Alex McLeish facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Alex McLeish
OBE

McLeish as Aston Villa manager in 2012
Personal information
Date of birth	(1959-01-21) 21 January 1959 (age 66)
Place of birth	Glasgow, Scotland
Height	6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m)
Playing position	Defender
Youth career
	Glasgow United
1976–1978	Aberdeen
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1978–1994	Aberdeen	493	(25)
1976	→ Lewis United
1994–1995	Motherwell	3	(0)
Total		496	(25)
National team
1978–1987	Scotland U21	6	(0)
1980–1993	Scotland	77	(0)
Teams managed
1994–1998	Motherwell
1998–2001	Hibernian
2001–2006	Rangers
2007	Scotland
2007	Scotland B
2007–2011	Birmingham City
2011–2012	Aston Villa
2012–2013	Nottingham Forest
2014–2015	Genk
2016	Zamalek
2018–2019	Scotland
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Alexander McLeish (born 21 January 1959) is a Scottish football manager and former player. He was a strong defender for Aberdeen during their most successful years in the 1980s. He played almost 500 league games for Aberdeen and earned 77 caps for Scotland.

McLeish started his managing career with Motherwell and Hibernian. He then led Rangers to two league titles and five cup wins in five years. He managed the Scotland national team for ten months, almost helping them qualify for the 2008 European Championship.

He later managed Birmingham City, guiding them back to the Premier League in 2009. Birmingham won the 2011 Football League Cup Final under his leadership. After leaving Birmingham, he managed their city rivals, Aston Villa. He also had short spells managing Nottingham Forest, Genk in Belgium, and Zamalek in Egypt. McLeish returned to manage the Scotland national team for a second time from 2018 to 2019.

In 2008, he received an honorary degree from the University of Aberdeen for his great contributions to Scottish sport. He was also appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2024 for his charity work.

Early Life and Football Start

Alex McLeish was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His family moved to Barrhead when he was young. He went to Springhill Primary and Barrhead High School. At Barrhead High, he was one year below his future Aberdeen teammate, Peter Weir.

As a young player, he played for Barrhead Youth Club and Glasgow United. He also trained briefly with Hamilton Accies. In 1976, after a cup final with Glasgow United, he was spotted by Ally MacLeod, the manager of Aberdeen. McLeish signed with Aberdeen the very next day.

Playing Career Highlights

Club Success with Aberdeen

McLeish spent his first two seasons at Aberdeen mostly in the reserve team. He also had a loan spell at Lewis United. He won the Scottish 2nd XI Cup with Aberdeen in 1978. His first game for the main team was on January 2, 1978, against Dundee United.

Under manager Alex Ferguson, McLeish became a key player. He helped Aberdeen win eight domestic trophies and two European trophies. He scored in a 4–1 win over Rangers in the 1982 Scottish Cup Final. He also scored a crucial goal against Bayern Munich in the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1983. Aberdeen went on to win that tournament against Real Madrid.

During this time, McLeish, Willie Miller, and Jim Leighton formed a strong defense for both Aberdeen and Scotland. In 1990, McLeish was named Scottish Player of the Year. He became Aberdeen's captain after Willie Miller retired. He played 692 games for Aberdeen, which is the second-highest number of appearances in the club's history.

International Games for Scotland

Alex McLeish is Scotland's third most capped player. He played 77 times for his country between 1980 and 1993. He first played for the Scotland under-21 team.

His first game for the full national team was on March 26, 1980, against Portugal. He played in three World Cups for Scotland: 1982, 1986, and 1990. He is part of the Scottish Football Hall of Fame. When he earned his 50th cap in 1987, he was made team captain for that game. His last international game was in 1993 against Malta.

Management Career

Early Management Roles

After his playing career, McLeish quickly became a manager. He started with Motherwell in 1994. In his first season, Motherwell finished second in the league. He then moved to Hibernian in 1998.

Hibernian had been struggling, but McLeish helped them get promoted back to the Scottish Premier League in his first year. In the 2000–01 season, Hibs finished third and reached the Scottish Cup final. McLeish brought in talented players like Russell Latapy and Franck Sauzée. He also helped develop young striker Kenny Miller.

Leading Rangers to Trophies

In December 2001, McLeish became the manager of Rangers. He had immediate success, winning both the Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup in his first season. In his second season (2002–03), he won the domestic treble: the league title, the Scottish Cup, and the Scottish League Cup. Key players like Ronald de Boer and Barry Ferguson helped achieve this.

In the 2004–05 season, Rangers won the league title on the very last day. This was a dramatic win, as they had been five points behind Celtic with only four games left.

In the 2005–06 season, Rangers became the first Scottish team to reach the knockout stages of the Champions League since 1993. They were eventually knocked out by Villarreal. In February 2006, it was announced that McLeish would leave Rangers at the end of the season.

Managing Scotland National Team

McLeish took charge of the Scotland national team on January 29, 2007. His first game was a 2–1 win against Georgia. Four days later, Scotland lost 2–0 to Italy.

His team then beat the Faroe Islands and Lithuania. A big moment came when Scotland defeated France 1–0 in Paris. James McFadden scored a fantastic goal from 30 yards. This win is remembered as one of Scotland's greatest victories. Scotland then beat Ukraine 3–1. However, they lost their final qualifying game to Italy, missing out on the Euro 2008 finals.

Premier League Management

McLeish as Birmingham City manager in 2009

On November 28, 2007, McLeish became the manager of Premier League club Birmingham City. He wanted to work with players every day and always wanted to manage in the Premier League.

Birmingham was relegated at the end of that season. However, McLeish led them back to the Premier League in 2009. In December 2009, he was named Premier League Manager of the Month. By the end of the 2009–10 season, Birmingham finished ninth, their highest finish in over 50 years.

In February 2011, McLeish led Birmingham to win the League Cup. They beat favorites Arsenal 2–1 in the final at Wembley. He called this his "greatest achievement." However, Birmingham was relegated again at the end of that season. McLeish left the club in June 2011.

Five days later, on June 17, 2011, Aston Villa appointed McLeish as their manager. This caused some discussion because he had just left their local rivals. McLeish's first season with Villa saw them finish 16th, avoiding relegation by two points. He left Aston Villa in May 2012.

Later Management Roles

McLeish was appointed manager of Nottingham Forest in the Football League Championship on December 27, 2012. His time there was short, lasting only 40 days, and he left by mutual agreement in February 2013.

In August 2014, he became manager of Belgian club Genk. He left Genk in June 2015. In February 2016, McLeish was appointed manager of Egyptian club Zamalek. He was sacked in May 2016.

Second Spell with Scotland

McLeish was reappointed Scotland manager on February 16, 2018. Scotland won their 2018–19 UEFA Nations League group under his leadership. This success helped Scotland qualify for UEFA Euro 2020, their first major tournament in 22 years. He also convinced Scott McTominay to play for Scotland. McLeish was sacked on April 18, 2019, after a 3–0 defeat by Kazakhstan.

Outside of Football

Alex McLeish had a small role in the movie Stan & Ollie, which is about the comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. He can be seen briefly reading a newspaper in a hotel lobby.

During the 2014 Scottish independence vote, McLeish supported the "Better Together" campaign, which was against Scotland becoming independent.

Career Statistics

Club

International

Managerial Record

Honours and Awards

Player Honours

Aberdeen

• Scottish Premier Division: 1979–80, 1983–84, 1984–85
• Scottish Cup: 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1989–90
• Scottish League Cup: 1985–86, 1989–90
• Drybrough Cup: 1980
• European Cup Winners' Cup: 1982–83
• European Super Cup: 1983

Scotland

• Rous Cup: 1985

Individual Awards

• Scotland national football team roll of honour: 1987
• SFWA Footballer of the Year: 1990

Manager Honours

Hibernian

• Scottish First Division: 1998–99 (Promotion)

Rangers

• Scottish Premier League: 2002–03, 2004–05
• Scottish Cup: 2001–02, 2002–03
• Scottish League Cup: 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05

Birmingham City

• Football League Championship runner-up (promotion): 2008–09
• Football League Cup: 2010–11

Individual Awards

• Scottish Football Hall of Fame: inducted 2005
• Scottish Premier League Manager of the Month: October 2000, February 2002, September 2002, February 2003, August 2003, September 2003, November 2004, February 2005, January 2006
• Premier League Manager of the Month: December 2009

See Also

In Spanish: Alex McLeish para niños

• List of Scotland national football team captains

Images for kids

• 

  McLeish as Aston Villa manager in 2012

• 

  McLeish as Birmingham City manager in 2009