Alan McLaren
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alan James McLaren | ||
| Date of birth | 4 January 1971 | ||
| Place of birth | Edinburgh, Scotland | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1987–1994 | Heart of Midlothian | 182 | (6) |
| 1994–1998 | Rangers | 78 | (5) |
| International career | |||
| 1992–1995 | Scotland | 24 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Alan James McLaren (born 4 January 1971 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish former footballer, who played for Heart of Midlothian and Rangers.
Football career
[edit]Club
[edit]McLaren started his career with Hearts in 1987 and made over 180 appearances for the Tynecastle club. He moved to Rangers in October 1994 in a £2m part-exchange deal, with Dave McPherson moving the opposite direction. He made his debut against Old Firm rivals Celtic on 30 October 1994 in a 3–1 win at Hampden Park. He was named in the SPFA Team of the Year for 1994.[1]
He was forced to retire from football in 1998, aged 27, due to injury. His final appearance for Rangers was as captain in a 1–0 win over Dundee United in which Rangers secured their 9th title in row.[2]
On 2 March 1999, Rangers played English club Middlesbrough in a testimonial match for McLaren at Ibrox in front of 49,468 spectators. McLaren scored a penalty in a 4–4 draw.
International
[edit]McLaren also won 24 caps for Scotland. He was named in the squad for UEFA Euro 1992, but did not feature in any matches. He was forced to miss UEFA Euro 1996 through injury, being replaced by Derek Whyte in the squad.[3]
Post-football career
[edit]McLaren became an ambassador for charity Football Aid and a regular pundit on Rangers TV.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ "WELL BUFFED". The Scotsman. 13 January 1995. Retrieved 5 May 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Knee injury forces young Rangers defender into an early retirement The game is finally over for McLaren". The Herald. The Herald (Glasgow). 14 May 1998.
- ^ "SCOTLAND SQUAD FOR EURO 96". The Independent. 29 May 1996. Archived from the original on 8 April 2016.
- ^ Halliday, Stephen (28 March 2016). "Where are they now? Rangers' 9-in-a-row clinching team". The Scotsman.
External links
[edit]- Alan McLaren at Soccerbase
- Alan McLaren at the Scottish Football Association
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- 1971 births
- Living people
- Heart of Midlothian F.C. players
- Footballers from Edinburgh
- Rangers F.C. players
- Scotland men's international footballers
- Scottish Football League players
- Scottish men's footballers
- UEFA Euro 1992 players
- Scotland men's under-21 international footballers
- Men's association football central defenders
- Scottish football defender, 1970s birth stubs