Despite beginning his career as a winger; it was at the heart of the brilliant Leeds United side of the late 1960s and early 1970s that Billy Brennner made his name and where he enjoyed a phenomenal run of success. He forged a formidable midfield partnership with Johnny Giles and, although Giles was regarded as the skilful artist and canny ball-player; Bremners superb passing and incisive forward runs made him a vital cog in the Elland Road machine.
54 caps for Scotland
As captain, Bremner led the side to two league championships, in 1968-69 and 1973-74, and to FA Cup victory over Arsenal in 1972. Leeds United also had two successful Inter-Cities Fairs Cup campaigns, in 1968 and 1971. Regrettably, Bremner's haul of runners-up medals was even bigger: Leeds finished runners-up in the league on five occasions during Bremner’s era, and were beaten FA Cup finalists three times. After the team’s defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich in the 1975 European Cup Final, Bremner moved to Hull City, and then finished his playing career at Doncaster
Capped 54 times for Scotland, Bremner’s appearances for his national side fell one short of Dennis Law’s all-time record. His greatest triumph on the international stage was when he led the Scots in the 1974 World Cup Finals in West Germany, where they were unbeaten and unlucky to be eliminated on goal difference.
No stranger to controversy, he and Liverpool’s Kevin Keegan became the first British players to be sent off at Wembley when they exchanged blows during the 1974-75 Charity Shield match. This was followed shortly afterwards by the decision to award a life ban from the Scottish FA following a misconduct charge during a trip to Copenhagen for a European Championship match. He died in 1997.
World History
