FACT FILE

Brian Irvine was born May 24, 1965 in Bellshill, in Lanarkshire.

Irvine began his football career with Falkirk in 1983, spending two years at Brockville where he combined part-time football with a job in banking, and made 38 appearances for the Bairns.

In 1985, Irvine was signed by Aberdeen, the club he supported, by then manager Alex Ferguson.

Irvine scored the winning penalty in their 9-8 shootout victory against Celtic, securing the 1990 Scottish Cup and a place in the hearts of all Aberdeen supporters.

In September that year, Irvine was handed his first of nine Scotland caps by then manager Andy Roxburgh, in a 2-1 European championship qualifying victory against Romania at Hampden Park.

In June 1995, Irvine was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, however made his return to playing action just four months later.

In 1997, Irvine was awarded a testimonial match against Wimbledon before being released by the Dons after 365 appearances, marking the end of a memorable 12-year spell at Pittodrie.

Irvine joined Dundee, where he made 69 appearances in two years.

Former Dons teammate Neale Cooper took Irvine to Ross County in 1999, where the defender played 120 times before retiring from playing in 2003, at the age of 38.

Irvine remained at Victoria Park in a coaching capacity, but took his first steps in management in 2006 when he joined Elgin City. It proved a disappointing stint at Borough Briggs however, with Irvine leaving in December that year, with the Moray outfit bottom of Division 3.

Irvine had further coaching stints as assistant to fellow Scot Martin Rennie at Cleveland City Stars and Carolina RailHawks, before linking up with Rennie once again in 2015 for a short stint in South Korea with Seoul E-Land.

Irvine fulfilled a lifelong ambition by becoming a policeman, following in his father’s footsteps.