Sir Kenneth Mathieson Dalglish (born 4 March 1951) is a Scottish formerfootball player andmanager. He is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time as well as one of Celtic's, Liverpool's and Scotland's greatest ever players.[4] During his career, he made 338 appearances forCeltic and 515 forLiverpool, playing as aforward, and earned a record 102 caps for theScotland national team, scoring 30 goals, also a joint record. Dalglish won theBallon d'Or Silver Award in 1983, thePFA Players' Player of the Year in 1983, and theFWA Footballer of the Year in 1979 and 1983. In 2009,FourFourTwo magazine named Dalglish the greateststriker in post-war British football, and he has been inducted into both theScottish andEnglish Football Halls of Fame. He is highly regarded by Liverpool fans, who still affectionately refer to him as "King Kenny", and in 2006 voted him top of the fans' poll "100 Players Who Shook the Kop".
Dalglish becameplayer-manager of Liverpool in 1985 after the resignation ofJoe Fagan, winning a further three First Divisions, two FA Cups and four FA Charity Shields, before resigning in 1991. Eight months later, Dalglish made a return to football management withBlackburn Rovers, whom he led from theSecond Division to win thePremier League in 1995. Soon afterwards, he stepped down as manager to becomedirector of football at the club, before leaving altogether in 1996. In January 1997, Dalglish took over as manager atNewcastle United. Newcastle finished as runners-up in the Premier League during his first season, but they only finished 13th in1997–98, which led to his dismissal the following season. Dalglish went on to be appointed director of football at Celtic in 1999, and later briefly manager. He won the Scottish League Cup in 2000 before his departure from the club that year.
Between 2000 and 2010, Dalglish focused on charitable concerns, founding The Marina Dalglish Appeal with his wife to raise money for cancer care. In January 2011, Dalglish returned to Liverpool for a spell ascaretaker manager after the dismissal ofRoy Hodgson, becoming the permanent manager in May 2011. Despite winning theLeague Cup, which was the club's first trophy since 2006, earning them a place in theUEFA Europa League, and reaching theFA Cup Final, Liverpool only finished 8th in the Premier League, and Dalglish was dismissed in May 2012. In October 2013, Dalglish returned to Liverpool as a non-executive director, andAnfield's Centenary Stand was renamed after him in October 2018.
The son of an engineer, Dalglish was born inDalmarnock in the east end ofGlasgow and was brought up inMilton in the north of the city. When he was 14 the family moved to a newly builttower block inIbrox overlooking the home ground ofRangers, the club he had grown up supporting.[5][6][7]
Dalglish attended Miltonbank Primary School in Milton and started out as a goalkeeper.[8] He then attended High Possil Senior Secondary School,[7] where he won the inter-schools five-a-side and the inter-year five-a-side competitions. He won the Scottish Cup playing for Glasgow Schoolboys and Glasgow Schools, and was then selected for the Scottish schoolboys team that went undefeated in aHome NationsVictory Shield tournament.[8] In 1966, Dalglish had unsuccessful trials atWest Ham United andLiverpool.[9]
Dalglish signed a professional contract withCeltic in May 1967. The club's assistant managerSean Fallon went to see Dalglish and his parents at their home, which had Rangers-related pictures on the walls.[7] Inhis first season, Dalglish was loaned out toCumbernauld United, for whom he scored 37 goals.[10] During this time he also worked as an apprenticejoiner.[7][8] Celtic managerJock Stein wanted Dalglish to spend a second season at Cumbernauld, but the youngster wanted to turn professional.[11] Dalglish got his wish and became a regular in thereserve team known as theQuality Street Gang, due to it containing a large number of highly rated players, including future Scottish internationalsDanny McGrain,George Connelly,Lou Macari andDavid Hay.[12] Dalglish made his first-team competitive debut for Celtic in aScottish League Cup quarter-final tie againstHamilton Academical on 25 September 1968, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 4–2 win.[11][13]
He spent the 1968–69 season playing for the reserves, though scored just four goals in 17 games. The following season he changed his position, moving into midfield, and enjoyed a good season as he helped the reserve team to the league and cup double, scoring 19 goals in 31 games.[11] Stein put Dalglish in the starting XI for the first team in a league match againstRaith Rovers on 4 October 1969. Celtic won 7–1 but Dalglish did not score, nor did he score in the next three first-team games he played in during the 1969–70 season.[11][14]
Dalglish continued his goal-scoring form in the reserves into the next season, scoring 23 goals.[11] A highlight of his season came in the Reserve Cup Final against Rangers; Dalglish scored one goal in a 4–1 win in the first leg, then in the second leg scored ahat-trick in a 6–1 win to clinch the cup.[11] Still not a first-team regular, Dalglish was in the stands when theIbrox disaster occurred at anOld Firm match in January 1971, when 66 Rangers fans died.[15] On 17 May 1971, he played for Celtic againstKilmarnock in a testimonial match for theRugby Park club's long serving midfielderFrank Beattie, and scored six goals in a 7–2 win for Celtic.[16]
The1971–72 season saw Dalglish finally establish himself in the Celtic first team,.[11] He scored his first competitive goal for the first team on 14 August 1971, Celtic's second goal with a penalty kick in a 2–0 win over Rangers atIbrox Stadium.[17] He went on to score 29 goals in 53 games that season, including ahat-trick againstDundee andbraces against Kilmarnock andMotherwell[18] and helped Celtic win their seventh consecutive league title.[11] Dalglish also played in Celtic's 6–1 win overHibernian in the1972 Scottish Cup Final.[11] In1972–73 Dalglish was Celtic's leading scorer, with 39 goals in all competitions,[18] and the club won the league championship once again.[11] Celtic won a league and cup double in 1973–74[11] and reached the semi-finals of theEuropean Cup. The ties againstAtlético Madrid were acrimonious, and Dalglish described the first leg in Glasgow where the Spanish side had three players sent off as "without doubt the worst game I have ever played in as far as violence is concerned."[11] Dalglish won a further Scottish Cup winner's medal in 1975, providing the cross forPaul Wilson's opening goal in a 3–1 win overAirdrieonians in what transpired to be captainBilly McNeill's last match before retiring from playing football.[19]
Dalglish was made Celtic captain in the1975–76 season, during which the club failed to win a trophy for the first time in 12 years.[20] Jock Stein had been badly injured in a car crash and missed most of that season while recovering from his injuries.[21] Celtic won another league and cup double in 1976–77, with Dalglish scoring 27 goals in all competitions.[11] On 10 August 1977, after making 320 appearances and scoring 167 goals for Celtic, Dalglish was signed by Liverpool managerBob Paisley for a British transfer fee record of £440,000 (£3,453,000 today).[22] The deal was unpopular with the Celtic fans, and Dalglish was booed by the crowd when he returned to Celtic Park in August 1978 to play in atestimonial match for Stein.[23]
Dalglish was signed to replaceKevin Keegan and quickly settled into his new club. He made his debut on 13 August 1977 in the season opener atWembley, in the1977 FA Charity Shield againstManchester United.[24] He scored his first goal for Liverpool in his league debut a week later on 20 August, againstMiddlesbrough.[24] Dalglish also scored three days later on hisAnfield debut in a 2–0 victory overNewcastle United, and he scored Liverpool's sixth goal when they beat Keegan'sHamburg 6–0 in the second leg of the1977 European Super Cup.[25][26] By the end of his first season with Liverpool, Dalglish had played 62 times and scored 31 goals, including the winning goal in the1978 European Cup Final at Wembley againstBruges.[27]
Inhis second season, Dalglish recorded a personal best of 21 league goals for the club and was also named Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year.[28][29] He did not miss a league game for Liverpool until the1980–81 season, when he appeared in 34 out of 42 league games and scored only eight goals as Liverpool finished fifth in the league, but still won theEuropean Cup andFootball League Cup.[30] He recovered his goal-scoring formthe following season, and was an ever-present player in the league once again, scoring 13 goals as Liverpool became league champions for the 13th time, and the third time since Dalglish's arrival. It was also around this time that he began to form a potent strike partnership withIan Rush;[31] Dalglish began to play just off Rush, "running riot in the extra space afforded to him in thehole".[32] Dalglish was votedPFA Players' Player of the Year for the1982–83 season,[33] during which he scored 18 league goals as Liverpool retained their title. From 1983 Dalglish became less prolific as a goal-scorer, though he remained a regular player.[34]
After becoming player-manager on the retirement ofJoe Fagan in the 1985 close season and in the aftermath of theHeysel Stadium disaster, Dalglish selected himself for just 21 First Division games in1985–86 as Liverpool won the double, but he started theFA Cup final win overEverton.[35][36][37] On the last day of the league season, his goal in a 1–0 away win overChelsea gave Liverpool their 16th league title.[38] Dalglish had a personally better campaign in the1986–87 season, scoring six goals in 18 league appearances, but by then he was committed to giving younger players priority for a first-team place.
With the sale of Ian Rush toJuventus in 1987, Dalglish formed a new striker partnership of new signingsJohn Aldridge andPeter Beardsley for the1987–88 season, and he played only twice in a league campaign which saw Liverpool gain their 17th title. Dalglish did not play in Liverpool's1988–89 campaign, and he made his final league appearance on 5 May 1990 as a substitute againstDerby. At 39, he was one of the oldest players ever to play for Liverpool.[39] His final goal had come three years earlier, in a 3–0 home league win overNottingham Forest on 18 April 1987.[40]
Tommy Docherty gave Dalglish his debut for the Scottish national side as a substitute in the 1–0Euro 1972 qualifier victory overBelgium on 10 November 1971 atPittodrie.[41] Dalglish scored his first goal for Scotland a year later on 15 November 1972 in the 2–0World Cup qualifier win overDenmark atHampden Park.[41] Scotland would go on to qualify for the final tournament and he was part of Scotland's1974 World Cup squad in West Germany. He started in all three games as Scotland were eliminated during the group stages despite not losing any of their three games.[42]
In 1976, Dalglish scored the winning goal for Scotland atHampden Park againstEngland, bynutmeggingRay Clemence.[43] A year later Dalglish scored against the same opponents and goalkeeper atWembley, in another 2–1 win.[44] Dalglish went on to play in both the1978 World Cup in Argentina where he started in all of Scotland's games – scoring against eventual runners-up theNetherlands in a famous 3–2 win[45] – and the1982 World Cup in Spain, scoring againstNew Zealand.[46] On both occasions Scotland failed to get past the group stage. Dalglish was selected for the 22-man squad travelling to Mexico for the1986 World Cup, but had to withdraw due to injury.[47]
In total, Dalglish played 102 times for Scotland (a national record) and he scored 30 goals (also a national record, which matched that set byDenis Law).[48][49] He became the first, and as of 2024 only, player to win 100 caps for Scotland in a friendly match againstRomania on 26 March 1986 atHampden Park. He was presented with the milestone cap byFranz Beckenbauer prior to kick off.[50] His final appearance for Scotland, after 15 years as a full international, was on 12 November 1986 at Hampden in aEuro 1988 qualifying game againstLuxembourg, which Scotland won 3–0.[51] His 30th and final international goal had been two years earlier, on 14 November 1984, in a 3–1 win overSpain in a World Cup qualifier, also at Hampden Park.[52]
After theHeysel Stadium disaster in 1985 andJoe Fagan's subsequent resignation as manager, Dalglish becameplayer-manager of Liverpool. In his first season in charge in1985–86, he guided the club to its first "double". Liverpool achieved this by winning the League Championship by two points overEverton (Dalglish himself scored the winner in a 1–0 victory overChelsea atStamford Bridge to secure the title on the final day of the season),[38] and the FA Cup by beating Evertonin the final.[53]
The1986–87 season was trophyless for Liverpool. They lost 2–1 to Arsenal in theLeague Cup final at Wembley. Before the1987–88 season, Dalglish signed two new players: strikerPeter Beardsley from Newcastle and wingerJohn Barnes fromWatford. He had already purchased goalscorerJohn Aldridge fromOxford United (a replacement for Ian Rush, who was moving to Italy) in the spring of 1987 and early into the new campaign, boughtOxford United midfielderRay Houghton. The new-look Liverpool side shaped by Dalglish topped the league for almost the entire season, and had a run of 37 matches unbeaten in all competitions (including 29 in the league; 22 wins and 7 draws) from the beginning of the season to 21 February 1988, when they lost to Everton in the league. Liverpool were crowned champions with four games left to play, having suffered just two defeats from 40 games. However, Dalglish's side lost the1988 FA Cup Final to underdogsWimbledon.[54]
In the summer of 1988, Dalglish re-signed Ian Rush. Liverpool beat Everton 3–2 after extra time in the second all-Merseyside FA Cup final in1989, but was deprived of a second double in thefinal game of the season, when Arsenal secured alast-minute goal to take the title from Liverpool.
In the1989–90 season Liverpool won their third league title under Dalglish. They missed out on the double and a third successive FA Cup final appearance when they lost 4–3 in extra-time to Crystal Palace in anFA Cup semi-final atVilla Park.[55] At the end of the season Dalglish received his third Manager of the Year award.
Midway in the1990–91 season, Dalglish resigned as manager of Liverpool on 22 February 1991, two days after a 4–4 draw with rivals Everton in anFA Cup fifth round tie atGoodison Park,[56] in which Liverpool surrendered the lead four times. Daglish's resignation shocked the football community. Explaining his choice in a press conference, he said "I've been in the front line for 20 years, and it's just really a result of 20 years' active involvement in football at a very high and successful level, and Kenny Dalglish is a person that has pushed himself to the limit. It's a decision that many people will find difficult to understand, a decision that only I could have made. And it would have been wrong to mislead people that everything was fine with me."Johan Cruyff, echoing Dalglish, has noted "There is a time when you have been under pressure for 15 years when the stress begins to tell." Dalglish had been under immense stress, brought upon by the Heysel and Hillsborough disasters. At the time of Dalglish's departure, the club were three points ahead in the league and still in contention for the FA Cup. Seeing out the remainder of the season underGraeme Souness, Liverpool would be knocked out 1-0 by Everton in a FA Cup second replay and finish second in the league to Arsenal.[57][58]
Dalglish was the manager of Liverpool at the time of theHillsborough disaster on 15 April 1989. The disaster claimed 94 lives on the day, with the final death toll reaching 97. Dalglish attended many of the funerals of the victims, including four in one day.[59][60][61] His presence in the aftermath of the disaster has been described as "colossal and heroic".[62] Dalglish broke a twenty-year silence about the disaster in March 2009, expressing regret that the police and the FA did not consider delaying the kick-off of the match.[63] During the Hillsborough Memorial Service on 15 April 2011, Liverpool MPSteve Rotheram announced he would submit anearly day motion to have Dalglish knighted, "not only for his outstanding playing and managerial career, but also the charity work he has done with his wife, Marina, for breast cancer support and what he did after Hillsborough. It is common knowledge it affected him deeply".[64]
Dalglish returned to management in October 1991 atSecond DivisionBlackburn Rovers who had recently been purchased by multi-millionaireJack Walker.[65][66] By the turn of 1992 they were top of the Second Division, and then suffered a dip in form before recovering to qualify for the playoffs,[67] during which Dalglish led Blackburn into the newPremier League by beatingLeicester City 1–0 in theSecond Division play-off final at Wembley.[68] The resulting promotion meant that Blackburn were back in the top flight of English football for the first time since 1966.[69] In the 1992 pre-season, Dalglish signedSouthampton'sAlan Shearer for a British record fee of £3.5 million.[70] Despite a serious injury which ruled Shearer out for half the season, Dalglish achieved fourth position with the team in the first year of the newPremier League. The following year, Dalglish failed in an attempt to signRoy Keane.[71] Blackburn finished two positions higher the following season, as runners-up to Manchester United. By this time, Dalglish had addedEngland internationalsTim Flowers andDavid Batty to his squad.[72][73]
At the start of the1994–95 season Dalglish paid a record £5 million forChris Sutton, with whom Shearer formed an effective strike partnership.[74] By the last game of the season, both Blackburn and Manchester United were in contention for the title. Blackburn had to travel to Liverpool, and Manchester United facedWest Ham United in London. Blackburn lost 2–1, but still won the title since United failed to win in London.[75] The title meant that Dalglish was only the fourth football manager in history to lead two different clubs to top-flight league championships in England, afterTom Watson,Herbert Chapman andBrian Clough. Dalglish became director of football at Blackburn in June 1995.[76] He left the club at the start of the1996–97 season after a disappointing campaign under his replacement and former assistant manager,Ray Harford.[77]
Following his departure from Blackburn Dalglish was appointed for a brief spell as an "international talent scout" at his boyhood club Rangers.[78][79] He was reported as having played a central role in the signing ofChile internationalSebastián Rozental.[80]
In January 1997, Dalglish was appointed manager of Premier League sideNewcastle United on a three-and-a-half-year contract, taking over from Kevin Keegan.[81] Dalglish guided the club from fourth position to a runner-up spot in May and a place in the new format of the following season'sUEFA Champions League.[82] He then broke up the team which had finished second two years running, selling popular players likePeter Beardsley,Lee Clark,Les Ferdinand andDavid Ginola and replacing them with ageing stars likeJohn Barnes (34),Ian Rush (36) andStuart Pearce (35), as well as virtual unknowns likeDes Hamilton andGarry Brady.[83] He also made some good long-term signings likeGary Speed andShay Given. The1997–98 campaign saw Newcastle finish in only 13th place and, despite Dalglish achieving some notable successes during the season (including a 3–2UEFA Champions League win overBarcelona and anFA Cup final appearance against Arsenal), he was dismissed byFreddie Shepherd after two draws in the opening two games of the subsequent1998–99 season, and replaced by former Chelsea managerRuud Gullit.[84][85] One commentator fromThe Independent has since written, "His 20 months at Newcastle United are the only part of Kenny Dalglish's career that came anywhere near failure".[86]
In June 1999 he was appointeddirector of football operations at Celtic, with his former Liverpool player John Barnes appointed as head coach.[87] Barnes was dismissed in February 2000 and Dalglish took charge of the first team on a temporary basis.[88] He guided them to theScottish League Cup final, where they beatAberdeen 2–0 at Hampden Park. Dalglish was dismissed in June 2000, after the appointment ofMartin O'Neill as manager.[89] After a brief legal battle, Dalglish accepted a settlement of £600,000 from Celtic.[90]
In April 2009 Liverpool managerRafael Benítez invited Dalglish to take up a role at the club's youth academy. The appointment was confirmed in July 2009,[91] and Dalglish was also made the club's ambassador.[22] Following Benítez's departure from Liverpool in June 2010, Dalglish was asked to help find a replacement, and in JulyFulham'sRoy Hodgson was appointed manager.[92]
A poor run of results at the start of the2010–11 season led to Liverpool fans calling for Dalglish's return as manager as early as October 2010,[93] and with no subsequent improvement in Liverpool's results up to the end of the year (during which time the club was bought byNew England Sports Ventures),[94] Hodgson left Liverpool and Dalglish was appointed caretaker manager on 8 January 2011.[95][96] Dalglish's first game in charge was on 9 January 2011 atOld Trafford against Manchester United in the3rd round of the FA Cup, which Liverpool lost 1–0.[97] Dalglish's first league game in charge was againstBlackpool on 12 January 2011; Liverpool lost 2–1.[98] After the game, Dalglish admitted that Liverpool faced "a big challenge".[99]
Dalglish managing Liverpool in 2011
Shortly after his appointment, Dalglish indicated he would like the job on a permanent basis if it was offered to him,[100] and on 19 January the Liverpool chairmanTom Werner stated that the club's owners would favour this option.[101] On 22 January 2011, Dalglish led Liverpool to their first win since his return, againstWolves atMolineux.[102] After signingAndy Carroll fromNewcastle for a British record transfer fee of £35 million andLuis Suárez fromAjax for £22.8 million at the end of January (in the wake ofFernando Torres's sale to Chelsea for £50 million), some journalists noted that Dalglish had begun to assert his authority at the club.[103][104] Following a 1–0 victory against Chelsea atStamford Bridge in February 2011, described byAlan Smith as "a quite brilliant display in terms of discipline and spirit"[105] and a "defensive masterplan" byDavid Pleat,[106]Henry Winter wrote, "it can only be a matter of time before he [Dalglish] is confirmed as long-term manager".[107]
On 12 May 2011, Liverpool announced that Dalglish had been given a three-year contract.[108] His first official match in charge was 2–0 defeat toHarry Redknapp'sSpurs atAnfield. Dalglish's second stint in charge at Anfield proved controversial at times. The Scot defendedLuis Suárez in the wake of the striker's eight-match ban for racially abusing Manchester United defenderPatrice Evra when the teams met in October 2011.[109] After the Uruguayan's apparent refusal to shake Evra's hand in the return fixture in February 2012, an apology from both player and manager came only after the intervention of the owners.[110][111]
In February 2012, Dalglish led Liverpool to their first trophy in six years, with victory in the2011–12 Football League Cup.[112] In the same season he also led Liverpool to the2012 FA Cup Final where they lost 2–1 to Chelsea. Despite the success in domestic cups, Liverpoolfinished eighth in the league, their worst showing in the league since 1994, failing to qualify for the Champions League for a third straight season.[113] Following the end of the season, Liverpool dismissed Dalglish on 16 May 2012.[111][114]
In October 2013, Dalglish returned to Liverpool as a non-executive director.[115]
On 13 October 2017,Anfield's Centenary Stand was officially renamed theSir Kenny Dalglish Stand in recognition of his unique contribution to the club.[116]
Dalglish has been married to Marina since 26 November 1974.[117] The couple have four children, includingKelly andPaul. Kelly has worked as a football presenter forBBC Radio 5 Live andSky Sports.[118] Paul followed in his father's footsteps as a footballer.[119] Marina was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2003,[120] but was treated atAintree University Hospital in Liverpool and recovered. She later launched a charity to fund new cancer treatment equipment for UK hospitals.[121] Dalglish advised authorJilly Cooper on her 2023 novelTackle![122]
In 2005, Dalglish and his wife founded the charity the Marina Dalglish Appeal to raise money to help treat cancer. Dalglish has participated in a number of events to raise money for the charity, including a replay of the 1986 FA Cup Final.[134] In June 2007 a Centre for Oncology atAintree University Hospital was opened, after the charity had raised £1.5 million.[135] In 2012, the foundation made a £2 million donation toThe Walton Centre which allowed the purchase of a newMRI scanner.[136]
Dalglish often competes in the annualGary Player Invitational Tournament, a charity golfing event which raises money for children's causes around the world.[137]
On 1 July 2011, Dalglish was awarded an honorary degree by theUniversity of Ulster, for services to football and charity.[138]
In 2025, a sports drama documentary film on Dalglish titledKenny Dalglish directed byAsif Kapadia will premiere at theRome Festival in October. It is narrated by Dalglish himself and draws from archival footage.[174]
^Bevan, Chris; Barder, Russell (23 January 2009)."When Dalglish did the Double".BBC Sport.Archived from the original on 26 January 2009. Retrieved18 June 2009.
.jpg)
