Brian was signed in 1985 by Alex Ferguson as a promising central defender from Falkirk. After a fee of around £80,000 was paid, Irvine certainly had to be patient for his first team opportunity with both Alex McLeish and Willie Miller established in the heart of the Aberdeen and Scotland defence. After forcing his way into
the side, Irvine went on to become a firm favourite at Pittodrie. A self-confessed
Aberdeen fan that wore his heart on his sleeve, Irvine was capped for the first time in 1991 against Romania. It was to be another eighteen months before Irvine received his second appearance in a friendly against Germany, but he was heavily involved in the qualifying matches for the 1994 World Cup and eventually accumulated nine caps.
He scored the decisive penalty that won the Scottish Cup for Aberdeen in 1990, and was rewarded for his long service with a Testimonial against Wimbledon in 1997. Diagnosed with a mild form of MS, Irvine left Aberdeen
in 1997 and went on to play for Dundee and Ross County. Brian made almost 400 appearances for the Dons in his 12-year spell at Pittodrie. He recently announced his retirement from the game after finishing up with Ross County and is now the Youth coach there.
|