Ruud Gullit revealed his all-time XI which featured Rangers legend Davie Cooper whom he said was “magical” and “unbelievably skilful”. The 39-year-old, who played for Clydebank, Rangers and Motherwell before retirement, tragically died from a brain haemorrhage on March, 23, 1995. He made 22 appearances for the Scotland national team, scoring six goals in total.
Gullit’s all-time XI featured Peter Schmeichel (goalkeeper), Manfred Kaltz (right-back), Paolo Maldini (left-back), Marcel Desailly (centre-back), Franco Baresi (centre-back), Diego Maradona (right-wing), Davie Cooper (left-wing), Frank Rijkaard (centre-midfield), Kaka (centre-midfield), Marco van Basten (forward) and Johan Cruyff (forward).
The Netherlands legend, who played for the likes of PSV Eindhoven, AC Milan and Chelsea, named Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldinho, Roy Keane, Ronald Koeman and Edwin van der Saar on the bench in his team. He was full of praise for the late Cooper on Twitter, saying: “The magic that was Davie Cooper. I’ll always remember you my friend.”
He also told FourFourTwo in 2007: “I played against him in the European Cup when he was with Glasgow Rangers and he was a really skilful player. Unbelievably skilful. He didn’t have much pace but he was a good dribbler who set up plenty of chances for team-mates as well as scoring some great goals himself.”
Cooper was proficient at solo goals, racing in between defenders and finishing with aplomb. As shown from his highlight reel that Gullit posted on Twitter, the Rangers legend tore defences apart and was hard to catch when running at full pace with the ball.
Stats from Transfermarkt.
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