Willie Miller

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Willie Miller
Personal information
Full name	William Ferguson Miller MBE
Date of birth	May 2, 1955 (age 51)
Place of birth	Glasgow, Scotland
Playing position	Central Defender
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1972-1990	Aberdeen	558 0(20)
National team
1975-1989	Scotland	065 00(1)
Teams managed
1992-1995	Aberdeen
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. * Appearances (Goals)

William Ferguson Miller, MBE (born May 2, 1955 in Glasgow) is a former professional football player who played only for Aberdeen. He played in defence. He also won 65 international caps for Scotland and is a member of the Scotland Football Hall of Fame.

He signed for Aberdeen at the age of seventeen and was made captain four years later. He was involved in possibly the best era ever for Aberdeen who, under the management of Sir Alex Ferguson, won the Cup Winners' Cup in 1983 with a 2-1 win over Real Madrid. Willie Miller's partnership with fellow defender Alex McLeish was a huge part of the success. He holds the record for most league appearances for Aberdeen, standing at 556 between 1973 and 1990, when he retired due to injury.

In February 1992 he stepped up from his position as a club coach to become manager, but despite some limited success was sacked in 1995, to be replaced by Roy Aitken. He then joined the BBC as a football commentator and analyst until he returned to Aberdeen in May 2004, when he joined the board with executive responsibility for football and appointed Jimmy Calderwood to the Dons' hotseat.

Considered by most neutrals to be the best Scottish defender ever, Sir Alex Ferguson has referred to him as "the best penalty box defender in the world".^[1]

Miller was undoubtedly one of the two fiercest competitors in early 1980s Scottish football along with Roy Aitken of Celtic although Miller was the better defender -quick, incisive and physically imposing.

[edit] References

Preceded by Bobby Clark	Aberdeen FC captain 1975-1990	Succeeded by Alex McLeish
Preceded by Charlie Nicholas	Scottish Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year 1984	Succeeded by Hamish McAlpine
Preceded by Charlie Nicholas	Scottish PFA Players' Player of the Year 1984	Succeeded by Jim Duffy
Preceded by Alex Smith	Aberdeen FC manager 1992-1995	Succeeded by Roy Aitken

	Scotland squad - 1982 FIFA World Cup
1 Rough | 2 McGrain | 3 Gray | 4 Souness | 5 Hansen | 6 Miller | 7 Strachan | 8 Dalglish | 9 Brazil | 10 Wark | 11 Robertson | 12 Wood | 13 McLeish | 14 Narey | 15 Jordan | 16 Hartford | 17 Evans | 18 Archibald | 19 Sturrock | 20 Provan | 21 Burley | 22 Leighton | Coach: Stein

	Scotland squad - 1986 FIFA World Cup
1 Leighton | 2 Gough | 3 Malpas | 4 Souness | 5 McLeish | 6 Miller | 7 Strachan | 8 Aitken | 9 Bannon | 10 Bett | 11 McStay | 12 Goram | 13 Nicol | 14 Narey | 15 Albiston | 16 McAvennie | 17 Archibald | 18 Sharp | 19 Nicholas | 20 Sturrock | 21 Cooper | 22 Rough | Coach: Ferguson