Lee Wallace facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Lee Wallace

Wallace with Rangers in 2015
Personal information
Full name	Lee Wallace
Date of birth	(1987-08-01) 1 August 1987 (age 38)
Place of birth	Edinburgh, Scotland
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Position(s)	Left back
Youth career
	Salvesen Boys Club
2003–2004	Heart of Midlothian
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2004–2011	Heart of Midlothian	139	(3)
2011–2019	Rangers	191	(21)
2019–2022	Queens Park Rangers	57	(1)
Total		387	(25)
International career‡
2006	Scotland U19	5	(0)
2007	Scotland U20	4	(0)
2007–2008	Scotland U21	10	(0)
2009–2017	Scotland	10	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 24 March 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 06:51, 17 September 2018 (UTC)

Lee Wallace, born on August 1, 1987, is a Scottish former professional football player. He played for the Scotland national team 10 times during his career.

Lee started his football journey at Heart of Midlothian, playing his first game in 2005 when he was just 17. Seven years later, he moved to Rangers. Even when Rangers faced financial difficulties in 2012, Lee stayed with the team. He became the team captain in 2015 under manager Mark Warburton. In June 2019, Lee joined Mark Warburton again, this time at Queens Park Rangers. He also played for Scotland's national team at both youth and senior levels.

Lee Wallace's Football Journey

Starting at Heart of Midlothian

Lee Wallace signed his first professional contract with Heart of Midlothian in July 2004. He had grown up playing in the club's youth teams. Lee made his first team debut in the 2004–05 season. This was in a Scottish Cup match against Kilmarnock on February 5, 2005.

He soon became a regular player in the squad. However, it was sometimes hard for him to get the left-back position from Takis Fyssas. Lee scored his first goal in the replay of the cup game against Kilmarnock. He was not chosen to play in the 2006 Scottish Cup Final.

In the summer of 2006, another Scottish Premier League team, Dundee United, tried to loan Lee. Hearts said no to their offer. A month later, Lee signed a new five-year contract with Hearts. At the start of the 2010–11 season, Lee was made Hearts' vice-captain. However, a month later, while playing for Scotland in a Euro 2012 qualifier against Liechtenstein, he got a serious knee injury. This happened after a late tackle by Martin Stocklasa. Even though he returned in early 2011, injuries continued to bother him. He only played seven more games that season.

Moving to Rangers

On June 22, 2011, Hearts turned down an offer of £300,000 from Rangers. They thought the offer was too low. A week later, Rangers made a better offer of £1 million, but this was also rejected. Hearts then said Lee was worth £3 million. Wolverhampton Wanderers, who were in the Premier League at the time, also showed interest in Lee but did not make an offer.

On July 21, 2011, Hearts accepted a £1.5 million offer from Rangers. Lee Wallace signed a five-year deal with Rangers. He was the second player signed by manager Ally McCoist that summer.

Early Games and Goals at Rangers

Lee made his Rangers debut in a Champions League qualifying game on July 26, 2011. They lost 1–0 to the Swedish team Malmo. Lee scored his first goal for Rangers on Christmas Eve 2011. This was in a 2–1 loss to St Mirren. Four days later, he thought he had scored again in his first Old Firm derby game. However, the goal was not given because the referee decided it did not cross the line. Lee scored his second goal for the club on March 25, 2012, against Old Firm rivals Celtic. It was the third goal in a 3–2 win for Rangers.

Wallace playing for Rangers in 2013

Staying with Rangers Through Changes

After Rangers Football Club faced financial difficulties, Lee Wallace chose to stay with the new club. At the start of the 2012–13 season, Lee was made vice-captain. On September 14, 2012, Lee signed a new five-year contract with Rangers. Lee was sent off during a game against Annan on December 18, 2012. He gave away a penalty, which was saved by Rangers goalkeeper Neil Alexander. This red card was later removed after an appeal.

Lee started the first game of the 2013–14 season in a 4–0 win over Albion Rovers in the Scottish Challenge Cup. He also played in the first league game of the season, a 4–1 win over Brechin City at Ibrox.

Captaincy and Promotion

Lee Wallace was often talked about for transfers to other clubs. Both Nottingham Forest and West Ham United showed interest in him. Forest manager Billy Davies made two cash offers for Lee in January 2014. However, Rangers' chief executive, Graham Wallace, turned down both offers. The offers did not meet the club's value for Lee.

On July 21, 2015, Lee Wallace became the captain after the previous captain, Lee McCulloch, left. He was later officially named club captain by new Rangers manager Mark Warburton on August 16. Lee started the 2015–16 season by scoring two goals in Rangers' 3–1 home win over St Mirren on August 7, 2015. He was officially appointed captain permanently before Rangers' 5–1 win over Alloa Athletic on August 16, 2015.

On April 5, 2016, Lee captained Rangers to a 1–0 home win against Dumbarton. This win meant they won the Scottish Championship and were promoted to the top league in Scottish football. He also led the team in the 2016 Scottish Cup Final. This was Rangers' first major final in five years. The match ended in a 3–2 win for their opponents, Hibernian.

Later Years at Rangers

On June 20, 2016, Lee Wallace signed a new contract with Rangers until 2019. After signing, Lee said he wanted to finish his football career at Rangers. Lee missed a 2016–17 Scottish League Cup match against Peterhead on August 9, 2016. This ended a run of 69 straight competitive games he had played since February 2015.

In September 2017, Lee got a double hernia injury during a match against Partick Thistle. He was first expected to be out for a few months. However, he did not play again in the 2017–18 season. After a 4–0 loss to Celtic in the 2017–18 Scottish Cup semi-finals, Lee and teammate Kenny Miller were suspended by Rangers. This was due to an argument they reportedly had with manager Graeme Murty. After an investigation, Lee was fined four weeks' wages by Rangers. This was the most money they were allowed to fine him.

Lee returned to the Rangers squad for pre-season training in June 2018. The new manager, Steven Gerrard, said he hoped the issue would be fixed. He also hoped Lee would fully recover from his long-term injury. At the start of the season, James Tavernier took over as club captain. In early September, Lee was not included in the Rangers squad for the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League group stage. Two days later, it was announced that he and Kenny Miller had won an appeal. This was against the disciplinary action taken against them five months earlier. They were expected to ask the club for money back from the fines. He played three times as a substitute in the 2018–19 season. He received a great welcome from the Rangers fans.

Playing for Queens Park Rangers

On June 14, 2019, Lee Wallace joined the English Championship team Queens Park Rangers. He signed a two-year deal after his Rangers contract ended. Lee made his debut in a 2–0 loss against Leeds United. He played as a left-side central defender in that game. He scored his first goal for QPR on January 5, 2020, in the FA Cup against Swansea City.

Lee also helped his teammates off the field. He helped midfielder Ryan Manning, who later played left-back and kept Lee out of that position. His first season at QPR was mostly affected by injuries.

During the 2020–21 season, Lee became a very important player for QPR. They did well in the second half of the season and finished ninth in the Championship. For the month of March, Lee was named Player of the Month. He helped the team keep two clean sheets (meaning the other team didn't score). He also provided assists in games against Millwall and Reading. On March 6, 2021, Lee captained his first QPR game. This was a 2–0 win against Bristol City, because Geoff Cameron was not playing. He captained 9 more games after that.

On May 15, 2021, Lee agreed to a new one-year contract. This kept him at QPR until 2022.

Playing for Scotland

Lee Wallace, along with his Hearts teammate Calum Elliot, was a key player for the Scotland under-19 team. They reached the final of the 2006 European Championships. They lost 2–1 to Spain in that final. Lee started every match at left-back.

Lee made his first full international appearance for Scotland in October 2009. He played in a friendly game against Japan in Yokohama. He continued to play for Scotland under manager Craig Levein. In the Euro 2012 Qualifying match against Liechtenstein, Lee suffered a serious knee injury.

After Rangers moved down to the Scottish Third Division, some people wondered if Lee would still play for Scotland. However, on January 31, 2013, Lee was chosen for the first squad by the new Scotland manager, Gordon Strachan. Lee was named in the Scotland squad to play Croatia. But he later had to pull out due to an injury.

In August 2013, Rangers teammate David Templeton was surprised that Lee was not chosen for the Scotland squad. This was for a special match against England. Manager Ally McCoist told Lee to use being overlooked as a reason to work harder. He wanted Lee to push to be in future Scotland squads. Lee was called back to the Scotland squad for the 2014 World Cup qualifiers. These were against Belgium and Macedonia. Lee was left out of the squad in March 2014. This was because Strachan chose Andrew Robertson for the first time.

After more than two years away from the national team, Lee was called back for friendly games. These were against Italy and France in May 2016. He later pulled out of the squad, along with teammates Chris Martin and Alan Hutton. Lee played in a 2018 World Cup qualifier against England at Wembley in November 2016. He played because Robertson and Kieran Tierney were injured.

Coaching Career

On March 27, 2015, Lee Wallace joined the coaching team at East of Scotland Football League side Tynecastle. Even though his playing career was his main focus, Lee wanted to do both roles. He was in the away dugout when Rangers Under-20s played Tynecastle in July 2015.

Lee Wallace is now an assistant coach for the under-18 team at Heart of Midlothian.

Career Statistics

Club Appearances

International Appearances

Honours and Awards

Team Achievements

Rangers

• Scottish Championship: 2015–16
• Scottish Challenge Cup: 2015–16
• Scottish League One: 2013–14
• Scottish Third Division: 2012–13

Individual Awards

• Scottish Premier League Young Player of the Month: February 2009
• Heart of Midlothian Players' Player of the Year: 2008–09, 2009–10
• Rangers Player of the Year: 2013–14, 2015–16
• Rangers Players' Player of the Year: 2012–13, 2013–14
• John Greig Special Achievement Award: 2015–16
• PFA Scotland Third Division Player of the Year: 2012–13
• PFA Scotland Third Division Team of the Year: 2012–13
• PFA Scotland League One Player of the Year: 2013–14
• PFA Scotland League One Team of the Year: 2013–14
• PFA Scotland Championship Player of the Year: 2015–16
• PFA Scotland Championship Team of the Year: 2015–16

See also

In Spanish: Lee Wallace para niños