Alex McLeish

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Alex McLeish
AlexMcLeish 2009 pre-season cropped.jpg
Personnel
Surname Alexander McLeish
birthday January 21, 1959
place of birth Barrhead ,  Scotland
position Defender
Men's
Years station Games (goals) 1
1976-1994 Aberdeen FC 493 (25)
1994-1995 Motherwell FC 2 0(0)
National team
Years selection Games (goals)
1980-1993 Scotland 77 0(0)
Stations as a trainer
Years station
1994-1998 Motherwell FC
1998-2001 Hibernian Edinburgh
2001-2006 Glasgow Rangers
2007 Scotland
2007-2011 Birmingham City
2011–2012 Aston Villa
2012-2013 Nottingham Forest
2014-2015 KRC Genk
2016 al Zamalek SC
2018-2019 Scotland
1 Only league games are given.

Alexander "Alex" McLeish (born January 21, 1959 in Barrhead ) (nickname: "Big Eck") is a former Scottish football player and football coach .

Player career

Aberdeen FC

Alex McLeish began his active career in 1976 at Aberdeen FC , where he and Willie Miller formed one of the best central defensive duos in Scotland. With the team coached by Alex Ferguson from 1978 to 1986 , he was three times Scottish champion (1980, 1984, 1985) and five times cup winners (1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1990). Internationally, he won the European Cup Winners' Cup 1982/83 with a 2-1 after extra time against the Spanish Cup winners Real Madrid . In addition, the club secured the title in the UEFA Super Cup in 1983 . In 1990 Alex McLeish was named Scotland's Footballer of the Year .

Scottish national team

His career as a Scottish international was also successful. Between 1980 and 1993 he made 77 international matches. In 1982 McLeish was appointed to the Scottish World Cup squad by national coach Jock Stein and was used once after a substitution in the game against Brazil at the 1982 World Cup . Scotland failed as group third in the preliminary round. After another preliminary round and only one use at the 1986 World Cup , Alex McLeish was used in all three group games of the 1990 World Cup in Italy . However, the Scottish team failed again in the preliminary round. He is a member of the Scotland Football Hall Of Fame .

Coaching career

Motherwell FC and Hibernian Edinburgh

In 1994 McLeish began his coaching career as a player-coach at Motherwell FC , which he led to the runner-up in his first season. The club was unable to continue this success in the two following seasons with an eighth place in the table. During the 1997/98 season McLeish left Motherwell and took over on February 11, 1998, league rivals Hibernian Edinburgh , with whom he was relegated to the second division at the end of the season as bottom of the table. In the First Division 1998/99 McLeish led the relegated team to the sovereign win of the second division championship and thus to return to the first division. The newly promoted finished the season in the Scottish Premier League 1999/2000 in sixth place in the table and increased this result with third place in the 2000/01 season . In addition, Hibernian moved into the final of the Scottish FA Cup 2000/01 for the first time since 1979 , but failed in front of 51,824 spectators at Hampden Park 3-0 against Celtic Glasgow .

Glasgow Rangers

On December 11, 2001 McLeish replaced Dick Advocaat as coach of the Glasgow Rangers and ended the 2001/02 season with his new team as runners-up. The team was more successful in the cup by winning the Scottish FA Cup 2001/02 (3-2 against Celtic) and the Scottish League Cup 2001/02 (4-0 against Ayr United). In the following season , the Rangers won the championship over their long-term rivals Celtic Glasgow only because of the better goal difference and even won the triple by defending their title in the two Scottish Cup competitions. The 2003/04 season was less successful with second place and seventeen points behind Master Celtic. But Alex McLeish won the second championship title in 2004/05 and the second title in the Scottish League Cup 2004/05 (5-1 against FC Motherwell) with the Rangers. McLeish ended his last season in Glasgow only as third in the table. The club was more successful in the 2005/06 UEFA Champions League when a Scottish club made it into the round of 16 for the first time since the Champions League was introduced in the 1992/93 season. There, however, the Rangers failed 2: 2 and 1: 1 at FC Villarreal . On February 9, 2006, the club announced that McLeish will leave the club at the end of the season.

Scottish national team

On January 29, 2007 Alex McLeish was introduced as the new coach of the Scottish national team. He replaced Walter Smith , who had recently moved to the Glasgow Rangers. In qualifying for the European Championship 2008 , Scotland just barely missed participation in the European Championship finals as third in the table behind world champions Italy and vice world champions France. The highlight of his work was the 1-0 away win in France with a goal from James McFadden, which led Scotland to lead the table in qualifying.

Birmingham City

Shortly after the missed qualification, he was introduced as the new head coach by the English Premier League club Birmingham City . With the promoted he rose at the end of the season as the bottom of the table in the Premier League 2007/08 in the second division. In the Football League Championship 2008/09 City secured as runner-up the direct return to the first division thanks to a 2-1 away win on the last day of the promotion rivals Reading FC . The promoted team finished the Premier League in 2009/10 on a good ninth place in the table. Alex McLeish was named Premier League Coach of the Month in December 2009. In February 2011 he led his team to win the 2010/11 League Cup . In front of 88,851 spectators at Wembley , the underdog defeated Arsenal 2-1. This great success for the club was overshadowed by relegation from the Premier League 2010/11 due to a 1: 2 defeat on the last day of the game at Tottenham Hotspur .

Aston Villa

On June 17, 2011, McLeish coached City's local rivals Aston Villa . The club's fans protested his commitment. After a disappointing season in the 2011/12 Premier League , the Villa finished only in 16th place, McLeish was sacked on May 14, 2012 with immediate effect.

Nottingham Forest

On December 27, 2012 Alex McLeish was the new coach of the English second division club Nottingham Forest . After only 40 days, the contract was terminated by mutual agreement.

KRC Genk

On August 22, 2014, Alex McLeish was introduced as the new trainer of KRC Genk . He signed a two-year contract.

Zamalek SC

In February 2016 McLeish took over the coaching position at the Egyptian club Zamalek SC .

Scottish national team

On February 16, 2018, McLeish signed a contract for his second term as national coach. On April 18, 2019, the Scottish Association separated from McLeish after seven defeats in 12 games.

Title as player and coach

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Rangers unveil McLeish (BBC Sport)
  2. ↑ Rangers 1-1 Inter Milan (BBC Sport)
  3. ↑ McLeish to leave Rangers in May (BBC Sport)
  4. ↑ McLeish unveiled as Scotland boss (BBC Sport)
  5. ↑ McLeish proud of superb Scotland (BBC Sport)
  6. ↑ Birmingham unveil McLeish as boss (BBC Sport)
  7. ↑ Birmingham clinch top-flight spot (BBC Sport)
  8. ↑ Arsenal 1-2 Birmingham (BBC Sport)
  9. ↑ Tottenham 2-1 Birmingham (BBC Sport)
  10. ↑ Aston Villa fans protest against Alex McLeish (BBC Sport)
  11. ↑ Club statement: Alex McLeish ( Memento from May 16, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
  12. ↑ Nottingham Forest name Alex McLeish as new manager (BBC Sport)
  13. ↑ nottinghamforest.co.uk: New Manager Appointed , December 27, 2012, accessed December 28, 2012
  14. ↑ Alex McLeish leaves Nottingham Forest after 40 days in charge , Guardian article, Feb.5 , 2013
  15. ↑ Alex McLeish named new manager of KRC Genk. BBC Sport, August 22, 2014, accessed September 24, 2014 .
  16. ↑ Alex McLeish: Scotland replace Gordon Strachan with former boss. In: BBC .com. Retrieved February 16, 2018 .
  17. ↑ Scotland throws coaches out. In: t-online.de . dpa , April 18, 2019, accessed on April 18, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME McLeish, Alex
ALTERNATIVE NAMES McLeish, Alexander
BRIEF DESCRIPTION scottish soccer player and coach
DATE OF BIRTH January 21, 1959
PLACE OF BIRTH Barrhead , Scotland