Alan McInally

Allan Edgar profiles Celtic and Bayern Munich striker Alan McInally.

Alan McInally is one of only a small proportion of Scottish international footballers who have had the honour of plying their trade beyond the confines of the British Isles – the physical forward won trophies in Scotland and England before making the move into Central Europe with German giants Bayern Munich. McInally is now a regular fixture on Sky Sports ‘Soccer Saturday’ show from which he is able to pontificate on the game using his continental experience – a rarity among British players turned pundits. McInally’s career spanned around 14 years although he only made less than 300 competitive appearances, despite this the striker was popular amongst fans of clubs throughout his career including Celtic and Aston Villa.

Although his Father – Jackie McInally – was a legend of the Kilmarnock 1965 league winning side, Alan McInally started his career with local rivals Ayr United. He made his debut in the 1980/81 season, a year which saw Ayr reach the Scottish League Cup semi-final. McInally spent almost 8 years with Ayr, 4 of which in the first team. Appearing in just under a century of matches, the striker netted 32 times with a goals to game ratio of just over 1 in 3. His direct style was sufficient enough to impress Scottish giants Glasgow Celtic who offered a sum of £90,000 for the player in 1984 – a handsome return for the club from Somerset Park.

Although they had dropped out of the top-tier of Scottish football and struggled to stay in the 2nd division, Ayr produced a number of players in this era who went on to bigger things including Stevie Nicol – who made over 300 appearances in a star-studded Liverpool side.

McInally completed his transfer to Glasgow Celtic in 1984 as they looked to win the title following success for Dundee United and Aberdeen in 1982-83 and 1983-84 respectively. The forward gained his famous nickname, ‘Rambo’, in the years spent wearing the green and white hoops. He struggled in his first two campaigns with the club, managing only sparse appearances as and when required although he was still held in high regard by manager Davie Hay. He scored his first goal as Celtic narrowly avoided League Cup exit at East End Park against Dunfermline with a 3-2 win. McInally was sent off in the infamous first-leg fixture (of three) against Austrian side Rapid Vienna as Celtic were beaten 3-1, his brash style would set the tone for a messy trio of fixtures which would see Celtic fined by UEFA following the play-off decider at Old Trafford. ‘Rambos’ stock at Celtic remained high despite a back injury which sidelined him for large spells. He also had to compete with Celtic luminaries such as Bobby Lennox, Tommy Burns and the preferred partnership of Mo Johnston and Brian McClair for a starting slot. McInally managed only a solitary league goal in the league winning Celtic side of 1985-86 but was used to add some muscle to the side when required.

McInally’s best season at Celtic was to be his, and Davie Hay’s final at the club as they lost out in the League and League Cup final to rivals Rangers. McInally scored a total of 22 goals over 85 appearances for Celtic.

As his contract at Celtic came to an end, Aston Villa bid (pre-Bosman era) £250,000 for the striker and he began his career at the Midlands club in July 1987. His first season in the claret and blue of Villa saw them promoted to the top-tier of English football with the new No. 9 grabbing 4 league goals in 18 appearances. McInally is seen as a hero of the Holte End during a difficult period for the club, the faith shown in him by the fans was repaid in the 1988/89 season when the club were able to fend off relegation and keep their top division status. McInally had cut his teeth in the English game and developed into a traditional British forward player, his determined approach seen him net 23 times in the 1988/89 season. McInally had shown the form which had enticed both Celtic and Aston Villa to buy the striker and his skills had not gone unnoticed, his bustling play in Europe with Celtic and in the top-tier of English football with Villa caught the eye of German powerhouses Bayern Munich who bid a record £1.2 million for him in the summer of 1989.

Strangely, current Bayern Munich manager Jupp Heynckes was manager of the Bundesliga giants at the time of McInally’s transfer. Heynckes formed a whole new strike force at Bayern despite winning the ‘Salad Bowl’ (League Trophy) in 1988/89. McInally, dubbed Big Mac by the fans, was paired with Yugoslavian (at the time) forward Radmilo Mihajlović and the two lead the Bavarian side to a second successive title. McInally managed 10 league goals in 31 games for Bayern and gave them hope in the European Cup semi-final against AC Milan with a late goal to draw the tie in extra-time only to be eliminated by away goals.

The physical style for which McInally was renowned however may have contributed to further injuries which

would hamper his career at Bayern. Heynckes’ first reign as Bayern boss ended and he was replaced by Soren

Lerby who did not favour McInally as a first team player. McInally made only rare appearances in his second season at Bayern and his final year was spent mainly on the treatment table with a serious knee injury. Despite only having one full season as a regular starter for Die Bayern, McInally has always spoken with great fondness of his time in Bavaria.

As his contract at Bayern ended, ‘Big Mac’ bid farewell to Munich and returned to Ayrshire, this time to local rivals Kilmarnock – where his Father, Jackie, was a local legend. It would be Ayr United who would remain the local club for the forward though as he turned out only 8 times for Kilmarnock without scoring. The short spell at Kilmarnock would prove to be his final year in professional football, he retired at the age of 31.

McInally was a member of the Scotland squad which participated in the 1990 World Cup although the disappointing 1-0 defeat to Costa Rica would prove to be his final appearance in a Scotland shirt. Nevertheless, McInally managed 3 goals for Scotland in 8 caps; a goal on his full debut against Chile and a brace against Malta in the preparation for Italia ‘90.

Alan McInally enjoyed a successful career which took him full circle. He left Ayrshire at the age of 20 to make the short trip to Glasgow, he would return to Ayrshire around a decade later having played with European powerhouses Bayern Munich and being fondly remembered by their passionate fans. His two years at

Aston Villa were sufficient to make him a £1.2 million striker, a figure which seems trivial in the modern

game but was certainly not in the late 1980’s. It is easy to see why he is fondly remembered in Scotland,

the Midlands and in Germany given his likeable demeanour as a pundit.

The geniality afforded to ‘Rambo’ by fans is perhaps a gesture for the hardworking manner in which he played the game.

First published in Issue 3.2 of our monthly Scottish Football magazine SCOTZINE.