Paul McStay

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Paul McStay
Personal information
Full name Paul Michael Lyons McStay
Date of birth October 22, 1964 (1964-10-22) (age 43)
Place of birth    Hamilton, Scotland
Playing position Midfielder
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1981-1997 Celtic 678 (72)   
National team
1983-1997 Scotland 076 0(9)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only.
* Appearances (Goals)

Paul Michael Lyons McStay MBE, nicknamed the Maestro, (born 22 October 1964, in Hamilton) is a former football player who spent his entire career with Scottish team Celtic F.C.. He was noted for being an intelligent and inspiring player and captained both Scotland and Celtic at all age levels.

Contents

[edit] Career

McStay signed for Celtic aged seventeen from Celtic Boys Club in 1981. He scored on his league debut against Aberdeen in a match Celtic won 3-1 on January 30, 1982.

In the summer of 1982 he captained Scotland to victory in the UEFA European Under-18 Championship.[1] which was the first and only major trophy to date, won by the Scottish Football Association.

McStay made his full national team debut in 1983 and represented Scotland 76 times, including appearances at two World Cups in 1986 and 1990, during a 14-year international career.

When Roy Aitken left Celtic Park in 1990, McStay was appointed club captain, a position he retained until his retirement following the 1996-97 season. In his time with the club, Celtic won the League title three times, the Scottish Cup 4 times and the League Cup once.

Although the second half of McStay's career coincided with a time when Celtic were in turmoil and were overshadowed by rivals Rangers, in 2002 he was voted a member of Celtic's greatest ever team by the club's fans. He is also a member of the Scotland Football Hall of Fame.

McStay's family has a great footballing tradition. His great-uncles, Jimmy and Willie McStay, were former Celtic captains, and his brothers Willie (currently the club's Reserve Coach) and Raymond also played for Celtic. His nephew, John, played with Celtic Boys Club before moving onto Motherwell under 19s and now plays for Ayr United as a defender. [2]

McStay remains a popular figure amongst Celtic's fans with the song Willie Maley, which celebrates McStay (amongst other former players) becoming particularly popular in recent years,

Appearances: 678 Goals: 72

[edit] International goals

Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 October 17, 1984 Hampden Park, Glasgow Flag of Iceland Iceland 1-0 3-0 WCQG7
2 October 17, 1984 Hampden Park, Glasgow Flag of Iceland Iceland 2-0 3-0 WCQG7
3 January 28, 1986 National Stadium, Ramat Gan Flag of Israel Israel 1-0 1-0 Friendly
4 April 1, 1987 Parc Astrid, Brussels Flag of Belgium Belgium 1-1 1-4 ECQG7
5 October 14, 1987 Hampden Park, Glasgow Flag of Belgium Belgium 2-0 2-0 ECQG7
6 September 14, 1988 Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo Flag of Norway Norway 1-0 2-1 WCQG5
7 November 13, 1991 Hampden Park, Glasgow Flag of San Marino San Marino 1-0 4-0 ECQG2
8 March 25, 1992 Hampden Park, Glasgow Flag of Finland Finland 1-0 1-1 Friendly
9 June 18, 1992 Idrottsparken, Norrköping Flag of the Soviet Union USSR 1-0 3-0 ECGB

[edit] Honours (Club)

[edit] Honours (International)

[edit] References

  1. ^ When Smith made Scots Euro kings, The Scotsman, 4 December 2004
  2. ^ David W Potter, And they gave us James McGrory and Paul McStay, keep-the-faith.net, Retrieved 21 June, 2007.

[edit] External links

Awards
Preceded by
Frank McAvennie
Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year
1983
Succeeded by
John Robertson
Preceded by
Brian McClair
Scottish Football Writers' Association
Footballer of the Year

1988
Succeeded by
Richard Gough
Preceded by
Brian McClair
Scottish PFA Players' Player of the Year
1988
Succeeded by
Theo Snelders
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Roy Aitken
Celtic F.C. captain
1990-1997
Succeeded by
Tom Boyd