Gordon Strachan

Gordon Strachan
OBE

Strachan as manager of Celtic in 2007
Personal information
Full name	Gordon David Strachan[1]
Date of birth	(1957-02-09) 9 February 1957 (age 67)[2]
Place of birth	Edinburgh, Scotland
Height	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)[3]
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Dundee (technical director)
Youth career
1971–1974	Dundee
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1974–1977	Dundee	69	(13)
1977–1984	Aberdeen	183	(55)
1984–1989	Manchester United	160	(33)
1989–1995	Leeds United	197	(37)
1995–1997	Coventry City	26	(0)
Total		635	(138)
International career
1979	Scotland U21	1	(0)
1980–1992	Scotland	50	(5)
Managerial career
1996–2001	Coventry City
2001–2004	Southampton
2005–2009	Celtic
2009–2010	Middlesbrough
2013–2017	Scotland
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Gordon David Strachan OBE (/ˈstræxən/ born 9 February 1957) is a Scottish former football coach and player who is currently Technical Director of Dundee. He played for Dundee, Aberdeen, Manchester United, Leeds United and Coventry City, as well as the Scotland national team. He has since managed Coventry City, Southampton, Celtic, Middlesbrough and Scotland.

In club football, Strachan played 635 league games, scoring a total of 138 goals, playing 21 of 25 career seasons in either the English or Scottish top-flight. In international football Strachan earned 50 caps, scoring five goals and played in two FIFA World Cup final tournaments, Spain 82 and Mexico 86. Strachan retired from playing in 1997 at age 40, setting a Premier League record for an outfield player.

A right-sided midfielder, Strachan made his senior debut in 1974 with Dundee before moving on within Scotland, to spend seven seasons at Aberdeen. He first played for the Scotland national team in 1980. While at Aberdeen Strachan won multiple domestic league and cup honours in the early 1980s, as well as the 1982–83 European Cup Winners' Cup and 1983 European Super Cup. Moving to England, Strachan won the 1985 FA Cup final in five seasons with Manchester United. He spent the next seven seasons as club captain at Leeds, winning the 1989–90 Second Division and 1991–92 First Division league titles. He played his last game for Scotland in 1992. He moved to Coventry in 1995 for a final three seasons, as a player-coach.

Strachan became full-time manager of Coventry when the incumbent Ron Atkinson was appointed as director of football. After five years as Coventry manager, he was sacked in 2001 after the club was relegated from the top-flight for the first time in 34 years. He returned to the Premier League as Southampton manager and guided the "Saints" to the 2003 FA Cup final, where they lost 1–0 to Arsenal. Strachan resigned from Southampton in 2004 and took a 16-month break from management. He returned to Scotland to become manager of Celtic, where he achieved three successive league titles and other domestic cup wins. Strachan left Celtic in May 2009 after failing to win a fourth title. He then became manager of Middlesbrough in the English Championship, but left the club after an unsuccessful 12 months in the job. Strachan then managed the Scotland national team for five years, but was unable to secure qualification for a major tournament.

Strachan was named as FWA Footballer of the Year for the 1990–91 season while at Leeds. He was also named Manager of the Year in Scotland several times by writers and players while at Celtic. In 2007, Strachan was inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame. He is the father of Craig Strachan and Gavin Strachan and the grandfather of Luke Strachan, all of whom were also footballers.

Strachan was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1993 New Year Honours for services to association football.^[4]