History of Dundee United F.C.
After changing their name to Dundee United in 1923,[1] the club were promoted to the top division of Scottish football for the first time in 1925, but spent most of its first thirty five years in the second tier.
Despite another title win (and immediate relegation), for many years, the club languished in the lower reaches of the Scottish league, competing in the top division for only four seasons, until the appointment of Jerry Kerr as manager in 1959.
Some notable players from this period include forwards Dennis Gillespie and Jim Irvine, and defenders Doug Smith and Ron Yeats (who went on to captain Liverpool in the 1960s).
[5] In the following season, United finished in the top half of the league (one place above city rivals Dundee), where the club stayed with few exceptions for the next 35 years.
On 25 August 1966 Dundee United eliminated Barcelona, then holders of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (now known as the UEFA Europa League), beating them 2–1 in Spain, the first Scottish club to win in that country.
By then, United had already established a reputation in Europe with wins over sides like AS Monaco, Borussia Mönchengladbach, PSV Eindhoven, Anderlecht and Werder Bremen.
[8] In 1986, a year's suspension was imposed by UEFA on the Italians alongside a four-year ban for president Dino Viola, due to the bribery attempt.
[2] Along the way, United repeated their 1966 feat of eliminating Barcelona, this time managed by Terry Venables and featuring British players Gary Lineker, Mark Hughes, and Steve Archibald.
United defeated Barcelona home and away; they remain the only British side to date to achieve this in any European competition, with a record of four wins from four games.
[17] According to one source,[18] In Golac's first season, he brought the Scottish Cup to Tannadice Park for the first time in 1994 after six previous failures, thus completing the full set of domestic honours for the club.
Despite being title favourites at the lower level, they eventually finished second, which left them facing a two leg play-off against Partick Thistle for the right to play in the Premier Division in the 1996–97 season.
In October 2008, Thompson died from prostate cancer,[19] six years after a protracted battle to gain control of the club from former manager Jim McLean.
The club qualified for the UEFA Europa League for three successive seasons, however they went out at the first hurdle in each campaign to AEK Athens, Śląsk Wrocław & Dynamo Moscow respectively.
United won the game 3–0 and McNamara began to turn the club's fortunes around, securing a top six place over New Firm rivals Aberdeen in late, dramatic fashion.
[22] The following season, United got off to a strong start to their league campaign, winning six of their opening eight fixtures which included comprehensive away victories at rivals Aberdeen and Dundee.
[23] McNamara was sacked and replaced with Mixu Paatelainen in October 2015, but the team's form failed to improve, and United were relegated to the Championship after a 2–1 defeat against Dundee on 2 May 2016.
