Not many players can boast successful spells at both Leeds and Manchester United, but Gordon McQueen was one of them.
The former Scotland defender, who has died at the age of 70 following a battle with dementia, broke the British transfer record in 1978 after making a controversial £495,000 move across the Pennines to Manchester, but it came at a cost as he attracted the ire of the West Yorkshire club’s fans.
The move was met with such a backlash from the Leeds faithful that McQueen, a tough and uncompromising centre-back, felt responsible for creating such a bitter rivalry between the two clubs and admitted the move could well have been a catalyst for decades of enmity between the sets of supporters.
But it was one he could not turn down, saying famously at the time: “Ninety-nine per cent of players want to play for Manchester United and the rest are liars.”
Despite the furore surrounding the deal, the Scot went on to enjoy a seven-year career in Manchester before retirement and, after flirting briefly with management, he enjoyed a successful television career as a pundit on Sky Sports.
He disappeared from screens after being diagnosed with cancer of the larynx in 2011, but his legacy at the broadcaster lives on in the shape of daughter Hayley McQueen, a regular presenter on the channel.
While McQueen’s time in West Yorkshire may be overshadowed by the move to Old Trafford, he will go down as one of the great Scottish contingent that featured so heavily for Don Revie’s dominant Leeds side of the 1970s.
Born in the North Ayrshire town of Kilbirnie on June 26, 1952 to former Hibernian and Accrington goalkeeper Tom McQueen, it was no surprise that McQueen embarked on a career in professional football, and it all started out at St Mirren.
It did not take long for the big clubs to come calling, though, and after rejecting the likes of Liverpool’s Bill Shankly and Jock Stein at Celtic, McQueen plumped for a move to Elland Road where he would join up with future international team-mates Billy Bremner, Eddie Gray and Joe Jordan, whom he also played alongside at Old Trafford.
Having moved south in 1972 at the age of 20, McQueen missed the FA Cup final defeat to Sunderland in his first season, but it was not long before he had established himself in the side as they went on to win the First Division title in 1973-74 before having a tilt at the European Cup the following season.
Leeds made it all the way to the final, but McQueen was suspended for the 2-0 defeat to Bayern Munich after he was sent off in the semi-final against Barcelona.
“We played Barcelona in the semi-final and we were 2-1 up going into the second leg in Spain,” he recalled in an interview with the BBC in 2016. “A few of their players said they were going to do me, and Jimmy Armfield, our manager, told me to count to 10 if anything happened.
“The boy (Manuel) Clares spat in my face, I counted to 10 and then knocked him out. I was sent off. Missed the final.”
After six years at Leeds, the offer came in from Old Trafford to make McQueen the most expensive ever signing by a British club, a year after Hamburg splashed out £500,000 to sign Kevin Keegan from Liverpool.
He helped his new club reach the 1978-79 FA Cup final in his first full season and played his part in one of the most dramatic matches the competition has witnessed, his 86th-minute goal sparking a late United comeback from 2-0 down to 2-2 against Arsenal, only for Alan Sunderland’s 89th-minute goal to win it for the Gunners.
He did claim an FA Cup winners’ medal in 1982-83 following a replay win over Brighton, but suffered defeat in the League Cup final that same year against Liverpool.
On the international front, McQueen made his debut for Scotland in 1974, with his most memorable moment in dark blue coming against England at Wembley in 1977.
He powered a header past Ray Clemence – one of five international goals he scored – to set Scotland on their way to a famous 2-1 win in front of almost 100,000 fans, 70,000 of them travelling Scots.
The wild celebrations that followed have gone down in football folklore, with hoards of jubilant Scotland fans invading the pitch. Supporters clambered on to the goal frames, even breaking a crossbar, while bits of the Wembley turf were ripped up and claimed as souvenirs.
McQueen was included in Scotland’s squad for the 1978 World Cup, but could not play in the tournament due to injury. He won the last of his 30 caps in 1981.
Following seven years at Old Trafford, he left the club in 1985 after losing his place to Paul McGrath and, after a brief spell in Hong Kong, he retired and took the managerial reins at Airdrie before moving on to backroom roles at St Mirren and Middlesbrough, where he settled down with his family.
McQueen was a smoker and drinker throughout his career in an era when it was rife among footballers.
After his cancer diagnosis in 2011, he had a further health scare in 2015 when he suffered a stroke in the same month his father died.
It affected his movement, despite sessions of physiotherapy, and meant he had to scale back the scouting work he did for Boro.
In February 2021 it was announced he had been diagnosed with vascular dementia, with his family saying that he wondered whether the amount of heading of the ball he did throughout his career was a factor in him getting the disease.
McQueen is survived by wife Yvonne, daughters Hayley and Anna, son Edward and grandchildren Rudi, Etta and Ayla.
Luis Enrique: PSG 'far from the level' to turn Champions League fortunes around
Luis Enrique believes that despite Paris Saint-Germain's unbeaten start to the Ligue 1 season, it is not enough to turn their fortunes around in the Champions League.
PSG cruised to a 3-0 win over Toulouse on Friday, maintaining their six point advantage over Monaco at the top of the standings.
The Parisiens have 32 points from their 12 league matches. Over the last 70 years, only under Thomas Tuchel have they had more at this stage (36 in 2018-19).
PSG have also scored a division-high 36 goals, netting three or more times in nine of their 12 matches this season, as many as in their last 24 last term.
However, that form has failed to transpire in the Champions League. Luis Enrique's side sit 25th in the new 36-team league after taking four points from their four games.
And with a daunting trip to the Allianz Arena to face Bayern Munich up next, the PSG boss said his side's good run in the league will not be enough to win the competition.
"I think that we have numbers in Ligue 1 that are in line with our quality and in the Champions League we are far from our level. It's not logical," Luis Enrique said.
"It is clear that we have to improve our effectiveness, there is no doubt about it.
"A competition like the Champions League is different, is short, fewer games, it does not reward regularity, it rewards being good at the right moments.
"However, I think it's important to go into a Champions League match having won. It's not that it's decisive, but it's more positive," the coach added.
Friday's victory was sealed with goals from Joao Neves, Beraldo and Vitinha, sealing a sixth consecutive Ligue 1 triumph at the Parc des Princes.
Neves has now been involved in eight league goals this season (two goals, six assists), having only recorded five goal contributions in 50 appearances for Benfica.
The Portugal international also won more duels (nine) than any other PSG player against Toulouse, with Luis Enrique showering praise on the 20-year-old.
"Joao played the first half as a pivot, which is his usual position. In the second half we made more use of his ability to bring the ball out from the back in a more delayed position. I think he was very good," Luis Enrique said.
"Clearly when a midfielder scores the goal and it's something we insist on, well it seems to bring out his game more. I'm more satisfied. In the second half I liked him."
'It was typical Kane', says Kompany after Bayern star smashes Bundesliga record
Vincent Kompany quipped it was "typical Harry Kane" after the England captain netted his 50th Bundesliga goal in Bayern Munich's 3-0 win over Augsburg.
Kane scored all of Bayern's goals in Friday's victory, as Kompany's side went, at least temporarily, eight points clear at the top of the Bundesliga.
In the process, Kane netted his 50th goal in the competition, reaching the milestone in just 43 appearances, smashing the previous record of 50 set by Erling Haaland during his time at Borussia Dortmund.
Two of Kane's goals came from the penalty spot, before he rounded off his hat-trick in the 95th minute with a deft header after he had exquisitely controlled Leon Goretzka's lobbed pass.
"It was typical Harry Kane," Kompany said. "He had situations in the first half where he could maybe have done better.
"But a player like him can score at any moment, he went on to score three."
Joshua Kimmich hailed Kane's composure from the penalty spot.
"I've never seen him miss one," Kimmich said.
"In general we have complete faith in him and he repays that faith. To take and score a penalty like that is a real quality. It's always regarded as easy from the outside but it's quite extraordinary."
Ten of Kane's 50 Bundesliga goals have come from penalties, while 32 of them have been with his right foot, nine with his left and nine with his head.
Kane is also the quickest Bayern player to hit 50 league goals for the club, surpassing Robert Lewandowski's previous record of 64 games by a staggering 21 matches.
The 31-year-old has netted every 75 minutes on average.
"We said at half-time we should just keep going and create chances," Kane told reporters.
"Thankfully we got the penalty and from there the game opened up.
"We have a big week ahead with PSG in the Champions League, then Dortmund, then [Bayer] Leverkusen in the cup.
"We're in a good moment, we're feeling good and should just keep the momentum up."
Bayern's dominance was reflected in the match stats, with Kompany's team having 33 shots to Augsburg's two, getting 14 of them on target, and accumulating 3.77 expected goals (xG) while giving up just 0.1 at the other end.
But Kompany says there is much more to come.
"It's normal for it not to be easy – after all it's a Bundesliga game," he said.
"We had 33 attempts at goal and very often found ourselves inside their box. But we remained patient and continued to show that we wanted to score goals.
"When you're in the penalty area as often as we were, it's normal that there will be a penalty given at some point.
"I'm never satisfied because I want us to always be improving. I know how important the win was tonight, and I can really appreciate it."
LA Galaxy test not ‘David against Goliath’ for Minnesota, claims Ramsay
Minnesota United head coach Eric Ramsay believes this season has already been a success for his side, no matter the result of their Western Conference semi-final against the LA Galaxy.
The Loons are the lowest-ranked side left on the West side of the MLS playoff bracket after finishing sixth in the regular season, though have impressed in the postseason so far.
They edged Real Salt Lake in their best-of-three series, winning both games on penalties, though come into their encounter with the Galaxy as the underdogs from the outside.
However, Ramsay does not see it that way, believing that his players could cause an upset this weekend.
“There is, of course, a level of satisfaction, but I think it’s difficult to do that until you know how everything pans out,” Ramsay said. “I’ve tried not to think too much beyond the upcoming game and sort of take the balance of the season as a whole once that’s done.
“But I don’t think anyone can deny that relative to the circumstances and the expectations that we’ve had a really good year and sort of anything from this point onwards set against what was talked about prior to the season would, of course, be a bonus.”
“That’s not to say that I don’t feel nor expect us to go another step beyond because, if I look at our form at the moment, I do feel we’re a good match up for anyone in the league.
“There’s absolutely no way that we’re going into this game feeling as though it’s David against Goliath, and we’re huge underdogs, and you’ve got a 20% chance of winning the game. That’s just not how we look at it. So I’m trying to, again, balance those two perspectives.”
LA Galaxy, meanwhile, swept aside the Colorado Rapids in their best-of-three series, helped by the influential Gabriel Pec, who has starred in his first season in the MLS.
The Brazilian has 37 goals involvements (19 goals, 18 assists) so far this season, with his 61 chances created, a total only bettered by Riqui Puig (63) this campaign.
And Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney is confident he can help lead his team all the way to glory this term after seeing first-hand the improvements he has made.
“I’ve seen the evolution on the field,” he said. “When he first came there was a lot of stress. You could tell he came from a club [where] winning and losing and producing were heavy.
“I saw a player who had unique talents and then inside of that some really, really great talent that needs to come out.”
“When we watched video of him, the interesting thing was when he was scoring goals, he was constantly ending up inside the box. So the question was ‘how do we get this guy inside the box more often?’
“What’s been great about him is he’s just had a lot of open-mindedness to develop different parts of his game.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
LA Galaxy – Riqui Puig
Puig has also been in fine form for the Galaxy, registering 14 goal involvements (eight goals, six assists) in his last eight games for the club in all competitions.
He scored twice in each of the Galaxy’s two wins over Colorado in the first round, the fourth player in MLS history, and third for the Galaxy, to score multiple goals in consecutive matches in a single postseason, something no player has done in three straight playoff matches.
Minnesota United – Kelvin Yeboah
Yeboah has been one of the standout players in the MLS since joining Minnesota from Serie A side Genoa in July, and he will be looking to continue that form this weekend.
He set up Joseph Rosales for the Loons’ only goal in their first round series against Real Salt Lake. Yeboah (five goals, two assists) has been involved in seven of Minnesota’s last 12 goals (excluding own goals) dating back to mid-September.
MATCH PREDICTION: LA GALAXY WIN
This will be the second postseason meeting between the Galaxy and Minnesota after LA knocked the Loons out in Minnesota in the first round in 2019. The Galaxy have also lost only one of their seven all-time home matches against Minnesota (W4 D2).
The Galaxy scored nine times in their two first-round matches against Colorado, equalling the most goals scored in a span of two playoff matches in MLS history. No team has scored more than 12 goals in a span of three matches in a single postseason before (Toronto in 2016, San Jose Earthquakes in 2003).
Minnesota won on penalties in both matches against Real Salt Lake in the first round, becoming the fourth team in MLS history to win multiple penalty shoot-outs in a single postseason (Real Salt Lake 2009, New York City FC 2021, Seattle Sounds 2024). No team has won three shoot-outs in a single postseason.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
LA Galaxy – 50.8%
Draw – 24.9%
Minnesota United – 24.2%
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