Hearts return to Austria for a Champions League second qualifying round tie against Sturm Graz, bringing back happy memories tinged with sadness for a star of their 1988 UEFA Cup run.
The Jambos' last competitive trip to Austria was in 1988, when they defeated Austria Vienna 1-0 to reach the UEFA Cup quarter-finals. That goal was scored by Mike Galloway, who passed away last month.
Kenny Black recalls the magic
Hearts legend Kenny Black remembers Galloway's diving header and his celebration dance. "Yeah that was Mike. He was one for.. let's just say he was a bit of a party animal! A great character," Black told Record Sport.
"So the memory of that game now is a little bit tinged with sadness as Mike scored the goal with a diving header. I’ve seen him do a few things, dancing was one of them."
Black hopes the current Hearts side can be inspired by that European run as they look to reach the Champions League group stage for the first time in 20 years.
European run memories
Hearts upset the heavily fancied Austrians in 1988 before bowing out to Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals, but not before beating the German giants 1-0 in Edinburgh. Black said: "That European run in 1988 was fantastic and the night at Tynecastle when we beat Bayern Munich was something else."
The 62-year-old, now loans manager at Sheffield United, believes the European opportunity should attract top candidates for the vacant manager's job at Tynecastle.
"Obviously there's a little bit of upheaval just now with the manager and captain leaving but I'm sure they'll go and get two or three players in before the tie and make themselves a difficult team to play against," Black added.
With the help of Tony Bloom's Jamestown Analytics, Black is confident the Jambos will have the right manager and squad in place before heading to Austria in just over five weeks' time.
