Willie Johnston

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Willie Johnston
Willie Johnston (1969) .jpg
Personnel
Surname William McClure Johnston
birthday December 19, 1946
place of birth Glasgow ,  Scotland
size 170 cm
position Midfield
striker
Men's
Years station Games (goals) 1
1964-1972 Glasgow Rangers 211 (88)
1972-1988 West Bromwich Albion 207 (17)
1979-1980 Vancouver Whitecaps 41 0(4)
1979-1980 →  Birmingham City  (loan) 15 0(0)
1980-1981 Glasgow Rangers 35 0(2)
1982 Vancouver Whitecaps 18 0(0)
1982-1984 Heart of Midlothian 55 0(9)
1985 East Fife FC 4 0(0)
National team
Years selection Games (goals)
1965-1978 Scotland 21 0(0)
1 Only league games are given.

William McClure "Willie" Johnston (born December 19, 1946 in Glasgow ) is a former Scottish football player who was used both in midfield and in attack .

career

Johnston began his professional career in 1964 with his "hometown club" Glasgow Rangers , in whose ranks he quickly developed into a national player and between 1965 and 1970 played a total of nine internationals.

Although Johnston could not even win the championship title with the Scottish record champions in the eight seasons up to 1972 , he experienced his most successful years with the Rangers and also a unique time for the club; because during this period the Gers were able to qualify twice for the final of the European Cup Winners' Cup. In the 1966/67 season , the Rangers were able to prevail on the way to the final against the defending champion Borussia Dortmund and lost the final held on May 31, 1967 in Nuremberg against the "home advantage" enjoying FC Bayern Munich with a late goal by "Bulle" Roth in the 108th minute with 0: 1 after extra time . Five years later, in the semi-finals of the 1971/72 season, not only did they get their revenge against FC Bayern (1-1 and 2-0), but also a 3-2 final victory against the team from Dynamo Moscow in the final in Barcelona and thus the first and to date only success of the Rangers in a European football competition . With his two goals to the intermediate result of 2-0 and 3-0 before the break, Johnston played a major role in this success.

But at the beginning of the coming 1972/73 season, Johnston, known as the hothead, who had already been penalized several times for his lack of discipline, clashed with an opposing defender in a point game against city rivals Partick Thistle and was then given a two-month ban. For his employer he had become unsustainable and therefore only a few days later was sold to the English first division club West Bromwich Albion , with whom he was relegated to the second division at the end of the same season , in which the club would spend the next three seasons. Due to his good performance in the seasons 1976/77 and 1977/78 , when the promoted West Brom achieved a remarkable seventh place and in the following season an even better sixth place in the final table of the highest English football league , the then Scottish national coach Willie Ormond became on Johnston and brought him back to the national team after a seven-year absence. His successor Ally MacLeod called Johnston into the Scottish World Cup squad in 1978 , where Johnston played the first game against Peru (1: 3), which was so disappointing for the Scots. In the subsequent urine sample , Johnston tested positive for the stimulant fencamfamin and was thus convicted of doping . The result not only marked the premature end of the World Cup for Johnston, but also the end of his career in the national team.

Because the waves of indignation about this result haunted him for a long time in Great Britain, Johnston "fled" to the North American Soccer League , where he signed with the Vancouver Whitecaps , with whom he won the championship (NASL Soccer Bowl) in his first season in 1979. won. He returned to England on loan , where he played for Birmingham City in the winter of 1979/80 . Later he was again for one season (1980/81) with the Glasgow Rangers under contract, where he again made negative headlines. In a game against FC Aberdeen , he stepped on John McMaster 's head, who then had to be resuscitated by a breath donation .

From 1982 to 1984 Johnston was under contract with Heart of Midlothian and ended his playing career in 1985 in ranks of East Fife FC .

successes

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Johnston, Willie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Johnston, William McClure
BRIEF DESCRIPTION scottish soccer player
DATE OF BIRTH December 19, 1946
PLACE OF BIRTH Glasgow , Scotland