Flawed Genius: Scottish Football's Self-Destructive Mavericks

As Rangers manager Walter Smith once put it, Scottish football supporters have always liked their footballing superstars to come complete with very human flaws. But what is it that makes the seriously flawed footballer so intriguing? From Hugh Gallacher, the Wembley Wizard who died of shame, and George Best, Hibernian’s aging lothario, to the Three Amigos, Celtic’s trio of wayward overseas mercenaries, great entertainers have always come with baggage. Never before have the individual stories of these mavericks of Scottish football’s past been collected in one place. Through the words of the men themselves along with testimonies from friends and close colleagues, this book recounts in depth the tales of Gascoigne and Goram, Best and Baxter, Charnley and Cadette, and the equally wayward figures of Paolo Di Canio, Andy Ritchie, Pierre van Hooijdonk, and Willie Hamilton. Together for the first time here, the colorful contributions of each and every player in the Scottish game’s rich tapestry of flawed geniuses are brought vividly back to life.