What Aberdeen Football Club achieved in 1983 remains one of the greatest stories in club football. On May 11th in Gothenburg, they defeated the most successful team of all time, Real Madrid, to lift the European Cup Winners’ Cup — the first of two European trophies they would bring home that year.

To mark the 40th anniversary of this iconic win, Fine Day were commissioned to design and produce a limited-edition, matchday-inspired publication featuring new interviews with the management team and players, reflecting on the final and the remarkable cup run that led to it.

The story has been widely told, so we set out to unearth something fresh — exploring untapped editorial and visual territories to create a truly distinctive piece. This included uncovering photography in Sweden, rediscovering long-lost typefaces in France, with some help via Japan. The result was a beautifully crafted print, produced on GF Smith Colorplan with foil and die-cut detailing.

Alongside this, we created a range of commemorative merchandise celebrating the club’s UEFA Super Cup victory later that same year — cementing 1983 as the year Aberdeen became the only Scottish club to win two European trophies. A mighty honour for us all to be a part of.

Client Feedback

A massive thank you on behalf of all the Gothenburg Greats for producing truly outstanding commemorative work for our 40-year anniversary on 11th May. We’re all in agreement that it’s probably the best football programme we’ve ever seen.

— Willie Miller, AFC