THE BEST PENALTY BOX defender IN THE world
NO PACE... NO HEIGHT AND A BAD PASSER BUT TO FERGIE HE WAS...
ABERDEEN may have struck oil in 1975 but the Granite City’s football club unearthed gold five years earlier.
A 16-year-old boy from Bridgeton and his gaffer from Govan were persuaded to leave Glasgow and head north.
Within a decade and a half, the pair would lead Aberdeen to the top of not only the Scottish game but of Europe as well, culminating in the 1983 Cup Winners’ Cup triumph over Real Madrid.
The photograph of Willie Miller standing arms outstretched with the European trophy held aloft by his right hand is one of the most iconic in Aberdeen’s history.
That rain-sodden evening in Gothenburg was the highlight of 796 competitive games played by the man described by Sir Alex Ferguson as “the best penalty box defender in the world”.
Yet, had it not been for Pittodrie legend Teddy Scott, Miller might have been nothing more than a decent striker.
That’s where he started as a teenager and being farmed out to Peterhead in the Highland League, where he scored 24 times in his only season, proved he had an eye for goal.
Scott, assistant manager in the early 70s, reckoned he’d be even better at keeping them out at the other end and rarely has a hunch paid off so spectacularly.
Miller developed into a defender of outstanding ability, underpinned by leadership qualities that carried his team-mates along with him and turned Aberdeen into a name feared and respected far beyond these shores.
His partnership for club and country with Alex McLeish became the foundation for the success both enjoyed in the 80s.
“As a footballer he had no equal,” McLeish says of Miller. “Sir Alex described him as the greatest penalty box defender he had ever seen. That just tells part of the story.
“Willie is the most influential captain, most consistent player and best one-on-one defender that I have ever seen.”
So, how did it happen? How did Aberdeen rip apart the Old Firm’s dominance to win three league titles, four Scottish Cups and three League Cups – not forgetting the Cup Winners’ Cup and European Super Cup – all of them under Miller’s captaincy? Miller, now 65, said: “The focus Sir Alex had was straightforward. If you want to win anything, you have to win in Glasgow. “It’s an obvious statement because all the cup finals are down there and it is where Rangers and Celtic play. “But it was something we had
to do. It was drilled into us. At the time I don’t think we understood the magnitude of what we were doing, particularly in Europe.
“You look at the names on the trophy and we shouldn’t be on it, really. I don’t think there’s another small, provincial club like ours who won it.”
He wasn’t wrong. Look at the names Aberdeen are sandwiched between on the Cup Winners’ Cup trophy – Spanish giants Barcelona are etched there in 1982 while Italian superstars Juventus are there in 1984.
Miller was the heartbeat of the success story. The team was laced with the brilliance of Gordon Strachan, Mark McGhee and Eric Black further forward but this centre back, only 5ft 10in tall, was unbeatable at times as his manager said on more than one occasion.
Ferguson said: “When I arrived I didn’t have to worry about picking a leader for the team.
“Willie was the captain when I got there and when I left, which was a tribute to his ability and fitness.”
In the foreword to Miller’s autobiography, Fergie added that his captain “had no pace, no height and his passing could be dodgy”.
And yet “nobody, but nobody, could get past him”.
Miller knew how good he was and rejected a big push by Rangers to sign him in 1982. Ferguson recalls that he wasn’t slow in asking for a pay rise when he felt it was merited.
He said: “The best wages were between £250-£350 a week and Miller wanted £350. Dick Donald (the Dons chairman) wanted to sell him but I persuaded him that this would only start an exodus. “Then his team-mate McLeish showed up with his wife and I eventually got him to accept a £50 rise. Finally, Doug Rougvie appeared and I told him ‘Doug, I’ve got this big cake and there’s a cherry on the top. Miller is taking three-quarters of it and the cherry. “I have a quarter of the cake left for everyone – what do you want me to do?” Rougvie left for Chelsea. Miller stayed. He went onto manage the Dons for three years after a knee injury sustained on Scotland duty against Norway in a match that guaranteed qualification for Italia ‘90 forced his retirement shortly afterwards. He played for his country 65 times. Miller has also been on the club’s board of directors and follows their every move as an analyst for BBC Scotland. His no-nonsense, straighttalking approach to punditry is right out of play-book he used on the pitch. But it’s on that Pittodrie pitch he’ll be remembered for his ‘they shall not pass’ attitude and for the manner in which he used his brain rather than brawn to win the vast majority of battles. Miller said: “I wasn’t the quickest defender and there were many more attackers that were quicker than me. I knew that if it was a standing start between me and a striker then I wasn’t going to win it. “To eliminate that difference in pace I had to be a quicker thinker, make sure I was in the right position, never committing myself and always giving that yard or two extra. So it was necessity more than anything else to cover up the lack of pace with speed of thought. “It took a bit of time, that instinct doesn’t come overnight, but the more you do it and get comfortable with it, then reading the game is so important. “At the top level, so much of it is thinking your way through the game.” Miller thought his way through nearly 1000 and won most of them. His autobiography is called The Don. It could just as easily have been called The Godfather.
I didn’t have to worry about picking a leader SIR ALEX FERGUSON