Gordon Durie

Lore & Background

Durie started his senior career with East Fife, then moved to Hibernian in 1984. He played on the losing side in the 1985 Scottish League Cup final with Hibs, who sold him to Chelsea for £400,000 in 1986. His spell with Chelsea from 1986 to 1991 yielded 63 goals from 153 appearances, and they won the Football League Second Division in 1989. In 1991, he moved to Tottenham Hotspur for £2.2 million, scoring on his debut and becoming their first Premier League goalscorer. He joined boyhood favourites Rangers in November 1993 and played a major role in winning the last four of their 'nine in a row' of Scottish league championships, plus a handful of matches in two later title wins. He scored a hat-trick in the 1996 Scottish Cup final and collected runners-up medals in 1994 and 1998, and was a Scottish League Cup winner in 1998. He left Rangers at the end of the 1999–2000 season after 179 appearances and 52 goals, then signed for Hearts in September 2000, retiring after the 2000–01 season.

In Their Own Story

The floodlights hummed over a rain-slicked Ibrox pitch in the dying minutes of a tight league clash. Gordon Durie, chest heaving, eyes fixed on the ball, received a loose pass near the halfway line. The crowd roared as he dribbled past two defenders with a feint that sent them stumbling into each other. With one touch to set himself and another to send a curling effort into the top corner, the stadium erupted. It wasn't just a goal; it was pure magic from the boy who never left.

Reader's Guide

Durie made his international debut for Scotland on 11 November 1987, in a 1–0 win against Bulgaria. He was capped 43 times, scoring seven goals. He was one of Scotland's bright spots at Euro '96 and scored the second goal in a 2–0 win against Latvia that clinched qualification for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. His last Scotland appearance was during that World Cup, in a 3–0 defeat against Morocco. After retiring as a player in 2001, he became assistant manager of East Fife in November 2010, was caretaker manager in March 2012, and resigned in November 2012 due to illness. He joined Rangers' coaching staff in July 2013, working with reserve and under-20 teams, was promoted to a first team coaching role in December 2014, and left in July 2015.

Did You Know?

• Durie scored a hat-trick in the 1996 Scottish Cup final to help Rangers beat Hearts 5–1.
• He was declared bankrupt in 2016 due to a failed investment in a film production company.
• His son, Scott, was a youth player at Rangers and signed for East Fife in 2010.