Sir Alex Ferguson delighted with return to Pittodrie for friendly

Jul 13 2008 By Mark Guidi

SIR ALEX FERGUSON last night spoke of his emotion at returning to Pittodrie 25 years after leading Aberdeen to European glory.

Fergie's Manchester United side beat the Dons 2-0 in a friendly held to celebrate the anniversary of the club's Cup Winners' Cup triumph.

And Sir Alex said: "It's an emotional day for many reasons.

To see my Aberdeen players from back then and faces in the crowd was great.

"The ladswe had in that team were tremendous."

Former players Willie Miller, John Hewitt, Peter Weir, Jim Leighton, Neil Simpson and John McMaster all attended yesterday's game.

And Ferguson said: "It was a marvellous achievement for this club to win a European trophy.

"It's a huge part of the proud history of Aberdeen.

"That should never be forgotten because many teams never win a European trophy."

Ferguson's side eased to victory yesterday but he was impressed by Aberdeen and particularly striker Lee Miller.

He said: "They played some nice football and Miller was a handful for Nemanja Vidic."

Dons boss Jimmy Calderwood claimed his side would benefit a lot from facing United.

He said: "Miller and Jeffrey de Visscher did well and Bertrand Busso made some good saves. It was a great learning process for the younger lads.

"They can only admire the attitude and hunger of older guys such as Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes.

"We played well in the first half and I didn't think the goal Darren Mackie had ruled out was offside.

"I also spoke to Rooney about United's penalty and he told me he was unlikely to get the ball."