Jim Leighton
Jim Leighton was born in Johnstone, Scotland, United Kingdom on July 24th, 1958 and is the Soccer Player. At the age of 66, Jim Leighton biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 66 years old, Jim Leighton has this physical status:
James Leighton (born 24 July 1958) is a Scottish former footballer, who played as a goalkeeper.
Leighton started his career with Aberdeen, where he won seven domestic trophies and the 1982-83 European Cup Winners' Cup under the management of Alex Ferguson.
Ferguson then signed Leighton for Manchester United in 1988, but dropped him after he conceded three goals in the 1990 FA Cup Final.
Leighton then had spells with Arsenal, Reading, Dundee and Sheffield United, and rebuilt his career after joining Hibernian in 1993.
He returned to Aberdeen in 1997, leading to a career total of over 600 appearances in the league alone. Leighton played in 91 international matches for Scotland.
He was chosen for FIFA World Cup squads in 1982, 1986, 1990 and 1998, playing in the latter three of those tournaments.
Playing career
After working in the civil service on leaving school, Leighton joined Aberdeen from Scottish Junior club Dalry Thistle in 1977. Before breaking into Aberdeen's first team, he was loaned out for a season to Deveronvale, where he is now an inductee into the club's Hall of Fame. In the early to mid-1980s, Leighton achieved his greatest success under Alex Ferguson's direction. Ferguson's Aberdeen won Premier Division titles in 1984 and 1985, Leighton in goal, the Scottish Cup four times, the Scottish League Cup twice, and the European Cup Winners' Cup and Super Cup in 1983.
"Jim Leighton is a special bird" – a Scottish goalkeeper that can be depended on," Brian Clough, a vocal critic of other goalkeepers for the national team during the 1970s and 1980s, has been quoted as "a rare breed."
Ferguson, who had left Aberdeen to direct Manchester United in 1986, bought Leighton for £750,000 in 1988. The club finished 11th in his first season with United. Leighton conceded 35 league goals and kept 14 clean sheets, though he conceded more than two goals in all leagues.
United finished second in the league in 1989-1990, placing them two places lower in 13th. In the 1990 FA Cup Final, a 3–3 draw with Crystal Palace, Leighton played when United were defeated 5–1 in the league by newly promoted neighbour Manchester City and conceded three goals. In the replay, he was then withdrawn from the United starting lineup for the replay, in which Les Sealey made a number of saves as United defeated the match 1–0. Leighton's dissatisfaction with the winner's medal by Sealey was sorely missed, and when the team announced a medal specifically for Leighton, the first match declined, he declined it. The two players remained close friends, but Leighton's relationship with Ferguson worsened to the point where they were no longer on speaking terms.
Since signing a long-term deal, Sealey kept the position of first-choice goalkeeper for the 1990-91 season. Despite Leighton's long time with United, he played just one more game for the club (against Halifax Town in the Football League Cup on September 26, 1990). He was second choice keeper in 1990–91 behind Sealey, Gary Walsh, and youngster Mark Bosnich, and was loaned to Arsenal from March to May 1991, a time in which the club dominated the league table, although he did not play.
In season 1991–92, Leighton was the fourth choice United keeper behind Peter Schmeichel, Walsh, and youngster Ian Wilkinson. He spent a portion of the season on loan with third-tier Reading.
Iain Munro paid for Dundee in March 1992 for a £200,000 fee. He appeared in the first dozen league games of the season, winning the championship and promotion to the top flight. After Simon Stainrod sacked Munro as boss, he was out of favour at Dens Park. At Sheffield United, Leighton had another non-playing loan spell.
Alex Miller signed him for Hibernian in summer 1993, but Leighton played over 150 games and missing just one league match in four seasons. In 1993, he was defeated by Rangers in the Scottish League Cup Finals. He was called back to the Scottish national team after collecting 23 of his 91 Scotland caps at Hibs. He later said he played the best football of his career during his time at Easter Road, and rated Miller as the second-best manager he ever played under.
Leighton made his way to Aberdeen in 1997, where he played regularly for another three seasons and made 500 appearances for the club in 1998. In the 2000 Scottish League Cup Final defeat to Celtic, he was captain.
Since losing the 2000 Scottish Cup Final to Rangers, he stopped playing. He was forced to leave the game after three minutes after suffering a broken jaw in Rod Wallace's challenge (requiring the introduction of metal plates into his face). Aberdeen lost 4–0 after Robbie Winters took over in goal with no substitute goalkeeper on hand. Leighton's last league appearance of the season meant he set a record for the longest player in the Scottish Premier League at 41 years and 302 days (since broken by Andy Millen in 2007).
In July 2000, he was given a testimonial against Middlesbrough, the same opponent in his first appearance for Aberdeen in a 1978 friendly; however, he was unable to participate in the match due to his cup final injury. The same year, he published his autobiography. He was inducted into the University of Fame in 2004.
Leighton's international career spanned 16 years, from 1982 to 1998. He was an uncapped squad member of the 1982 World Cup before making his debut against East Germany on October 13th, 1982. He was the No. 1 in his country for two years. 1. He appeared in all of his country's matches at the 1986 and 1990 World Cups.
Andy Goram became Scotland' first choice goalkeeper after Leighton's demise at club level and appeared at Euro 92 and Euro 96. Leighton recovered from a man of the match appearance in a 1-0 victory over Sweden in November 1996 during qualifying for the 1998 World Cup. Leighton appeared in all three Scotland games at the tournament finals and became the first football player born in the 1950s to play in a FIFA World Cup match.
On October 10, 1998, he retired from international football. When he was 40 years old and 78 days old, his last match was a European Championship qualifier against Estonia. This was the first player to play for Scotland since David Weir broke it in September 2010. Leighton is a member of the Scotland Football Hall of Fame, having earned his 50th cap in 1989. Leighton appeared in 91 times for Scotland, second only to Kenny Dalglish's 102 appearances.
Coaching career
After retiring as a player, Leighton became Aberdeen's goalkeeping coach. In August 2009, he left the club for the first time, and Mark McGhee (his ex-teammate who had also brought him to Reading years before) decided to replace him with Colin Meldrum. He was first appointed as a goalkeeping coach for Huntly in the Highland League in February 2010. On December 13, 2010, Leighton was appointed as Aberdeen's first act of Craig Brown and Archie Knox's new leadership team; after the 2014–15 season, he left the club on December 13th, the first act of new management team; Derek McInnes was promoted to the side. He announced shortly that he would seek work outside football, as he was unable to relocate from Aberdeen due to other commitments and family obligations, and then became a sales manager for companies providing services to the city's offshore market.