Willie Miller

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For the American football player of the same name see Willie Miller (football player).

For the basketball player, see Willie Miller (basketball player).

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Personal information
Willie Miller
Full name	William Ferguson Miller MBE
Date of birth	May 2, 1955 (1955-05-02) (age 53)
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 Aberdeen's most successful period under the management of Sir Alex Ferguson. Willie Miller's partnership with fellow defender Alex McLeish was a large part of Aberdeen's success in the 1980s. He holds the record for most league appearances for Aberdeen, standing at 556 between 1973 and 1990, when he retired due to an injury picked up whilst playing for Scotland.

In February 1992 he stepped up from his position as a club coach to become manager, succeeding Alex Smith, but despite two second-place finishes in the league and two losing cup finals, Willie was sacked in February 1995, and was 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.

He is considered by many neutrals to be one of the best Scottish defenders ever, with Sir Alex Ferguson having referred to him as "the best penalty box defender in the world".^[1]

[edit] References

^ Harry Reid (2005), The Final Whistle?, Birlinn, 237-8 ISBN 1-84158-362-6

Awards
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

v • d • e 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

v • d • e 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

v • d • e

Aberdeen F.C. – Managers

Philip (1903–23) • Travers (1923–38) • Halliday (1938–55) • Shaw (1955–59) • Pearson (1959–65) • Turnbull (1965–71) • Bonthrone (1971–75) • MacLeod (1975–77) • McNeill (1977–78) • Ferguson (1978–86) • Porterfield (1986–88) • Smith (1988–92) • Scott (1988–92) • W. Miller (1992–95) • Aitken (1995–97) • A. Miller (1997–98) • Burkinshaw (1998–99) • Hegarty (1999) • Skovdahl (1999–2002) • Speirs (2002) • Paterson (2002–04) • Calderwood (2004–)