31st January – Footballing Birthdays
John Collins is 57 today. He famously scored Scotland’s penalty against Brazil in the opening match of the 1998 World Cup in France.
Collins started his career at Hibernian before joining Celtic. He left on a free transfer in 1996 to join French side Monaco before moving to England and played for Everton and Fulham.
Julio Arca is 44 today. After leaving his home country Argentina in 2000, Arca settled in the North East of England playing for Sunderland and then Middlesbrough.
After leaving Middlesbrough in 2013, the Argentine spent time playing for non-league SouthShields and had a spell as their manager in 2023.
Former Scotland international Christophe Berra is 40 today. He won 41 caps for Scotland and scored four goals between 2008 and 2017.
Berra started his career at Hearts before moving south of the border to Wolves and then Ipswich Town.
He returned to Hearts in 2017 and ended his career at Raith Rovers, where he played his final game in 2022.
George Elokobi celebrates his 39th birthday today. The former midfielder played for twelve clubs during his career, most notably for Wolves between 2008 and 2014. He made 58 Premier League appearances for Wolves, scoring twice.
Elokobi’s final club was Maidstone United and he returned in 2023 to take over as the club manager.
Allan McGregor is our third former Scotland international celebrating his birthday today. He is 43. McGregor started and ended his career at Glasgow Rangers where he won thirteen major honours and reached the Europa League Final twice.
The Scottish goalkeper moved to Turkish club Besiktas in 2012 and later moved to Hull City, spending a brief spell on loan at Cardiff City.
Dean Marney celebrates his 41st birthday today. Marney began his career at Tottenham Hotspur, before joining Hull City in 2006. He later played for Burnley and Fleetwood Town. He won a cap for the England Under-21s in 2005 when England were beaten 2-1 by the Netherlands.
Striker Brett Pitman is 37 today. He is still playing in non-league, but made his name at Bournemouth where he scored 102 goals in two spells.
Pitman also played in the Football League for Bristol City, Ipswich Town, Portsmouth, Swindon Town and Bristol Rovers.
Former Celtic striker Morten Rasmussen is 40 today. The Danish international won 13 caps betwen 2008 and 2016, scoring four goals. As well as playing in his home country and Scotland, Rasmussen played in Germany, Turkey and Poland before ending his career in Cyprus
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