Barry Ferguson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Barry Ferguson
MBE

Ferguson with Birmingham City, 2009 pre-season
Personal information
Date of birth	(1978-02-02) 2 February 1978 (age 47)
Place of birth	Hamilton, Scotland
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Playing position	Midfielder
Youth career
	Rangers SABC
1994–1997	Rangers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1997–2003	Rangers	151	(24)
2003–2005	Blackburn Rovers	36	(3)
2005–2009	Rangers	137	(20)
2009–2011	Birmingham City	72	(0)
2011–2014	Blackpool	80	(1)
2012	→ Fleetwood Town (loan)	6	(0)
2014–2015	Clyde	1	(0)
Total		484	(48)
National team
1997–1998	Scotland U21	12	(1)
1998–2009	Scotland	45	(3)
Teams managed
2014	Blackpool (caretaker)
2014–2017	Clyde
2018–2021	Kelty Hearts
2021–2022	Alloa Athletic
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Barry Ferguson (born 2 February 1978) is a Scottish football coach and former player. He was most recently the manager of Alloa Athletic.

Ferguson spent most of his playing career at Rangers, a famous Scottish club. He played for them in two different periods. Between 2000 and 2003, and again from 2005 to 2009, he was the team's captain. He played a total of 431 games for Rangers and scored 60 goals.

With Rangers, Ferguson won many trophies. He won the Scottish Premier League, Scottish Cup, and Scottish League Cup five times each. In 2003, he helped Rangers win a "treble," which means winning three major trophies in one season. This achievement earned him the award for SFWA Footballer of the Year. He also helped Rangers reach the 2008 UEFA Cup final.

Ferguson played 45 times for the Scotland national team, starting in 1998. In 2009, after some incidents while playing for Scotland, he was no longer allowed to be captain for Rangers or play for the national team.

Later in his career, he played for English clubs like Birmingham City, Blackpool, and Fleetwood Town. Towards the end of his time at Blackpool, he even became a temporary manager. After retiring as a player, Ferguson managed Clyde, Kelty Hearts, and Alloa Athletic.

Early Life & Football Dreams

Barry Ferguson was born in Hamilton, Scotland, in 1978. His family supported Rangers, and his older brother, Derek, also played for the club. As a child, Barry often visited the Rangers stadium, Ibrox Stadium.

He started playing football for a team called Mill United when he was about eight years old. When he was a teenager, he was told he was too small to play for the Scotland Schoolboys team. But Barry was determined to prove them wrong.

He also faced a similar challenge at Rangers when he was told he was too small for a physical game against Celtic. Instead of giving up, he decided to work even harder. He trained with Rangers from 1991 and signed a professional contract in 1994 after finishing school.

Playing Career Highlights

Starting at Rangers (First Time)

Ferguson joined the Rangers first team for the 1996–97 season. He played his first game on 10 May 1997. The next season, his manager, Walter Smith, slowly brought him into the team.

In the 1998–99 season, under new manager Dick Advocaat, Ferguson became a regular player. He signed a long-term contract because he was so important to the team. He scored his first goal on 18 August 1998 in a League Cup match. He even played against his brother when Rangers faced Dunfermline Athletic.

Ferguson was so good that he signed a new six-year deal with Rangers in October 1999. He was named the Scottish Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year for the 1999–2000 season. That year, Rangers won the Premier League and the Scottish Cup.

In August 2000, after a tough game against Celtic, Ferguson was involved in an incident. He was later made captain of the team at just 22 years old. In September 2001, he was criticized for some inappropriate actions during a game against Celtic. Despite this, he led his team to win the League Cup and Scottish Cup in 2002.

During the 2002–03 season, Ferguson captained the team to win a domestic treble. This means they won three major trophies in Scotland. He scored 18 goals from midfield and won both the Scottish Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year and Scottish PFA Players' Player of the Year awards.

Moving to Blackburn Rovers

On 29 August 2003, Ferguson joined Premier League club Blackburn Rovers for about £7.5 million. He played his first game for Blackburn on 19 September against Liverpool. He scored his first goal for them against the same team on 29 October.

In July 2004, Graeme Souness made Ferguson captain of Blackburn. Ferguson seemed to be settling into English football. However, after 16 months, and a serious knee injury, Ferguson asked to leave the club. He missed playing in big matches like the "Old Firm" games between Rangers and Celtic.

Back to Rangers (Second Time)

Ferguson rejoined Rangers in January 2005 for £4.5 million. His first game back was a League Cup semi-final win. He scored his first goal after returning on 5 March 2005. Ferguson helped Rangers win the League Cup and the league title that season.

Ferguson playing for Rangers against Barcelona in a UEFA Champions League match in 2007

At the start of the 2005–06 season, manager Alex McLeish made Ferguson captain again. Ferguson played the end of the season with an ankle injury. He later said he should have had surgery sooner.

In December 2006, Ferguson had a disagreement with manager Paul Le Guen. He was removed as captain and dropped from the team. However, Le Guen resigned in January, and Ferguson was made captain again by the new temporary manager, Ian Durrant.

The 2007–08 season started well for Ferguson. He scored two goals in the first league game. He also scored against rivals Celtic and in the UEFA Champions League. In January 2008, he scored a goal in a League Cup semi-final that caused some debate because he touched the ball with his hand. Rangers went on to win both the League Cup and the Scottish Cup that year.

On 14 May 2008, Ferguson played his 400th game for Rangers in the UEFA Cup Final. He captained the team, but they lost 2–0. In the summer of 2008, Ferguson had another ankle operation. He returned to play in November.

Barry Ferguson playing for Birmingham City

In April 2009, after some inappropriate actions while with the Scotland team, Ferguson was removed as captain for both club and country. Despite this, he helped Rangers win the 2009 Scottish Cup Final. Rangers also won the SPL title that season.

In 2004, at just 26 years old, Ferguson was added to the Rangers F.C. Hall of Fame. He holds the record for the most appearances in European competitions for Rangers, with 82 games.

Playing for Birmingham City

On 17 July 2009, Ferguson joined English Premier League team Birmingham City. He signed a three-year contract. His former Rangers manager, Alex McLeish, was also at Birmingham City. McLeish believed Ferguson could play well in the Premier League.

Ferguson played his first game for Birmingham on 15 August 2009 against Manchester United. He scored his first goal for the club in January 2010 in an FA Cup match. Ferguson won the Birmingham City players' Player of the Year award for the 2009–10 season.

Ferguson helped Birmingham win the 2011 League Cup Final against Arsenal. He played most of the game with a broken rib. He was known for making many passes during his time at Birmingham.

Time at Blackpool

Ferguson, as captain of Blackpool, with Kevin Nolan before the 2012 Football League Championship play-off final

On 22 July 2011, Ferguson joined Blackpool, a team in the Championship league. This move allowed him to be closer to his family in Scotland. He became the team's captain.

Ferguson scored his first goal for Blackpool on 10 September 2011. It was his first goal in English league football in seven years. In late 2012, after a disagreement with the club chairman, Ferguson was made to train with the youth team. He then went on loan to Fleetwood Town for three months. This was the only loan move of his career.

In February 2013, Ferguson returned to the Blackpool team. He was given the captain's armband again. In October 2013, he had his sixth and final operation on his ankle. The surgeon told him he should stop playing football.

On 21 January 2014, Ferguson became Blackpool's temporary manager. He said he didn't want the job, but no one else would take it. He wanted to help the club avoid being relegated to a lower league. Although Blackpool only won three of their twenty games with Ferguson in charge, they managed to avoid relegation. Ferguson left Blackpool at the end of the 2013–14 season.

Playing for Scotland

Ferguson played twelve games for Scotland's under-21 team. He made his first full international appearance for Scotland at age 20 on 5 September 1998.

He was made captain of the national team in 2004. Ferguson captained Scotland 28 times. He led the team to a famous 1–0 victory over former World Champions France in Paris on 12 September 2007.

On 3 April 2009, Ferguson was banned from playing for Scotland again due to serious team discipline issues. His club, Rangers, also removed him as captain and suspended him. Later, in July 2010, Scotland coach Craig Levein confirmed that Ferguson would not play for Scotland again, as Ferguson wanted to focus on his club career.

Managerial Career

Managing Clyde

In June 2014, Ferguson became the player-manager for Clyde, a team in the Scottish League Two. He played his first game for Clyde on 27 September, but left early due to an injury. In April 2015, Ferguson announced he had retired as a player.

In his second season at Clyde, the team finished third and reached the play-offs. They won the semi-finals but lost in the final. In his third season, Clyde had a difficult time, and Ferguson resigned in February 2017.

Leading Kelty Hearts

In October 2018, Ferguson became the manager of Kelty Hearts. In his first season, the team finished third. The next season, 2019–20, they won the championship.

Ferguson guided Kelty Hearts into the SPFL for the first time in their history. They won the play-offs at the end of the 2020–21 season. The day after this big win, Ferguson left Kelty Hearts.

Managing Alloa Athletic

Soon after leaving Kelty Hearts, Ferguson was appointed manager of Alloa Athletic. However, the team struggled in the league. On 14 February 2022, Ferguson resigned from the club.

Media Work

Barry Ferguson often appears on Scottish television shows about football. He also writes a regular column in the Daily Record newspaper.

Personal Life

Barry Ferguson is married to Margaret, and they have three children: Connor, Kyle, and Cara. His son, Kyle, is also a professional footballer.

Career Statistics

Club Appearances and Goals

International Goals

Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ferguson goal.

List of international goals scored by Barry Ferguson

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	30 May 2000	Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Ireland	Republic of Ireland	2–1	2–1	Friendly
2	7 September 2002	Svangaskarð, Toftir, Faroe	Faroe Islands	2–2	2–2	UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
3	17 November 2007	Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland	Italy	1–1	1–2	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying

Managerial Record

Honours and Awards

As a Player

Rangers

• Scottish Premier League: 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2008–09
• Scottish Cup: 1999–2000, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2007–08, 2008–09
• Scottish League Cup: 1998–99, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2007–08
• UEFA Cup runner-up: 2007–08

Birmingham City

• Football League Cup: 2010–11

Individual Awards

• PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year: 1998–99
• SFWA Footballer of the Year: 1999–2000, 2002–03
• SPFA Players' Player of the Year: 2002–03
• SPL Player of the Month: November 2000, December 2000, February 2002, January 2003
• He became a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) on 17 June 2006.

As a Manager

Kelty Hearts

• Lowland League: 2019–20, 2020–21 (promoted after winning the Scottish League Two play-offs)

See also

In Spanish: Barry Ferguson para niños

• List of Scotland national football team captains
• List of Scottish football families