George Campbell (footballer, born 1957)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | George Campbell | ||
| Height | 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Left Winger/Midfielder | ||
George Campbell (born 3 May 1957) is a former Scottish professional football player. He was born in a Highland town called Caol near Fort William in Scotland and played for Aberdeen F.C. in the Scottish Premier League. He was and still is the youngest player to have ever made his debut for Aberdeen being only 16 years and 8 months old. He was nicknamed the 'White Pele' and 'The Pele of the North' because of his unique skill on the ball.
When George signed for South Melbourne Hellas in Australia, he became the most expensive player to enter the country with a transfer fee from Scottish giants Aberdeen F.C. to Australian giants South Melbourne Hellas for £20,000 ($50,000 AUD). This was an enormous amount of money considering the 21 year old was only planning on staying at the club for 1 year before returning back to Scotland's Premier League.
Playing career
George Campbell played for Lochaber before joining the Kilmallie Youth Club as a 14 year old in 1971. Campbell turned professional when he signed for Aberdeen FC in 1972, initially as a schoolboy. He spent seven seasons at Aberdeen's Pittodrie Stadium as a left sided midfielder.
Whilst at the Dons, George represented his country, Scotland at the UEFA European Youth Championship Qualifiers in 1972 at the age of 15.
Campbell was and still is the youngest player to have ever made his debut for Aberdeen FC being only 16 years and 8 months old. He made his debut for Aberdeen in the UEFA Cup against N.E.C. Nijmegen in 1974. A week later he made his Scottish Premier League debut against Heart of Midlothian F.C. on the 10th August 1974 at Pittodrie Stadium in front of 50,000 supporters.
During the 70's Aberdeen regularly challenged Rangers FC and Celtic FC for domestic offers. Campbell won the 1976 Scottish League Cup with Aberdeen FC after beating Celtic FC 2-1 at Hampden Park, Scotland's National Stadium in front of 69,707 supporters.
George was nicknamed the 'White Pele' and the 'Pele of the North' because of his unique skill with the ball. He played a total of 33 games for the Scottish giants and scored his only goal in a pre-season match against Irish Premier League club Shamrock Rovers FC, the most successful club in Irish footballing history.
He was signed by South Melbourne FC in 1978, Australia's most successful football club in history, who played in the National Soccer League of Australia, for a transfer fee of £20,000 ($50,000 AUD). He became the most expensive player to enter the country and was only planning to be in Australia for one season before returning to Scotland's Premier League although another broken leg prevented him from doing so. George was one of the best footballing talents to have ever played in Australia and for South Melbourne Hellas & Preston Makedonia.
Campbell won the Ampol Cup with South Melbourne FC in 1982 and helped South become runners up in the NSL in 1981 which was South's best ever National Soccer League placing at the time.
In 1982, after 104 appearances and 17 goals with South Melbourne FC, George moved to National Soccer League club Preston Makedonia and stayed there for 3 seasons making 49 appearances and scoring 8 goals before moving to another NSL club called Green Gully in 1985 where he made 29 appearances and scored 4 goals.
George regularly appeared on Australia's only National football program called 'Match of the Day' on free to air television channel 028, which is now known as SBS.
Campbell was not eligible for Socceroo representation as he's Scottish and had already represented Scotland, although he did represent Victoria and played against American footballing giants New York Cosmos with the likes of German legend Franz Beckenbauer, Dutch legend Johan Neeskens and Carlos Alberto, one of Brazil's most highly regarded defenders of all time.
Towards the end of George's playing career he was named the Player of the Year at Victorian Premier League club Fawkner FC.
In 1999 George became a 'legend' of South Melbourne FC and is in South Melbourne's Hall of Fame at Bob Jane Stadium. He is also one of Preston Makedonia's most notable players and one of Green Gully's most notable players.
Honours
With Scottish National Youth Team:
3 International Caps- UEFA European Youth Championship Qualification
With Aberdeen F.C. in SPL:
- 1975 Reserve Scottish Cup Winners
- 1976 Scottish League Cup Winners
With South Melbourne Hellas in NSL:
1981 NSL Runners Up- 1982 Ampol Cup Winners
- 1983/84 NSL winners
With Green Gully SC in NSL:
- 1986 Dockerty Cup Winners
With Fawkner F.C. in VPL:
- Player of the Year
Records
With Aberdeen F.C.:
- Youngest Player to have ever made his debut - 16 years & 8 months
With South Melbourne Hellas:
- Most expensive player to enter the country and to be signed by South at the time - £20,000 ($50,000 AUD)
Coaching career
Campbell coached the Essendon Royals Under 21’s in the Victorian Premier League and was the Football Federation Victoria U14 & U15 State Coach in 2005 & 2006. George planned and established the FFV (previously known as the Victorian Soccer Federation) Academy program within the Manningham zone launched in 2004.