Alan Rough

Rough was chosen for the Scotland under-18s for the UEFA under-18 Euros held on home soil in 1970. Rough played in two FIFA World Cup tournaments for Scotland, in 1978 and 1982. He played 53 times for his country, keeping a clean sheet in 16 of those games. Rough was Scotland's most capped goalkeeper at the time of his retirement, but that record was broken by Jim Leighton. Rough's penultimate cap was won in the tragic circumstances of the 1–1 draw with Wales at Ninian Park, Cardiff in 1985. Rough came on as a half-time substitute because Leighton had lost his contact lenses. The result, secured by a late Davie Cooper penalty kick, meant that Scotland qualified for a play-off against Australia, but manager Jock Stein collapsed and died at the end of the match. Rough was selected for the finals squad by Alex Ferguson, but only played in one further international.

After making his debut at the end of season 1969–70, Rough went on to play a total of 631 games for Partick Thistle in all competitions (409 in the league), which are all-time club record totals. He was a member of the Jags team that defeated Celtic 4–1 in the 1971 Scottish League Cup Final. Rough told The Scotsman in 2010: "I loved playing for Thistle, loved winning the League Cup with them, and maybe I stayed there too long but that was me. I never thought about 'career' and I never bothered about money. All of my business ventures – the pub in Maryhill, the sports shop in Musselburgh – failed. But I absolutely loved standing in the Wembley tunnel next to these English stars like Kevin Keegan and Emlyn Hughes when I was on 40 quid a week at Thistle, when the previous week at Firhill the crowd had been 2100, and we were about to walk on to the park and enjoy a famous win." Shortly after his testimonial game in 1982 (Scotland XI vs Celtic), Rough transferred to Hibernian for a £60,000 fee. He was eventually replaced by Andy Goram, who also took his place in the Scotland squad. After leaving Hibs in 1988, Rough played in the United States with Orlando Lions. He also had spells with Celtic (covering for the injured Pat Bonner), Hamilton Academical and Ayr United before leaving senior football. He was won the SFWA Footballer of the Year and finished runner-up (separated by a single vote) for Scottish Football Personality of the Year in 1981.

Rough married Margaret Barry, a Daily Mirror reporter, in 2009 after a seventeen-year engagement. Barry has two children from a previous relationship. Rough was previously married to Michelle, a former model and Tennent's girl. Michelle and Alan had one son, also named Alan. In an interview with Shoot magazine in 1986, Rough said that during his childhood he had supported Partick Thistle and that Chelsea goalkeeper Peter Bonetti was a hero. He was an electrician before playing football professionally, and he liked to play golf and tennis in his spare time. His favourite television shows included Black Adder and Only Fools and Horses, and his favourite musicians were Dire Straits and ELO. Rough was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2022 Birthday Honours for services to association football and to charity in Scotland.

Rough was born in Glasgow and was educated at Knightswood Secondary School.