While debate rages over who Dundee’s best-ever player was, when it comes to centre forwards there’s no question Alan Gilzean was the greatest produced by the Dark Blues and possibly even Scotland.
The Dens legend, who has died today at the age of 79 after a short illness, is rightly revered by the club’s fans to this day.
The star of the side that won the league championship in 1962, “Gillie’s” time at Dens was record breaking.
In 190 appearances he scored a remarkable 169 goals, making him to this day Dundee’s all-time top scorer.
And his haul of 50 goals in the 1963-64 campaign is another record that his highly unlikely to ever be broken.
That would be his last full season before he moved south to Tottenham Hotspur and the fourth in a row he’d finished top scorer.
Everyone at the Club is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of our legendary former striker Alan Gilzean. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this extremely difficult time. pic.twitter.com/uECwQ5mPUf
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) July 8, 2018
His scoring exploits continued south of the border and he’s as highly regarded at White Hart Lane where he spent ten years, winning an FA Cup, two League Cups and a UEFA Cup.
Gilzean was also capped 22 times for Scotland, a number that seems ridiculously low given his ability.
That he scored 12 times in those games is clear evidence he should have won many more caps, but he is still fondly remembered at international level, not least because of a fantastic headed winner against England at Hampden when he was still a Dundee player.
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