| Brian Irvine | |
| Birth Date: | 1965 5, df=y |
| Birth Place: | Bellshill, Scotland |
| Position: | Central defender |
| Height: | 6ft 2in |
| Years1: | 1983–1985 |
| Years2: | 1985–1997 |
| Years3: | 1997–1999 |
| Years4: | 1999–2003 |
| Clubs1: | Falkirk |
| Clubs2: | Aberdeen |
| Clubs3: | Dundee |
| Clubs4: | Ross County |
| Caps1: | 38 |
| Caps2: | 311 |
| Caps3: | 69 |
| Caps4: | 119 |
| Goals1: | 0 |
| Goals2: | 30 |
| Goals3: | 4 |
| Goals4: | 13 |
| Totalcaps: | 537 |
| Totalgoals: | 47 |
| Nationalyears1: | 1990–1994 |
| Nationalteam1: | Scotland |
| Nationalcaps1: | 9 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 0 |
| Manageryears1: | 2006 |
| Managerclubs1: | Elgin City |
Brian Irvine (born 24 May 1965 in Bellshill, Scotland) is a former international footballer who played as a central defender for Falkirk, Aberdeen, Dundee, Ross County and managed Elgin City. He was capped nine times by Scotland.
After working in a bank on leaving school,[1] Irvine began his professional career with Falkirk in 1983, aged 18.[2] During his spell with the Bairns, he became an evangelical Christian.[2] [1]
After two years and nearly forty league appearances at Brockville, Irvine moved to Aberdeen, the team he had supported as a child,[1] for a fee of £110,000.[1] During twelve years with the Dons, Irvine made over 350 appearances in all competitions, gradually becoming a regular in the defence alongside Alex McLeish as veteran captain Willie Miller's career came to an end.[3] [4]
Aberdeen won the Scottish Cup in 1990, with Irvine scoring the winning penalty in a 9–8 shootout win against Celtic in the final,[2] [3] [1] [5] having also scored in the quarter-final and semi-final.[3] He had already come on as a substitute in the League Cup final victory in the same season,[3] and played a part in two other finals[6] and five runners-up finishes in the Scottish Premier Division[7] (losing out to Rangers on every occasion), as well as helping the club avoid what would have been a first-ever relegation via a play-off in 1995.[8] He took over in goals in emergencies (if the goalkeeper was injured or sent off) on several occasions, saving a penalty in a match against Hibernian in 1991.[4] [9]
In June 1995 he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis,[3] [1] returning to action four months after the diagnosis.[2] Irvine left Pittodrie in 1997 (following a testimonial match against Wimbledon)[10] and moved to Dundee, featuring nearly 70 times in two years. In 1999, Irvine moved to Ross County, where he finished his playing career in 2003.[1]
After retiring, Irvine stayed with County as a coach, taking his first managerial job in January 2006 with Elgin City.[11] In December that year, with the club bottom of the table, Irvine left the club.[12] [3] In March 2009, Irvine was named assistant manager to Martin Rennie of USL First Division side Carolina RailHawks FC. He was previously Rennie's assistant at USL-2 side Cleveland City Stars.[3]
He has been involved in charity work,[3] [1] and in 2016 became a police officer.[13]
| Season | League | Scottish Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Falkirk | 1983–84 | Scottish First Division | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 3 | 0 | |
| 1984–85 | 35 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 38 | 0 | |||
| Total | 38 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 41 | 0 | |||
| Aberdeen | 1985–86 | Scottish Premier Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 1 | 0 | |
| 1986–87 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 23 | 3 | |||
| 1987–88 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 23 | 3 | |||
| 1988–89 | 27 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 36 | 2 | |||
| 1989–90 | 31 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 40 | 3 | |||
| 1990–91 | 30 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | - | - | 39 | 3 | |||
| 1991–92 | 41 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | - | 46 | 4 | |||
| 1992–93 | 39 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 48 | 8 | |||
| 1993–94 | 42 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | - | - | 54 | 8 | |||
| 1994–95 | 19 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | - | 24 | 1 | |||
| 1995–96 | 18 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 21 | 3 | |||
| 1996–97 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | - | - | 32 | 2 | |||
| Total | 311 | 30 | 29 | 4 | 26 | 4 | 21 | 2 | - | - | 387 | 40 | |||
| Dundee | 1997–98 | Scottish First Division | 36 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 44 | 2 | |
| 1998–99 | SPL | 33 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 34 | 3 | ||
| Total | 69 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 78 | 5 | |||
| Ross County | 1999–2000 | Scottish Second Division | 32 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 39 | 10 | |
| 2000–01 | Scottish First Division | 26 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 32 | 2 | ||
| 2001–02 | 30 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 3 | |||
| 2002–03 | 31 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 3 | |||
| Total | 119 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 143 | 18 | |||
| Career total | 537 | 47 | 42 | 5 | 41 | 7 | 21 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 651 | 63 | |||
| Scotland | 1990 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1991 | — | |||
| 1992 | — | |||
| 1993 | 6 | 0 | ||
| 1994 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Total | 9 | 0 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Aberdeen[4]
Runners-up 1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1992–93, 1993–94