Alex McLeish

At 65 years old, Alex McLeish has this physical status:

Alexander McLeish (born 21 January 1959) is a Scottish football player and coach.

McLeish, a native of Glasgow, was a central defender for Aberdeen during the 1980s, winning nearly 500 League appearances for the club and 77 caps for Scotland. He began his managerial career with spells at Motherwell and Hibernian before leading Rangers to two championships and five cup victories in five years.

McLeish spent ten months as the head of Scotland's national team, which barely qualified for the 2008 European championship finals.

He resigned from his role in November 2007 to become the Premier League's boss of Birmingham City.

Though Birmingham were relegated at the end of the season, McLeish guided them back to the Premier League in 2009.

Birmingham had won the 2011 Football League Cup Final, but was then relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2010–11 season. He resigned from Birmingham to become the city boss of Aston Villa, which rivals.

This made him the first manager to move from Birmingham City to Aston Villa, and only after Ron Saunders was the second manager to oversee both clubs.

He only barely escaped relegation in the 2011-2012 Premier League season, but Villa did have him resigned after the first season.

In December 2012, McLeish was appointed as the manager of Nottingham Forest in the Championship, but the club was forced to resign after 40 days of mutual consent.

He coached Genk and Zamalek of the Egyptian Premier League in the 2014–15 season and in 2016, when he was in charge of the Belgian Pro League and Zamalek of the Egyptian Premier League.

He later served as the Scotland national team's chief for a second time. In 2008, McLeish received an honorary doctorate by the University of Aberdeen in recognition of his contributions to Scottish sport.

Early years

McLeish was born in Glasgow's Duke Street Hospital to parents Alex and Jean, a shipyard worker. Angela and Ian are his younger siblings. The family and family left Barrhead, Renfrewshire, right after McLeish reached school age, after living in the Parkhead and Kinning Park districts of the city. He attended Springhill Primary, Barrhead High School, where he was one year younger than future Aberdeen and Scotland teammates Peter Weir and John Neilson High School in Paisley.

He played for Barrhead Youth Club, Weir, and Glasgow United, as well as training for a short time with Hamilton Accies as a youth. McLeish, the Aberdeen team's founder, and then manager Ally MacLeod, secured the Pittodrie club the following day after watching a local cup final with Glasgow United in 1976.

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Playing career

McLeish spent the bulk of his first two seasons in Aberdeen, as well as a loan spell with local Junior side Lewis United. In a New Year fixture against Dundee United on January 2 1978, he made his competitive debut under Billy McNeill. In a 2–1 loss to Rangers in the 1978–79 League Cup, Alex Ferguson's first major final appearance was as a substitute, with Willie Garner and Doug Rougvie preferring defence. McLeish eventually established himself as the center of the nation's best-known and two European trophies, and the next seven years he would continue to excel, winning eight domestic and two European trophies. Highlights included scoring in his 4–1 win over Rangers in the 1982 Scottish Cup Final on his 200th Dons appearance, as well as a crucial goal against Bayern Munich during the campaign leading to the European Cup Winners' Cup victory over Real Madrid in 1983.

McLeish formed a formidable defensive triumvirate with Willie Miller and Jim Leighton for both team and country during this time. And after winning his first Scotland cap, McLeish's father begged Aberdeen boss Alex Ferguson to continue training as an accountant. Ferguson tried to sign McLeish when he left Manchester in 1986, but it didn't work out; he also had discussions with Tottenham Hotspur. In December 1988, a testimonial match was held for McLeish, with the club's 'Gothenburg' (Cup Winners' Cup) team facing a 'International legends' team. In 1990, he became the Scottish player of the year, following a season in which Aberdeen won both domestic and international cups.

After Willie Miller's departure, he became Aberdeen's captain. His 692 competitive appearances for the club rank second in the company's history (100 behind Miller but many more than Bobby Clark).

McLeish is Scotland's third most capped player, having won 77 international caps between 1980 and 1993. He was first capped for Scotland's under-21 squad while still a reserve player at Aberdeen by his former club boss Ally MacLeod, who later earned six caps at that level. Jock Stein, his international debut, made him play in midfield alongside Archie Gemmill and Graeme Souness on March 26, 1980. In 1982, 1986, and 1990, he appeared in three World Cups with Scotland. He is a member of the Scottish Football Hall of Fame, the Scotland national football team's roll of honour, and Scotland's Greatest Team in the World. McLeish was named team captain for the game against Luxembourg in 1987, on the occasion of his 50th cap. During the 1994 World Cup qualifiers in Hampden Park, his last cap came on February 17th, 1993, with a 3–0 victory over Malta.

Management career

Following his successful playing career, he quickly moved into football coaching with Motherwell in 1994, just one year before he resigned as a player. He finished second in the Premier Division in his first season at Motherwell, behind Walter Smith's Rangers. However, he did not build on this success, and the next two seasons were spent in relegation battles. In 1998, he resigned as boss to take over Hibernian.

McLeish took over a struggling Hibernian side, which was relegated from the Scottish Premier Division in 1998 despite a modest increase in fortunes under McLeish. He then led the Edinburgh team back to the Scottish Premier League in the first attempt after winning the First Division championship.

Hibernian consolidated in their first season back in the top division by finishing mid-table and qualifying for the Scottish Cup semi-finals. Hibs got off to a promising start in the 2000–01 season. They had to settle for third place and a Scottish Cup final appearance before long. This result attracted the attention of bigger clubs, including West Ham United and Rangers.

Former French international Franck Sauzée and Russell Latapy were among McLeish's popular players, including former French international Franck Sauzée to Hibs. Kenny Miller, a young striker who would later play for Scotland, was also responsible for the development of the youth striker Kenny Miller.

During this time, McLeish was preparing for and was granted a UEFA Pro Licence.

His service at Hibs was noticed, and he was involved with many moves to England before being appointed as Rangers boss in December 2001 after outgoing Rangers boss Dick Advocaat recommended McLeish to chairman David Murray.

McLeish was a natural performer at Rangers, winning both the Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup in his first season, but the main prize of the league championship was essentially lost prior to his arrival. With the support of players like Ronald de Boer and Barry Ferguson, his second season saw him go one better.

Many of Rangers' top players left in the summer of 2003 due to his worsening financial situation. Celtic defeated the league easily in season 2003-2004, while Rangers failed to win any trophies. McLeish was under pressure from fans following his poor signings and a streak of seven straight Old Firm derby losses to Celtic.

The high-profile Bosman signings of Jean-Alain Boumsong and Dado Pro in the close season of 2004-05 gave Rangers renewed confidence in regaining the title from Celtic's grasp. McLeish's crew won the 2005 league championship on a dramatic last day, a result that had seemed highly unlikely after Rangers fell five points behind leaders Celtic with just four games remaining.

McLeish and his Rangers team were favored to win the championship in 2005-06 following this unexpected success. Despite having no money to spend, McLeish made a few deals, including Julien Rodriguez and Ian Murray. Rangers went off to a slow start to the season, including a victory over Celtic over the weekend, but Rangers suffered a string of poor results from September to November. This season was the first game without a victory in a club record. Rangers' tenth match of this season, a 1–1 draw with Inter Milan in the Champions League, brought them to the tournament's knockout stages for the first time.

Despite their poor domestic results, McLeish led Rangers to the last 16 of the Champions League, where they were eliminated on the away goals by Villarreal. They were the first Scottish team to progress in the European Cup since 1993, and the first Scottish team to advance to the European group stage. In December, chairman David Murray declared his support for McLeish. Rangers went on a good run of results in December and January.

The Scottish Cup came to an end when they were defeated 3–0 by Hibernian, sparking demonstrations against both McLeish and David Murray. McLeish's chairman David Murray revealed on February 9, 2006, that he would step down as boss at the end of the year.

Paul Le Guen, the former Olympique Lyonnais manager, was later announced that he would be replaced by him. Rangers defeated Hearts 2–0 at Ibrox Stadium in his last game as boss.

McLeish said after leaving Rangers, he did not want to lead another Scottish team because he felt he had achieved everything in the Scottish game. During his time as a television pundit for the BBC and Setanta Sports, he was embedded in the media with a number of managerial positions in England.

On January 29, 2007, McLeish took over the Scotland national team. Roy Aitken and Andy Watson, his personal assistants, were employed in the field. McLeish's first game as head of the national team was a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying match, a 2–1 victory over Georgia on March 24, 2007 at Hampden Park. On March 28, 2007, he was away from Italy against Italy, which resulted in a 2–0 loss.

McLeish's Scotland defeated the Faroe Islands in June, Lithuania at home in September, before winning a historic victory in Paris four days later by defeating France 1–0 in the Parc des Princes. Scotland won by a single point in Group B, with three games remaining. James McFadden's 64th-minute strike from 30 yards was enough to propel the team to victory and brought them to the top of Group B. This result has been lauded as one of Scotland's greatest victories. Scotland's next victory was at home to Ukraine, winning 3–1 at Hampden on October 13th. McLeish suffered his second defeat as boss when he was away in Georgia on October 17th. Scotland will face Italy in a decider over the World Champions. Scotland lost the game 2–1, McLeish's last, and Italy qualified for the finals.

Birmingham City's approach to the SFA for permission to speak to McLeish about their managerial vacancies was turned down, but the following day, he resigned from his position as Scotland's new manager after returning from the draw for 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification in South Africa. Roy Aitken and Andy Watson, Scotland's assistants, were to accompany him. McLeish said he wanted to return to playing with players on a daily basis and had "always harbored a desire" to rule in the Premier League.

He made a good managerial debut with Birmingham, winning 3–2 away to Tottenham Hotspur. McLeish bolstered Birmingham's squad by acquiring David Murphy and James McFadden, as well as signing Argentina under-20 international Mauro Zárate on loan, while still raising funds by encouraging fringe players to leave in January 2008. Despite the team winning by 4–1 over Blackburn Rovers on the last day of the season, he was unable to save Birmingham from relegation.

McLeish redesigned the club's backroom and training policies, named David Watson as goalkeeping coach, and revamped the scouting program, bringing in Paul Montgomery – the scout who recommended a little-known Didier Drogba to West Ham United – to oversee player recruitment.

McLeish secured Birmingham's return to top flight English football on the last day of the 2008–09 season with a 2–1 victory over Reading. By mid-January 2010, he had led them to a 12-game unbeaten streak, a club record in the top division, and was named Premier League Manager of the Month for the first Birmingham manager to receive the award. Birmingham had risen to ninth place by the end of the season, their highest finish in more than 50 years.

Following Birmingham's triumph during the 2009-10 season, McLeish agreed to a new three-year deal with the club in September 2010. Birmingham defeated Arsenal 2–1 in the final at Wembley in February 2011, McLeish's "relatively speaking, [his] biggest win." However, Birmingham was relegated to the Championship on the last day of the 2010-11 season due to a poor run of form following the League Cup win. McLeish will keep his job and will return the club to the Premier League for the first time, according to the owners. McLeish, on the other hand, resigned Birmingham City on June 12, 2011 by email.

Aston Villa appointed McLeish as the manager on June 17, just five days after leaving Birmingham City, Aston Villa's hometown rivals. There was a lot of controversies surrounding his appointment, with Birmingham City claiming McLeish was still under contract and launching a lawsuit against Aston Villa in the Premier League, though Villa argued McLeish was a free agent. Fans of Aston Villa protested outside Villa Park and anti-McLeish graffiti had to be removed from outside Villa Park and beyond Villa's training ground. McLeish lost out on favour by signing Shay Given his first appearance and recruiting winger Charles N'Zogbia. McLeish's first competitive game as Villa boss resulted in a 0–0 draw with Fulham at Craven Cottage. In a 3–1 victory over Blackburn Rovers, he won his first Premier League victory as his manager. Villa drew their next four Premier League games after beating Wigan 2–0. Villa Aston got off to a rocky start with a 4–1 victory over Manchester City. McLeish's side won a surprise victory over Chelsea just after acquiring Robbie Keane on loan from LA Galaxy. With a 3–2 victory over Wolves, Keane was able to win Villa a critical match against rivals Wolves. McLeish led the 2011–12 Villa team to 16th place in the Premier League, avoiding relegation by two points and setting an unwanted club record of only four home wins. McLeish's deal was terminated on May 14th, the day after the season had ended. The reasons for his dismissal were due to his poor results and style of play used throughout his tenure as boss.

On December 27, 2012, McLeish was appointed manager of Nottingham Forest, a Football League Championship club. Billy Sharp scored an injury-time equalizer for Nottingham Forest in his first game in charge on December 29, 2012, a 2–2 draw against Crystal Palace at the City Ground. McLeish won his first game as Nottingham Forest boss on January 12, 2013, a 2–1 victory over Peterborough at home. McLeish was in charge of his only East Midlands derby against Derby County on January 19, 2013, winning 1–1 at Pride Park. On February 2, 2013, after a 2–1 loss to former St Andrew's on his first return to St Andrew's, he refused to commit his future to Nottingham Forest and said he was unhappy. This was after the Nottingham Forest board decided against a January transfer window for George Boyd. He left the club by mutual agreement on February 5th.

McLeish said in November 2013 that he would like to re-enter football management in some capacity, whether in England, Scotland, or elsewhere. He was named manager of Belgian club Genk in August 2014. McLeish made his managerial debut on August 30th, when Genk defeated Oostende 1-1 away. McLeish was announced in March 2015 that he would leave Genk at the end of the 2014–15 Belgian Pro League season, despite the club's inability to qualify for the Championship play-offs, although they did reach Europa League play-offs.

McLeish was appointed manager of Egyptian Premier League team Zamalek on February 28, 2016. With ten games remaining on the season, he was fired on May 2nd after a string of poor results from the team.

McLeish was reappointed Scotland manager on a two-year deal on February 16, 2018. Scotland defeated their 2018-19 UEFA Nations League group under McLeish, but he was fired on April 18th, 2019 after a 3–0 loss to Kazakhstan.

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