Football, My Life

Taken on as an apprentice by Celtic in the wake of their 1967 European Cup triumph, Macari learnt his football the old-fashioned way. He quickly broke into the first team, winning Scottish league titles and Cups in both 1971 and 1972, but it was at Manchester United, following a shock transfer in January 1973, that the attacking midfielder's prowess turned him into a fans' favourite and a household name. Macari went on to score 97 goals in 401 appearances for the Red Devils, including the winner against Liverpool in the 1977 FA Cup final. He also won 24 caps for Scotland and represented his country in the infamous 1978 World Cup Finals in Argentina. After leaving United in 1984, Macari moved into management with Swindon Town. It was there that he was wrongly implicated in a betting scandal which blighted his managerial career. In his long-awaited autobiography, Lou Macari tells with typical candour of football then and of football now, of