Dunfermline have asked Barcelona if they fancy facing them in a clash of the continental comeback kings.
Pars officials, like most of the football world, were glued to their TVs on Wednesday night as Barca stunned Paris St Germain with a 6-1 victory in the Nou Camp.
The Spanish giants had looked down and out after the first leg of the Champions League last 16 tie in the French capital, which PSG won 4-0 thanks to a dominant display.
However, a remarkable performance in their own stadium sent them through to the quarter-finals 6-5 on aggregate and saw them beat Dunfermline’s record for greatest comeback in a European tie that had stood for almost 55 years.
That sparked this response from the Fife side via Twitter: “@fcbarcelona… congratulations guys…fancy a friendly to say sorry for taking our record?”
That “other” great escape was one that no Pars fan of a certain vintage will forget.
With memories of the victory over Everton in the previous round still fresh, just under 15,000 packed into East End Park on the chilly evening of December 19, 1962, when the Pars hosted Valencia in the Fairs Cup.
The Spanish club were the cup holders and had shown their quality with a 4-0 (sound familiar?) first-leg victory in the Mestalla Stadium.
However, with the great Jock Stein in their dugout and inspired by the 16-year-old Alex Edwards on the wing, the Pars never lost faith.
Amazingly, they were 3-0 up after just 17 minutes thanks to a goal from George Peebles and a double from Jackie Sinclair.
Valencia got one back to silence the crowd for a while but back came Dunfermline with goals from Jim MacLean and Peebles again to make it 5-1 – all before half-time.
The unfortunate MacLean deflected a shot into his own net five minutes after the break but, once again, the Scots fought back and Alex Smith made it 6-2 on the night and 6-6 on aggregate.
Away goals didn’t count double then so it was off to the neutral venue of Lisbon the following February for a play-off decider, which Valencia edged 1-0.
Unlike Barca, the Pars may not have qualified for the next round but the fabulous East End Park fightback has a proud place in club and Scottish football history.