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Paul Michael Lyons McStay MBE, nicknamed the Maestro (born 22 October 1964, Hamilton), is a Scottish former footballer who spent his entire career with Celtic, making his 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 one in 1988 and remains a popular figure amongst Celtic's fans.
Club career
As a youth, McStay first came to prominence in June 1980 in a Schoolboy International match where Scotland played England at Wembley. Then 15, he was the captain. He scored two goals in the match 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 for Celtic on 23 January 1982 in a 4–0 win over Queen of the South in the Scottish Cup. A week later on 30 January, he made his first league appearance in 3–1 win over Aberdeen at Pittodrie. He scored the third goal, taking a pass from George McCluskey, running through the Aberdeen defence and strking 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 played most of the match with 10 men after Roy Aitken had been 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 clinched 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 4 times and the League Cup once. Although the second half of McStay's career coincided with a time when Celtic were in turmoil and were overshadowed by rivals Rangers, 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.
McStay's great-uncles, Jimmy and Willie McStay, were former Celtic captains, and his brothers Willie and Raymond also played for Celtic. His nephew, John, played with Celtic Boys Club before moving onto Motherwell under 19s and now plays for Ayr United as a defender.
International career
McStay made his full national team debut in 1983 and represented Scotland 76 times, including appearances at two World Cups in 1986 and 1990, during a 14-year international career. In mid-1982 he captained Scotland to victory in the UEFA European Under-18 Championship. This is the only major trophy to date, won by the Scottish Football Association. He captained each of the Scotland teams from under-16 level through under-18, under-20, under-21 and at full National team level.
Personal life
In 2010, he moved to live in Sydney, Australia with his wife Anne Marie and their six children. McStay now runs Maestro Sports, a startup software company specialising in sport coaching and management.
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | ||
| Celtic | 1981–82 | Scottish Premier Division | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 |
| 1982–83 | 36 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 53 | 7 | ||
| 1983–84 | 34 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 53 | 7 | ||
| 1984–85 | 32 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 46 | 8 | ||
| 1985–86 | 34 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 40 | 9 | ||
| 1986–87 | 43 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 56 | 4 | ||
| 1987–88 | 44 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 54 | 5 | ||
| 1988–89 | 33 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 45 | 5 | ||
| 1989–90 | 35 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 47 | 5 | ||
| 1990–91 | 30 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 3 | ||
| 1991–92 | 32 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 7 | ||
| 1992–93 | 43 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 53 | 5 | ||
| 1993–94 | 35 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 44 | 2 | ||
| 1994–95 | 29 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 1 | ||
| 1995–96 | 30 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 38 | 2 | ||
| 1996–97 | 15 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 1 | ||
| Total | 515 | 57 | 66 | 6 | 54 | 7 | 43 | 2 | 678 | 72 | ||
| Career total | 515 | 57 | 66 | 6 | 54 | 7 | 43 | 2 | 678 | 72 | ||
International
| Scotland national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 1983 | 4 | 0 |
| 1984 | 5 | 2 |
| 1985 | 4 | 0 |
| 1986 | 5 | 1 |
| 1987 | 8 | 2 |
| 1988 | 7 | 1 |
| 1989 | 8 | 0 |
| 1990 | 9 | 0 |
| 1991 | 3 | 1 |
| 1992 | 9 | 2 |
| 1993 | 5 | 0 |
| 1994 | 3 | 0 |
| 1995 | 1 | 0 |
| 1996 | 1 | 0 |
| 1997 | 3 | 0 |
| Total | 76 | 9 |
International goals
- Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 October 1984 | Hampden Park, Glasgow |  Iceland | 1–0 | 3–0 | WCQG7 |
| 2 | 2–0 | 3–0 | ||||
| 3 | 28 January 1986 | National Stadium, Ramat Gan |  Israel | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 4 | 1 April 1987 | Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, Brussels |  Belgium | 1–1 | 1–4 | ECQG7 |
| 5 | 14 October 1987 | Hampden Park, Glasgow | Belgium | 2–0 | 2–0 | ECQG7 |
| 6 | 14 September 1988 | Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo |  Norway | 1–0 | 2–1 | WCQG5 |
| 7 | 13 November 1991 | Hampden Park, Glasgow |  San Marino | 1–0 | 4–0 | ECQG2 |
| 8 | 25 March 1992 | Hampden Park, Glasgow |  Finland | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 9 | 18 June 1992 | Idrottsparken, Norrköping |  CIS | 1–0 | 3–0 | ECGB |
Honours
Club
- Scottish League Premier Division (3): 1982, 1986, 1988
- Scottish Cup (4): 1985, 1988, 1989, 1995
- Scottish League Cup (1): 1983
International
- UEFA European Under-18 Championship (1): 1982
Individual
- SFWA Footballer of the Year: 1988
- Scottish PFA Players' Player of the Year: 1988
- Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year: 1983
- Scotland national football team roll of honour : 1990