Andy Roxburgh is a former Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 player and coach. He has been UEFA

UEFA

The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....

 Technical Director since 1994.

Playing career

In his playing days Roxburgh appeared for Queen's Park

Queen's Park F.C.

Queen's Park Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland. The club are currently the only amateur club in the Scottish League; their amateur status is reflected by their motto, Ludere Causa Ludendi – to play for the sake of playing.Queen's Park are the oldest...

, East Stirlingshire

East Stirlingshire F.C.

East Stirlingshire Football Club is a Scottish football club originating in Falkirk. Founded in 1880, originally as Bainsford Britannia, the club changed to their current name a year later in 1881...

, Partick Thistle

Partick Thistle F.C.

Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football club from Glasgow. Despite their name, the club are based in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908...

, Falkirk

Falkirk F.C.

Falkirk Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Falkirk. It is one of two professional football teams from the town, the other being East Stirlingshire...

 and Clydebank

Clydebank F.C.

Clydebank Football Club are a Scottish football club based in the town of Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, near Yoker. The present club, formed in 2003, is a member of the Scottish Junior Football Association, and currently plays in West Super League Premier Division...

.

Management

Following his retirement as a player, Roxburgh was appointed as the Scottish Football Association

Scottish Football Association

The Scottish Football Association is the governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility for the control and development of football in Scotland. Members of the SFA include clubs in Scotland, affiliated national associations as well as local associations...

's Technical Director in 1975.

Roxburgh coached the Scotland Under-19 team to victory in the final of the UEFA European Under-18 Football Championship

UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship

The European Under 19 Football Championship is an annual football competition organised by the sport's European governing body, UEFA. The competition has been held since 1948. It was originally called the FIFA junior tournament, until it was taken over by UEFA in 1955...

 in 1982, where his team beat Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia national football team

The Czechoslovakia national football team was the national association football team of Czechoslovakia from 1922 to 1993. At the dissolution of Czechoslovakia at the end of 1992, the team was participating in UEFA qualifying Group 4 for the 1994 World Cup; it completed this campaign under the name...

 3-1 in Helsinki

Helsinki

Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...

.

The way for Roxburgh to become Scotland national team manager was paved on 10 September 1985, when the legendary national coach Jock Stein

Jock Stein

John 'Jock' Stein CBE was a Scottish association football player and manager. He became the first manager of a British side to win the European Cup, with Celtic in 1967...

 collapsed and died at the end of the 1-1 draw against Wales

Wales national football team

The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...

 at Ninian Park

Ninian Park

Ninian Park was a football stadium in Leckwith, Cardiff, Wales. Until 2009, it was the home ground of Cardiff City F.C., who compete in the English Football League Championship...

, Cardiff

Cardiff

Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...

 - a result which saw Scotland reach the playoff stage for World Cup

1986 FIFA World Cup

The 1986 FIFA World Cup, the 13th FIFA World Cup, was held in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia had been originally chosen to host the competition by FIFA but, largely due to economic reasons, was not able to do so and officially...

 qualification. Stein's assistant Alex Ferguson

Alex Ferguson

Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986...

 (the Aberdeen

Aberdeen F.C.

Aberdeen Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen...

 manager) was put in temporary charge and oversaw victory in the playoff against Australia and book Scotland's place in the World Cup finals in Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

. Scotland failed to progress beyond the group stages and after Ferguson rejected the offer to become Scotland manager on a permanent basis, Roxburgh was named as his successor on 1 July 1986 - ahead of more experienced and distinguished candidates including Billy McNeill

Billy McNeill

William "Billy" McNeill MBE is a former Scottish footballer and manager. He is best known for captaining Celtic to the European Cup triumph in 1967 and he later went on to manage the club. He is now the official Club Ambassador at Celtic....

, Jim McLean

Jim McLean

James Yuill McLean is a Scottish former football player and manager. He is best known for his 22-year spell as manager of Dundee United; the longest-serving and most successful manager in the club's history, he led them to three major honours and established them as a force in European competitions...

, Kenny Dalglish

Kenny Dalglish

Kenneth Mathieson "Kenny" Dalglish MBE is a Scottish former footballer and the current manager of Liverpool F.C.. In a 22-year playing career, he played for two club teams, Celtic and Liverpool, winning numerous honours with both. He is the most capped Scottish player, with 102 appearances, and...

 and Tommy Docherty

Tommy Docherty

Thomas Henderson "Tommy" Docherty , commonly known as "The Doc", is a Scottish former footballer and football manager.-Playing career:...

.He would remain in the role for more than seven years.

He guided Scotland to qualification for the 1990 World Cup and the 1992 European Football Championship, and left in 1993 after failing to achieve qualification for the 1994 World Cup. He was succeeded by his assistant, Craig Brown, who remained in charge until 2001.

In between his playing and managerial career, Roxburgh was employed as a Primary school teacher, a profession also occupied by Brown at one stage.

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