Attracting hundreds of travellers worldwide, Scotland is renowned for its lively music culture, whisky distilleries, hearty food, stunning landscapes, and all-around patriotism. Very few countries rival the pride of Scottish folk from their enthusiastic support for their country to some of the cultural activities for which Scotland is most known.
One of the most significant glories of Scottish life is football, attracting tens of thousands of fans to travel far and wide to support their favourite teams or congregate to watch the game over a couple of pints in pubs up and down the country. Especially now that the world is finally returning to some semblance of normality, the football community are looking forward to seeing some of their favourite players in action instead of from the comfort of their sofa.
Despite Scottish football seeing some ups and downs over the past several years, most of their football success at the club level and on the international stage was delivered in the '60s, '70s, and '80s by household names like Kenny Dalglish, Denis Law, Graeme Souness and other notable figures in Scottish footballing history. Regardless, the Scots consistently demonstrate an unwavering determination as a team and individuals when supporting their country on the pitch. Below we list some of Scotland's best in no order:
Kenny Dalglish
No list of the best football players in Scottish history could be complete without mentioning Scotland's leading appearance maker (102) and joint-top scorer (30), Kenny Dalglish. The attacking midfielder/forward made his international debut in November 1971 with the Scottish giants Celtic at only twenty years old.
Following this appearance, Dalglish went on to represent Scotland at three World Cups, with some of his most memorable moments being his goal against the Netherlands at the 1978 finals securing Scotland a 3-2 victory. His consecutive winning goals in '75 and '76 against England helped solidify his place amongst the great footballers in Scottish history.
Dalglish's last tournament came in 1982 at the World Cup, where he played as a forward in a 4-3-3, but unfortunately, his team failed to make it past the group stage. Despite this, the now seventy-year-old's skills earned him places on Liverpool's and Celtic's top scorer list, where he placed 7th and 10th overall.
Due to this skill, it leads many fans to question the worth of Dalglish if he were still playing football today – with many stating that he'd undoubtedly cause the Liverpool title odds to shorten. In contrast, others say he'd be a good value for money, whatever the cost. If you'd like to learn more about player predictions, statistics, and other odds, consider using independent review sites like OnlineCasinos.co.uk, which lists trustworthy reviews of all the new casinos in the UK.
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Graeme Souness
Whether you're well versed in Scottish football or not, when it comes to tough-tackling, no-nonsense mid-fielding, Graeme Souness is one of the most iconic Scottish footballers that comes to mind. With his first international debut in October 1974 at twenty-one years old, Souness represented Scotland fifty-four times over his professional career between 1974-1986 and made appearances at three World Cups.
He is notably well-known for his leadership skills and for doing most of the dirty work for his team while allowing other team members to flourish in front of him, like Kenny Dalglish, whom he played alongside with Liverpool and Scotland. Playing as a central midfielder, Souness scored the equalising goal in Scotland's final group game in the '82 World Cup against the Soviet Union despite Scotland failing to get past the group stage, which was the last time that Souness represented Scotland.
Denis Law
The only Scottish footballer who could go toe-to-toe with Kenny Dalglish, Denis Law, scored as many goals for Scotland as King Kenny, who achieved the victory in forty-seven fewer caps than Dalglish. He made his international debut in October 1958 when he was just eighteen years old, yet during this time, he was in his third professional season for Huddersfield Town.
Although Law's international career started slowly, he is most well-known for his career at Old Trafford between 1962 and 1973, where he played alongside some of the greats like George Best and Bobby Charlton. During this eleven-year stint, Law scored hundreds of goals for the club and hundreds of appearances, giving him a rightful place on their all-time scoring list.
As well as receiving a place on the all-time scoring list, Law became the only Scotsman to receive the Ballon d'Or in 1964, which prompted him to be selected to represent his country in the 1974 World Cup. This was Law's only appearance in a major tournament for Scotland, with his only appearance being in the group opener against Zaire – ultimately the last game he played for his homeland.
Law is immortalised at Old Trafford as part of the Holy Trinity statue (pictured) which features himself alongside George Best and Sir Bobby Charlton.
Jimmy Johnstone
Another promising player who never fulfilled his potential on the international stage is Jimmy Johnstone, who had thirteen years with the Celtics as a winger. Also known by fans as 'Jinky' due to his dribbling skills and tricks with the ball, Johnstone was a substitute for all three matches at the 1974 World Cup despite scoring four goals in twenty-three appearances for Scotland; he never featured in the tournament.
Despite never getting the chance to showcase his talents at an international level, Johnstone cannot be overlooked as one of the best players in Scottish history, having won consecutively twenty major honours and nine league titles. As well as playing for the Celtics, Johnstone is also known for representing the Lisbon Lions which became the first British football club to win the European Cup in 1967; he also helped the Celtics achieve a place in the final in the same competition years later.