by Simon Wright

Created on: April 05, 2009

Barry Ferguson is a Scottish football (soccer) player. A stylish midfield player, Ferguson first came to prominence with Glasgow Rangers in 1997 when he made his first team debut. His older brother Derek had played for the club in the 1980s but the younger Ferguson was set to have a higher profile career. It was a career that would see him become a Rangers legend and earn 45 caps for Scotland. He was also captain of both club and country. However, despite all these positives, Ferguson's career may ultimately be remembered most for receiving a life ban from playing for his country.

There's no doubt that Ferguson's career has had a Jackal and Hyde feel to it. Let's start, though, with the positives. Ferguson's resume shows, as I've mentioned, that he captained both Glasgow Rangers and Scotland. This shows that more than one manager considered him to have leadership qualities and there's no doubt that he was capable of leading by example (on the pitch) with his ability to maintain his passing game in the heat of battle. He won 45 caps for Scotland and is generally considered to have been the outstanding Scottish player of his generation, even though it has perhaps not been a vintage period for Scottish football. His trophy cabinet is also fairly full, including four Scottish Premier League winners' medals, four Scottish Cup winners' medals and five Scottish League Cup winners' medals. Not bad and there are certainly many players who would be very envious of that haul. I'd actually argue, however, that the pinnacle of Ferguson's career is represented by the runners up medal that he and his Rangers teammates obtained by reaching the UEFA Cup final in 2008. It's all very well winning trophies when your one of two big fish in a small pond but to reach a European final, for a team of Rangers' stature is a more meaningful achievement.

It's not always been plain sailing for Ferguson, however. Having established himself in the early years with Rangers, there was a lot of transfer speculation and many felt that he would earn himself a big money move to one of the Big Four teams in England. When a move did materialize, however, it was to Blackburn Rovers, a mid-table English team. Still, it was a great opportunity for Ferguson to make his mark in a bigger league and to prove that he was one of the best midfielders in Europe. Sadly though, Blackburn fans and sports journalists were left greatly under whelmed by Ferguson's performances in a Blackburn shirt. There was a suspicion

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