Icons of Football

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A BBC TV channel for Scotland which will broadcast every evening and will show drama, factual, comedy and news programmes made in Scotland

BBC Scotland

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Sport

Sport: Football

How some of Scottish football’s biggest stars made their names on and off the pitch.

The incredible stories of how some of Scottish football’s biggest stars made their names on the pitch... and off it.

BBC Scotland HD

KT Tunstall

Steve Archibald

Alex Ferguson

Gary Lineker

Irvine Welsh

Garth Crooks

Willie Miller

Eamonn Donohoe

Graham Hunter

Julie Welch

Claire Kelly

Adrian Thrills

Ewan Torrance

Icons of Football: Series 1: Steve Archibald

Series 1

BBC Scotland - Icons of Football, Series 1, Steve Archibald

How Steve Archibald made the leap from car mechanic to star striker at Barcelona.

How Steve Archibald made the leap from part-time football at Clyde and working as a car mechanic to star striker at Barcelona.

A Rolls Royce car mechanic who dreamed of owning one of those iconic vehicles, Steve Archibald’s journey to football superstardom is the story of a born winner. 

His career started with part-time football at Clyde, where he had to avoid the greyhounds also using the stadium’s race track. Steve honed his winning mentality under Sir Alex Ferguson at Aberdeen, helping to bring glory back to the Granite City. Since he was determined to keep on pushing himself, his next stop was Tottenham Hotspur, where his goals and strike partnership with Garth Crooks quickly established him as a fan favourite. However, a dispute with the manager set him on course to a new adventure in a new country when he signed for Spanish giants Barcelona. Again, his winning mentality brought success, with Steve’s goals helping Barcelona to a league triumph and earning him the nickname 'Archi-goles'.

Despite the fact that Steve was loved by the fans in Barcelona as much as he had been by the fans in Aberdeen and London, his time in the Catalan capital was cut short by a rule that only allowed two foreign players to be registered to play at Spanish clubs. Steve's next move saw him bringing sunshine and goals to Hibernian, where once again he would be loved by fans.

With 27 caps for Scotland, Archibald speaks of his frustrations at the time his international career ended. But with his attitude bringing success on the pitch throughout his career, did he ever get his hands on the keys to that Rolls Royce?

Icons of Football: Series 1

A BBC TV channel for Scotland which will broadcast every evening and will show drama, factual, comedy and news programmes made in Scotland


How some of Scottish football’s biggest stars made their names on the pitch... and off it.

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