Richard Gough (footballer)

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Charles Richard Gough (born April 5, 1962, in Stockholm, Sweden) is a former Scottish football central defender who enjoyed great success as captain of Rangers before entering management. He also played for the Scottish national team.

[edit] Early career

Born to a Scottish father and Swedish mother, Gough grew up in South Africa and began his career playing with the Wits University club. Looking to build a career in British football, Gough went on trial to Rangers, but was turned down. After that he was provisionally signed by Charlton Athletic, for whom his father Charlie had played. After returning to South Africa, he was signed by Scottish Premier Division team Dundee United in 1980.

[edit] Back to the UK

He played for Dundee United for six seasons, finishing with 23 goals in 165 appearances and helping them to the League title in 1982-83. In 1986, Gough was sold to English First Division club Tottenham Hotspur for £750,000, where he played for slightly over a year. Although there was no doubt over his talent, Gough began to feel homesick and, midway through the 1987-88 season, returned to Scotland, joining Rangers and becoming the first Scottish player to be signed for over £1,000,000, where he remained until 1997, captaining the side that achieved nine consecutive League titles. He was quoted as being "very proud to be the only Rangers player to receive 9 medals"[1]

[edit] MLS

In 1997, Gough left the United Kingdom to play in the United States' nascent professional league, Major League Soccer. Gough remained in the league for two seasons, the first with the Kansas City Wizards, the second with the San Jose Clash; although Gough only played intermittently in those two seasons, totalling 2 goals and 2 assists in only 36 games, he was named to the MLS Best XI for his 1997 season with the Wizards.

Gough returned to Rangers after the 1997 MLS season, and played with the club for one more season. In all, he played 318 league games with Rangers, scoring 26 goals. He then linked up with his former boss at Rangers, Walter Smith, when he played two seasons for Everton. He also had a brief stint with Nottingham Forest.

[edit] International career

Gough was also a mainstay on the Scotland national team in the 1980s. He made his debut against Switzerland in 1983, and went on to gain 61 caps. His international career was ended prematurely, however, after he was critical of coaches Andy Roxburgh and Craig Brown and withdrew himself from further selection.

[edit] Management

On November 30, 2004 Gough landed his first managerial job with Scottish Premier League team Livingston. However, he resigned in May 2005 after saving the club from relegation, having wrangled with the club's owner over the budget for signing players[2]. The club was fined £15,000 by the SFA for a breach of transfer regulations over the signing of Hassan Kachloul during Gough's time as manager[3] although there is no suggestion that Gough himself was responsible for the breach of regulations.

In July 2007 Gough took part in a "9 in a row" match for Rangers versus a Scottish League Select side. The match finished 2-2.

[edit] External links

• Richard Gough profile at scottishfa.co.uk

v • d • e Scotland squad - 1986 FIFA World Cup 1 Leighton • 2 Gough • 3 Malpas • 4 Souness • 5 McLeish • 6 Miller • 7 Strachan • 8 Aitken • 9 Bannon • 10 Bett • 11 McStay • 12 Goram • 13 Nicol • 14 Narey • 15 Albiston • 16 McAvennie • 17 Archibald • 18 Sharp • 19 Nicholas • 20 Sturrock • 21 Cooper • 22 Rough • Coach: Ferguson

v • d • e Scotland squad - 1990 FIFA World Cup 1 Leighton • 2 McLeish • 3 Aitken • 4 Gough • 5 McStay • 6 Malpas • 7 Johnston • 8 Bett • 9 McCoist • 10 MacLeod • 11 Gillespie • 12 Goram • 13 Durie • 14 McInally • 15 Levein • 16 McCall • 17 McKimmie • 18 Collins • 19 McPherson • 20 McAllister • 21 Fleck • 22 Gunn • Coach: Roxburgh

v • d • e Scotland squad - UEFA Euro 1992 1 Goram • 2 Gough • 3 McStay • 4 Malpas • 5 McCoist • 6 McClair • 7 Durie • 8 McPherson • 9 McKimmie • 10 McCall • 11 McAllister • 12 Smith • 13 Nevin • 14 Gallacher • 15 Boyd • 16 McInally • 17 Whyte • 18 Bowman • 19 McLaren • 20 Ferguson • Coach: Roxburgh