Andrew RoxburghOBE^[2] (born 5 August 1943) is a Scottish formerfootball player andmanager currently serving as an administrator. Roxburgh's entire professional playing career was spent in theScottish Football League. After retiring as a player, he was appointed as theScottish Football Association's first Director of Coaching. He achieved success with the national youth teams, winning the1982 UEFA European Under-18 Football Championship. Andrew Roxburgh spent many happy years as a senior Primary Teacher at Carolside School in Clarkston, Glasgow and was very much respected for his devotion to teaching.

Roxburgh was appointedScotland manager in 1986 and achieved qualification for two major tournaments, the1990 FIFA World Cup andUEFA Euro 1992. He resigned as Scotland manager in 1993 after failing to qualify for the1994 FIFA World Cup. Roxburgh was appointed UEFA technical director in 1994 and held this position until accepting a role as sporting director for American clubNew York Red Bulls from 2012 to 2014.^[3]

He currently serves as a Technical Director with theAsian Football Confederation.^[4]

Roxburgh attended Bellahouston Academy, where he was selected for the first team at just 15 years of age.^[5] He played for Glasgow Schools and was a schoolboy and youth internationalist.^[6] In 1961, he scored the only goal in a schoolboy international against England Schools atCeltic Park.^[5]

From 1961 to 1963 Roxburgh played forQueen's Park, where he won theScottish Amateur Cup and was capped by theScottish national amateur team.

Roxburgh then moved toEast Stirlingshire,^[6] where he played the 1964–65 season, before arriving atFirst Division clubPartick Thistle, where he was to stay until the end of the 1968–69 season. In 1966, 25-year-old Roxburgh qualified as aScottish Football Association coach.^[5]

Falkirk then signed Roxburgh, where he teamed up in attack withAlex Ferguson. At the end of the 1969–70 season, Falkirk were crowned Second Division champions and promoted to the First Division. Roxburgh remained at Falkirk until the end of the 1971–72 season.

Roxburgh finished his top flight playing career atClydebank, where he was player-coach from 1973 to 1975. During the latter part of his professional playing career, Roxburgh (aphysical education graduate), was also employed as a primary school headteacher.^[7]

Roxburgh was appointed as the Scottish Football Association's first Director of Coaching in 1975.^[8] He led the player and coach development work in Scotland for over 18 years – coaches such asJosé Mourinho^[9] studied under Roxburgh and he also helped to develop talents such asPaul McStay.^[10]

This appointment meant that Roxburgh also coached the Scotland youth teams fromUnder-21 level down.^[8][11] He was in charge of theScotland Under-19 side that won the1982 UEFA European Under-18 Football Championship, beatingCzechoslovakia 3–1 in the final, played inHelsinki. In addition, under Roxburgh's tenure Scotland reached the semi-finals at the1978 UEFA European Under-18 Championship and was a group winner in the1983 FIFA World Youth Championship final round.^[12]

After the Scotland senior managerJock Stein collapsed and died at the end ofa 1–1 draw in a1986 FIFA World Cup qualification match againstWales, Alex Ferguson was appointed as the team manager and guided Scotland to the 1986 World Cup by winning a playoff againstAustralia. Scotland failed to progress beyond the group stage of the World Cup and Ferguson rejected the offer of staying on as Scotland manager afterwards. Roxburgh was subsequently named as the new Scotland manager on 16 July 1986,^[12] ahead of more experienced and better known candidates such asBilly McNeill,Jim McLean,Kenny Dalglish andTommy Docherty.^[13] Roxburgh would remain in the role for more than seven years.^[11]

Scotland failed to qualify forUEFA Euro 1988, but Roxburgh then guided the team to qualification for the1990 FIFA World Cup.^[14] Scotland defeatedArgentina in a pre-tournament friendly,^[15] but were eliminated in the group stage with one win (againstSweden) and two losses.

The team then qualified forUEFA Euro 1992, the first time Scotland had qualified for a European championship finals.^[11][16] Once more they lost two and won one of their group matches at the tournament and were eliminated. Roxburgh resigned in September 1993, following 61 matches in charge, after failing to achieve qualification for the1994 FIFA World Cup.^[11] He was succeeded by his assistant,Craig Brown.^[11]

Roxburgh was appointed asUEFA's first technical director in 1994.^[16] He held this position until the end of his contract in 2012.^[16] During his time at UEFA, Roxburgh set up the framework for theUEFA Convention on the Mutual Recognition of Coaching Qualifications, which now includes all 53 UEFA member associations.^[17]

Roxburgh also initiated theUEFA Grassroots Charter to stimulate the UEFA member associations to further invest in the basis of the game and to acknowledge the importance of healthy grassroots.^[17] As part of the UEFA administration, Roxburgh was a member of the board of directors,^[18] chaired the JIRA and Grassroots panels, and was responsible for UEFA's youth competitions, refereeing department, and the women's football, futsal, and medical units. In addition, he also led UEFA's elite conferences, courses, and forums for national coaches, UEFA Champions League coaches, coach educators, youth coaches, women's football coaches, grassroots leaders, futsal coaches, and team doctors.

Roxburgh has worked withFIFA, as a member of its Technical Committee, as a FIFA instructor, and as a member of the Technical Study Group at six FIFA World Cups ('86, '94, '98, '02, '06, '10).^[19]

• SFWA Manager of the Year:1989–90^[20]
• Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to association football –1993.^[21]
• National Playing Fields Association, MacRobert Thistle Award for his outstanding contribution to football – 1990^[20]
• Tartan Special Manager of the Month – November 1989^[22]

• The contradiction of Andy Roxburgh, the failure who took Scotland to two major tournaments, These Football Times, 3 June 2019