Aberdeen no stranger to European glory night at Pittodrie but win over Hacken would be the most lucrative

Pittodrie stadium has staged some of the most memorable European nights Scottish football has known. From SV Hamburg to Bayern Munich (twice), the old stadium seems to especially come alive on such occasions.

Aberdeen teammates (from left) Jonny Hayes, Connor Barron, Graeme Shinne and Jamie McGrath share a laugh during training on Wednesday ahead of the Europa League play-off 2nd leg against BK Hacken at Pittodrie. (Photo by Mark Scates / SNS Group)

Home supporters will hope tonight’s clash with BK Hacken could be the latest addition to the chronicles.

The Europa League second leg play-off tie will be the first European game played under new floodlights installed on the Pittodrie south stand last season. This improvement was designed for nights like these as the club seek to satisfy Uefa illumination requirements.

It is also Aberdeen’s first home European assignment since Ally Begg's book charting the team’s greatest European adventures was published in October 2021. There’s no doubt that a win this evening, or even a draw providing it ends in shootout success, would deserve inclusion in any updated version. Quality of game is secondary to its significance.

Should Aberdeen overcome Hacken, they will establish another glory link to Gothenburg. While they will never emulate the Cup-Winners' Cup triumph over Real Madrid in the city over 40 years ago in terms of prestige, beating a team from the suburbs of Sweden's second city to secure Europa League group involvement until Christmas will stand as their most financially rewarding European outing.

Although European football has always held an intoxicating appeal, it has never been more lucrative than now. Aberdeen will secure just over £3 million simply for reaching the group stage, and £433,000 per win after that.

Whatever happens this evening with the tie evenly poised at 2-2, Aberdeen will be replenishing their coffers after splurging on as many as 12 new players this summer in anticipation of the upcoming demands.

All is not lost if they fail to negotiate a way past the Swedish champions, who they beat 5-1 at Pittodrie two years ago. Fans can still relish the thought of six Conference League games to come along with a guaranteed £2.55m.

These are simply the dry figures. In truth, the sums don’t vary hugely between the two tiers of European competition existing below the Champions League. No Aberdeen fan sitting inside a sold-out Pittodrie will be punching numbers into a calculator.

They will, however, be dreaming of the likes of Liverpool, AS Roma and reigning Conference League champions West Ham United visiting. These sides are sitting waiting for the conclusion of the qualifying rounds. Aberdeen want to be there with them when the draw is made tomorrow. Manager Barry Robson does not want it to be a case of 'this is what you could have had'.

“The group have already achieved group stage football and I said 'well done' to them for doing that,” he said yesterday. “That's the first time since Jimmy Calderwood's team all those years ago (Aberdeen last made a European group stage in 2007-08). It's a huge thing they've done.

"But now the message is 'look at the opportunity you've got'. What an opportunity to take this club into the Europa League, which would be huge. They understand that. They've worked so hard to get to the Conference League and now they've got a chance to go to the Europa League. It would be a great achievement for these players if they did. I wouldn't say there's any more pressure on them, just excitement.”