Lou Macari (Born 1949), legendary former Celtic & Manchester United player.
Luigi Macari was born in Edinburgh on the 7th of June, 1949, the only child of Margaret and Albert Macari.
The family moved to London before returning to Scotland and settling in Largs when Lou was nine years old. He attended St Michael’s Academy in Kilwinning while his father ran a cafe in Largs called ‘Macari’s’.
Lou was a keen footballer and played with Kilmarnock Amateurs (1964-65) and for St Michaels Kilwinning (1965-66) before being spotted by Celtic. He signed a contract with the Glasgow club in 1966 at the age of 17, on a wage of £15 a week and quickly became part of the ‘Quality Street Gang’ (along with Kenny Dalgleish, David Hay and Danny McGrain).
He would have a successful spell with Celtic, making 105 appearances for the club and scoring 56 goals in the process.
On the 18th of January, 1973, he was transferred to Manchester United for a Scottish record fee of £200,000 and he would go on to spend the following 12 years at Manchester United. He scored on his debut, in a 2-2 draw with West Ham United on the 20th of January, 1973.
In total, he would make 401 appearances for the Red Devils, scoring 97 goals in the process. He had spent his career as a striker until Tommy Docherty moved him into midfield, where he flourished in his new position.
Macari also earned 24 caps for Scotland, scoring 5 goals in the process.
Following his retirement and spells as a manager (including managing Swindon, Celtic and West Ham United) he set up the Macari Foundation, which is “committed to ending homelessness in Stoke-on-Trent.”