THE JOINTS ARE creaking, the pace has faded and the audience is smaller, but Dave Smith is still turning on the style playing the game he loves more than three decades after the Barcelona triumph. Now past his 62nd birthday, the Aberdonian still parades his skills on the five‑a‑side pitches of his native city most weeks, out‑witting opponents 40 years his junior with the enthusiasm that launched him into the professional game in the 1960s.

Incredibly, it is now 44 years since Smith made his debut as a pro, starting for Aberdeen in a 1‑1 draw at home to St Johnstone in January 1962. Even he could not have imagined the highs and lows which were to follow in a career that took in nine teams, three continents, two leg breaks and two European Finals memorable for very different reasons.

At this point comes a qualification. While known as David to family and Dave to football fans and the media, in fact he is just plain old dad to this particular author. Still the research process was the same... only the margin for error is, at least in theory, reduced.

Playing as one of the first ever sweepers deployed by a Scottish team, the Aberdonian was credited as the inspirational figure in the European Cup‑Winners' Cup victory of 1972. As provider of two of the three goals and a key part of the rearguard action that kept the Russians of Moscow Dynamo out in the latter stages, his performance helped clinch the coveted Scottish Football Writers' Association's player of the year trophy that year. It even brought comparisons to Franz Beckenbauer and Bobby Moore from teammate Willie Johnston.

Extract from:   To Barcelona and Beyond by Paul Smith

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Rangers Hall of fame

David receives a Scottish Cap

Montrose Review

David and old team mate Willie Johnston