Alan Hansen was a one-club man south of the border.
After four years at Partick Thistle, he would go on to spend 14 at Liverpool, retiring at Anfield in 1991 as one of the all-time greats.
But things could all have been very different.
Football was not Hansen's original passion, and at one stage he walked away from the sport for two years in order to concentrate on golf.
It should come as no real surprise, then, that the first pictures of Hansen following his discharge from hospital show him out on the golf course
Graeme Souness admitted he had feared the worst at one stage, so it's a real blessing to see the former defender back on his feet
Among those feeling relieved will be Gary Lineker, who has revealed that at one point he even received a call asking him to go on television to speak about Hansen, amid a mistaken belief that his death would be announced imminently
The pair know each other well from Match of the Day, while they have also taken to the golf course together in the past.
Hansen was a regular fixture as a pundit on the BBC until 2014, when he stepped aside following the conclusion of the World Cup
As he retired, he told the story of how he nearly chose golf over football:
Hansen:
"Golf has always been my first love,"
"I stopped playing football between the ages of 15 and 17 to concentrate on playing golf.
“My brother was playing football at the time and he thought I was crazy. My father wanted me to be a footballer so just to placate him I went on trial at Hibs when I was 17.
“It was a week before I was playing in the Scottish Boys' Strokeplay at Montrose.
"Eddie Turnbull, who was the Hibs manager, brought me into his office after five days and said he wanted to sign me on professional terms.
I said: "What, I'll just pack in playing golf? I'm going to Montrose to play in the Scottish Boys' Strokeplay, I'm never playing football again."
He said: "Are you an idiot?""
Between Turnbull and Hansen's father, the right decision was made — at least as far as Liverpool is concerned.
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