Stephen Nicol was born on the 11th of December, 1961 in Troon. He joined his local club, Troon Thistle at just 9 years old before making the move to Ayr United as a 16 year old.
By 1979, he was playing for the Ayr Utd first team. He played two seasons for the club, with 70 appearances in total before Liverpool manager Bob Paisley decided to pay a bargain £300,000 in 1981 for a player who would go on to become a stalwart in the Liverpool team.
Success was not instant for the young Scot, who had to wait an entire year to make his debut for Liverpool, and it was two years before he was able to claim his place as a first team regular.
Stephen Nicol would go on to make 343 appearances for Liverpool, scoring 36 goals and spending 13 years at the club. His trophy haul included, 4 league titles, 3 F.A Cups and the 1984 European Cup.
Nicol received his first cap for Scotland on the 12th of September, 1984 and he would go on to make 27 appearances for the national team. He was included in the squad for the 1986 FIFA World Cup, playing in all 3 games at the tournament which was Scotland finish bottom of their group which included Denmark, West Germany and Uruguay.
Further Reading
Steve Nicol at Liverpool F.C.