Into the New Millenium (2000-Present)

Tayzurri

In 2000 the Bonetti brothers arrived at Dens – and their impact was immediate. The next few years would see a brand of football as exhilarating as any seen at Dens. The players they managed to attract to the club were, on the whole, something special. The 2000-01 season burst into life with an opening day win at Motherwell, followed by a convincing 3-0 win at home against Dunfermline. Already Caballero, Sara, Artero et al were firmly establishing themselves as fans’ favourites.

Perched atop of the SPL table the Dundee fans dared to dream what this new era would bring. The next game, away to Hibs, went a long way to establishing the precedent when Bonetti’s blend of Latin flair; Georgian class and Scottish workmanship went down 5-1 in Leith. Despite a frustrating run of results, including an early League Cup exit, the style of play was so utterly compelling that fans dared not miss any games for fear of missing out. This contributed to large, colourful, vocal travelling fans dubbed the ‘Tayzurri’ by the media. True to the zeitgeist of the Football Italia era of Italian football, the Bonetti inspired Dundee seemed to raise their game when playing derbies and the larger teams, with lip service paid to the cup competitions and more ‘vanilla’ league games. Punctuating this enchanting, but exasperating, narrative were moments of brilliance such as Juan Sara’s derby hattrick; rare wins at Ibrox, Parkhead and Pittodrie and the 5-0 demolition of St Mirren at Dens – more impressive for the ruthless sophistication of the home team’s play than the score line itself.

El Pájaro glides into Dens

“At times I believe Diego [Maradona] is in love with my husband. It must be the long hair and big muscles”. Mariana Nannis, Claudio Caniggia’s wife 1988-2020.

In a signing reminiscent of the Billy Steel transfer 50 years before, Dundee made world headlines by announcing the capture of Claudio Caniggia. During a glittering career encompassing the famous football arenas of River Plate, Hellas Verona, Atalanta, Roma, Benfica & Boca Juniors; not to mention his exploits with Argentina in which he won a Copa América, Confederations Cup and Artemio Franchi Cup (play off between Copa América and Euro ‘92 champions); Caniggia achieved cult status wherever he trod. The 50-time capped player was central in a number of iconic moments in Italia ‘90 from being sensationally fouled in Cameroon’s if at first you don’t succeed, try, try and try again series of, increasingly ferocious, tackles to halt the Argentinean’s gallop in the San Siro; to his crucial goals knocking out arch rivals Brazil in the last 16 and equalising against the home nation in the semi-final. 

Ever entrepreneurial, the Marrs sought to use the new found international curiosity in the club to their advantage by streaming the clubs matches to Latin America and translating the content of the club’s website for a Chinese audience. 

Bonetti’s second season was less impressive than the first, on the field at least. Speculation off the field was something else entirely with wild transfer rumours aplenty– Roberto Baggio being a notable example. There was the incongruous sight of Dundee’s Chinese superstar, Fan Zhiyi, starring in an Adidas commercial with Zinedine Zidane and Raul and promotional videos for the 2002 World Cup with yet more iconic stars of the era. 

The 2002-03 season saw Jim Duffy return as manager and, with him, a modicum of consistency. Duffy guided the club to the top six once more, a Scottish Cup final, League Cup semi-final and a closely fought UEFA Cup tie with high-flying Serie A Perugia. The Perugia away leg provided for thousands of Dundee accents to be heard in the Eternal City as the fans made their way to the, surprisingly cold, Umbrian town via Italy’s breathtaking capital city.

The Italian adventure, as it turns out, was the last great hurrah of the Tayzurri years. The international curiosity in the club wasn’t sufficient enough to commodify and the club lacked the influence, in the post Bosman era, to draw large transfer fees for the players they were showcasing, with Caniggia being a notable, welcome exception. The utterings of club director, Giovanni Di Stefano, promising the million-pound signings of James McFadden and Edgar Davids, along with the club being indirectly linked by the press, sometimes jokingly sometimes mischievously, to his various acquaintances and associates resembled the last days of Rome. Quite fitting given the venue of the club’s recent UEFA Cup exit. 

Survival & Defiance

Jim Duffy would once again have to steer the club through some torrid financial times. In the 1990’s Duffy had the difficult task of steering the club through financial troubles and he had the unenviable task of informing a number of players that they were being let go after the club was placed in administration. At a stoke the fans saw many of their heroes leave – Nemsadze, Caballero, Sara Carranza, Langfield & Ravanelli were among those let go as the club slashed its wage bill by 45% in an effort to stem the £100,000 per week losses. In all, 25 members of staff lost their jobs. 

While the administrators were doing their jobs to save the club from within, the fans organised and raised money to put towards a rescue fund. The club was facing its most critical period since the liquidation of 1898. The newly formed Dee4Life contributed £500,000 to ensure that the club could survive administration, but that was only the first step. In the late Spring sunshine at Almondvale on the last day of 2005, Dundee were relegated to the First Division – an event which immediately halved the club’s income at a stroke, an income that was still to service a £13m debt. 

The First Division was a difficult league to get out of – this we all know – but it was made all the more difficult when you consider there weren’t any play-off spots on offer. Try as they might, the beleaguered club struggled season after season in the second tier – managing a few runners-up spots in the ‘Second is Nowhere’ era of Scottish Football. The first season down might have provided for a Scottish Cup semi-final, but it also resulted in the club’s lowest league placing since before the Second World War.

Remarkably the club managed to strike an impressive deal that essentially repackaged its debt prompting those at the helm to, prematurely, exclaim that the club was ‘debt-free’. In 2009-10, with cash injections from a new board member, the club made audacious signings including Gary Harkins and Leigh Griffiths. There was a new buzz around Dens and the Dark Blues got off to a storming start by roaring into a commanding lead at the top of the table; winning the Challenge Cup and dumping Aberdeen on the way to a thrilling League Cup quarter final against Rangers.

Partly to thank for the large lead at the top of the table was the harsh winter that year curtailing the fixture card- particularly for expected title challengers ICT. During one such weekend of call-offs the fans battled hard, turning up with snow shovels – some only returning home from nights out- in order to get a home tie against Airdrie United playable. The opportunity to go 14 points ahead was seen as too good an opportunity to miss. During the game Dundee missed a penalty which motivated an Airdrie United side playing football which belied their lowly league placing. In the end the Lanarkshire team deflated Dundee and their fans by coming away with a 1-0 win. The second half of the season was laden with dropped points and a poor Scottish Cup quarter final showing against Raith Rovers. The lead evaporated as ICT went on an incredible run – winning most, if not all, of their games in hand. A last gasp, costly attempt was made to stem the flow of points to our rivals when a new management team was brought in. It wasn’t enough and the club were yet again the league’s bridesmaids.

When the next season came it was evident Dundee were not in a position to splash the cash and news eventually broke that the club was to be placed in administration for a second time. There were now rules in place which allowed the authorities to hand out punishments to clubs for such transgressions. Thankfully for Dundee the season had started and there was a set of fixtures to fulfil, otherwise demotion would have been a real possibility. Instead it was a -25 point deduction that the club was handed down, the severity of the deduction perhaps meant to relegate the club by other means.

Juxtaposed against a perilous set of circumstances, the events that followed are cited by many fans  to have contributed to one of the most enjoyable seasons following the club.

The quantum of the debt wasn’t at 2003 levels, but the scale of the task that faced the administrators was just as great. It soon transpired that the war weary Dark Blue supporters couldn’t keep digging into their pockets to find cash for the buckets and so more novel ways of raising funds were needed. The fans took the initiative by designing and creating products at short notice, marshalling themselves on social media and fans’ forums. Inside the ground they played their part by backing the club in the most positive atmospheres ever experienced at Dens. The players responded by going on a club record unbeaten run – all the more impressive considering the unconventional use of the trialist system and using players from the juniors. The indefatigable spirit of the players and fans that season is indelibly captured in the images of that incredible moment when Sky Sports employee Neil McCann scored a last gasp winner against Raith after Harkins levelled the scores moments before.

Led by Barry Smith the club not only stayed up, but their points total would have been enough for a runners-up spot but for the points deduction.

The importance of staying up that season cannot be overstated as the second place finish in 2011-12 gave Dundee the infamous ‘Club 12’ status and a default promotion to the top flight at the expense of the liquidated Rangers. The cash boost which came from this understandably short-lived period in the Premier undoubtedly gave the club the shot in the arm it needed to embark on a more prolonged top-flight status in later years.

The Future

Since that ‘Club 12’ moment the club has entered a new era, an era which is still being written. Tim Keyes and John Nelms are the key figures off the pitch. A passionate meeting in the Gardyne theatre attended by members of the DFC Supporters Society provided the governance framework to usher in the current owners and start the mechanics of moving the club from a fan owned institution. 

The club, under the stewardship of the current regime, can, more often than not, be found playing top flight football but still faces challenges in bringing back that pre-1975 top league stability and certainty. There are ambitious plans for both the club and the city in the offing with the ‘Nou Campy’ development. Legacy issues and COVID have protracted this matter and created heated debate and will continue to do so. 

Meanwhile football carries on and already fans of the Dark Blues can reminisce about some great moments – Kyle Letheren’s save which effectively clinched the Championship in 2014; various derby goals – not least in the 16 month period between ‘Beautiful Monday’ and the League Cup last 16 defeat of United; the victories over Rangers and the big personalities that have played, and continue to play at Dens. 

What the future has in store for the club is as yet unknown, but a few things remain certain – following the club into the next chapter will come with some lows and hopefully many highs, but it will never be dull.