Sir Kenneth Mathieson Dalglish, better known as Sir Kenny Dalglish, as a former football player and manager hailing from Scotland. He is a Liverpool and Celtic legend, and is one of the best players to play for both either club.
The Scot played predominantly as a forward, and is renowned for his goalscoring exploits and overall worth to Liverpool and English football. He has won many individual and team awards, and is a legend of the game.
Age, weight and height
| Name | Kenneth Mathieson Dalglish |
| Born | 4 March 1951 |
| Age | 70 |
| Height | 5’8” (1.73 m) |
| Weight | 73 kg |
| Place of birth | Glasgow, Scotland |
The 70-year-old Dalglish was one of the most accomplished footballers of his time. He was capped 102 times for the Scotland national team, and netted 30 times for his country.
He was a man of longevity, as he made 338 appearances for Celtic and a mammoth 515 for Liverpool. In his day, the grand old knight won the Ballon d’Or Silver Award and also the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award. He was also voted as the FWA Footballer of the Year twice.
The retired legend was named as the greatest striker in post-war British football in 2009 by FourFourTwo magazine.
Even during his twilight years, Dalglish regularly used to prove that age was just a number. He played for Liverpool until his forties, and retired a legend and as an immortal of Anfield.
As a manager, he was adaptable, astute and sharp, and oversaw periods of success and results.
Dalglish’s former partner
Dalglish often played with strike partners in football, and easily his best and most famous one is the legendary Ian Rush.
Rush is Liverpool’s leading goalscorer, and he formed a deadly partnership with Dalglish. With the duo up top, goals poured in left, right and centre.
Dalglish arrived at Liverpool for a then-British transfer fee record, so expectations were high. The fact that he was brought in to replace the legendary Kevin Keegan meant there was massive pressure on Dalglish’s shoulders to deliver.
But deliver is what he did, as he netted in his first few games itself to establish himself as a fan-favourite. Within no time, he gelled with Rush, who credited a large percentage of his 346 goals to his teammate.
“I have so much respect and admiration for Kenny not just because of the insatiable instinct he had to deliver on the pitch, but the style in which he did it, such passion and pride,” Rush said, as quoted by Yahoo Sports.
“I am glad that in a way we have still a great partnership at Liverpool and the banter still continues today.
“He has done so much for this club it would be hard to start listing things. But he has done extraordinary things for the game in general, for football, for the fans. What can I say, he is one of the greatest of all time.”
The players who played with him also have fond memories of the Scottish legend. Alan Kennedy recalled the iconic playing style of Dalglish, and stated that defenders feared the Liverpool great.
“He is well respected by everyone in the game. If you asked the best defenders in Britain who they hated playing against it would have been Kenny Dalglish,” he said.
Kennedy also talked about his managerial instinct, and said that he always had one goal in mind – to do the right thing.
“One of his decisions didn’t benefit me as I left the club and went to Sunderland but I could see where he was coming from,” he added.
“I just thought, ‘He’s made his decision and you have to get on with it.’ He was very strong on the pitch and off the pitch.
“Hillsborough just showed the character of the person when he went to all the funerals, did all the right things and said all the right things.”
Former partner’s career
Ian Rush is a former football player who is widely known for his time at Liverpool. He was a very prolific attacker for the Reds, and is their all-time leading goalscorer.
Despite being an Everton fan, Rush picked Liverpool as his first club, with the Merseyside giants paying a record fee to secure the teenager’s success.
It took him a year to score his first goal, and once that door had been kicked down, there was no going back. He formed a lethal partnership with Dalglish, and the pair began to tear apart defences with ease.
He eventually moved to Italy to play for Juventus, before returning to the bright lights of Anfield for a second spell. The team had many ups and downs, but Rush’s penchant for banging in the goals never ceased.
He said goodbye to Liverpool in 1996, and played for brief spells with Leeds United, Newcastle United, Sheffield United and Wrexham. He finally retired in 2000, drawing the curtains on a legendary career.
With Rush and Dalglish in the team, Liverpool always stood a chance. The potency of the duo was out of this world, and the pair remains one of the greatest attacking dual-strikers English football has ever witnessed.
Liverpool has always been about attacking and entertaining football, and Dalglish and Rush set the tone for the teams after them to emulate.
Dalglish’s controversies
For his innumerable highs, Dalglish also had moments which were less than ideal. He was discharged from the club after they finished eighth in the league. This was a new low for the legend, whose patchy form that season played a role in Liverpool’s downfall.
He was criticised by many reporters and media channels, and was also given stick by some Liverpool fans. They had been used to their talisman being imperious and deadly, and could not accept a dip in form and performances.
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