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The 1985–86 season was the 89th season of competitive
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
in Scotland. At a national level, Scotland's qualification for the 1986 World Cup finals in Mexico was marred by the death of Manager Jock Stein. In the end caretaker manager Alex Ferguson was not able to take the team beyond the first round. In club football, with Rangers once again failing to mount a title challenge, manager Jock Wallace's second spell as manager ended in April when he was sacked and the club appointed Graeme Souness as player-manager, recruiting the former
Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
midfielder from Sampdoria in
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. Celtic eventually won the league on the final day after Hearts threw away a two-point lead. Impressively, Aberdeen won both the Scottish Cup and the League Cup.


Scottish Premier Division

Celtic won the League and became champions in one of the closest finishes in League history. On the final day of the season Hearts were leading Celtic by two points - a draw against Dundee would have been sufficient to see them win their first League title since the 1959–60 season. Hearts lost 2–0 to Dundee at Dens Park thanks to two late goals by substitute Albert Kidd, while Celtic beat St Mirren 5–0 at Love Street. As a result, Celtic won the league on goal difference. Relegation was suspended due to league reconstruction, therefore Motherwell and Clydebank retained their Premier Division status. A dispute between television companies and the
Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km sout ...
resulted in no televised Scottish league football between September 1985 and March 1986. Champions: Celtic
No relegation


Scottish League Division One

Promoted: Hamilton Academical, Falkirk
Relegated: Ayr United, Alloa Athletic.


Scottish League Division Two

Promoted: Dunfermline Athletic, Queen of the South


Other honours


Cup honours


Individual honours


Scotland national team

Key: *(H) = Home match *(A) = Away match *WCQG7 = World Cup qualifying - Group 7 *WCQPO = World Cup qualifying play-off match *WCGE = World Cup - Group E


Death of Jock Stein

On 10 September 1985, the Scotland team travelled to
Ninian Park Ninian Park was a football stadium in the Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales, that was the home of Cardiff City F.C. for 99 years. Opened in 1910 with a single wooden stand, it underwent numerous renovations during its lifespan and hosted fixtu ...
,
Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...
, to take on
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
in their final qualifying game for the World Cup in
Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
. They needed at least a draw to secure a place in the qualification play-off, which they finally achieved in the 81st minute when a Davie Cooper penalty drew Scotland level with Wales, who had gone ahead earlier with a
Mark Hughes Leslie Mark Hughes (born 1 November 1963) is a Welsh football coach and former player who is the manager of Bradford City. During his playing career he usually operated as a forward or midfielder. He had two spells at Manchester United, an ...
goal. Just after the final whistle, Scotland manager Jock Stein collapsed from a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...
at the side of the pitch and died in the medical room shortly afterwards. He was 62 years old.
Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), a ...
manager
Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football managers of all time ...
, who had been Stein's assistant, was appointed caretaker manager of Scotland after Stein's death. His first match was at
Hampden Park Hampden Park (Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden''), often referred to as Hampden, is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The -capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland. It is the no ...
on 20 November 1985, as Scotland took on
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
in the World Cup qualification playoff first leg. Goals from Davie Cooper and the debutant Frank McAvennie gave Scotland a 2-0 advantage, and they confirmed their place in Mexico by drawing the second leg 0–0 in
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...
. Scotland's World Cup campaign began on 4 June, when they took on
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...
in their opening group game, only to lose 1–0. Four days later, they took on
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...
and despite taking an early lead through
Gordon Strachan Gordon David Strachan ( born 9 February 1957) is a Scottish former football coach and player. He played for Dundee, Aberdeen, Manchester United, Leeds United and Coventry City, as well as the Scotland national team. He has since managed Co ...
, lost 2-1 and were left with virtually no hope of reaching the knockout stages. Any hope of progression ended five days later when they could only manage a goalless draw against
Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
.


Kenny Dalglish 100th cap

Three weeks after his 35th birthday,
Kenny Dalglish Sir Kenneth Mathieson Dalglish (born 4 March 1951) is a Scottish former football player and manager. During his career, he made 338 appearances for Celtic and 515 for Liverpool, playing as a forward, and earned a record 102 full caps for th ...
became the Scotland team's first player to be capped 100 times as senior level in a friendly against Romania on 26 March 1986.


See also

1985–86 Aberdeen F.C. season
1985–86 Dundee United F.C. season


Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:1985-86 in Scottish Football Seasons in Scottish football