Stuart McCall facts for kids
McCall as Sheffield United coach in 2007
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Andrew Stuart Murray McCall | ||
| Date of birth | 10 June 1964 | ||
| Place of birth | Leeds, England | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Preston North End (assistant manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Pudsey Juniors | |||
| Holbeck | |||
| Farsley Celtic | |||
| 1980–1982 | Bradford City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1982–1988 | Bradford City | 238 | (37) |
| 1988–1991 | Everton | 103 | (6) |
| 1991–1998 | Rangers | 194 | (14) |
| 1998–2002 | Bradford City | 157 | (8) |
| 2002–2005 | Sheffield United | 71 | (2) |
| Total | 763 | (67) | |
| National team | |||
| 1988–1990 | Scotland U21 | 2 | (0) |
| 1990–1998 | Scotland | 40 | (1) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2000 | Bradford City (caretaker) | ||
| 2007–2010 | Bradford City | ||
| 2010–2014 | Motherwell | ||
| 2015 | Rangers | ||
| 2016–2018 | Bradford City | ||
| 2018–2019 | Scunthorpe United | ||
| 2020 | Bradford City | ||
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Andrew Stuart Murray McCall (born 10 June 1964) is a professional football coach and former player. He is currently an assistant manager at Preston North End.
Stuart McCall played in 763 league games during his career. He also played 40 international matches for Scotland.
McCall started his football journey with Bradford City in 1982. He played there for six seasons. During this time, his team won the Division Three championship. This win was overshadowed by a terrible stadium fire where many people were hurt, including his own father.
After leaving Bradford, McCall joined Everton in 1988. He scored two goals in the 1989 FA Cup Final but his team lost. In 1991, he moved to Rangers in Scotland. There, he won five league titles, three Scottish Cups, and two Scottish League Cups over seven seasons.
McCall returned to Bradford City as captain in 1998. He helped them reach the Premier League for the first time in 77 years. After four more seasons, he moved to Sheffield United. He retired as a player in 2005.
Even though he was born in England, McCall played for Scotland. He qualified because his father was Scottish. He played in the 1990 FIFA World Cup and two European Championships.
After retiring as a player, McCall became a coach and manager. He managed Bradford City three times. He also managed Motherwell and Rangers.
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Stuart McCall's Early Life
Stuart McCall was born in Leeds, England. His parents were Scottish. His father, Andy, was also a professional footballer. Stuart was the youngest of three children.
The family lived near Leeds United's stadium. Stuart often watched games there. He dreamed of playing for Leeds United, just like his father.
Stuart played football for his primary and middle schools. He even scored a winning goal in a cup final with his arm in a sling! He captained the Leeds under-11 team.
When he was 14, Stuart played for local pub teams. He also played for youth clubs like Pudsey Juniors and Farsley Celtic. He thought he might not become a professional player. But then, he impressed a coach from Bradford City during a friendly game. This led to a trial.
Playing Career Highlights
Playing for Clubs
Bradford City (First Time)
Stuart McCall joined Bradford City in 1980 when he was 16. He made his first team debut in 1982. He played as a right-back at first. Soon, he became a midfielder. He played in 134 league games in a row!
In the 1984–85 season, Bradford City won the Division Three championship. McCall scored eight goals that season. The team celebrated their title on 11 May 1985. But this day became very sad. A fire broke out at the Valley Parade stadium. Many people were injured, including Stuart's father.
After the fire, the team played away from their home stadium for 19 months. The players became very close. They supported each other and the community. Finishing 13th in the Division Two was a big achievement.
McCall became the club captain in 1986. He was only 21. He helped the team avoid relegation. In the 1987–88 season, Bradford City almost got promoted. They missed out by just one point. After this, McCall left the club. He had played 238 league games for Bradford City, scoring 37 goals.
Everton
In 1988, McCall joined Everton for £850,000. Everton was a big club, but they were not as successful as before. McCall made his debut in a 4–0 win.
He played in the 1989 FA Cup Final against Liverpool. He scored a goal in the last minute to make it 2–2 and force extra time. He scored another goal in extra time, but Liverpool won 3–2.
McCall played 103 league games for Everton over three seasons. He also started playing for the Scottish national team during this time. He did not win any trophies with Everton.
Rangers
In 1991, McCall moved to Rangers in Scotland for £1.2 million. Rangers had already won three league titles in a row.
With Rangers, McCall won six more Scottish league titles in a row! He also won many cup competitions. In his first season, Rangers won both the league and the cup. In the 1992–93 season, they won three trophies: the league, the Scottish Cup, and the Scottish League Cup. They also almost reached the Champions League final.
McCall said that the team's success came from their great team spirit. He played in four Scottish Cup finals with Rangers. In 2008, Stuart McCall was added to the Rangers Hall of Fame. This is a special honour for important players.
Bradford City (Second Time)
In 1998, McCall returned to Bradford City as club captain. He was allowed to leave Rangers for free. The team had a new manager, Paul Jewell. They signed new players and surprised everyone by aiming for promotion.
On 9 May 1999, Bradford City won 3–2 against Wolverhampton Wanderers. This win meant they were promoted to the Premier League. It was the first time Bradford City had been in the top division of English football in 77 years!
Many people thought Bradford would struggle in the Premier League. But they managed to stay up. They avoided relegation on the very last day of the season. They won 1–0 against Liverpool.
After the season, McCall became assistant manager. He also played as a caretaker manager for two games. The team was relegated the next season. In 2002, McCall left Bradford City. He had a special testimonial match against Rangers. More than 21,000 fans came to watch. He gave some of the money from this match to a burns research unit.
Sheffield United
In 2002, McCall joined Sheffield United. Even though he was 38, he was an important player. He also coached the reserve team. He played 71 league games over two seasons. He scored two goals, including one against his old team, Bradford.
He helped Sheffield United reach the play-off final in 2003. They also reached the semi-finals of two cup competitions. McCall retired as a player in 2005, just before his 41st birthday. He played a total of 763 league games in his career.
Playing for Scotland
In 1984, Stuart McCall was asked to play for both England and Scotland's under-21 teams. He chose England first. But he did not get to play in the game. Because he didn't actually play, he was still allowed to choose Scotland. He later said he felt choosing England was a mistake.
He switched to Scotland and made his under-21 debut in 1988 against England. In 1990, he was called up to the main Scottish team. He played his first game on 28 March 1990.
McCall played in the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy. He played in all three of Scotland's games. He scored his only international goal against Sweden in a 2–1 win. Scotland did not make it past the group stage.
He also played for Scotland in the 1992 and 1996 European Championships. Scotland did not get past the group stage in either tournament. His last game for Scotland was in 1998. He played 40 times for Scotland and scored one goal.
Coaching and Managerial Career
Early Coaching Roles
In 2000, McCall became assistant manager at Bradford City. He briefly took over as caretaker manager for two games. After leaving Bradford, he joined Sheffield United as a coach. He became assistant manager to Neil Warnock. He helped Sheffield United get promoted to the Premier League in 2006. He left Sheffield United in 2007.
Bradford City (First Time as Manager)
Stuart McCall wanted to manage Bradford City. He was appointed manager on 1 June 2007. The club had financial problems and had been relegated to League Two. This was the lowest division they had played in for 25 years. McCall aimed to get them promoted back to League One in his first season.
He signed many new players. His first win as manager was on 25 August 2007. The team finished 10th in League Two that season.
For the 2008–09 season, Bradford City were expected to be promoted. McCall signed more experienced players. The team started well and were at the top of the league for the first time in seven years. McCall signed a new contract in February 2009. He wanted to get the team into the Championship. However, they missed out on promotion. McCall decided to stay and even took a pay cut.
In the 2009–10 season, the team had a tough start. They went four games without scoring. But then they won 5–4 against Cheltenham Town. McCall was proud of his young team. After a run of poor results, McCall left Bradford City on 8 February 2010. He had managed 133 games for the club.
Motherwell
After leaving Bradford, McCall became a scout for Norwich City. In December 2010, he was appointed manager of Motherwell in the Scottish Premier League. His first game was a 0–0 draw. He then won his first Scottish Cup game 4–0.
McCall led Motherwell to the semi-finals of both Scottish Cup competitions. They reached the final of the Scottish Cup in 2011.
In the 2011–12 season, Motherwell started very well. McCall won the manager of the month award twice. Motherwell finished 3rd in the league. This meant they qualified for the Champions League for the first time!
In the 2012–13 season, Motherwell lost many key players. They played in the Champions League qualifiers but lost to Panathinaikos. They then played in the Europa League play-offs but also lost.
In January 2013, McCall also joined the coaching staff for the Scotland national football team. He signed a new contract with Motherwell in March 2013. In April, he won another manager of the month award. Motherwell finished second in the league, their highest position since 1994–95. McCall won the Clydesdale Bank Manager of the Year award. He was offered the manager job at Sheffield United but chose to stay at Motherwell.
In the 2013–14 season, more key players left Motherwell. But McCall still led them to finish second in the league again! After a bad start to the 2014–15 season, McCall resigned as Motherwell manager on 2 November 2014.
Rangers (Manager)
McCall was appointed manager of Rangers on 12 March 2015. He signed a contract until the end of the season. His first game was a 1–1 draw. Rangers finished third in the league. They lost 6–1 to Motherwell in the play-off final. McCall wanted to stay, but Rangers chose a different manager.
Bradford City (Second Time as Manager)
McCall returned to Bradford City for a second time as manager on 20 June 2016. He also stopped coaching the Scotland national team. In his first season, the team reached the 2017 EFL League One play-off final. However, they lost 1–0 to Millwall. After six defeats in a row, McCall was sacked by Bradford on 5 February 2018.
Scunthorpe United
McCall became manager of Scunthorpe United on 27 August 2018. In January 2019, his team won four out of five games. He won the League One Manager of the Month award. But after this good run, the team's results got worse. McCall was sacked in March 2019. He later said he preferred coaching to managing.
Bradford City (Third Time as Manager)
On 4 February 2020, McCall was appointed Bradford manager for a third time. He left the club on 13 December 2020.
Assistant Coaching Roles
McCall joined Blackpool as assistant head coach on 22 July 2021. His father had played for Blackpool many years ago. On 25 November 2021, McCall left Blackpool to become assistant manager at Sheffield United. He left Sheffield United in December 2023. On 20 August 2024, McCall became assistant manager at Preston North End.
How Stuart McCall Played
Stuart McCall was known as a "box-to-box midfielder." This means he ran a lot all over the field. He was good at tackling and also scored goals. He scored about one goal every 11 games.
He was rarely suspended from games. He was only sent off once in his whole career. He had a strong desire to win games. He often scored important late goals, like his equaliser in the 1989 FA Cup Final.
Images for kids
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McCall as Sheffield United coach in 2007
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McCall (right) playing for Scotland during Euro 96
