Saint-Germain and Lille each get middle-table foes in Nice and Guingamp, respectively.
Top fixtures
Saturday
Paris Saint-Germain v Nice, 8pm
Guingamp v Lille, 11pm
Bastia v Rennes, 11pm
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GERMANY
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Bayern have a chance to put distance between themselves and Dortmund, who travel to fifth-place Wolfsburg as Bayern host Augsburg.
Top fixtures
Saturday
Bayern Munich v Augsburg, 6.30pm
Wolfsburg v Dortmund, 6.30pm
