Lee Henry McCulloch (born May 14 1978 in Bellshill) is a Scottish professional football player. He currently plays for Rangers in the Scottish Premier League.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Lee Henry McCulloch | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward / Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Rangers | ||
| Number | TBA | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals as of 31 May 2007 | |||
Club career
"Dunderheid" McCulloch started his career in 1996 as a teenage striker with Motherwell in the Scottish Premier League. A decent scoring rate during the years of 1999 to 2001 saw other clubs take notice of the young player, and eventually he signed for Wigan Athletic in March 2001 for £700,000,[1] a then club signing record.[1] Wigan at this point were plying their trade in the third tier of English football, but were strongly ambitious, and saw the young Scotsman as part of their long term plans.
During his English league career, McCulloch found himself operating more and more in midfield, and indeed this is the position he mainly played in during Wigan's first season in the Premier League in 2005-06. Although rarely played as an out-and-out striker that term, he still weighed in with five league goals in thirty appearances, helping Wigan to a 10th place finish.
In January 2007, McCulloch was the subject of a £750,000 bid by Rangers. It was turned down by Wigan and labelled "derisory" by Paul Jewell.[2]
In May 2007, McCulloch told BBC Sport that he would relish the opportunity to play for Rangers, and the new manager at Wigan Athletic advised him that he may leave to move back to Scotland.[3] On June 23, Rangers had a bid of £1.5million rejected with Wigan said to want £2.5m for the player.
On 11 July 2007, Rangers revealed that they had agreed an undisclosed fee with Wigan. After agreeing personal terms and passing a medical, he signed a four-year deal later in the day with a transfer fee of £2.25m to join his boyhood heros.[4]
Scotland career
McCulloch earned his first international call-up to the Scotland national side in 2004, under the then manager Berti Vogts, and made his debut as a late substitute in a 1-1 draw with Moldova,[5] a match which transpired to be Vogts' last match as manager.
Since the appointment of Walter Smith in 2004, he has featured in the squad intermittently. He featured in Smith's first three matches as manager against Italy, Moldova and Belarus and was involved in the Kirin Cup matches against Bulgaria and Japan. He also played in Scotland's famous 1-0 win over France in October 2006 - his 8th cap for his country.
References
- ^ a b "Well duo sign for Wigan". BBC Sport website. March 2, 2001.
- ^ "Wigan snub McCulloch transfer bid". BBC Sport website. 17 January 2007.
- ^ "McCulloch would Relish Rangers move". BBC Sport website.
- ^ "Rangers seal McCulloch transfer". BBC Sport website.
- ^ "Moldova 1-1 Scotland". BBC Sport website. 13 October, 2004,.
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External links
- Lee McCulloch at Soccerbase