11 Greatest Scotland Midfielders in Football History [Ranked]

Some of the most decorated icons in the football world have had the opportunity to represent Scotland at major tournaments. Liverpool legend Graeme Souness is just one example of a player from Scotland going on to perform at the very highest level of the game.

Scotland have been bless with some tremendous middle men that have been able to dominate the centre of the park. With that in mind, here are the 11 best Scottish midfielders who have worn the famous dark blue jersey.

11 Barry Ferguson

Active years: 1998-2009

Although Barry Ferguson never reached the finals of a major tournament with his country, he has many magical moments on the international scene that he will be remembered for. The midfielder made his international debut against Lithuania at the age of 20.

Just six years later, he was appointed Scotland captain, as he attempted to fill the void left by previous captain Paul Lambert. Although he captained the side that notoriously beat France in Paris, he will be remembered for the less than ideal end to his career where he made inappropriate gestures while on the bench against Iceland.

10 Scott Brown

Years active 2005-2017

Scott Brown was handed his international debut in 2005 by Walter Smith and he went on to establish himself as a regular member of the international squad. Known for his tenacious tackling and incredible work rate, Brown represented some of the biggest Scottish clubs such as Celtic and Hibernian.

Brown will be remembered for his 14-year spell with Celtic where he captained the club for 11 years and won ten Scottish Premierships. The relentless midfielder retired from international duty after winning his 50th cap in 2016 but returned to play an additional five times.

9 Roy Aitken

Active years: 1979-1991

Roy Aitken began his Scotland journey as more of a squad player. His versatile qualities saw him deputize in various positions; however he spent the majority of his time operating in midfield.

Aitken featured in several of Jock Stein’s squads, but he was unable to claim a consistent spot in the starting lineup until 1985. He did however, go on to play in the 1986 and 1990 World Cup and later join the long list of icons who captained the Scotland national team.

8 Gary McAllister

Active years: 1990-1999

Gary McAllister was a talented player, known for his amazing leadership and presence in the dressing room. Despite this, his international career wasn’t as successful as he would have hoped.

McAllister went with the squad to four major tournaments, but he only participated in two of them. Significantly, he missed a crucial penalty against England at the European Championship, which was saved by David Seaman. He endured a sour end to his international career, where he was subject to boos by a section of his own fans during a match against the Czech Republic at Celtic Park in 1999. Subsequently, the player announced his inevitable retirement.

7 Gordon Strachan

Active years: 1971-1997

In club football, Gordon Strachan represented Scottish giants Dundee and Aberdeen before joining Manchester United and then moving to rivals Leeds United where he won the final First Division before it’s Premier League re-branding in 1992. Strachan, who made his international debut in 1980, retired in 1997 and then began to pursue his ambition of becoming a manager.

Following his retirement, he was appointed as their manager in 2013. Since then, he has gone on to manage Coventry City, Southampton, Celtic, Middlesbrough and his last managerial stint was as the Scotland manager.

6 Paul Lambert

Active years: 1985-2006

Paul Lambert, who operated predominately as a central midfielder, won the Scottish Cup with St Mirren at just 17-years-old. However, he is more famously known for his European success with Dortmund and also his spell with Celtic.

The Scotsman won the UEFA Champions League with Borussia Dortmund and won all the domestic Scottish honours with Celtic, further cementing his status as one of the greatest Scottish midfielders of all time. In terms of his international career, Lambert won 40 caps for Scotland and featured in the 1998 FIFA World Cup finals. His managerial career was equally successful, with his best spell coming at Norwich City. He guided the Canaries into the Premier League with successive promotions in 2009-10 and 2010-11.

5 Paul McStay

Active years: 1983-1997

Paul McStay, known for his loyalty in football, spent his entire career at Celtic, having signed for them as a 17-year-old in 1981. He stayed with the club until his retirement at the age of 33. He played a crucial role in the two league titles won during his spell at the club. On the international scene, he was equally impressive, captaining Scotland at all age levels.

McStay played a starring role in the 1986 and 1990 World Cups and captained the nation to victory in the 1981 UEFA European Under-18 Championship. Furthermore, he also scored in the 1992 European Championship against the CIS.

4 Dave Mackay

Active years: 1957-1965

Dave Mackay began his career at local club Hearts, signing for them in 1952. The midfielder played an integral role in bringing success to Tynecastle. He helped win two Scottish League cups, a Scottish Cup and a Scottish Premiership title. His performances earned him the Scottish Player of the Year award and his accomplishments saw him get a dream move to Tottenham.

At Spurs, he won the English title, the FA Cup on three occasions and the European Cup Winners’ Cup. During Spurs‘ double winning season in 1961, Mackay played an influential role and this was widely recognized by supporters. He also won the English top division for a second time in 1969 with Derby County and his role in their success saw him named the Football Writers Association’s Player of the Year. Despite his success at club level, he made just 22 appearances for his country and this number would have been greater had he not suffered two serious leg breaks. In his managerial career, his success with the Rams continued, leading the club to the league title in 1975. Significantly, his achievements saw Mackay inducted into the English and the Scottish Hall of Fame.

3 Archie Gemmill

Active years: 1971-1981

Archie Gemmill will be forever remembered in football history for various reasons. In the 1966-67 season, he became the first official substitute to be used in Scottish football. Gemmill replaced Jim Lunie in a League Cup match away at Clyde. In terms of international success, not many can compare with his accomplishments.

Not only did he win 43 caps for his country, Gemmill also captained his nation in over half of those matches. However, his sensational goal against the Netherlands in the World Cup will go down as the greatest goal scored by a Scotland player at a major tournament.

During his career, he won the European Cup and three English league titles. Gemmill also worked under Clough at both Derby County and Nottingham Forest, but left after the 1979 European Cup final to join Birmingham City.

2 Billy Bremner

Active years: 1965-1975

Billy Bremner is widely regarded as one of football’s greatest midfielders. He played for Leeds United and Hull City as well as representing the Scotland national team. In terms of his managerial career, he was in the dugout at Doncaster Rovers and Leeds United. Despite the fact that Bremner’s official Scottish FA page describes him as an “all-time Scotland great”, he is the only player on this list to have spent the majority of his career outside of Scotland. His main qualities revolved around his exceptional passing and all round athletic nature. Bremner is a member of both the English and Scottish Hall of Fame and this is mainly because of his phenomenal performances at Leeds, where he is seen as a club icon.

He captained the club to the English First Division in 1969 and 1974, as well as winning the League Cup and FA Cup during this period. Bremner, who earned over 50 caps for Scotland, was voted as Leeds United’s greatest player of all time. Although he was an extremely talented player, Bremner’s international career hit an impasse in 1975. Following an away game against Denmark in Copenhagen, an incident in a nightclub led to an international ban for him and four of his teammates.

1 Graeme Souness

Active years: 1970-1991

Labeled as a midfield destroyer and now as a harsh critique of modern-day football, Graeme Souness will go down as one of the best midfielders to ever play in the game. His mixture of aggression and precision allowed him to win the ball back off the opposition but also dictate the tempo of any match. Souness was often described as the heartbeat of the great Liverpool side of the 1980s. The former Scotland skipper represented his country on 54 occasions and played at three different World Cups. He was also inducted to the National Football Museum Hall of Fame as a player in 2007 and presented with his award by Dave Mackay, who was one of the Hall of Fame’s inaugural inductees.

Souness’s career as a manager was a bit like a roller coaster. He managed eight different clubs in five countries, with varying degrees of success. His most successful stint came at Glasgow Rangers, where he won three league titles and four League Cups. However, after landing his dream job as the head coach of Liverpool, Souness’s managerial success began to fade.

He guided Liverpool to a FA Cup win in 1992; however he saw his side be leapfrogged by Manchester United, who were now emerging as the most dominant team in England. After that, Souness went on to manage Galatasaray in Turkey, Torino in Italy and Benfica in Portugal. He then returned to England to manage Southampton, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United before becoming a pundit. However, many will struggle to forget Souness’ impact in midfield during an era where he stood out from many top-quality players.

All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt.