Graeme Souness

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

As a player, Souness established himself at Middlesbrough, where he played for six years, before moving to Liverpool in 1978. During his six years at Liverpool he won five First Division titles and three European Cups. He was named in the PFA Team of the Year every season between 1981 and 1984. Described by The Guardian as 'the driving force of an all conquering side', Souness was captain for three seasons at Liverpool between 1981 and 1984. In 2026 he was ranked the club's sixth greatest ever player in an official Liverpool F.C. poll. His Liverpool teammate Mark Lawrenson, who in 2015 ranked Souness fourth in his top 10 Anfield greats, called him 'a great leader of men'. He moved to Sampdoria in 1984 and won the Coppa Italia the following season, and then became player-manager for Rangers, leading the club to three Scottish titles and four league cups. His final game as a player came in the closing minutes of Rangers' final match of the 1989–90 season, which was his only appearance of the season. Souness continued as Rangers coach for a further year before joining Liverpool as manager for the 1991–92 English First Division season. Winning the FA Cup in 1992, his time as manager of Liverpool did not come close to matching his success as a player at the club, and after two substandard seasons he resigned in 1994 before he went on to have spells at Galatasaray, Southampton, Torino, Benfica, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United. At international level, Souness gained 54 caps for Scotland, captaining the team on 27 occasions.

In Their Own Story

This burst of success prompted Paisley to award Souness the club captaincy for season 1981–82, to the chagrin of the incumbent Phil Thompson who had made some errors that season and with whom Paisley had a vicious row during one match at Aston Villa. Thompson initially refused to speak to Souness, claiming he had "stolen the captaincy" from behind his back. This was the start of several long-running feuds between the two robust characters, and over the coming years, they would confront each other in various circumstances. Under Souness' captaincy, two trophies followed as Liverpool regained the League championship and retained the League Cup, trophies that were successfully defended in season 1982–83. For the trophy award presentation after the 2–1 win over Manchester United in 1983, Souness stepped back and insisted that Paisley collect the trophy in the manager's retirement season. The appointment of Joe Fagan as Paisley's successor followed, and in pre-season Souness called a meeting among the players. According to teammate Mark Lawrenson, Souness said: "We think the world of this fella and this year we are absolutely determined to be successful for him.' To a man everyone said: 'Yep, you're right.'"

In 1983–84, Souness lifted three trophies. He scored the winning goal in the 1984 League Cup final replay at Maine Road against Merseyside rivals Everton, the first all-Merseyside cup final. Liverpool won the league for the third consecutive season and reached the 1984 European Cup final after beating Romanian champions Dinamo București in the semi-final 3–1 on aggregate. In an ill-tempered first leg at Anfield, Souness broke the jaw of Dinamo captain Lică Movilă, which went unpunished by the referee. Liverpool won the 1984 final after a penalty shoot-out win over Roma, with Souness scoring one of the penalties in the shootout.

Reader's Guide

Graeme Souness was born on 6 May 1953 in Edinburgh, Scotland. He began his career as an apprentice at Tottenham Hotspur, making one first-team appearance. He played for Montreal Olympique in the NASL in 1972. He was sold to Middlesbrough in 1972, helping them win promotion as Second Division champions in 1973–74. He joined Liverpool in January 1978 for a club-record fee of £350,000. His Liverpool debut was on 14 January 1978. He won his first European Cup in 1978, and later won European Cups in 1981 and 1984. He was captain from 1981 to 1984. He won three League Cups (1981, 1982, 1983). He moved to Sampdoria in 1984, winning the Coppa Italia in 1985. He became player-manager at Rangers in 1986, winning three Scottish titles and four league cups. He managed Liverpool from 1991 to 1994, winning the FA Cup in 1992. He later managed Galatasaray, Southampton, Torino, Benfica, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United.

Did You Know?

• Souness scored a hat-trick in the 1981 European Cup quarter-final against CSKA Sofia.
• He broke the jaw of Dinamo București captain Lică Movilă in the 1984 European Cup semi-final first leg, which went unpunished.
• Souness scored the winning goal in the 1984 League Cup final replay against Everton.
• He was named in the PFA Team of the Year every season from 1981 to 1984.