Book description
The star Argentiniean striker Claudio Caniggia has described Dundee
as 'a football town' and, as the favoured partner of arguably the
world's greatest-ever player Diego Maradona, he should know. But why
should he care? What was this man doing, plying his trade in Dundee?
Dundee Football Club - the Dark Blues - do have a tradition; they
have produced a number of outstanding players, won all the major
Scottish trophies and, in 1963, reached the semi-final of the European
Cup. For the next three decades, however, their story was one of
gradual decline - and you can lose a lot of supporters in 30 years.
When brothers Peter and Jimmy Marr, local businessmen, took over at
Dens Park in 1997, the fans didn't know what to expect. They were a
different proposition from their predecessors in that they had
experience of running successful amateur and junior football clubs -
but while the team performed creditably under Jocky Scott, there were
still a number of very average players getting a game and the wider
fan base was only inclined to attend a handful of matches during the
season.
Having battled to get promotion to the Scottish Premier League and
build new stands, however, Peter Marr proceeded to make a leap of
cultural faith. He knew that quality football was the key to any form
of success and that, generally speaking, it could be found on the
European continent.
Marr originally expressed interest in Ivano Bonetti as a player, but
when he discovered that the Italian was also interested in management,
decided to embark on a footballing adventure with him. What followed
has been one of the most remarkable episodes in recent Scottish
football history. In the face of great cynicism and limited resources,
Bonetti has assembled a squad of outstanding international talent,
with his friend Claudio Caniggia the jewel in the crown. Results have
been both good and bad - and sometimes downright weird - but the
football has always been consistently entertaining and frequently
breathtaking. No Dundee fan will ever forget season 2000-01. In this
book Jim Wilkie reviews the tradition of the club and, using key
profiles and reports, charts their amazing transformation to
Bonetti's Blues.
Jim Wilkie was born and educated in Dundee. Following an early
struggle with the
West Highland Free Press
and a more protracted skirmish with the music business, he now works
freelance as a Press and Development person who writes and performs
occasionally. He is married with two children.
