Rangers and Aberdeen branded 'grim' in Europe as ex Dons and Ibrox hero urges return to fearless approach
It's last chance saloon this week for the Ibrox and Pittodrie sides
Dougie Bell was part of the last Scottish side to conquer Europe 42 years ago.
But the former Aberdeen and Rangers ace fears we might never see the likes again.
Pittodrie legend Bell helped Sir Alex Ferguson’s Dons side reach the Cup Winners’ Cup Final in 1983 only to miss the glory in Gothenburg with a broken ankle as Real Madrid were sent packing.
He made up for that disappointment a few months later when Hamburg were dumped over two legs as Aberdeen lifted the European Super Cup and sealed their spot as the best on the continent that year.
Talents including Gordon Strachan, Eric Black, Mark McGhee, super sub John Hewitt, Alex McLeish, Jim Leighton and of course skipper Willie Miller drove the Dons to their greatest ever heights.
But as the latest round of Euro action approaches this week, those days all seem such a distant memory with Bell’s two former clubs propping up the second and third tier competitions.
Forget giantkilling - they have become the victims of some monumental maulings not least Rangers’ 9-1 aggregate thumping at the hands of Club Brugge and Aberdeen’s 6-0 humiliation in Athens 11 days ago.
It’s not even reached the halfway stage of the league phase. But with no points on the board from three games it’s already last chance saloon time for Rangers in the Europa League when Serie A giants Roma visit Govan on Thursday.
And it could be lights out in Larnaca for Aberdeen who head to Cyprus on matchday three in the Conference League after a pointless start to the campaign.
Indeed Celtic’s 2-1 win over Sturm Graz in the Europa League remains the solitary bright spot in nine games across our Euro representatives.
All of which has seen the Scottish co-efficient plummet and Bell's former Pittodrie skipper Miller branding the Dons' performance in Greece as "embarrassing".
And Bell said: “It’s pretty grim. Aberdeen and Rangers have got to be doing better.
“Celtic being knocked out the Champions League qualifying in Kazakhstan was a bad start. And it seems to have got worse from there.
“Our sides are definitely underperforming. No doubt about it. The teams that have beaten Rangers so far - including Brann Bergen in Danny Rohl’s first game - were not great. Rangers should be beating teams like that.
“Likewise there’s no way Celtic should be losing to Kairat Almaty over two legs.
“And Aberdeen… I don't think Sir Alex would have been too enamoured with this, put it that way.
“Aberdeen have got some good players. Jimmy Thelin has got a big squad, but he never plays the same team.
“He changes three or four players every week and then puts all his subs on in the space of 10 minutes. I don't know how you can get a consistent pattern doing that all the time.
“I was lucky that I played in an Aberdeen team that had some cracking players.
“Alex Ferguson used to say to me, ‘I want you to take people home, run at them direct’, because the foreign teams didn't like that.
“But in my opinion we play like the foreign teams now, pass it about, pass it back and don't go forward.
“When we played, it was direct, getting in about them, crosses on top of the goalie and just being more aggressive.
“Pittodrie was great because you used to get a ball and take somebody on and then you could feel the crowd getting excited.
“It made you feel you could do it all night.
“I always thought that the games at Pittodrie in Europe were massive. They were special occasions and the fans were just really good on the night and made a great atmosphere.
“Ibrox has been the same in recent seasons. Good results in Europe sets the ground alight.
“But it’s not happened this season and Russell Martin never helped, that was a shambles.
“Rangers have tough games left but they’re not out of it. They need to get a couple of wins to give themselves a bit of a foothold.
“I watched the Hibs game through the week and thought they looked alright. It’s always good to play with two strikers. And they looked a bit more solid at the back.
“If they can get a couple of results at Ibrox - obviously Roma on Thursday will be a really tough ask - but if they can get a win then it might just spark something.
“Aberdeen look to be done though. It’s good for the fans to get these trips but it’s not the same if the team isn’t putting on a show.
“I know times have changed. But it’s not been good enough.
“Will a Scottish side ever win a European trophy again? You’ve got to wonder.”
Bell was a key man for Ferguson’s Dons as they dumped Sion, Dinamo Tirana, Lech Poznan, Bayern Munich and Waterschei to set up the battle with Alfredo De Stefano’s Real Madrid in 83.
But he had to watch the final from the rain-soaked Ullevi Stadium stands after breaking an ankle in the Scottish Cup semi final win over Celtic just three weeks earlier.
Rules back then stated that only the starting XI plus subs got medals - meaning even Ferguson and his assistant Archie Knox had no silverware to mark the stunning triumph.
But special medals were finally commissioned two years ago and Bell dedicated his piece of silverware to wife Hazel, who died of cancer in 2020.
The 66-year-old - who penned his biography ’Signed Twice by Fergie’ five years ago - said: “Usually I take the European medals when I'm selling some of my books. The fans love to see the medals.
“All the money I make from that book goes to my wife’s charity Strathcarron Hospice.
“I got the Aberdeen Hall of Fame a few years ago as well. And then the Freedom of the City which is especially nice because Hazel’s from Aberdeen. That meant a lot.
“As a kid I supported Rangers, so it was a big deal for me going to Rangers. But Aberdeen was a special time, the best period of my career.
“Winning a European trophy for goodness sake! You just couldn’t imagine that now, could you?”