Gary Smith (footballer, born 1971)

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Gary Smith
Personal information
Date of birth (1971-03-25) 25 March 1971 (age 54)
Place of birth Glasgow, Scotland
Position(s) Defender
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1989–1991 Falkirk 70 (0)
1991–1996 Aberdeen 143 (1)
1996–1997 Rennes 14 (0)
1997–2000 Aberdeen 67 (1)
2000–2006 Hibernian 159 (1)
2006–2007 Cowdenbeath 10 (0)
2006–2007Dundee (loan) 21 (1)
Total484(4)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Gary Smith (born 25 March 1971) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a defender.

Contents

Career

Club career

Smith was born in Glasgow, Scotland. He began his professional career at Falkirk, making his debut in 1989. He was snapped up by Aberdeen in 1991 and played in three cup finals for the Dons. He scored an own goal in the 1992 Scottish League Cup Final, which ultimately led to Rangers winning the trophy. [1]

In 1996, he left for French club Rennes (Heart of Midlothian winger Allan Johnston making the same move), before returning to Aberdeen in 1997. He signed for Hibernian in 2000 and despite falling out of favour with manager Franck Sauzée, re-established himself as a regular in the team under Bobby Williamson. After a solid spell at Hibs, Smith was allowed to leave Easter Road for Cowdenbeath in 2006. He was then loaned to Dundee from Cowdenbeath after he was passed over for the managerial position. [2]

International career

Smith was called up to the senior Scotland squad by Andy Roxburgh in 1993 but was ultimately never capped at that level. [3]

After Football

After retirement Smith retrained as a firefighter. Moving through the ranks Smith now holds the rank of Watch Commander in the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club [4] [5] [6] SeasonLeagueNational CupLeague CupEuropeTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Falkirk 1988-89 Scottish First Division 300000--30
1989-90 3601000--370
1990-91 3103010--360
Total7004010--750
Aberdeen 1991–92 Scottish Premier Division 161000000161
1992–93 400505000500
1993–94 210503030320
1994–95 330202000370
1995–96 330404000410
Total1431160140301761
Rennes 1996-97 Ligue 1 140000000140
Total140000000140
Aberdeen 1997-98 Scottish Premier Division 311102000341
1998-99 SPL 300102000330
1999-00 6000100070
Total671205000741
Hibernian 2000-01 SPL 370502000440
2001-02 300312010361
2002-03 320302000370
2003-04 200102000230
2004-05 201401010261
2005-06 200201010240
Total1591181100301902
Cowdenbeath 2006-07 Scottish Second Division 1000010--110
Total1000010--110
Dundee (loan) 2006-07 Scottish First Division 2111000--221
Career total4844411310605625

Honours

Falkirk

Aberdeen

Hibernian

References

  1. 1 2 McKinney, David (26 October 1992). "Football: Smith's slip gives Rangers the prize". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  2. Dundee get veteran defender Smith, BBC Sport.
  3. "Roxburgh introduces new generation in the wake of Lisbon fiasco". heraldscotland.com. 11 May 1993. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  4. "bettermeddle..." bettermeddle.org.uk. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  5. "Aberdeen Football Club Heritage Trust - Player Profile". afcheritage.org. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  6. "Gary Smith | Player Statistics | Dundee (Dee Archive)". deearchive.co.uk. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  7. McKinney, David (27 November 1995). "Dodds and Shearer end Aberdeen's wait". The Independent. London. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  8. McKinney, David (31 May 1993). "Scottish up Final: Rangers continue to reign supreme". The Independent. London. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  9. Celtic lift cup to complete Treble BBC Sport, 26 May 2001
  10. Livingston lift CIS Cup, BBC Sport, 14 March 2004