The longest walk in the game of football leads you to one of two places.
Most of those who’ve erred in a penalty shoot-out in a cup final stumble into the pits of despair. Many struggle to leave.
The majority who’ve been successful from 12 yards inhabit a place where joy is unbridled. Even 35 years after stroking home the winning penalty for Aberdeen against Celtic, part of Brian Irvine still resides there.
Scarcely a day has passed since without the former defender being asked to recall the moment his strike confirmed a 9-8 victory on penalties for Alex Smith’s side after a goalless 120 minutes.
One question from his inquisitors is a constant. It relates to the instant one sees the ball hit the back of the net and you know it is all over. What was it like?
‘The high was just so intense,’ he tells Mail Sport. ‘Literally, you’ve got that definition of cloud nine.
Brian Irvine celebrates his winning penalty with Theo Snelders and Robert Connor
Snelders, Alex McLeish and Irvine celebrate Scottish Cup triumph over Celtic in 1990
The magic moment as Irvine runs away in jubilation after slotting past Pat Bonnar
‘It’s just unbelievable, the high of scoring and thinking how much it meant to so many people, the supporters and the team. It’s just an amazing, amazing feeling.’
Irvine was the last outfield player to step up that afternoon at Hampden meaning a miss would have seen the goalkeepers, Theo Snelders and Pat Bonner, next spot the ball.
By that stage, the failure of Dariusz Wdowczyk to convert Celtic’s first and Brian Grant to score Aberdeen’s fourth felt like ancient history.
After a subdued period of extra-time, the drama as the shoot-out effectively entered sudden death was gripping.
The worst kept secret in Scottish football was that Charlie Nicholas was set to rejoin Celtic from Aberdeen immediately after the final.
When Mike Galloway beat Snelders to put Celtic 4-3 in front, the former Arsenal striker was left with no margin for error.
‘It was one of the best penalties,’ Irvine recalled of a conversion at the end housing the Dons fans.
‘The way he put it right in the top corner – it was either brilliant or maybe he meant to miss and it just sneaked in!’
Snelders celebrates after making a save in the penalty shootout at Hampden Park
The emotion of the moment catches up with Brian Irvine after his winning spot-kick in final
Irvine is delighted to have retained his place in Dons folklore 35 years after his achievement
Nicholas’s unerring accuracy was matched, in turn, by Alex McLeish, Stewart McKimmie, David Robertson and the teenage Graham Watson.
When Snelders dived to his left to deny Rogan, Irvine prepared to walk up from the half-way line and to take the first penalty of his professional career.
‘If the guys who went before me had missed, Celtic would have won because they were always scoring,’ Irvine explained.
‘So, the pressure on me was less because by the time I went forward, it was a chance of winning. The situation, for me, was more positive.
‘You’re certainly not thinking it’s a chance to put my name in folklore.
‘The reason I was down the list was I had no confidence in penalties. As a boy at school, I was never confident hitting one. I always missed.’
If he’d dreamt of such a life-affirming moment as a child he can’t remember it.
Born in the West of Scotland, Irvine started out at Falkirk in 1983 but was an Aberdeen fan long before the club conquered Europe that year.
The Aberdeen side who were the last in the club’s history to lift the Scottish Cup
Snedlers and Irvine were delighted to get their hands on the famous old trophy
When Alex Ferguson approached him two years later, he couldn’t sign quickly enough.
‘I had an offer to go to Charlton which was better terms as it was London,’ he said.
‘But when I heard Aberdeen were interested, I signed as quickly as I could. I was an Aberdeen supporter even though I lived in Airdrie.
‘I didn’t even know what I was signing. I thought I was signing a three-year contract, but it turned out to be a four.’
For an emerging central defender in Scotland back then, splitting the atom would have seemed an easy task than breaking up the partnership of Willie Miller and Alex McLeish.
‘That was not in my mind,’ said Irvine. ‘It would have been too overwhelming.
‘It was just a case of turning up seeing how you could get on with the reserves.
‘Eventually I got a chance. I got more game time and a wee bit more experience.
‘It just built up for a few seasons until we got to 1989-1990.’
Irvine takes a moment to contain himself after scoring the penalty that meant so much to Dons
The emotions are clear to see as the Dons celebrate a famous day in the club’s history
Miller made only 15 appearances that year but did start the League Cup Final against Rangers in October.
Irvine, who replaced Eoin Jess at Hampden, recalls the 2-1 triumph in extra-time, as the day the guard changed.
‘From that point on, I was playing every week alongside Alex,’ he said. ‘I was then pretty much a regular on the team as Willie was coming to the end of his career.
‘That was a breakthrough season for me. Also, with the final against Celtic, that gave you that bit of credibility with the supporters.’
With one cup secured, Alex Smith’s side went after the second like an attack dog.
They won 6-2 away to Partick Thistle and beat Morton 2-1 at home. Irvine scored as Hearts were thrashed 4-1 in the quarter-final and again as the Dons demolished Dundee United 4-0 in the semi.
They were favourites to beat Celtic in the final even before they won 3-1 at Parkhead in a league match 10 days before.
With players of the ilk of Jim Bett and Hans Gillhaus in their side, the only real surprise was they required penalties to do so.
Charlie Nicholas, above left, challenges for the ball with Celtic’s Paul Elliott
Irvine has a rare moment to himself with the trophy his penalty helped to secure
‘Celtic had a lot of resources going into redeveloping the stadium,’ Irvine recalled.
‘They were struggling. In fact, because they didn’t win the Scottish Cup, they didn’t even qualify for Europe because they finished mid-table.’
These were very different times. In the six seasons from 1988-89, Aberdeen would finish second to Rangers on five occasions.
The decline came suddenly in 1994-95 when a play-off win against Dunfermline was required to preserve the club’s top-flight status.
Irvine already had enough on his plate that year when he learned he was suffering from multiple sclerosis.
He still played for a further two seasons at Pittodrie before stints with Dundee and Ross County. Thirty years on from getting the bombshell news, he still lives a full life.
‘You just take it one day at a time,’ he explained.
‘On the whole, it’s been relatively benign. I have sensations and feelings rather than it affecting movements.
Alex McLeish savours the acclaim of Aberdeen supporters as he holds trophy aloft
‘You just make the most of each day and be thankful for each day.’
His Scotland career had ended by that point. He earned nine caps against some illustrious opponents and was considered unfortunate not to make the squad for Euro ‘92 in Sweden.
‘I made my debut against Romania and faced Germany, Holland and Italy,’ he said. ‘I played against (Jurgen) Klinsmann, (Roberto) Baggio and (Ruud) Gullit.
‘I don’t think they’re all sitting somewhere saying they played against Brian Irvine, but that was the level of players you were up against.’
After playing, he remained at County as a coach and helped out Martin Rennie at Cleveland City Stars and Carolina Railhawks after taking charge at Elgin.
A season spent with Rennie in Seoul remains his last involvement with front-line football.
He fulfilled a lifetime ambition by joining the police force in his early 50s but discovered it was not for him.
‘It was a kind of stress that you maybe didn’t need,’ he explained.
‘At that age, it was quite difficult to get to grips with it.
‘But I was glad I went through it, the process of the training. I did the two years, passed the exams and managed to come through.’
McLeish leads the parade as the victorious Dons side are hailed on return to Aberdeen
His kept the family house in Inverness that he bought when he signed for County and lives there to this day, juggling his shifts in the stockroom of a supermarket with care and charity work which has taken him to Malawi and Uganda.
‘When you go through to the Aberdeen games, everybody knows you and everybody asks about the cup final 35 years ago,’ he said.
‘You contrast that with your everyday life. It’s like a night and day. It’s almost like a phone box you go into and change into someone else.’
He’d have cleared his diary for Saturday even if the Dons hadn’t been bound for Hampden. Whatever the outcome, he celebrates his 60th birthday that day.
‘I’ve got a ticket organised, so I hope to go,’ he said.
‘I still have affection and a strong bond with Aberdeen.’
Like most Dons fans, he will travel south more in hope than expectation of seeing Graeme Shinnie lift the trophy.
It was a day that cup final heroes Snelders and Irvine will never forget
We all know that anything can happen on the day, though. From time to time, unlikely heroes emerge and change history and their lives. Irvine will attest to this.
‘Suddenly, you’re doing a lap of honour with a trophy with all these heroes in front of your own fans,’ he recalled of the defining moment of his career.
‘You’ve seen Aberdeen winning cups before on TV and now here we are taking part and contributing ourselves. It was surreal, but such a wonderful experience.
‘I’ve always said Aberdeen will win the cup again one day.
‘If everybody plays to their full potential, I think obviously Celtic will be favourites.
‘But a football fan will always be hoping that maybe something happens in the game which can swing it in their side’s favour.
‘I think the great thing for football is that supporters can go into any game with hope. If you’re a strong underdog, it doesn’t matter.’
