Jimmy was a keeper – then coach heard his accent
There are plenty of young Scottish footballers wondering where there future lies in the years ahead.
Some free agents might think about trying their luck overseas.
Most will find you can take the boy out of Scotland, but you can’t take Scotland out of the boy. Jimmy McDonald is living proof of that. He left these shores for Canada 50 years ago, having only ever played as a goalkeeper.
Within five years, he was an international midfielder – while he was still at school.
Although he lives on the other side of the Atlantic to this day, Jimmy has never forgotten his roots.
He spent many years as a coach and forged links with Celtic, Rangers, Hibs, Motherwell – and even Sir Alex Ferguson.
You’d never believe Jimmy has been away from Govan in Glasgow for so long when he explains the route he took into professional football.
He said: “I was only 13 when my family left Scotland and emigrated to Canada.
“My first coach there was a Scot, a cop called John Knox, and I told him I was a goalkeeper.
“His reply was: ‘Not with an accent like that you aren’t.’
“He reckoned a lad from Scotland, even one used to playing in goal, would be better with the ball than Canadian kids.
“I had been quite keen on playing in goal. I remember going on holiday to Aberdeen and watching the Dons’ keeper, Tubby Ogston, training in a local park.
“But I became a defender in Canada and the making of me was playing in a terrible team.
“We rarely won a game, and at one point I was ready to pack it in.
“But my dad told me I had to show commitment to the team, and I wouldn’t learn as much playing in a successful side where the guys in front of me did all the work.
“He was so right. I developed a lot in a short time by being under pressure all the time.
“At 15, I was picked for a Toronto Select and we came to Scotland on a tour.”
Jimmy was signed by the Toronto Metros of the NASL in 1973 and got his first cap for Canada the same season.
He went on: “I was still in high school when I was playing for the Metros and Canada because you stayed on until you were 18.
“I had two Scots lads, Ian McPhee of St Johnstone and former Aston Villa player Brian Rowan, as club team-mates.
“I came up against a number of European stars, like Kazimierz Deyna from Poland and Uli Stielike of Germany.
“I was called up by the national Under-20 team and my first full game for Canada came against German side, Nuremberg.
“I then played against Luxembourg, Haiti and Bermuda. I was right-back for the Metros and sweeper for Canada.
“On one occasion, I was put in midfield against Argentina. At half-time, the manager put me back to the sweeper role.
“I told him I wasn’t a midfielder. I felt like a greyhound chasing a hare in that 45 minutes.”
Jimmy, now 63, played for a number of club sides in Canada and then worked as full-time coach for 32 years.
He said: “I spent some time watching Sir Alex Ferguson and meeting him was a real highlight of my football life.
“I remember him telling me that once you stop learning about the game, you might as well give up.”
Jimmy was Director of Coaching at Florida Celtic – a club linked to the Scottish champions – for several years.
He now coaches kids at Tampa Bay United.