Tottenham Hotspur Release Statement as Club Legend Alan Gilzean Passes Away at 79

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90 Min
Publish date:
Jul 8, 2018

Tottenham Hotspur are a football club in mourning today after the sad news that club legend Alan Gilzean has passed away on the 8th of July at the age of 79.

The Scottish former striker had recently been diagnosed with a brain tumour and has now died after a short battle with illness.

Spurs released a statement on Twitter shortly after news broke of Gilzean's passing.

After joining Spurs in 1964 for a fee of £72,500, Gilzean scored 133 goals in 439 appearances for the club in a spell lasting a decade. While playing for Spurs, Gilzean lifted the FA Cup, two League Cups and, perhaps best of all, the 1972 UEFA Cup.

Gilzean's first club Dundee, who he signed for as a 17-year-old in 1957, also released a statement commemorating their former player.

Gilzean's striking exploits at Dundee while still a young man are the stuff of legend around the club, with the forward scoring an astonishing 169 goals in 190 games and helping the Dee win the Scottish League championship in 1962.

After making his international debut in 1963, Gilzean went on to score 12 goals in 22 appearances for Scotland. After retiring from football following a short stint playing in South Africa for Highlands Park FC, Gilzean briefly took charge of Stevenage Athletic before stepping back from football entirely for many years, citing a dislike of the limelight.

He went on to work at a transport company in Enfield for many years.