Quick Facts
Biography
William Ferguson Miller, MBE (born 2 May 1955 in Glasgow) is a former professional football player who made a club record 558 league appearances for Aberdeen. Sir Alex Ferguson described Miller as "the best penalty box defender in the world".
Club career
Miller signed for Aberdeen in 1972 at the age of 17 and was made captain four years later by manager Ally McLeod. His central defensive partnership with Alex McLeish was integral to Aberdeen's success in the 1980s, as they won all the major domestic honours and the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1983. He retired from playing in 1990 due to an injury picked up whilst playing for Scotland. In 2003, Willie Miller was voted the greatest Aberdeen player of all time in a poll to mark the club's centenary.
International career
Miller won 65 international caps for Scotland between 1975 and 1989, scoring one goal. His international career was effectively ended by an injury suffered during the last game of 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification. Although he did not play in the 1990 FIFA World Cup finals, Miller was presented with the match ball from Scotland's 1–0 loss to Brazil to thank him for his contribution to Scottish football.
He was an inaugural inductee to the Scottish Football Hall of Fame, in 2004. In 2010, Miller was chosen as one of the eleven members of Scotland's Greatest Team, by viewers of the Scottish Television documentary series, which sought the fans' opinion on the greatest ever Scotland players. Viewers also chose Alex McLeish as his central defence partner.
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | Scot Cup | Lge Cup | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Aberdeen | 1972–73 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1973–74 | 31 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 46 | 0 | |
| 1974–75 | 34 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 2 | |
| 1975–76 | 36 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 1 | |
| 1976–77 | 36 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 0 | |
| 1977–78 | 36 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 50 | 2 | |
| 1978–79 | 34 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 51 | 1 | |
| 1979–80 | 31 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 46 | 2 | |
| 1980–81 | 33 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 44 | 2 | |
| 1981–82 | 36 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 58 | 0 | |
| 1982–83 | 36 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 60 | 3 | |
| 1983–84 | 34 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 60 | 4 | |
| 1984–85 | 35 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 43 | 3 | |
| 1985–86 | 33 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 51 | 3 | |
| 1986–87 | 36 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 43 | 2 | |
| 1987–88 | 42 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 57 | 3 | |
| 1988–89 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 29 | 3 | |
| 1989–90 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 0 | |
| 1990–91 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Career total | 560 | 21 | 66 | 6 | 109 | 3 | 61 | 2 | 797 | 32 | |
International
| Scotland national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 1975 | 1 | 0 |
| 1978 | 1 | 0 |
| 1979 | 1 | 0 |
| 1980 | 6 | 1 |
| 1981 | 7 | 0 |
| 1982 | 5 | 0 |
| 1983 | 9 | 0 |
| 1984 | 6 | 0 |
| 1985 | 8 | 0 |
| 1986 | 8 | 0 |
| 1987 | 4 | 0 |
| 1988 | 7 | 0 |
| 1989 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 65 | 1 |
Honours
Player
- Aberdeen
- Scottish Premier Division (3): 1979–80, 1983–84, 1984–85
- Scottish Cup (4): 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1985–86
- Scottish League Cup (3): 1976–77, 1985–86, 1989–90
- European Cup Winners' Cup: 1982–83
- European Super Cup: 1983
Manager
- Aberdeen
- Aberdeenshire Cup: 1992–93
Individual
- PFA Scotland Players' Player of the Year: 1984
- SFWA Footballer of the Year: 1984
- Scotland national football team roll of honour: 1986
- Scottish Football Hall of Fame: 2004
Managerial career
In February 1992, he was appointed Aberdeen manager, replacing the sacked Alex Smith. Despite two second-place finishes in the league and two losing cup finals, Miller was sacked in February 1995.
In May 2004, Miller was appointed to the Aberdeen board and given executive responsibility for football. He played a large role in the appointment of Jimmy Calderwood as manager.
In June 2011, he was appointed as Aberdeen's Director of Football Development, with the responsibility of finding new playing talent for the club.
Career outside football
Miller has worked for the BBC, particularly for Radio Scotland, as a football commentator and analyst. He has written two autobiographies, The Miller's Tale and The Don, the latter being published in 2007. His third book, Willie Miller's Aberdeen Dream Team, was published in 2011.