He was Dundee United’s very own Prince of Denmark – and scored the most celebrated hat-trick in the club’s history.
Finn Dossing, who has died aged 81, captured the hearts of Tangerines supporters during his three-year spell at Tannadice.
But arguably his finest hour in a United shirt came at Dens Park – just over a year after his arrival – where he scored three goals in a 5-0 derby win over rivals Dundee.
The man nicknamed The Mighty Finn was modest about his exploits on the afternoon of September 11, 1965.
During a visit to the City of Discovery in 2017, he was asked to recall ‘The Dens Park Massacre’.
He said: “I don’t call it that.
“Dundee were a good team at that time and I won’t say anything bad about them.
“I just call it a great game for us.
“We had a day when everything went right for United.
“We had some great players, for example Doug Smith and Dennis Gillespie as well as the Scandinavians.
“United had chances and we scored each time. Everything worked out right for us.”
Dundee United Hall of famer
Finn – who was born in Viborg and would go on to play 350 games for his city club – scored 76 times for the Tangerines, firing the club into Europe for the first time in 1966.
Also among his many strikes was a winner against Juventus at Tannadice in the Fairs Cup a year later.
Unsurprisingly, he was one of the first players inducted into the United Hall of Fame in 2008.
His ties to the club were strong – he held ArabTRUST membership, as well as being an honorary member of the Dundee United Supporters’ Foundation (DUSF).
His United love affair began at the age of 23, in December 1964.
The striker arrived for a trial match at Tannadice after six years with Viborg and promptly scored all four goals in a 4-0 win, giving manager Jerry Kerr little choice but to snap him up.
Dundee United had been toiling in the First Division but the gamble of bringing in overseas players like Dossing, Orjan Persson, Lennart Wing and Mogens Berg turned their season around.
The Mighty Finn became a fans’ favourite, bagging 21 strikes in just 19 matches, with goals in 13 consecutive games.
Twenty-seven goals the following campaign would see the Terrors qualify for Europe for the first time ever, finishing fifth and going into the Fairs Cup.
Unfortunately, injury ruled the Dane out of both legs of a 4-1 aggregate victory over Barcelona and the away leg in Turin against Juventus.
His goal in the second leg wasn’t enough to stop the Bianconeri from going through.
Finn returned to Denmark to play for Aalborg after three years in Dundee and a second spell with his home club Viborg followed.
He retired at 33 to open a clothing store.
‘Still my club’
On his visit to Tannadice five years ago, he said: “It is always a pleasure to return.
“After all these years, I still recognise it as my club.
“I was even excited when we parked the car and I could see the stadium out of the window.
“I was so looking forward to coming and I still have many friends here.
“Dundee United are in my heart and will always have a special place there.
“It is maybe a funny thing to some people that after all those years the club means so much to me but it just feels right.
“I still look for the result every week. It is one of the things I do and it’s part of my routine.”
Finn’s passing was announced by Viborg on Saturday morning.
Dundee United added: “Everyone at the club would like to pass on their condolences to Finn’s wife Bente, sons Michael and Morten and the rest of his family and friends.”
LONG READ: The day Finn Dossing was crowned Dundee United’s very own Prince of Denmark at Dens Park
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