Martin McLean Buchan (born 6 March 1949) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a centre back. Born in

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

, he played for

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

and Oldham Athletic. He also played in 34 international matches for

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

between 1971 and 1978 including at two World Cups. Buchan later managed Burnley.

Playing career

Aberdeen

Buchan started his professional career with his hometown club

. He captained the team when they won the 1970 Scottish Cup Final 3–1 against

Jock Stein John Stein (5 October 1922 – 10 September 1985) was a Scottish association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. He was the first manager of a club from a Northern European country to win the European Champio ...

's Celtic.

Manchester United

Buchan was signed by

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

United manager Frank O'Farrell on 29 February 1972 for £120,000, and at the time was the club's record signing. His first game for United came on 4 March 1972 against

Tottenham Tottenham (, , , ) is a district in north London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, ...

in the First Division. He was unable to prevent United from suffering relegation to the Second Division in 1973–74. However, United bounced back at the first attempt as Second Division champions. Buchan became club captain in 1975 following the departure of Willie Morgan. Buchan helped United win the 1977 FA Cup Final against

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, which they won 2–1. This meant that Buchan became the only player to captain both Scottish and English FA Cup-winning sides. He also helped United reach another FA Cup final in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

, where they lost 3–2 to Arsenal. He was still with United when they beat

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

4–0 in the replayed 1983 FA Cup Final, but he did not make the team for the final. Buchan left the club in August 1983 after injuries caught up with him, signing for Oldham Athletic on a free transfer. He had played in 456 games, scoring 4 goals, one of which was a superb, yet somewhat uncharacteristic, long-range drive against Everton.

International

Buchan won 34 caps for

, making his international debut in 1971 against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

and his last appearance in 1978 against the same country. He played in the 1974 and 1978 World Cup finals and captained Scotland twice: in 1975 against

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

and in 1977 against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

After playing

On 22 June 1985, Buchan was appointed manager of Burnley, who had just been relegated to the Fourth Division for the first time in their history – 25 years after being league champions. Buchan lasted less than four months at Turf Moor, resigning on 10 October 1985. Buchan worked for the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) in Manchester for 17 years before retiring in 2017.

Personal life

Buchan's brother George and father Martin senior both played for Aberdeen, the latter only in unofficial competitions during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. His son Jamie played with Aberdeen, Dundee United and Partick Thistle.Jamie Buchan
AFC Heritage Trust

Career statistics

Club

International

Managerial record

Honours

As a player

Aberdeen * Scottish Cup: 1969–70 Manchester United *

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

: 1976–77; runner-up: 1975–76 * FA Charity Shield: 1977

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buchan, Martin Scottish men's footballers Scottish football managers Scotland men's international footballers Men's association football central defenders Banks O' Dee F.C. players Aberdeen F.C. players Burnley F.C. managers Manchester United F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Washington Whips players 1974 FIFA World Cup players 1978 FIFA World Cup players People educated at Robert Gordon's College Footballers from Aberdeen 1949 births Living people Scottish Junior Football Association players Scottish Football League players English Football League players Scotland men's under-23 international footballers Scottish Football Hall of Fame inductees Scottish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Scottish expatriate men's footballers

Playing career

Aberdeen

Manchester United

International

After playing

Personal life

Career statistics

Club

International

Managerial record

Honours

As a player

See also

References