IT is a sad indictment of our declining footballing standards that the last European trophy won by a Scottish club occurred 15 years this week, when Alex Ferguson's Aberdeen stormed past some of the finest names in Europe to win the Cup-winners' Cup.

An extra-time diving header from 19-year-old substitute John Hewitt - who had entered the fray moments before his 112th minute strike - ensured a famous victory over the Spanish club Real Madrid in the Ullevi Stadium, Gothenburg.

''Fifteen years is a long time but I still have fond memories of that game,'' said Hewitt, who scored five goals in that tournament, a feat made all the more astonishing when taking into account that he did not start any of the matches.

For many teenagers, scoring the winning goal in one of Europe's top tournaments would be a bit much to take in. Not for Hewitt. ''I was fortunate that I played in a side with experienced players such as Willie Miller, Alex McLeish, and Gordon Strachan. Everybody wanted to be successful.

''It didn't sink in, though, until I got to the airport and saw all these people standing up on the roof celebrating. Then for about five miles into the town centre there were fans out watching us with the cup. Once we got to Union Street there were about 100,000 people out, and then finally we got to Pittodrie with even more fans waiting to see us - I've never seen so many people before in my life.''

The career of Hewitt looked set to be one of the most successful of his era. In his time at Pittodrie he accumulated three Scottish Cup winners' medals - his own personal favourite gleaned from the 3-0 victory over Hearts in 1986, where he scored two of the goals; two premier-division medals; and a Skol Cup medal.

However, Hewitt decided he needed a change of scenery and Billy McNeill snapped him up for #250,000 in 1989 to make him a Celtic player.

The dream move soon turned sour, though, as a knee injury forced him to sit out for almost 19 months. ''It was a great opportunity for me,'' he said, ''but I got injured after my fifth game and although I worked hard to get back, it never worked out.''

A few spells with St Mirren followed, with a brief spell in the Highland League with Deveronvale sandwiched in between.

After spending ''four great years'' at Love Street he was offered the chance to manage Irish side Dundalk at the age of 33 in 1996. It was not all it was made out to be, however.

''It was a real eye opener,'' said Hewitt. ''I was told certain things which were untrue before I signed. They had no money to buy players and I couldn't see the club doing anything.''

Hewitt returned to his native Aberdeen last year and had a spell at Neale Cooper's Ross County before joining up with another former team-mate, Doug Rougvie, at Cove Rangers.

Now 35, he makes his living from working as a recruitment officer and will become Rougvie's assistant at Cove next season. Summing up his playing career, Hewitt admitted: ''I had 10 wonderful years at Aberdeen, and was fortunate enough to win so many honours in the game.''