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Brian Irvine

Personal information
Date of birth	(1965-05-24) 24 May 1965 (age 59)
Place of birth	Bellshill, Scotland
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) [1]
Position(s)	Central defender
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	( Gls)
1983–1985	Falkirk	38	(0)
1985–1997	Aberdeen	311	(30)
1997–1999	Dundee	69	(4)
1999–2003	Ross County	119	(13)
Total		537	(47)
International career
1990–1994	Scotland	9	(0)
Managerial career
2006	Elgin City
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Brian Irvine (born 24 May 1965 in Bellshill, Scotland) is a former international footballer who played as a central defender for Falkirk, Aberdeen, Dundee, Ross County and managed Elgin City. He was capped nine times by Scotland. ^{[2] [3]}

Career

After working in a bank on leaving school, ^[3] Irvine began his professional career with Falkirk in 1983, aged 18. ^[4] During his spell with the Bairns, he became an evangelical Christian. ^{[4] [2] [3]}

After two years and nearly forty league appearances at Brockville, Irvine moved to Aberdeen, the team he had supported as a child, ^[3] for a fee of £110,000. ^[3] During twelve years with the Dons, Irvine made over 350 appearances in all competitions, gradually becoming a regular in the defence alongside Alex McLeish as veteran captain Willie Miller's career came to an end. ^{[2] [1]}

Aberdeen won the Scottish Cup in 1990, with Irvine scoring the winning penalty in a 9–8 shootout win against Celtic in the final, ^{[4] [2] [3] [5]} having also scored in the quarter-final and semi-final. ^{[6] [2]} He had already come on as a substitute in the League Cup final victory in the same season, ^[2] and played a part in two other finals ^[7] and five runners-up finishes in the Scottish Premier Division ^[8] (losing out to Rangers on every occasion), as well as helping the club avoid what would have been a first-ever relegation via a play-off in 1995. ^[9] He took over in goals in emergencies (if the goalkeeper was injured or sent off) on several occasions, saving a penalty in a match against Hibernian in 1991. ^{[1] [10]}

In June 1995 he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, ^{[2] [3]} returning to action four months after the diagnosis. ^[4] Irvine left Pittodrie in 1997 (following a testimonial match against Wimbledon) ^[11] and moved to Dundee, featuring nearly 70 times in two years. In 1999, Irvine moved to Ross County, where he finished his playing career in 2003. ^[3]

Coaching career / later work

After retiring, Irvine stayed with County as a coach, taking his first managerial job in January 2006 with Elgin City. ^[12] In December that year, with the club bottom of the table, Irvine left the club. ^{[13] [2]} In March 2009, Irvine was named assistant manager to Martin Rennie of USL First Division side Carolina RailHawks FC. He was previously Rennie's assistant at USL-2 side Cleveland City Stars. ^[2]

He has been involved in charity work, ^{[2] [3]} and in 2016 became a police officer. ^[6]

Career statistics

Club

International

Managerial record

^[19]

Honours

Aberdeen ^[1]

• Scottish Premier Division: Runners-up 1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1992–93, 1993–94
• Scottish Cup: 1989–90
  • Runners-up 1992–93
• Scottish League Cup: 1989–90
  • Runners-up 1988–89

See also

• List of footballers in Scotland by number of league appearances (500+)

References

External links

• Brian Irvine at Soccerbase
• Brian Irvine at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database