By Chris Wright
On the 20th anniversary of his untimely passing at the age of 39, we thought we’d dedicate today’s Random Great Goal to Rangers legend Davie Cooper.
His name may not be overly familiar to many non-Scottish fans, but Cooper was one of the rare breed of players who just had the requisite talent allied with the innate strength of character to become a bona fide club legend at each of the three clubs he represented during his career: Clydebank, Rangers and Motherwell.
Cooper, a silken winger, made over 400 appearances for Rangers in his 12-year stint at Ibrox, winning three league titles and ten separate cup honours therein.
Perhaps his defining moment came early on, at the tail end of Ranger’s double-cup-winning 1978/79 campaign, when Super Cooper scored against Celtic in the (now defunct) Drybrough Cup Final.
For the record, Rangers won 3-1 with skipper Sandy Jardine also scoring a magnificent solo special from 50-yards.
However, it was Cooper’s “champagne” goal in the 78th minute that went on to be voted by Rangers fans as the greatest goal Rangers ever scored.
Of course, the only way to improve on perfection is to watch it again in slow-motion while set to Queen…
That third flick. My word.
As Walter Smith once put it: “God gave Davie Cooper a talent. He would not be disappointed with how it was used.”
On a slightly less celestial level, Ruud Gullit once extolled Cooper’s virtues in a surprise segment on Scotsport (with a young, and decidedly quieter Jim White on hosting duties) with Cooper himself in the studio.
Cooper, of course, was nothing but unassuming and graceful in his reaction…
It wasn’t just hot air either, with Gullit including Cooper among the best XI players he’d ever shared a pitch with in an interview with FourFourTwo magazine several years later, praising his “unbelievably skill” and dribbling ability.
High praise, indeed.
A selection of other random great goals on Pies…
Patrick M’Boma (Gamba Osaka) vs Shonan Bellmare
Roberto Cabanas (New York Cosmos) vs Tulsa Roughnecks
Thierry Henry (Arsenal) vs SC Wiez
Keisuke Honda (Japan) vs Hong Kong
Robin van Persie (Arsenal) vs Blackburn
Ray Wilkins (England) vs Belgium
David Beckham (Man Utd) vs Birmingham
Rory Delap (Southampton) vs Tottenham
Eduardo (Arsenal) vs Burnley
Ian Rush (Liverpool) vs Man Utd
Mark Hughes (Man Utd) vs Liverpool