There are hundreds of Scottish football players who shine in the world of football, especially in the Premier League competition. Although the Scotland national football team has not been able to win any prestigious title in any major international competition, many players of this country have won a lot of prestigious trophies at club level. The question is, who is the best footballer of Scotland?
To answer this question, I wrote a list of 15 best Scottish football players from time to time. Most of the players in this list won numerous accomplishments and awards at Premier League clubs as well as possessing great individual football skills that are recognized worldwide. Be sure to cast a vote for your favorite in the poll module at the end of this article.
15. John Collins
John Collins is a retired central midfielder who played for Scotland football team in the period 1988-1999 and became a mainstay of his country in the 1998 World Cup tournament. At club level, Colins' best performance occurred in the 1997-98 season when he played for AS Monaco. In that period, Collins successfully helped AS Monaco win the Ligue 1 as well as bringing the club reached semi-finals rounds of the Champions League.
14. Neil Sullivan
Neil Sullivan is a former Scottish goalkeeper who spent most of his career playing in the Premier League competition. He played for Wimbledon in the 1988-2000 period and also joined Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, and Leeds United. Although he played in the Premier League competition for more than 15 years, Sullivan had never won any prestigious trophy. His best achievement is when he was selected as the best Premier League goalkeeper of the 1997-98 season.
13. Jim Baxter
Jim Baxter was a left midfielder who plays for Glasgow Rangers, Nottingham Forest and Sunderland in the 1960s. His best period happened when he played for Rangers from 1960-1965. At that period, Baxter helped the club win the ten major trophies. In addition to having accurate passing skills, Baxter is also known as a player who is able to evoke the spirit of his teammates in a harsh match.
12. Jim Leighton
Jim Leighton is the one who deserves the title as Scotland's best goalkeeper of all time. Until now, he still holds the record as goalkeeper with the most numbers of appearances for the Scotland national team, with a total of 91 caps. His best career occurred in the period 1977-1988 at Aberdeen, where he won three Scottish League titles. Not only that, Leighton also became the main goalkeeper of Manchester United in the 1986-1990 period and helped the club win an FA Cup trophy in 1989-90 season.
11. Gary McAllister
Gary McAllister is a retired central midfielder who is famous for his ability in taking set-pieces. He scored a lot of goals from penalty kicks and free kicks, and often provide great assists from a corner kick situations. This player spent most of his career in the Premier League, playing for Leicester City, Leeds United, Coventry City, and Liverpool. McAllister is considered one of the most important figure who helped Liverpool win five titles in the 2000-01 season.
10. Hughie Gallacher
Hughie Gallacher is one of Newcastle's best players of all time. The striker who played in the 1921 period was very prolific in scoring goals. He is short, but very powerful, fast, and has great techniques. Gallacher's performance at the national team level is also very impressive, where he scored 23 goals only in 20 appearances. Not only that, he also played a major role to help his country defeat its arch rivals, England, with a score of 5-1 at Wembley stadium in 1928.
9. Colin Hendry
Colin Hendry was a strong and charismatic central defender. He was one of the best players of Blackburn Rovers who helped the club win the Premier League title in 1995. Not only strong in defense, Hendry also often scored goals from corner-kick situations. Throughout his career at the club level, he scored 44 goals, quite an impressive number of goals for a central defender. He was also trusted to be a captain of Scotland national football team in the 1998 World Cup.
8. John Greig
John Greig is a retired right-back who spent his entire 17-year career as a professional footballer with one club, Glasgow Rangers. Throughout his career, he won five Scottish League titles and a Winners' Cup trophy. His outstanding contribution made Greig was awarded the title of Rangers' best player of all time by the fans. The club management even built a statue of John Greig outside Rangers' stadium to honor his greatness.
7. Billy McNeill
If John Greig is a legendary defender of Glasgow Rangers, then Billy McNeill is the legendary Celtic defender. During his 18-year career as a professional footballer from 1957 to 1975, McNeill only played for one club, Glasgow Celtic. He helped the club win nine Scottish League titles and a Champions League trophy. Not only as a player, McNeill also had a successful career as a coach, presenting four Scottish League titles for Celtic in 1980s.
6. Darren Fletcher
Darren Fletcher is a versatile central midfielder who is known for his impressive performances at Manchester United. He was raised by Manchester United Youth Academy and made his debut in 2002. At Manchester United, Fletcher serves as a central midfielder who has a role as a connector between the offensive and defensive lines. His career at the club level so far is quite brilliant, in which he won five Premier League titles, one Champions League trophy, and a FIFA Club World Club trophy.
5. Jimmy Johnstone
Jimmy Johnstone is a retired right-winger who was awarded the title "Best Celtic Players of All Time." This player joined Celtic in the period 1961-1975 and presented nine Scottish League titles and a Champions League trophy. Johnstone is also known as one of the shortest footballers in the world, with a height of only 157 centimeters. Throughout his career, Johnstone is famous as a fast, agile, and determined player. Many pundits even said that his dribbling skills is even better than Pele's.
4. Graeme Souness
Souness is a midfielder who was trusted to be the captain of Liverpool's golden generation in the early 1980s. During seven seasons played for this club, he won five Premier League titles, four League Cup trophies, and three Champions Cup trophies. Together with his Scottish compatriots, Allan Hansen who played as a defender and Kenny Dalglish who played as a striker; Souness took Liverpool to dominate the world of European football. Souness also underwent a brilliant career as a player-manager at Glasgow Celtic in the period 1986-1991, where he helped the club win three Scottish league titles.
3. Alan Hansen
In terms of number of trophies and awards won, Alan Hansen can be named as the best Scottish footballer in the history of Premier League. During 14 years playing for Liverpool in the period 1977-1991, Hansen won eight Premier League titles, two FA Cup trophies, four League Cup trophies, and three Champions Cup trophy. His height and great physical strength made Hansen become the number one center back of Liverpool for more than a decade.
2. Denis Law
With a total of 237 goals, Denis Law is Manchester United's second top scorer of all time. This player was famous as a fast, aggressive, and determined striker. Not only that, Law is also the only Scottish player who was awarded the Ballon d'Or, precisely in 1964. At Manchester United, Law won two Premier League titles, one FA Cup trophy and a Champions League trophy.
1. Kenny Dalglish
Considering his impressive performances at club level and at the national team level, it seems appropriate to put Kenny Dalglish on the top spot of this list. Dalglish is the record holder for the most goals and most appearances for the Scotland national football team, with a record of 30 goals in 102 appearances. Not only that, the striker also successfully won four Scottish League at Glasgow Celtic and six Premier League titles, four League Cups and three Champions Cup trophies at Liverpool. Due to his great achievements and prowess performances on the pitch, Dalglish is nicknamed as "King Kenny" by Liverpool fans.
