I bullied Bayern Munich big guns for Aberdeen and there's no reason current crop can't make Euro memories of their own

Daily Record

a day ago

Lee Miller remembers giving Bayern a hellish night at Pittodrie and believes the current group of Dons stars can now make their own memories
Lee Miller remembers bullying Bayern big guns Lucio and Martin Demichelis on a blockbuster European night at Pittodrie.
That was the last time Aberdeen made it beyond a group stage on the continent as Jimmy Calderwood's side bulldozed their way to the last-32 and a showdown with the Bundesliga behemoths.
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Miller was the target man who relished the challenge of rumbling with some of the world's top defenders in that 2007-08 UEFA Cup campaign.
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Now he reckons the time has come for a new generation of Dons heroes to muscle in on Europe's knockout rounds.
Not just that but the 42-year-old reckons they must find the strength to carry the double burden of performing well in the domestic season too.
Thanks to their stunning Scottish Cup success, Jimmy Thelin 's side are guaranteed group-stage football for the second time in three seasons.
A Europa League play-off is secured along with the safety net of the Conference League should they lose that tie. But not since Calderwood's side have a Scottish team outside the Old Firm made it to the knockout stages.
Worse than that, such has been the toil of juggling Euro Thursdays with Premiership Sundays that Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibs have all slipped out of Europe then failed to even finish in the top six in the last two years' competitions.
Dundee United, Kilmarnock and St Mirren have also struggled. But Miller reckons the fatigue excuse shouldn't wash any more as he urged Thelin's men to embrace the challenge.
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He said: 'I don't see why they can't go on a little run. You need a bit of luck and your players to be up to speed early on. That's difficult and obviously that takes its toll on the league campaign as well. We've seen that with the clubs in Europe. But then you look at the clubs down south, how big the Championship, League One, League Two are ... they have games all the time.
'I don't know if we do things right up here. It shouldn't impact the league campaign.
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'If you're playing Thursday, Sunday, Thursday, Sunday, we need to prepare better and have a better scope to conquer it. Sometimes you're left thinking: 'Do you really want to qualify for Europe?'
'Yes, for the money, of course you do. But if it affects your league campaign the following season and where you're going to finish up – possible relegation– that's a hard thing to deal with.'
Calderwood's side, who famously thumped Copenhagen 4-0 at a packed Pittodrie to secure the last-32 spot, still managed to finish fourth in the top fight. That was despite having to handle eight games in Europe, including trips to Dnipro, Panathinaikos, Atletico Madrid and Bayern.
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Sone Aluko and Josh Walker netted famous goals as Bayern were held 2-2 at a powder-keg Pittodrie. But the Bundesliga giants made light work of the second leg in the Allianz Arena, winning 5-1.
Miller added: 'We had a good squad, really experienced. Jimmy instilled belief in us. He slaughtered Oliver Kahn before the Bayern game, saying: 'He's not that great in goal!'
'It was an incredible time for Aberdeen. I loved playing against the better players. I was good in the air and the likes of Lucio and Demichelis didn't expect you to win the header. If you did, they'd be going in a huff.
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'Next ball I knew I was getting fouled – I'm already 2-0 up, man to man, striker v centre-half.
'So I loved the challenge, I thrived in that atmosphere. We got spanked in that 5-1 loss in Munich but it doesn't matter. They didn't like coming to Pittodrie. No team liked coming to Pittodrie.'
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Aberdeen kick off their Premiership campaign at another of Miller's old clubs, Hearts, in a live Monday night showdown on August 4. That will also see former Dons boss Derek McInnes make his Tynecastle dugout debut.
And Miller said: 'It's a Monday night game, which will be interesting. But there are loads of wee things. McInnes up against his old club, his first game with his new team.
'Aberdeen starting off as Scottish Cup holders. They beat Hearts in the semi-final – so it is a chance for the Jambos to get one back on the Dons. Everybody would say they are shooting for third place, if not second depending on how they feel.
'You've got to have a bit of ambition. The Cup win will give Aberdeen momentum. They played an incredible Celtic team and beat them, albeit on penalties, but they took them right to the wire.
'So they'll need to springboard off the back of that and hopefully they can get a good start to the season.'