Neil Mochan was a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 professional footballer

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 whose twenty-year playing career included periods in both the Scottish and English top divisions.

Born in Carron

Carron

Carron may refer to :Rivers:* River Carron , a river in Central Scotland* River Carron, Wester Ross* River Carron, Sutherland* Carron Water, Aberdeenshire, a river that flows into the North Sea in Stonehaven...

, Stirlingshire

Stirlingshire

Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling is a registration county of Scotland, based around Stirling, the former county town. It borders Perthshire to the north, Clackmannanshire and West Lothian to the east, Lanarkshire to the south, and Dunbartonshire to the south-west.Until 1975 it was a county...

, he attended St Francis RC School in Falkirk

Falkirk

Falkirk is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies in the Forth Valley, almost midway between the two most populous cities of Scotland; north-west of Edinburgh and north-east of Glasgow....

, concurrently developing his footballing skills with juvenile side Dunipace Thistle. He joined Greenock Morton

Greenock Morton F.C.

Greenock Morton Football Club are a Scottish professional football club, who currently play in the Scottish Football League First Division. The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest senior Scottish clubs....

 in 1944 and played seven seasons by the Tail of the Bank before a £14,000 transfer to Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough F.C.

Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...

. He returned to Scotland two years later joining Celtic

Celtic F.C.

Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...

 for £8,000.

Mochan's Celtic career started with a flourish, his new side winning the Coronation Cup

Coronation Cup (football)

The Coronation Cup was a one-off football tournament to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, between four English and four Scottish clubs, held in Glasgow in May 1953...

 in only his second game for them. He enjoyed further success the next year as Celtic won the Double

The Double

The Double is a term in association football which refers to winning a country's top tier division and its primary cup competition in the same season...

 in 1953-54

1953-54 in Scottish football

The 1953–54 season was the 57th season of competitive football in Scotland.-Scottish League Division A:Champions: CelticRelegated: Airdrieonians, Hamilton Academical-Scottish League Division B:...

. He made his debut for Scotland

Scotland national football team

The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...

 at that season's end and was selected in the squad for the 1954 FIFA World Cup

1954 FIFA World Cup

The 1954 FIFA World Cup, the fifth staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. Switzerland was chosen as hosts in July 1946. The tournament set a number of all-time records for goal-scoring, including the highest average goals scored per game...

 in Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

. However, he couldn't prevent Scotland succumbing to both Austria

Austria national football team

The Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association ....

 and Uruguay

Uruguay national football team

The Uruguayan national football team represents Uruguay in international association football and is controlled by the Uruguayan Football Association, the governing body for football in Uruguay. The current head coach is Óscar Tabárez...

 and exiting the competition in the first round.

Mochan had predominantly played as a centre-forward of outside left during his career but, despite a consistent scoring record, he was not always a first-team regular at Celtic Park

Celtic Park

Celtic Park is a football stadium in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which is the home ground of Celtic FC. Celtic Park, an all-seater stadium with a capacity of 60,832, is the largest football stadium in Scotland and the sixth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom, after Murrayfield, Old Trafford,...

. Resultantly, he became somewhat of a utility player, filling in at inside left and even leftback when required. He was selected at outside left in what was probably his most famous performance for Celtic, in the 1957-58

1957-58 in Scottish football

The 1957–58 season was the 61st season of competitive football in Scotland.-Scottish League Division One:Champions: HeartsRelegated: East Fife, Queen's Park-Scottish League Division Two:...

 Scottish League Cup

Scottish League Cup

The Scottish League Cup is a football competition open to all Scottish Football League and Scottish Premier League clubs. At present it is also known as the Scottish Communities League Cup owing to the sponsorship deal in place with the Scottish Government. In the past it has been sponsored by...

 final. This match, commonly referred to as Hampden in the sun

Hampden in the sun

The 1957 Scottish League Cup Final was a football match played on 19 October 1957 at Hampden Park, in which Celtic beat rivals Rangers in a record 7–1 victory. The final was nicknamed Hampden in the Sun, a phrase first coined by Celtic supporters as the title of a terrace song...

, witnessed Mochan score twice as Celtic defeated their Old Firm

Old Firm

The Old Firm is a common collective name for the association football clubs Celtic and Rangers, both based in Glasgow, Scotland.The origin of the term is unclear. One theory has it that the expression derives from Celtic's first game in 1888, which was played against Rangers. However, author,...

 rivals Rangers

Rangers F.C.

Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...

 by 7-1.

In 1960 Mochan joined newly promoted Dundee United

Dundee United F.C.

Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club located in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923...

 and helped the side comfortably secure their position in the top division. In 1963 he signed for Raith Rovers

Raith Rovers F.C.

Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Kirkcaldy, Fife. They are members of the Scottish Football League, currently playing in the First Division, having secured promotion from the Second Division as champions in 2009. Rovers have won one national trophy, the...

, his younger brother's former club. Dennis Mochan had joined Raith from East Fife

East Fife F.C.

East Fife Football Club are a Scottish football club based in the Fife coastal town of Methil...

 in 1959 but left for Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest F.C.

Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...

 the year before Neil moved to Stark's Park

Stark's Park

Stark's Park is a football stadium in Kirkcaldy, Scotland. It is the home ground of Raith Rovers F.C..-History:The ground was opened in 1891 and seats 10,104. It is located in Kirkcaldy, Fife...

.

Mochan returned to Celtic as a trainer after his playing retirement in 1964. He served for many years as head trainer under his former team-mate Jock Stein

Jock Stein

John 'Jock' Stein CBE was a Scottish association football player and manager. He became the first manager of a British side to win the European Cup, with Celtic in 1967...

 and continued in a coaching capacity well into the 1980s, under Stein's successors Billy McNeill

Billy McNeill

William "Billy" McNeill MBE is a former Scottish footballer and manager. He is best known for captaining Celtic to the European Cup triumph in 1967 and he later went on to manage the club. He is now the official Club Ambassador at Celtic....

 and Davie Hay

David Hay

David Hay is a former Scottish footballer. After completing secondary education at St Mirin's Academy in Paisley he signed for Celtic in 1966 and became one of the so called 'Quality Street Kids', the great Celtic reserve team that also included players such as Kenny Dalglish, Lou Macari, Danny...

.

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