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John Greig

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For other people named John Greig, see John Greig (disambiguation).

John Greig
CBE
Greig in January 1969
Personal information
Date of birth (1942-09-11) 11 September 1942 (age 82)
Place of birth Edinburgh, Scotland
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
United Crossroads
1959–1959 Whitburn
1959–1961[1] Rangers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1961–1978 Rangers 498 (87)
International career
1963–1976[2] Scottish League XI 14 (1)
1963–1968[3] Scotland U23 3 (0)
1964[4] SFL trial v SFA 1 (0)
1964–1975 Scotland 44 (3)
Managerial career
1978–1983 Rangers
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

John Greig CBE[5] (born 11 September 1942) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a defender. He spent his entire career with Rangers, as a player, manager and director. Greig was voted "The Greatest Ever Ranger" in 1999 by the club's supporters,[6] and has been elected to Rangers' Hall of Fame.

Early life

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Greig played his youth football with United Crossroads Boys Club in Edinburgh, under the supervision of Eric Gardiner, and supported Hearts as a boy. It is unknown if Hearts showed any interest in signing him. Bob McAuley signed Greig for Rangers and despite his initial reluctance, Greig did as instructed by his father.[1] However, after viewing a match between Rangers and Hibernian at Easter Road, where he witnessed them beating Hibs 6–1, he was convinced the move was right.

Playing career

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Club

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A determined, forceful player, recognised for his great leadership qualities, Greig made 755 official appearances for Rangers (498 in the domestic league, 72 in the Scottish Cup, a club record 121 in the League Cup and 64 in European tournaments). He scored 120 goals for the club and won three domestic trebles. Greig actually started his career with Rangers as a forward, prior to being moved back to midfield — playing initially alongside another Rangers legend in Jim Baxter — and finally to left back. It was therefore in those initial years that he scored the majority of his goals for the club.

Greig was captain when Rangers won the European Cup Winners Cup in 1972 beating Dynamo Moscow 3–2 in Barcelona. Although Greig's was an enormously successful playing career, his captaincy coincided with a period of sustained success for Rangers' city rivals, Celtic, from the late 1960s until the mid-1970s. Greig's fortitude during that period further cemented his reputation as one of Rangers' most celebrated captains.

He was granted a testimonial match in 1978 against a Scotland XI as part of the national squad's preparations for the 1978 FIFA World Cup; Rangers won 5–0 before a crowd of 65,000 at Ibrox.[7]

International

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Greig played for Scotland on 44 occasions, 15 as captain, between 1964 and 1975.[8] He scored the late winner in Scotland's 1–0 victory against Italy at Hampden Park on 9 November 1965 and in 1967 achieved the distinction of captaining the Scottish side who beat England 3–2 — their first defeat as World Champions — at Wembley. Greig also represented the Scottish League XI 14 times.[9][2]

Managerial career

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Greig's playing career ended in May 1978 when he was appointed manager of Rangers, replacing Jock Wallace.[10] The club failed to win the league championship during Greig's time as manager, finishing no higher than the second place achieved in 1978–79. Greig's team had come close to winning a domestic treble and performed well in Europe in that first season. Rangers reached the quarter-final of the 1978–79 European Cup, defeating Italian champions Juventus and becoming the first club to win in European club competition at PSV's Philips Stadion, before eventual elimination to Cologne. There was also the partial compensation of success in domestic cup competitions, with two Scottish Cups and two League Cups secured over the course of Greig's five full seasons as manager. Greig was also responsible for signing Rangers' greatest ever goalscorer Ally McCoist from Sunderland. However, these were isolated achievements, and Greig — under intense pressure from the Scottish media, Rangers supporters and the club's directors — resigned in October 1983, replaced by the returning Wallace.

Post-football career

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After leaving Rangers, Greig worked as a pundit for Radio Scotland and BBC television. He returned in 1990 as part of the club's public relations team. Dick Advocaat, manager of Rangers from 1998 to 2001, re-involved Greig in football coaching during which time he contributed to youth development. In 2003, he joined the Rangers board of directors.[11] Greig resigned this position in October 2011, soon after the takeover of the club by Craig Whyte.[12] Greig and John McClelland, who resigned at the same time as Greig, stated that they had been excluded from the corporate governance of the club since Whyte had taken control.[12] Greig later re-joined Rangers on 23 May 2015, when he was named the club's honorary life president with ambassadorial responsibilities.[13]

Career statistics

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Club

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Scotland League Scottish Cup League Cup Europe Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1961–62 Rangers[14] Division One 11 7 1 0 2 1 1 0 15 8
1962–63 27 5 7 0 5 5 2 0 41 10
1963–64 34 4 6 2 10 0 2 0 52 6
1964–65 34 4 3 0 7 0 7 1 51 5
1965–66 32 7 7 0 10 1 0 0 49 8
1966–67 32 2 1 0 8 1 9 0 50 3
1967–68 32 11 4 2 6 0 6 1 48 14
1968–69 33 6 5 1 6 0 9 2 53 9
1969–70 30 7 3 2 6 0 4 0 43 9
1970–71 26 8 7 0 8 1 2 1 43 10
1971–72 28 8 6 1 6 0 8 0 48 9
1972–73 30 7 6 0 10 3 2 0 48 10
1973–74 32 6 1 0 10 2 4 2 47 10
1974–75 22 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 23 1
1975–76 Premier Division 36 2 5 0 10 1 4 0 55 3
1976–77 30 0 5 0 11 1 2 0 48 1
1977–78 29 2 5 1 5 1 2 1 41 5
Career total 498 87 72 9 121 17 64 7 755 120

International appearances

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Greig (left) exchanging pennants with Ajax's Johan Cruyff, January 1973
As of 4 March 2019[8]
International statistics
National team Year Apps Goals
Scotland 1964 5 0
1965 9 3
1966 6 0
1967 3 0
1968 5 0
1969 8 0
1970 3 0
1971 4 0
1972 —
1973 —
1974 —
1975 1 0
Total 44 3

International goals

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Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first
Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 27 May 1965 Olympic Stadium, Helsinki  Finland 2–1 2–1 1966 World Cup qualification
2. 9 November 1965 Hampden Park, Glasgow  Italy 1–0 1–0 1966 World Cup qualification
3. 24 November 1965 Hampden Park, Glasgow  Wales 4–1 4–1 1965–66 British Home Championship

Honours

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Statue of Greig at Ibrox Stadium, part of the memorial to the 1971 Ibrox disaster

Greig was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) on 15 November 1977. In June 2008, he was awarded honoris causa, from the University of Glasgow in recognition for outstanding achievement in football and continuing ambassadorship for the sport.[15]

He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2023 Birthday Honours for services to association football and the community in Scotland.[16]

As a player

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Club

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Rangers

Individual

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As a manager

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b John Greig; Jim Black (2005). John Greig: My Story. Headline Book Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7553-1354-9.
  2. ^ a b Under 9000 see Scots defeated, Glasgow Herald, 18 March 1976
  3. ^ Scotland U23 player Greig, John, FitbaStats
  4. ^ Ronnie McDevitt (2016). Scotland in the 60s: The Definitive Account of the Scottish National Football Side During the 1960s. Pitch Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78531-245-8.[permanent dead link‍]
  5. ^ "King's Birthday Honours: Sarah Hunter and Ian Wright among those included". BBC Sport. 17 June 2023. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  6. ^ "John Greig". STV Sport. STV. 1 April 2010. Archived from the original on 6 April 2010.
  7. ^ Greig gives Ally's team the blues, Glasgow Herald, 17 April 1978
  8. ^ a b John Greig at the Scottish Football Association
  9. ^ "SFL player John Greig". London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  10. ^ "Jock Wallace: Former players talk about their time with the legendary hard man". Leicester Mercury. 29 June 2014. Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  11. ^ "Greig joins Rangers board". BBC Sport. BBC. 26 December 2003.
  12. ^ a b "Rangers directors John Greig and John McClelland step down". BBC Sport. BBC. 17 October 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
  13. ^ "Rangers appoint John Greig as honorary life president". Daily Telegraph.
  14. ^ Rangers player Greig, John, FitbaStats (also includes Glasgow Cup, not shown in table)
  15. ^ "Honorary Degrees for Scottish football legends". University of Glasgow. 10 March 2008.
  16. ^ "No. 64082". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 June 2023. p. B9.
  17. ^ "NO HEADING". Press and Journal. 1 June 1979. Retrieved 7 May 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  18. ^ José Luis, Pierrend (1 May 2005). "European Footballer of the Year ("Ballon d'Or") 1972". RSSSF. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
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