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Former Scotland and Chelsea player Eddie McCreadie, who was once hailed by Tommy Docherty as the best left-back in Europe and went on to manage the London club, has died at the age of 85.
Born in Glasgow, McCreadie scored Chelsea‘s winning goal in the 1965 League Cup final against Leicester City and helped the Blues lift the FA Cup five years later with a replay victory in extra time over Leeds United.
One of his 23 Scotland caps came in a famous 3-2 victory over England at Wembley a year after the hosts had lifted the World Cup there.
However, he was to suffer defeat that year at England’s national stadium when Chelsea lost the FA Cup final to Tottenham Hotspur and also missed the 1971 European Cup Winners’ Cup final win over Real Madrid through injury.
Growing up in Cowcaddens in Glasgow, McCreadie was overlooked by scouts at local club Partick Thistle and instead joined Falkirk outfit East Stirlingshire.
It was while there that he was spotted by Chelsea manager Docherty, who took him to Stamford Bridge for just £5,000, a transfer deal that included provision for Chelsea playing two friendlies against East Stirlingshire – the second of which never happened.
McCreadie, though, would go from the Scottish Second Division to being hailed by Docherty as the best left-back in Europe and making 410 appearances for Chelsea.
His combative, attacking style was reminiscent of modern-day wing-backs and he memorably stood in for the injured Barry Bridges as an emergency centre-forward in that 1965 League Cup final victory, scoring a fine solo goal where he ran almost the whole length of the field before slotting past England goalkeeper Gordon Banks.
McCreadie also courted infamy in their FA Cup win over Leeds as an estimated television audience of 28 million watched him make a kung-fu style flying challenge on Scotland team-mate Billy Bremner, his feet at head height, but he received no caution from referee Eric Jennings.
After retiring from playing, McCreadie joined Chelsea‘s coaching staff in 1974, with Ron Suart’s side sliding towards life back in the second tier.
The Scot took over from the departing Suart in April 1975 and, although he could not prevent relegation, he rebuilt the side around 18-year-old midfielder Ray Wilkins and took Chelsea back up to the First Division in 1977.
However, he left before the start of the new season after a row with chairman Brian Mears, expressing surprise that his offer to resign after being refused a company car was accepted.
McCreadie moved on to a fresh challenge of coaching in the United States with North American Soccer League franchise the Memphis Rogues and then the Cleveland Force before finally retiring from football in 1985.
