Name: Alexander McLeish

Nickname: Big Eck



Country: Scotland
Club: Aberdeen FC
Position: *CB
Side: RF/BS
Age: 24-31 years (2/5/1955)

Height: 185 cm
Weight: 78 kg

Attack: 68
Defence: 85
Balance: 87
Stamina: 79
Top Speed: 79
Acceleration: 75
Response: 82
Agility: 74
Dribble Accuracy: 71
Dribble Speed: 70
Short Pass Accuracy: 73
Short Pass Speed: 70
Long Pass Accuracy: 74
Long Pass Speed: 78
Shot Accuracy: 65
Shot Power: 83
Shot Technique: 66
Free Kick Accuracy: 60
Curling: 66
Header: 87
Jump: 84
Technique: 72
Aggression: 66
Mentality: 85
Goalkeeper Skills: 50
Team Work: 79

Injury Tolerance: B
Condition/Fitness: 8
Weak Foot Accuracy: 4
Weak Foot Frequency: 4
Consistency: 7
Growth type: Standard/Lasting

CARDS:

S09 - Covering

SPECIAL ABILITIES: Covering

Attack/Defence Awareness Card: Defence Minded

INFO:

Alex McLeish spent nearly his entire career with Aberdeen, 2nd in the club's all time appearance records only behind his long term partner in central defence for club and country, Willie Miller. Compared to the more cerebral and cultured Miller, McLeish was a physical defender, strong in 1-on-1 battles and aerial duels. He was a solid if unspectacular defender, his consistency making him a very reliable partner to Miller for both Aberdeen and Scotland for more than 10 years: such was the strength of their partnership that the great Alan Hansen was forced to the bench for the national team. Notably, McLeish was also a huge threat at set pieces, scoring equalisers in the 1982 Scottish Cup final (a lovely curled finish) against Rangers and against Bayern Munich in the quarter finals of the 1982/83 European Cup Winners Cup; his header from a late run into the box from Gordon Strachan's corner also helped set up Eric Black's opening goal in the legendary final of that tournament, a 2-1 win over Real Madrid.

Since retiring he has managed several clubs, winning two league titles and two Scottish cups with Rangers, a shock league cup win with Birmingham (only their second major trophy in their history), and managing Scotland over two spells, including a famous pair of 1-0 wins against a France team that had just reached the World Cup final, and a draw against the Italian team that had defeated the French in that same tournament. His team unfortunately fell just short of qualifying for Scotland's first international tournament in a decade, only a loss against Georgia preventing their qualification despite being drawn in an extremely difficult group with both World Cup finalists in France and Italy and a quarter finalist in Ukraine.