Walter Smith (footballer)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Walter Ferguson Smith | ||
| Date of birth | 24 February 1948 | ||
| Place of birth | Lanark, Scotland | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1966–1975 | Dundee United | 108 | (2) |
| 1967 | → Dallas Tornado (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 1975–1977 | Dumbarton | 44 | (0) |
| 1977–1980 | Dundee United | 26 | (0) |
| Total | 181 | (2) | |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1978–1982 | Scotland U19 | ||
| 1982–1986 | Scotland U21 | ||
| 1986 | Scotland (assistant) | ||
| 1986–1991 | Rangers (assistant) | ||
| 1991–1998 | Rangers | ||
| 1998–2002 | Everton | ||
| 2004 | Manchester United (assistant) | ||
| 2004–2007 | Scotland | ||
| 2007–2011 | Rangers | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Walter Ferguson Smith, OBE (born 24 February 1948) is a Scottish football player, manager and director. He is primarily associated with his two spells in charge of Scottish club Rangers.
A former defender, Smith had an unremarkable playing career, consisting of two spells with Dundee United which was split by a short time at Dumbarton. A pelvic injury meant he moved into coaching at Dundee United, working for manager Jim McLean, while he also took charge of the Scotland under-18 and under-21 teams. Smith was assistant to Alex Ferguson at the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico after it had been announced that he would be moving to Rangers as assistant to Graeme Souness.
Smith became the manager of Rangers in 1991, succeeding Souness. He won 13 major trophies in seven years, including seven league titles in succession. After leaving Rangers at the end of the 1997–98 season, he was appointed manager of Premier League club Everton. He was in charge at Goodison Park for four seasons before he was sacked in 2002.
Smith was appointed Scotland manager in December 2004, after a brief stint as assistant manager to Alex Ferguson at Manchester United. He presided over a revival in the national team's fortunes, taking Scotland 70 places up the FIFA World Rankings. After a good start to UEFA Euro 2008 qualification, in January 2007 he resigned as Scotland manager to return to Rangers. He won eight trophies during his second spell as Rangers manager and guided the team to the 2008 UEFA Cup Final. Smith is the second-most successful manager in the history of Rangers, behind Bill Struth.
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