Willie Miller
Encyclopedia
William Ferguson Miller, MBE
(born 2 May 1955 in Glasgow
) is a former professional football
player who made a club record 558 league appearances for Aberdeen
. He is currently the club's Director of Football. Sir Alex Ferguson
described Miller as "the best penalty box defender in the world".
was integral to Aberdeen's success in the 1980s, as they won all the major domestic honours and the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1983
. He retired from playing in 1990 due to an injury picked up whilst playing for Scotland
. In 2003, Willie Miller was voted the greatest Aberdeen player of all time in a poll to mark the club's centenary.
and scored one goal. He was an inaugural inductee to the Scottish Football Hall of Fame
, in 2004.
In 2010, Miller was chosen as one of the eleven members of Scotland's Greatest Team, by viewers of the Scottish Television documentary series, which soughts the fans' opinion on the greatest ever Scotland players. Viewers also chose Alex McLeish as his central defence partner.
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, replacing the sacked Alex Smith. Despite two second-place finishes in the league and two losing cup finals, Miller was sacked in February 1995.
In May 2004, Miller was appointed to the Aberdeen board and given executive responsibility for football. He played a large role in the appointment of Jimmy Calderwood
as manager.
as a football commentator and analyst between leaving Aberdeen as manager in 1995 and returning as Director of Football in 2004. He has written two autobiographies, The Miller's Tale and The Don, the latter being published in 2007.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 2 May 1955 in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
) is a former professional football
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...
player who made a club record 558 league appearances for Aberdeen
Aberdeen F.C.
Aberdeen Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen...
. He is currently the club's Director of Football. Sir Alex Ferguson
Alex Ferguson
Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986...
described Miller as "the best penalty box defender in the world".
Aberdeen
Miller signed for Aberdeen in 1972 at the age of seventeen and was made captain four years later by manager Ally McLeod. His central defensive partnership with Alex McLeishAlex McLeish
Alexander "Alex" McLeish , is a Scottish former professional footballer and manager, who is currently managing English Premier League club Aston Villa...
was integral to Aberdeen's success in the 1980s, as they won all the major domestic honours and the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1983
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1982-83
The season 1982-83 of the European Cup Winners' Cup was won by Aberdeen FC in an extra-time victory against Real Madrid. It was the second and last time the title went to Scotland, following Rangers' victory in 1972.-Preliminary round:-First round:...
. He retired from playing in 1990 due to an injury picked up whilst playing 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...
. In 2003, Willie Miller was voted the greatest Aberdeen player of all time in a poll to mark the club's centenary.
Honours
- European Cup Winners' Cup Winner: 1
-
- 1982–831982-83 in Scottish footballThe 1982–83 season was the 86th season of competitive football in Scotland.-Overview:In a tightly fought contest Dundee United win their first and only title this season. The league remains undecided until the last day of the season with Aberdeen, Celtic and Dundee United in contention...
- European Super CupEuropean Super CupThe UEFA Super Cup is an annual football game between the reigning champions of the two cup competitions organized by UEFA: the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League...
Winner: 1
- European Super Cup
- 1982–831982-83 in Scottish footballThe 1982–83 season was the 86th season of competitive football in Scotland.-Overview:In a tightly fought contest Dundee United win their first and only title this season. The league remains undecided until the last day of the season with Aberdeen, Celtic and Dundee United in contention...
- Scottish Premier Division Winner: 3
- 1979–801979-80 in Scottish footballThe 1979–80 season was the 83rd season of competitive football in Scotland.-Scottish Premier Division:Champions: AberdeenRelegated: Dundee, Hibernian-Scottish League Division One:Promoted: Hearts, Airdrieonians...
, 1983–841983-84 in Scottish footballThe 1983–84 season was the 87th season of competitive football in Scotland.-Scottish Premier Division:Champions: AberdeenRelegated: St...
, 1984–851984-85 in Scottish footballThe 1984–85 season was the 88th season of competitive football in Scotland. This is the last time a non Old Firm club has won the Scottish Premier title.-Scottish Premier Division:Champions: AberdeenRelegated: Dumbarton, Morton....
- Scottish CupScottish CupThe Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,, commonly known as the Scottish Cup or the William Hill Scottish Cup for sponsorship purposes, is the main national cup competition in Scottish football. It is a knockout cup competition run by and named after the Scottish Football Association.The...
Winner: 4
- Scottish Cup
- 1981–821981-82 in Scottish footballThe 1981–82 season was the 85th season of Scottish league football.-Scottish Premier Division:Champions: CelticRelegated: Partick Thistle, Airdrieonians-Scottish League Division One:Promoted: Motherwell, Kilmarnock...
, 1982–831982-83 in Scottish footballThe 1982–83 season was the 86th season of competitive football in Scotland.-Overview:In a tightly fought contest Dundee United win their first and only title this season. The league remains undecided until the last day of the season with Aberdeen, Celtic and Dundee United in contention...
, 1983–841983-84 in Scottish footballThe 1983–84 season was the 87th season of competitive football in Scotland.-Scottish Premier Division:Champions: AberdeenRelegated: St...
, 1985–861985-86 in Scottish footballThe 1985–86 season was the 89th season of competitive football in Scotland.-Key events:With Rangers once again failing to mount a title challenge, manager Jock Wallace's second spell as manager ended in April when he was sacked and the club appointed Graeme Souness as player-manager,...
- Scottish League CupScottish League CupThe 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...
Winner: 3
- Scottish League Cup
- 1976–771976-77 in Scottish footballSeason 1976–1977 was the 80th season of Scottish league football.After the failure of the Spring Cup and the 26 game season in the 1st & 2nd Divisions, a 39 game season was instituted in these divisions with a slight imbalance in the amount of home and away games played by each team; however,...
, 1985–861985-86 in Scottish footballThe 1985–86 season was the 89th season of competitive football in Scotland.-Key events:With Rangers once again failing to mount a title challenge, manager Jock Wallace's second spell as manager ended in April when he was sacked and the club appointed Graeme Souness as player-manager,...
, 1989–901989-90 in Scottish footballThe 1989–90 season was the 93rd season of competitive football in Scotland.-Notable events:Rangers won their third league title in four seasons under the management of Graeme Souness....
- 1982–83
Scotland
Miller won 65 international caps for ScotlandScotland 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...
and scored one goal. He was an inaugural inductee to the Scottish Football Hall of Fame
Scottish Football Hall of Fame
The Scottish Football Hall of Fame is located at the Scottish Football Museum. Inductees are picked each year by fans and a committee selects the eight finalists who are inducted at an annual dinner....
, in 2004.
In 2010, Miller was chosen as one of the eleven members of Scotland's Greatest Team, by viewers of the Scottish Television documentary series, which soughts the fans' opinion on the greatest ever Scotland players. Viewers also chose Alex McLeish as his central defence partner.
Club
http://www.afcheritage.org/Team/CurrentSquad/player_show.cfm?player_id=707| Club | |League | |Lge Cup | |Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Aberdeen Aberdeen F.C. Aberdeen Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen... |
1972–73 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1973–74 | 31 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 46 | 0 | |
| 1974–75 | 34 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 2 | |
| 1975–76 | 36 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 1 | |
| 1976–77 | 36 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 0 | |
| 1977–78 | 36 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 50 | 2 | |
| 1978–79 | 34 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 51 | 1 | |
| 1979–80 | 31 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 46 | 2 | |
| 1980–81 | 33 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 44 | 2 | |
| 1981–82 | 36 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 58 | 0 | |
| 1982–83 | 36 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 60 | 3 | |
| 1983–84 | 34 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 60 | 4 | |
| 1984–85 | 35 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 43 | 3 | |
| 1985–86 | 33 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 51 | 3 | |
| 1986–87 | 36 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 43 | 2 | |
| 1987–88 | 42 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 57 | 3 | |
| 1988–89 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 29 | 3 | |
| 1989–90 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 0 | |
| 1990–91 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Career total | 560 | 21 | 66 | 6 | 109 | 3 | 61 | 2 | 797 | 32 | |
International
http://www.national-football-teams.com/v2/player.php?id=17661|-
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|1981||7||0
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|1983||9||0
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|1984||6||0
|-
|1985||8||0
|-
|1986||8||0
|-
|1987||4||0
|-
|1988||7||0
|-
|1989||2||0
|-
!Total||65||1
|}
Aberdeen
In February 1992, he was appointed Aberdeen managerHead coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
, replacing the sacked Alex Smith. Despite two second-place finishes in the league and two losing cup finals, Miller was sacked in February 1995.
In May 2004, Miller was appointed to the Aberdeen board and given executive responsibility for football. He played a large role in the appointment of Jimmy Calderwood
Jimmy Calderwood
James "Jimmy" Calderwood is a Scottish former footballer and currently without a club having recently been manager of Ross County. Calderwood played for English clubs Birmingham City and Cambridge United and Dutch clubs Sparta Rotterdam, Willem II Tilburg, Roda JC and Heracles Almelo...
as manager.
Career outside football
He has worked for the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
as a football commentator and analyst between leaving Aberdeen as manager in 1995 and returning as Director of Football in 2004. He has written two autobiographies, The Miller's Tale and The Don, the latter being published in 2007.
External links
- Willie Miller, Post War English & Scottish Football League A – Z Player's Database