Paul McStay

Paul Michael Lyons McStay, , nicknamed The Maestro, (born 22 October 1964) is a Scottish former professional footballer who spent his entire career with Celtic, making his senior debut in 1982 and retiring in 1997. He captained both Scotland and Celtic at all age levels. He was capped 76 times for his country and scored nine goals. He helped Celtic win three league titles, the last in 1988.

Club career

As a youth, McStay first came to prominence in June 1980 in a schoolboy international match when Scotland played England at Wembley. Then 15, he was the captain. He scored two goals and was awarded the Man of the Match award after Scotland ran out 5–4 winners.

McStay signed for Celtic aged sixteen from Celtic Boys Club in 1981. He made his first team debut on 23 January 1982 in a 4–0 win over Queen of the South in the Scottish Cup. He scored the third goal, taking a pass from George McCluskey, running through the Aberdeen defence and striking a left foot shot past Jim Leighton in goal.

Season 1982–83 saw the young midfielder establish himself as a first team regular, and he picked up his first winners medal on 4 November 1982 in Celtic's 2–1 win over Rangers in the League Cup Final. His performances resulted in media speculation that Inter Milan were considering making a £2 million bid to take him to Italy, a rumour that was emphatically dismissed by the Celtic chairman, Desmond White.

McStay continued to progress at Celtic, and he scored Celtic's equaliser in the 1984 Scottish Cup Final against Aberdeen to take the match into extra time. However, Celtic had played most of the match with 10 men after Roy Aitken was sent off in the first half, and Aberdeen scored in extra time to win 2–1.

In December 1987, during Celtic's centenary season, McStay signed a five-year contract at Celtic. He went on to enjoy his finest season, winning both the SPFA and Scottish Football Writers player of the year awards as the club won a League and Cup double in 1988.

When Roy Aitken left Celtic Park in 1990, McStay was appointed club captain, a position he retained until his retirement following the 1996–97 season. In his time with the club, Celtic won the League title three times, the Scottish Cup once. Although the second half of McStay's career coincided with a time when Celtic performed poorly and struggled financially, in 2002 he was voted a member of Celtic's greatest ever team by the club's fans. He is also a member of the Scotland Football Hall of Fame, which honours the best players to play in Scotland and is located in the Scottish Football Museum.

International career

In 1982 he captained Scotland to victory in the UEFA European Under-18 Championship, the only major trophy won by any Scottish national football team. He captained each of the Scotland teams from under-16 level through under-18, under-20, under-21 and senior level. McStay made his full national team debut in 1983. He represented Scotland 76 times, including appearances at two World Cups in 1986 and 1990, during a 14-year international career. McStay was also selected for two UEFA European Championships in 1992 and 1996, but withdrew from the latter because of an ankle injury.

Personal life

In 2010, McStay moved to live in Sydney, Australia with his wife Anne Marie and their six children. He now runs Maestro Sports, a startup software company specialising in sport coaching and management. McStay attempted to raise $100,000 AUD to fund an autobiography through the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter.

McStay's great-uncles Jimmy and Willie McStay were former Celtic captains, and his brothers Willie and Raymond also played for Celtic. Their father John worked as a scout for the club.

One of his sons, Chris, has played football for Sutherland Sharks and Rockdale Ilinden in Australia and for Clyde in Scotland. His nephew John (Willie's son) played with Celtic Boys Club before moving onto Motherwell under-19s and later played for Ayr United as a defender before becoming a Celtic academy coach.

His cousin Jock McStay played for Raith Rovers during the 1990s, and Jock's son Jonny played at Junior level in the 2010s.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each McStay goal''.

Honours

Celtic
*Scottish Premier Division: 1981–82, 1985–86, 1987–88;Celtic player Paul McStay
FitbaStats runner-up: 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1995–96, 1996–97
*Scottish Cup

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