It’s the “Champions League only” unique gameweek and so there will be no Scottish representation in European football until the Europa league starts in 8 days time. This week’s European post on Www.ScottishFootball.info will therefore look back in history, using two ‘bar chart racer’ videos created to illustrate the all time coefficient points earned, by each Scottish team, since the birth of European competition in 1955.
This article will give a brief history of the teams that have represented Scotland in Europe, as well as those that reached the Quarter Finals and beyond, ending with the aforementioned videos. You can read more about the European history and coefficient points earned for each of last season’s Premiership sides in the football radars article from last month:
SCOTLAND’S EUROPEAN REPRESENTATIVES
Since 1955, there have been 21 different clubs that have represented Scotland in European competition, with only eight featuring in at least 10 campaigns. Hibernian were Scotland’s - and Britain’s - first representative in an official European tournament, the Hibees were one of 16 teams that played in the inaugural European Cup of 1955. They defeated the champions of both West Germany and Sweden en-route to the Semi-Finals, before losing out to Stade de Reims. Reims went 2-0 up in the Final against Real Madrid, but would ultimately lose 4-3 as Los Blancos began their run of five consecutive trophy lifts in the European Cup. Only four other Scottish clubs have since replicated Hibs’ achievement of reaching the Semi Final of the top tournament, both of the Old Firm and both Dundee Clubs.
Hibs entered the tournament despite only finishing fifth in the Scottish top flight, as for the first four seasons of the tournament the participants were selected by French magazine L’Équipe. As Champions, Aberdeen were asked first, but declined the invitation as they thought playing under floodlights in a midweek match would give rival sides a clear advantage - Pittodrie wouldn’t install floodlights for another four years . The teams that finished 2nd-5th (Celtic, Rangers & Hearts) also declined the invitation, as they could not yet see the potential of a European competition. The Hibs Chairman at the time, Harry Swan - who was also the SFA Chairman - was seen as a modernising individual, always looking to the future to develop Hibs. It was no surprise then that he had already installed floodlights at Easter Road in 1954, inspired by the lights of Racing Club Paris he had seen three years prior, meaning Hibs were in a perfect position to accept the invitation.
Inverness Caledonian Thistle were the most recent Scottish team to make their European debut, playing in the Europa League second qualifying round in 2015 following their Scottish Cup victory months prior. They only played one tie, losing out 1-0 to Romanian side Astra Giurgiu, thanks to a first leg free-kick. It was an especially disappointing loss as West Ham awaited the winners in the next round, in what would be the final season played at Upton Park. Surprisingly, the Romanian’s again prevailed by a solitary goal over two legs - eliminating Slaven Bilić’s Hammers 4-3 on aggregate.
Since UEFA changed the rules over a decade ago, preventing domestic cup runners-up qualifying for Europe (as Queen of the South did in 2008), we can only have a new Scottish representative in Europe next season if the Scottish Cup is won by a non-top flight side. That’s because Ross County were relegated and they were the only Premiership team to have never competed in Europe - they remain one of only two clubs to have won the League Cup but have never played in Europe, alongside East Fife.
SCOTTISH TEAMS IN EUROPEAN FINALS
Of course, just qualifying in European competition wasn’t always the aim of Scottish clubs before the advent of modern football - whenever that began. In the 60s-80s, Scottish clubs would regularly enter European competition with genuine expectations of deep runs - or even Final appearances - regardless of who they were drawn to face.
On 43 occasions a Scottish club has reached a European Quarter final, 24 times we’ve had a representative in the Semi Final, and on 10 occasions there’s been a Scottish side in a European final. Despite the ten finals, on only three occasions was the European trophy was brought back to Scotland, starting with the pinnacle in 1967 when Celtic won the European Cup - six days before Rangers lost the Cup Winners’ Cup final to hand Bayern Munich their first European trophy. Rangers would make amends by lifting that trophy five years later in 1972, before Sir Alex Ferguson guided Aberdeen to the same silverware in 1983. Aberdeen would also win the Super Cup in 1983, beating European Cup Champions Hamburg 2-0 on aggregate.
I’ve not included that Super Cup final in the above graphic, as there is no separate Quarter or Semi Final to reach the Super Cup Final. However, when we count Scottish trophies won in Europe, we have to state that Aberdeen are the most successful with two European trophies, as we naturally count the Super Cup as a major European trophy. That is of course, until we remark that the last team to beat Real Madrid in a European Final was Aberdeen. When we use that stat, the Super Cup does not count, and we ignore all of Madrid’s losses in that trophy since 1983! Thems the rules.
ALL-TIME COEFFICIENT POINTS EARNED
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