ALEX MCLEISH
| Alex McLeish |
| Personal information |
| Full name |
Alexander McLeish |
| Date of birth |
January 21, 1959 (age 47) |
| Place of birth |
Barrhead, Scotland |
| Position |
Manager
(former Defender) |
| Club information |
| Current club |
Unemployed |
| Professional clubs* |
| Years |
Club |
Apps (goals) |
| 1978-1993 |
Aberdeen |
|
| National team |
| 1980-1993 |
Scotland |
77 (0) |
| Teams managed |
1994-1998
1998-2001
2001-2006 |
Motherwell
Hibernian
Rangers |
|
* Professional club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only.
|
Alexander McLeish (born January 21, 1959 in Barrhead, Scotland) nicknamed "Big Eck", is a well known football figure in Scotland. He became a club legend during his playing career at Aberdeen during their 1980s glory years. He enjoyed management spells at Motherwell and Hibernian, the latter with some success, and then moved to Rangers, where he guided the team to two championships and five cup wins before being replaced by Paul Le Guen.
[edit] Playing career
[edit] Aberdeen years
His playing career saw him join Aberdeen in 1976 where he formed a formidable defensive partnership with Willie Miller. He enjoyed great success at Aberdeen under the management of Sir Alex Ferguson including a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup win over Real Madrid. He also won the Scottish player of the year in 1990. He was captain of Aberdeen after the retirement of Willie Miller.
[edit] Winners medals as Aberdeen player
[edit] International career
He also went to three World Cups with Scotland in 1982, 1986 and 1990. He is also a member of the Scotland Hall of Fame having gained 77 international caps.
[edit] Management career
[edit] Motherwell
After his successful playing career he quickly went into football management with Motherwell in 1994. His first season at Motherwell saw him take the Lanarkshire club to second in the Premier League behind Walter Smith's Rangers. However, he failed to build on this success and the next two season were spent in relegation battles. He resigned as manager to take over at Hibernian in 1998.
[edit] Hibernian
McLeish took over a struggling Hibernian side, which was relegated from the Scottish Premier Division in 1998 despite a slight upturn in fortunes under McLeish. He then guided the Edinburgh team back to the Scottish Premier League at the first attempt by winning the First Division championship.
Hibernian consolidated in their first season back in the top division, finishing mid-table and reaching the Scottish Cup semi-final. In the 2000/01 season, Hibs started very strongly. Eventually they had to settle for third place and a Scottish Cup final appearance. This performance attracted the attention of bigger clubs, including West Ham United and Rangers.
McLeish attracted top players such as Russell Latapy and former French international Franck Sauzee to Hibs. He also helped develop young striker Kenny Miller, who would later go on to play for Rangers, Wolves, Celtic and Scotland.
[edit] Rangers
His work at Hibs was noticed, and he was linked with several moves to England, before he was appointed as Rangers manager in December 2001 after outgoing Rangers manager Dick Advocaat recommended McLeish to chairman David Murray.
McLeish was an instant success at Rangers, winning both the Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup in his first season, but the big prize of the league title was essentially lost before his arrival. His second season saw him go one better when he won the domestic treble, with the help of top players such as Ronald de Boer and Barry Ferguson.
Rangers' worsening financial state saw many of his top players leave in the summer of 2003. Celtic won the league comfortably in season 2003/2004, and Rangers failed to win any trophies. McLeish was consequently put under pressure from fans after his poor signings and a record run of seven consecutive derby losses to Celtic.
The high profile Bosman signings of Jean-Alain Boumsong and Dado Pršo in the close season of 2004-05 gave Rangers renewed hope of regaining the title from Celtic's grasp. McLeish's team won the 2005 league title on a dramatic last day, an outcome that looked highly unlikely after Rangers fell five points behind leaders Celtic with just four games remaining.
After this unexpected success, McLeish and his Rangers team headed into the 2005/06 SPL campaign as favourites to retain the championship. McLeish made a number of signings, despite having little money to spend. These included Julien Rodriguez and Ian Murray. After a reasonable start to the season, including a win over Celtic, Rangers suffered a series of poor results between September and November. This period included a club record of 10 games without a win.
Despite the poor domestic form, McLeish guided Rangers to the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League, where they were defeated on the away goals rule by Villarreal. They became the first Scottish team to progress this far in the European Cup since 1993, and the first Scottish team to progress through a European group stage. In December, chairman David Murray publicly announced his support for McLeish. Rangers then went on a good run of results in December and January.
This run of good results came to a sudden halt when they were defeated 3-0 by Hibernian in the Scottish Cup, prompting protests outside Ibrox against both of McLeish and David Murray. On 9 February 2006, the increasing supporters unrest and protests caused Rangers chairman David Murray to announce that Alex McLeish would be leaving Rangers at the end of the season by mutual consent.
It was later announced that he would be succeeded by former Olympique Lyonnais manager Paul Le Guen. McLeish went out on a high when Rangers beat Hearts 2-0 at Ibrox Stadium, courtesy of a Kris Boyd double, in his final match as Rangers manager.
[edit] Managerial Honours
[edit]  Rangers F.C. 2001–2006
[edit] Career after Rangers?
McLeish said after leaving Rangers that he would not manage another Scottish club, because he felt that he had achieved everything in the Scottish game. He has since been linked in the media with a number of managerial positions in England, including West Bromwich Albion (which went to Tony Mowbray). Since leaving Rangers, McLeish has occasionally worked as a television pundit for the BBC and Setanta Sports.
In Novemeber 2006, McLeish joked on the BBC Scotland football program Offside, that in June 2006, he had applied for the vacant Monaco job, however he had yet to hear a reply.
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