Neil Andrew Murray (born 21 February 1973 in Bellshill) is a Scottish former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

. He began his career with Rangers in the early 1990s, and also played for clubs in Switzerland, France, Germany and England. He represented the Scotland Under-21 national team.

Early life

Murray was educated at

Marr College Marr College (Scottish Gaelic: ''Colaiste Mhàrr'') is a co-educational secondary school in Troon, South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is owned by the Marr Trust and is operated by South Ayrshire Council which was transferred to then Strathclyde Regi ...

in Troon, South Ayrshire.

Career

Playing

Murray began his career with Rangers, where he won the domestic treble in 1992/93. He left Rangers in 1996, joining Swiss club

Sion Sion may refer to * an alternative transliteration of Zion People * Sion (name) or Siôn, a Welsh and other given name and surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Shion or Sion, a Japanese given name Pl ...

and winning the Swiss League and Cup double before moving to

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town ('' commune'') and seaport in the Morbihan department of Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginning around 3000 BC, settlements in the area of Lorient are attested by the presen ...

in France a year later. He then returned to Scotland for a short spell at

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...

, before signing for German club

Mainz 05 1. Fußball- und Sportverein Mainz 05 e. V., usually shortened to 1. FSV Mainz 05, Mainz 05 () or simply Mainz (), is a German sports club, founded in 1905 and based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. 1. FSV Mainz 05 play in the Bundesliga, the top ...

. During his two years there, he had a short loan spell in England with

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in t ...

. Murray came back Scotland permanently in 2002, signing for Falkirk before playing his final season in professional football with

Ayr United Ayr United Football Club are a football club in Ayr, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League. Formed in 1910 by the merger of Ayr Parkhouse and Ayr F.C., their nickname is ...

. Murray represented the

Scotland national under-21 football team The Scotland national under-21 football team, controlled by the Scottish Football Association, is Scotland's national under 21 football team and is considered to be a feeder team for the Scotland national football team. As a European under-21 t ...

Scout and agent

Murray later worked alongside ex-Rangers player

Kevin Drinkell Kevin Smith Drinkell (born 18 June 1960) is an English former professional football player and manager. Drinkell was a centre forward, noted for his aerial ability and the number of headed goals he scored as a result. Career Drinkell began h ...

for a sports management company. He also worked as a co-commentator for

Setanta Sports Setanta Sports is a sports television company based in Dublin, Ireland broadcasting throughout select Eurasian. The company was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events to international audiences. The company previo ...

coverage of the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

. Murray was appointed Head Scout by Rangers on 8 March 2011. He left this position 2 April 2013.

Honours

Club

Rangers *

Scottish Premier Division The Scottish Football League Premier Division was, from 1975 until 1998, the top division of the Scottish Football League and the entire Scottish football league system. It lay above the Scottish Football League First, Second and (from 1994) ...

1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96 *

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...

Sion *

National League A The National League (NL) is a professional ice hockey league in Switzerland and is the top tier of the Swiss league system. Prior to the 2017–18 season, the league was known as National League A. During the 2018–19 season, the league h ...

: 1996–97 * Swiss Cup: 1996–97

International

* FIFA U-16 World Championship Runner-up: 1989 *World Student Games - Great Britain team - Bronze medal *UEFA U21 European Championships semi-final 1996 in Barcelona

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Neil 1973 births Living people Scottish footballers Scotland under-21 international footballers Rangers F.C. players FC Sion players FC Lorient players Dundee United F.C. players 1. FSV Mainz 05 players Grimsby Town F.C. players Falkirk F.C. players Ayr United F.C. players Scottish Premier League players Scottish Football League players English Football League players Scottish expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Switzerland Expatriate footballers in France Expatriate footballers in Germany Rangers F.C. non-playing staff Association football midfielders People educated at Marr College