- Danny McLennan
-
Danny McLennan Personal information Full name Daniel Morrison McLennan Date of birth 5 May 1925 Place of birth Stirling, Scotland Date of death 11 May 2004 (aged 79) Place of death Crail, Fife, Scotland Playing position Inside forward, wing half Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† Rangers 1946 Stirling Albion 1946–1947 Falkirk 6 (0) 1947–1957 East Fife[1] 175 (16) 1957 Dundee 0 (0) 1957–1959 Berwick Rangers 25 (4) Teams managed 1957–1960 Berwick Rangers 1960–1961 Stirling Albion 1961–1962 Worcester City 1963 Philippines 1963–1964 Mauritius 1965–1967 Rhodesia 1973–1974 Iran 1974–1975 Bahrain 1975–1976 Iraq 1980 Kongsvinger IL Young Africans 1984 Malawi Jordan 1998 Fiji Libya Churchill Brothers SC * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). Daniel Morrison McLennan (5 May 1925 – 11 May 2004) was a Scottish football player and coach. As a player, he was a Scottish League Cup winner with East Fife. His extensive coaching career took him all around the world and spanned a period of forty years, during which he managed ten national teams.
Born in Stirling, Scotland, the young Daniel McLennan was a talented inside left representing his country at Schoolboy level before being snapped up by Rangers as a 17 year-old apprentice. McLennan moved onto play for Dundee and East Fife, where he had his most successful spell as a player.
His first coaching role came as player-manager of Berwick Rangers in 1957, and went onto coach the national teams of the Philippines, Mauritius, Rhodesia, Iran, Bahrain, Iraq, Malawi[2][3], Jordan, Fiji, and Libya.[4]
Iraq
McLennan was coach of Iraq for only a year dubbed by many as the ‘golden era of Iraqi football’, that changed the face of football in the Middle East. McLennan took over as coach of Iraq in 1975 and put together one of the best sides fans had seen. The Scottish coach had an eye for talent and introduced a number of relatively unknown players to the national team and made them household names, these players included young striker Kadhim Waal, left back Adil Khudhair, forward Ahmed Subhi not to mention Hadi Ahmed and Falah Hassan who he moved from midfield to play up-front with great results. At the 1976 Gulf Cup in Doha under coach McLennan’s instructions the Iraqi team attacked from the opening seconds of matches hoping to kill-off the game by half-time; this tactic worked as they trashed the United Arab Emirates (4-0), Bahrain (4-1), Oman (4-0) and Saudi Arabia with a historic 7-1 victory with Kadhim Waal, a 24 year-old striker the Scotsman had handed his international debut a year earlier, netting in the first 90 seconds of the match.
In the last match against Iraq’s closest rivals Kuwait, the Iraqi team continued with the ‘early all-attack tactic’ and were 2-0 up after only four minutes of the second half however with the Iraqis looking for the killer third goal – Kuwait scored two goals in two minutes, as the game ended in a 2-2 draw. The result put both teams on the same number of points and meant Iraq had to play Kuwait in a play-off for the Gulf Cup – which Iraq lost 4-2 thanks to a hat-trick from Kuwaiti striker Abdul-Aziz Al-Anbari. A few weeks later the Iraq FA upset by the way the team had been defeated by Kuwait and how the tournament had ended replaced McLennan with Yugoslav coach Lenko Grčić known as “Gaga” or “Kaka” as Iraqi newspapers wrote his name (Kaka is Kurdish for brother).
However McLennan’s tactics and playing style left a lasting impression and legacy in the region which changed the face of football in the Gulf, as the Football Associations of several nations in the Gulf States moved from employing Brazilian coaches to British coaches the most high-profile being Don Revie who left his job as England coach to manage the UAE, this was all partly to coach McLennan and his Iraqi team which had impressed every influential Sheikh heading their teams delegation in the Gulf Cup in Doha. The Saudi Arabian FA had such a poor tournament that the sport rulers of the country decided that the only way forward was to completely revolutionse the game in the Kingdom - passing on the running of football which had previously been controlled by the Youth and Sports Ministry to the World Sports Academy whose president Englishman Jimmy Hill, the former player, coach, referee, chairman, commentator and pundit employed to change the face of Saudi football. The organisation with $50 million at their disposal brought in British coaches to manage Saudi clubs, while also improving other aspects of the game in the Kingdom from grass or ‘sand’ roots to the highest level. The results took nearly a decade to bear fruit with the Saudi national team winning the 1984, 1988 & 1996 Asian Cup and qualifying for the World Cup on four consecutive occasions from 1994 to 2006.
His last job was at the Indian club side Churchill Brothers SC, where he had two spells the last coming in 1998.
References
Berwick Rangers F.C. – managers Ancell (1950–52) · Thompson (1952–53) · Kerr (1953–54) · McLennan (1957–60) · McIntosh (1960–63) · Spence (1963–66) · Wallace (1966–69) · Melrose (1969–75) · Galbraith (1975) · Haig (1975–76) · Smith (1976–80) · Connor (1980–82) · McSherry (1982–83) · Tait (1983–87) · Thomson (1987–88) · Jefferies (1988–90) · Callachan (1990–92) · Crease (1992–94) · Hendrie (1994–96) · Ross (1996) · Thomson (1996–97) · Smith (1997–04) · Clark (2004–05) · Coughlin (2005–07) · Renwick (2007–08) · McGonigal (2008) · Crease (2008–11)
Stirling Albion F.C. – managers Fergusson (1945–51) · Paterson (1951–52) · Fergusson (1952–55) · Mathers (1955–56) · Fergusson (1956–60) · McRae (1960) · McLennan (1960–61) · Forsyth (1961–63) · Baird (1963–68) · MacFarlane (1968–69) · Joyner (1969–70) · Shankly (1970–73) · Beattie (1973–74) · Smith (1974–86) · Peebles (1986–88) · Meaken (1988) · Fleeting (1988–89) · Brogan (1989–94) · Drinkell (1994–98) · Philliben (1998–00) · Stewart (2000–02) · Moore (2002–10) · O'Neill (2010–11) · Scott (2011–)
(c) caretaker; (p) player manager; (s) secretary Mauritius national football team – Brophy (1957–59) · Le Roy (1959–63) · McLennan (1963–64) · Elahee (1970–88) · Kosmehl (1976–88) · Elahee (1994–96) · Gutendorf (1997) · Chundunsing (1998) · Dorasami (1998–2002) · L'Aiguille (1998–2002) · Parizon (2002–03) · Patel (2003) · Antoine (2003–05) · Gunesh (2003–05) · Dorasami (2006) · L'Aiguille (2006) · Gowreesunkur (2006) · Patel (2007) · Chundunsing (2007–08) · Théodore (2008–09) · Collat (2009) · Patel (2009–) Zimbabwe national football team – managers McLennan (1965–67) · Koufie (1988–92) · Fabisch (1992–95) · Gutendorf (1995–96) · Porterfield (1996–97) · Grobbelaar (1997) · Baretto (1997–98) · Grobbelaar (1998) · Westerhof (1998–00) · Misheck Marimo (2000–02) · Grabowski (2002) · Marimo (2003–04) · Gumbo (2004) · Mhlauri (2004–07) · Marimo (2007) · Mhlauri (2007–08) · Valinhos (2008) · Marimo (2008–10) · Mapeza (2010) · Saintfiet (2010) · Ndlovu (2010–)
Iran national football team – managers Sadaghiani (1941–51) · Salimi (1951–52) · Mészáros (1957–59) · Fekri (1962–66) · Szűcs (1966–67) · Bayati (1967–69) · Rajkov (1969–70) · Netto (1970–71) · Dehdari (1971–72) · Ranjbar (1972) · Bayati (1972–74) · McLennan (1974) · O'Farrell (1974–76) · Mohajerani (1976–78) · Habibi (1979–82) · Aboutaleb (1982) · Cheraghpour (1982–84) · Yavari (1984) · Ebrahimi (1984–85) · Asgharzadeh (1985–86) · Dehdari (1986–89) · Vatankhah (1989) · Monajati (1989) · Parvin (1989–93) · Poklepović (1993–94) · Mayeli Kohan (1995–97) · Vieira (1998) · Ivić (1997–98) · Talebi (1998) · Pourheidari (1998–00) · Talebi (2000–01) · Braga (2001) · Blažević (2001–02) · Ivanković (2002–06) · Ghalenoei (2006–07) · Ebrahimzadeh (caretaker) (2008) · Daei (2008–09) · Ghotbi (2009–11) · Queiroz (2011–)
Bahrain national football team – managers El-Sharqawy (19xx–74) · Sharida (1974) · McLennan (1974–75) · Mansell (1979) · Broćić (1980) · Chetali (19xx–xx) · Dobson (19xx–xx) · Laseroms (1985–86) · Hickersberger (1996) · Moldovan (1999) · Sidka (2000–03) · Herbet (2003) · Juričić (2004–05) · Sidka (2005) · Peruzović (2005–06) · Al-Thawadi (2006C) · Briegel (2006–07) · Máčala (2007–10) · Hickersberger (2010) · Eid (2010C) · Sharida (2010–11) · Taylor (2011–)
Iraq national football team – managers Habib (1951) · Mohammed (1957) · Aboud (1959) · Abbas (1959) · Aboud (1963–1964) · Basher (1964) · Aboud (1965) · Basher (1966) · Shihab (1967) · Hassan (1968) · Basher (1968) · Kokeza (1969) · Illichev (1969–71) · Basher (1971–72) · Hassan (1972) · Teleki (1973) · Muhsin (1973) · Naji (1974) · Shihab (1974) · Muhsin (1974) · Naji (1975) · McLennan (1975–76) · Grčić (1976–78) · Salih (1978) · Baba (1978–80) · Naji (1980) · Jassam (1980) · Gardašević (1980) · Aziz (1980) · Baba (1981–84) · Jassam (1985) · Salman (1985) · Naji (1985) · Jorge Vieira (1985) · Edu (1986) · Zé Mario (1986) · de Macedo (1986) · Salman (1986) · Baba (1987–88) · Salih (1988) · Baba (1988–89) · Jassam (1989–90) · Morozov (1990) · Fomenko (1990) · Adnan Dirjal (1992–93) · Baba (1993) · Jassam (1995–96) · Baba (1996) · Alwan (1996–97) · Odisho (1997) · Baba (1997) · Salman (1998) · Humoud (1999) · Hamad (2000) · Živadinović (2000–01) · Hamad (2001) · Belin (2001) · Hamad (2002) · Stange (2002–04) · Hamad (2004) · Salman (2005–07) · Jorvan Vieira (2007) · Olsen (2007–08) · Hamad (2008) · Jorvan Vieira (2008–09) · Shenaishil (2009) · Milutinović (2009) · Shaker (2009–10) · Sidka (2010–11) · Zico (2011–)
Malawi national football team – managers Moyo (–1984) · McLennan (1984) · Malola (xxxx–xx) · Masanjara (xxxx–98) · Chamangwana (1998–99) · Chimodzi (1999–00) · Splidsboel (2000–02) · Gillett (2003) · Ng'onamo (2003–04) · Kaputa (2004) · Osman (2004–05) · Hennigan (2005) · Ziese (2005–06) · Phiri (2006–07) · Constantine (2007–08) · Cohen (2008–09) · Phiri (2009–)
Template:Jordan national football team managers Template:Fiji national football team managers
Libya national football team – managers Elliott (1961–63) · Božović (1964–65) · Skinner (1965–66) · Spurgeon (1967–68) · McLennan (xxxx–xx) · El-Semy (xxxx–xx) · Moldovan (1998) · Bilardo (1999–2000) · Lemme (2000–xx) · Sillini (xxxx–xx) · Lončarević (2003–04) · Lončarević (2005–06) · Benzarti (2007–09) · Smiljanić (2009–10) · Paqueta (2010–2011) · Gentile (2011–)
Categories:- 1925 births
- 2004 deaths
- People from Stirling
- Scottish footballers
- Rangers F.C. players
- Stirling Albion F.C. players
- East Fife F.C. players
- Dundee F.C. players
- Berwick Rangers F.C. players
- Scottish Football League players
- Scottish football managers
- Berwick Rangers F.C. managers
- Stirling Albion F.C. managers
- Worcester City F.C. managers
- Philippines national football team managers
- Mauritius national football team managers
- Zimbabwe national football team managers
- Iran national football team managers
- Bahrain national football team managers
- Iraq national football team managers
- Malawi national football team managers
- Jordan national football team managers
- Fiji national football team managers
- Libya national football team managers
- Expatriate football managers in Iran
- British expatriates in Norway
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.