Jimmy Calderwood dies aged 69 as tributes pour in for legendary ex-Aberdeen and Dunfermline manager
LEGENDARY Scottish football manager Jimmy Calderwood has passed away at the age of 69.
The popular former Aberdeen and Dunfermline manager had been battling dementia.
Calderwood, who also bossed Kilmarnock and Ross County, was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s in 2015.
He passed away in the early hours of Sunday morning with devoted partner Yvonne Buchanan and her two daughters by his side.
Heartbroken Yvonne said: “What can I say? I’ve lost the love of my life to a very cruel disease.
“We shared so many special moments together, especially with my children – Mark, Carla and Jolana – and we are all devastated.
“We are deeply grateful to everyone who supported and loved him. Your kindness, care and unwavering support meant the world not only to him but to all of us.
“I’d like to extend my gratitude to the staff at Abbotsford House in Bearsden, Glasgow.
“We kindly ask for privacy during this incredibly sad time and thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers.”
Born in Glasgow, Jimmy Calderwood made his first team breakthrough as a player with Birmingham City.
He would go on to make 145 league appearances for the Blues before heading to the Netherlands in 1979.
Calderwood would go on to spend a significant period of his life in the country.
A midfielder, he played for Sparta Rotterdam, Willem II, Roda JC and Heracles Almelo during a decade-long playing spell in the Netherlands.
He remained in the country after retiring as a player and his first two managerial jobs were there.
Calderwood was Willem II boss from 1996 until 1997 before spending two years in charge of NEC Nijmegen.
A return to Scottish football materialised and in 1999 he was appointed manager of Dunfermline Athletic.
He would go on to become one of our game’s most recognisable, entertaining and well liked characters.
A hugely popular figure at East End Park, Calderwood would go on to enjoy a successful five-year stint with the Pars.
Calderwood led Dunfermline to promotion to the SPL just months after his appointment.
The club were comfortably safe in their first season back in the top tier before going on to secure a top six finish in the 2001/02 season.
They would go on to finish in the top six again in each of the next two seasons, ending the 2003/04 campaign in fourth.
That was a particularly successful season for Calderwood and Dunfermline, who also reached the Scottish Cup Final where they would ultimately lose to Celtic.
That success also saw the Pars qualify for the Uefa Cup, but Calderwood wouldn’t be in charge for their foray into Europe – the club’s first in 35 years.
That’s because he left the club to take over at Aberdeen ahead of the 2004/05 campaign.
Jimmy Calderwood's managerial career
Willem II 1996-97
NEC Nijmegen 1997-99
Dunfermline Athletic 1999-2004
Aberdeen 2004-09
Kilmarnock 2010
Ross County 2011
Go Ahead Eagles 2012
De Graafschap 2014
Dunfermline revealed the news of Calderwood’s passing and paid tribute to their former boss.
Dunfermline CEO David Cook said: “On behalf of everyone at Dunfermline Athletic, we are all shocked and saddened to hear of the passing of Jimmy Calderwood.
“Jimmy constructed a fantastic squad of players in the early 2000s that had Pars fans on the edge of their seats with his bold attacking style of football.
“He brought some magnificent moments to this club, none more so than helping us reach the Scottish Cup Final in 2004. The sea of black and white at Hampden was testament to the force he had created.”
The top six finishes would continue for Calderwood at Aberdeen, who led the Dons to third spot in 2006/07.
That gave them a place in the Uefa Cup the following campaign and it proved to be a memorable one for Aberdeen.
Reaching the group stage, the Dons progressed from a group that contained Atletico Madrid, Panathinaikos, Copenhagen and Lokomotiv Moscow.
That set up a round of 32 clash with the German giants Bayern Munich.
On a famous night at Pittodrie, the Dons held Bayern to a 2-2 draw in front of a raucous, sell-out crowd.
They’d ultimately fall to defeat in Germany.
Calderwood signed a contract extension later that month but just over a year later he departed the role, despite qualifying for European competition once again.
In a statement, Aberdeen said: “Everyone at Aberdeen FC is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of our former manager Jimmy Calderwood.
“The thoughts of all at the club are with his family and friends at this difficult time.”
He would return to management the following year, taking over at Kilmarnock in January 2010.
Calderwood would galvanise a struggling Killie side and would secure their top division status on the last day of the season.
After leaving Killie that summer, he had another brief stint the following year, this time at Ross County, then in the second tier.
Once again, safety was the objective and an objective Calderwood met.
He also enjoyed trophy success with the Staggies who won the Challenge Cup under his leadership.
'The manager Rangers almost had'
By DAVID LEGGAT
JIMMY CALDERWOOD was the manager Rangers almost had.
In fact he was absolutely convinced he would be the man to take over from Alex McLeish in the summer of 2006.
That belief stemmed from a chat he told me he’d had with then Rangers owner Sir David Murray as it became clear big Eck’s trophy-laden spell was coming to an end.
Jimmy and I became pals more than half a century ago when he had just broken into the Birmingham City side at the same time that I arrived in the city to become chief football writer of the biggest-selling Saturday sports paper in Britain, the Sports Argus.
We quickly became good pals as our backgrounds were the same.
Working class guys from Glasgow who loved football and supported Rangers.
That friendship endured and it was why he invited me to stay over in his family home in Aberdeen after his side had beaten McLeish’s Rangers at Pittodrie on a frozen night.
It was in his living room that he revealed to me the chat he had had with Murray which led him to believe he would be the man to succeed McLeish.
Jimmy was a man who always looked on the bright side, who was always upbeat and optimistic, but never more than that night.
It was a smashing story and one I hoped to lead the back page of the Sunday newspaper I worked for at the time. Jimmy though swore me to secrecy and it is only now I feel free to reveal it.
Even when it soon became clear that Murray was going to snub the diehard bluenose from Govan in favour of chasing moonbeams with Frenchman, Paul le Guen, he didn’t let it get him down.
Or dim his passion for and love of Rangers, a passion and love which he never hid and which harmed his relationship with Dons fans, even though he was undeniably an outstanding success as Aberdeen manager.
The week before he went to Aberdeen he told me about the move, but again asked me to keep it under wraps until after he led Dunfermline into a Scottish Cup Final against Celtic, which they controversially lost after being denied a penalty early in the second half with the Fifers leading 1-0.
Typically in the aftermath, he refused to be drawn, just as he brushed aside the comments by Chris Sutton when Dunfermline lost 6-1 at Ibrox as Rangers clinched the title on the first helicopter Sunday in 2003.
After he saved Kilmarnock and Ross County from relegation, football turned its back on my pal.
Our friendship continued and we met every Friday for a cup of tea and it was during one of those chats Jimmy told me he had dementia which he faced bravely, asking me to arrange a press conference so he could tell the world.
Calderwood returned to the Netherlands as Go Ahead Eagles boss in 2012 before becoming boss at De Graafschap in 2014, in what would be his final managerial role.
He would leave the club less than a month after being appointed in January after being furious at the decision to sell a couple of key players.
Just over three years later, in August 2017, Calderwood revealed the heartbreaking news that he was battling dementia.
The legendary boss said he’d been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s two years previously and had been receiving treatment.
Speaking at the time, he said: “If, by making this public I can help others talk more openly about dementia, then that will be something positive.
“That is why I have spoken with Alzheimer Scotland and invited them along to join me today.
“I haven’t been comfortable with keeping this as a secret and when I recently heard that an old team mate of mine in Holland is also living with Alzheimer’s Disease, it prompted me to go public.
“Right now I am still fine, except for being a bit forgetful with some names but I am determined to continue enjoying my life.”
Four years later, Calderwood’s son Scott – who worked alongside his father in football – delivered a harrowing update and revealed that Jimmy no longer knew who he was.
And now comes the devastating news that Jimmy Calderwood has passed away, just over seven years on from revealing his health battle.
Since the news broke, tributes have flooded in to one of Scottish football’s most beloved characters.
Jamie Langfield, who was Aberdeen goalkeeper under Calderwood, posted a heartfelt tribute to his former boss.
He said: “Absolutely gutted to hear of the passing of Jimmy Calderwood, he was the main reason I went on to have the career I did, he took a chance on me when no one else would, we had our ups and downs but he was so positive with me and help me in so many ways. What a great man.”
Kilmarnock added: “Everyone at Kilmarnock Football Club is saddened to learn of the passing of former manager Jimmy Calderwood. Our thoughts are with Jimmy’s family and friends at this time.”
The Scottish FA said: “We send our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Jimmy Calderwood after his passing today.”
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