Great Players 1975-1980

Kenny Dalglish
International debut – 3rd October 1964 V Wales
Number of Caps – 23
Goals – 4

Many believed that Dalglish lacked pace, however his speed was certainly compensated with thought that kept his one step ahead of everyone else. In his eight seasons spent at Celtic, they never finished outside the top 3 of the Scottish league. Amazingly, Dalglish starred in 11 domestic cup finals in six years, scoring in four of the finals. Liverpool purchased Dalglish for £440,000 in 1977. Dalglish fitted into the Liverpool team immediately, dazzling the city with his subtle touches around the opponent’s territory. Kenny Dalglish was the first player to net a century of goals for a Scottish league club. He scored his 100th goal for Liverpool with a brilliant effort against Ipswich. In 1985, Dalglish was appointed player manager. Dalglish won the league on 7 occasions with Liverpool.

Roy Aitkin 
International debut – 12th September 1979
Number of Caps – 56
Goals – 1

Aitkin was a permanent fixture in the central defence of the Celtic first team in 1977. Aitkin’s amazing qualities won him admirers; Aitkin made his debut for Scotland in 1979 and featured in three world cups for his country. As captain of Scotland in the 1990 world cup, Aitkin was one of the few players whose performance could not be faulted. In total, Aitkin made 483 league appearances for Celtic, scoring 40 goals.

Alan Hansen
International debut – 19th May 1979 V Wales
Number of Caps – 26
Goals – 0

During the early 1980s, his partnership in Liverpool’s defence with Mark Lawrenson gave the reds one of the finest defensive pairings in Europe. Alan Hansen was installed captain of Liverpool in 1985 and by the end of the 1985-86 season, Hansen was able to take his place in history alongside Danny Banchflower and Frank McLintock as one of three captains to lead their clubs to the ‘double’ in the 20th century.
Hansen featured in the Scottish national side during the 1982 world cup finals and featured a total of 26 times for his country. In total, Hansen has won 16 major trophies with Liverpool.

Alex McLeish
International debut – 12th September 1979
Number of Caps – 56
Goals – 1

McLeish first came into the prominence in Scottish football while playing for Aberdeen in 1978. McLeish’s aggressive type of play seemed just as well suited to midfield as defence in the early years of his career. He helped Aberdeen win the Scottish Cup five times, the championship three times and the league cup on three occasions. His greatest triumph was winning the 1984 European cup winners Cup final in 1984. McLeish appeared for Scotland in three world cup finals, 1982, 1986 and 1990.