Willie Johnston

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Willie Johnston (born December 19, 1946, in Glasgow) was a Scottish football player for Rangers, West Bromwich Albion, Vancouver Whitecaps, Birmingham City (on loan), Heart of Midlothian and Scotland.

'Bud' was a talented player, whose left-wing trickery was a catalyst for the Rangers team which won the European Cup Winners Cup in 1972. He scored twice in the final as Rangers defeated Dynamo Moscow 3-2 in Barcelona.

However, his career included some controversial incidents. In 1978 when playing in the World Cup he was found to have taken a banned stimulant during the opening game against Peru. (As one fan commented later: "Stimulants? I thought the whole team were on tranquillisers?"). His subsequent expulsion from the squad ended his international career at 22 caps. His volatile temperament also ensured he was sent off around 10 times in his career.


Scotland Scotland squad - 1978 FIFA World Cup Scotland

1 Rough | 2 Jardine | 3 Donachie | 4 Buchan | 5 McQueen | 6 Rioch | 7 Masson | 8 Dalglish | 9 Jordan | 10 Hartford | 11 Johnston | 12 Blyth | 13 Kennedy | 14 Forsyth | 15 Gemmill | 16 Macari | 17 Johnstone | 18 Souness | 19 Robertson | 20 Clark | 21 Harper | 22 Burns | Coach: MacLeod