Derek Rae
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Derek Rae (born in Aberdeen in 1967) is a Scottish soccer announcer for ESPN, working as a commentator (play-by-play) for its coverage of the UEFA Champions League. He is also the host of ESPNsoccernet's PressPass.
Rae's career began at age 15, working as a football commentator for a radio station that broadcast to local hospitals. At 19 is when Derek got his big break. His favorite broadcaster, David Francey, had suffered a knee injury, and Rae was tapped to sub for him, calling a Scottish Premier Division game on the radio. Following that, Rae worked for BBC Scotland on a match between England and Scotland in London. Soon after, Rae was hired by BBC Scotland as a Scottish football correspondent, all this while he was a student at the University of Aberdeen.
In 1987, Rae, still at Aberdeen, was named the Sony British Sports Broadcaster of the Year. He began working for ESPN in 1994. During his time in the United States, Rae also worked as the voice of Major League Soccer's New England Revolution and MetroStars. Rae was well-known for being critical of Revolution coach Walter Zenga during an Internet radio show, and even though the organisation runs the team's website, on which Rae attacked Zenga, blasting the Revolution at the time was actually commonplace. Rae has since admitted that he was not cut out for MLS in its formative years.
On May 25, 2005, Rae was at the microphone for ESPN2's coverage of the historic UEFA Champions League final between Liverpool F.C. and AC Milan in Istanbul. Ratings for the game in North America were the highest in Champions League history, until the 2006 Final outdid it.
Rae has a column on ESPNsoccernet's site called "Rae's Say". He's lived in Beverly, Massachusetts since 1991, and is married to Beverly native Beth Powers. His signature opening for broadcasts is, "Hello from me, Derek Rae."
Rae is fluent in German with a slight Swiss accent. He is said to be able to switch between various German dialects when needed. He reported on location at the 2006 FIFA World Cup for ESPN because of his German-language skills. Rae's color commentator, Tommy Smyth, says Rae wants so badly to properly pronounce a player's name, that he'll occasionally call consulates to confirm the pronunciation.
In addition to the Champions League, Rae calls European qualifiers, European friendlies, FA Cup, Copa del Rey, and Spain's La Liga.
