Willie Rutherford
Encyclopedia
William MacDonald Rutherford (19 January 1945 – 24 October 2010) was an Australia
n football (soccer)
player.
where he made 28 first-team appearances, scoring three goals as an inside forward.
In the late 1960s he moved to Forfar Athletic
where he made only five appearances before emigrating to Australia.
Arriving in Australia in 1969, Rutherford joined Sydney Hakoah, where he played in several stints until the mid-1970s. He also played in Hong Kong during the Australian off-season.
While playing for Hakoah, he represented the state of New South Wales
three times. During his time with the club he was noted as a mercurial, unpredictable but undeniably brilliant player, rated by some as Sydney’s most valuable forward....
Rutherford was a very fast runner who took up professional running with some success in the 1970s.
.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n football (soccer)
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.
Club career
Rutherford played youth football for Methil before signing with East FifeEast Fife F.C.
East Fife Football Club are a Scottish football club based in the Fife coastal town of Methil...
where he made 28 first-team appearances, scoring three goals as an inside forward.
In the late 1960s he moved to Forfar Athletic
Forfar Athletic F.C.
Forfar Athletic Football Club are a Scottish semi-professional football club from the town of Forfar, Angus. They are members of the Scottish Football League and currently play in the Second Division...
where he made only five appearances before emigrating to Australia.
Arriving in Australia in 1969, Rutherford joined Sydney Hakoah, where he played in several stints until the mid-1970s. He also played in Hong Kong during the Australian off-season.
While playing for Hakoah, he represented the state of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
three times. During his time with the club he was noted as a mercurial, unpredictable but undeniably brilliant player, rated by some as Sydney’s most valuable forward....
Rutherford was a very fast runner who took up professional running with some success in the 1970s.
International career
Rutherford played six times for the Australian national football team. All of his matches were played in 1969 during Australia's failed qualification for the 1970 FIFA World Cup1970 FIFA World Cup
The 1970 FIFA World Cup, the ninth staging of the World Cup, was held in Mexico, from 31 May to 21 June. The 1970 tournament was the first World Cup hosted in North America, and the first held outside South America and Europe. In a match-up of two-time World Cup champions, the final was won by...
.
Outside Football
A building industry supervisor, Rutherford married once and later divorced. He and his former wife had one son and one daughter.External links
- Vale Willie Rutherford - Football Federation AustraliaFootball Federation AustraliaFootball Federation Australia is the governing body for the sport of football in Australia. Before 1 January 2005, it was known as the Australian Soccer Association , which succeeded Soccer Australia in this role in 2003...
obituary - published 27 October 2010