A key characteristic of Kerr's reign was the strengthening of the playing squad with Scandinavian imports, most notably with the signings of Lennart Wing, Finn Dossing, Mogens Berg, Finn Seemann and Orjan Persson. It was during this period that United qualified for European competition for the first time, eliminating Inter-Cities Fairs Cup holders Barcelona on their European debut in 1966. Jim McLean era (1971–1993) Jim McLean took over from Kerr in 1971 and under his management the club enjoyed the most successful era in its history. McLean's era became known for his youth policy and the offering of long-term contracts that would see future Scotland international players such as Dave Narey, Paul Sturrock, Paul Hegarty, Davie Dodds, Eamonn Bannon and Maurice Malpas spend the majority of their careers at the club. United won their first major honour under McLean, capturing the Scottish League Cup in 1979 and again in 1980. They were crowned Premier Division champions in 1982–83. The club were also successful in Europe, reaching the European Cup semi-finals in 1984 and the UEFA Cup Final in 1987, the latter campaign involving another elimination of Barcelona during the earlier rounds (maintaining a 100% record over the Spaniards in competitive European ties). Despite losing to IFK Gothenburg in the final, the club was awarded a FIFA Fair Play Award. McLean retired as manager in 1993, but remained as club chairman. Scottish Cup wins and relegation (1993–2016) United won the Scottish Cup for the first time in 1994 under McLean's successor Ivan Golac, but were relegated in 1995, before returning to the Premier Division a year later. Following a number of board changes, the club was purchased from McLean in 2002 by former Morning Noon and Night co-founder and chief executive Eddie Thompson. A lifelong United fan, Thompson invested heavily in the team in a bid to compete with significant spending which had developed following the formation of the Scottish Premier League, however little progress was made until Craig Levein became manager in 2006. Levein established United as a top six club, regularly achieving European qualification before he left the club to take the post as Scotland men's national team manager in 2009. With the foundations of the side in place, United won the Scottish Cup for a second time in 2010 under the management of Peter Houston. After several relatively successful seasons, a series of poor results in the Premiership