Former Dundee, Tottenham Hotspur and Scotland international footballer
Born: 22 October, 1938
Died: 08 July, 2018

THE death of Alan Gilzean, shortly after it was announced he was suffering from a brain tumour, will be met with heavy hearts well beyond the city of Dundee, where he came to prominence and in Tottenham, north London, where he was seen in his pomp as one of Scotland’s finest centre forwards.

They still love him around Dens Park, more than half a century after he last pulled on the navy blue Dundee strip – one of the club’s fanzines was entitled: “Eh Mind O’ Gillie?” Mind o’ him, he is an immortal in the city, as the main striker in Bob Shankly’s marvellous Scottish League Championship-winning team of season 1961-62.

But, Dundee could not hold him, he was sold to Tottenham, where he was hailed as the “King of White Hart Lane” as a top scorer and one half of prolific striking partnerships with first Jimmy Greaves, then Martin Chivers. He won 22 Scotland caps, scoring 12 goals for his country, and would surely have won more caps, had he not been competing for a place with other great strikers such as Ian St John, Denis Law and Ralph Brand. Gilzean’s Scotland record of 0.55 goals per game is exactly the same as Law’s, and, of the regular Scotland strikers of the post-war era, only Lawrie Reilly, 0.58 gpg has a better strike rate than Gilzean and Law.

Of all his Scotland goals, perhaps the most-iconic was his first, a glorious soaring header, beating Gordon Banks to Davie Wilson’s corner, to secure victory over England, at Hampden in 1964. Yes, he was a superb header of the ball and scored many goals that way, but, he was also no slouch on the ground.

Born in Coupar Angus, Perthshire, he progressed via local junior football and Dundee Violet, to Dundee, signing as a 17-year-old in 1956, after childhood heroes Hibs failed to follow-up on his provisional signing. By the time of that wonderful season of 1961-62 his scoring partnership with Alan Cousin was one of the reasons why the ‘Dee won the league that season.

Gilzean established himself as something special when Dundee beat Rangers 5-1 at Ibrox on 9 November, 1961. He was already a Scotland Under-23 cap when he took to the field that foggy afternoon, in front of a much-reduced crowd, after a rumour swept Glasgow that the match was off. That rumour spared a lot of Rangers’ fans a harsh afternoon as Gillie scored four of the ‘Dee goals: “And was inches away from scoring four more,” as Cyril Horne wrote in his Herald match report.

Horne also called for Gilzean to be promoted to the national side, but, he had to wait a further two years for that debut cap, in a 6-1 Hampden win over Norway. Then came that goal against England, in his third international, and the chase for his signature hotted-up.

The season after the league was won, he scored nine goals during Dundee’s march to the semi-final of the European Cup – including a double against Anderlecht and hat-tricks against Cologne and Sporting Lisbon, the ninth coming against eventual winners AC Milan in the semi-final.

He wanted to play at Wembley, which meant he had to secure a move to England. To get this move, he was forced to go on strike, signing on the dole, as Dundee refused to release him; but, after an outstanding game against Tottenham in a testimonial on November 11, 1964, for the recently deceased Scotland international John White, in which he scored twice for “A Scotland XI”, Bill Nicholson decided he was the man to replace England’s Bobby Smith in the No 9 shirt. A cheque for £72,500 persuaded Dundee to let him go and after 169 goals in 190 games, off he went.

Gilzean and Greaves hit it off immediately at White Hart Lane, then, after Greaves was allowed to leave for West Ham, Martin Chivers and Gilzean in harmony became the most-feared twin strikers in England. In particular, Tottenham had a superb and highly-effective corner routine. Scotland winger Jimmy Robertson would hit the cross to the front post, where Chivers would rise and flick it across goal or Gilzean to nod home at the back post. He scored many of his Tottenham goals that way.

In 1974, after a decade at Spurs, Gilzean departed, he had scored 133 goals in 439 games for the club and had added FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup winner’s medals to his league title medal with Dundee. He then spent a short spell in South Africa, before returning to North London.

He had never really fancied management and, after a short and unhappy spell in-charge at Stevenage Athletic, he quit the game, going to work for a transport company in Enfield. Then, he seemed to vanish.

Quiet to a fault, he had moved to Weston-super-Mare and seemingly turned his back on the game. Herald Sports journalist James Morgan wrote a best-selling book: “In Search of Alan Gilzean”, about just that, his search for the “missing” star. After the book came out, Spurs re-established contact after 40 years, and he returned to the ground to meet old team mates and those older club fans who still worshipped him, as a match-day host.

He is in the Halls of Fame at his two clubs, and, in 2009, he was inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame. His marriage to childhood sweet-heart Irene, who survives him with their sons Ian – himself a former footballer, and Kevin, and their grandchildren, sadly failed.

matt vallance