Joseph Jordan (born 15 December 1951) is a Scottish former football player and manager. Playing as a forward, his strong, fearless and committed play contributed to him being nicknamed "Jaws".
Jordan started his senior football career with Greenock Morton in 1968. With Leeds United, he won the 1973–74 Football League First Division and was runner-up in the 1972–73 European Cup Winners' Cup and the 1974–75 European Cup. With Manchester United, he was runner-up in the 1978–79 FA Cup. He won the 1982–83 Serie B title with Milan and was runner-up in the 1983–84 Coppa Italia with Hellas Verona. He helped Southampton to their second highest league finish of fifth in 1984–85, which would have qualified the team for the 1985–86 UEFA Cup had English clubs not been banned following the Heysel Stadium disaster. He ended his playing career with Bristol City, where he also became player-manager.
Jordan gained 52 full Scotland caps, scoring 11 goals. He is the only Scot to score in three World Cups (1974, 1978 and 1982). For his playing efforts for club and country, he was inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame in 2005.
He has managed or coached Bristol City (twice), Heart of Midlothian, Celtic, Stoke City, Northern Ireland, Portsmouth, Tottenham Hotspur, Queens Park Rangers, Middlesbrough and most recently AFC Bournemouth.
Early life Jordan was born in the village of Cleland, Lanarkshire (sometimes given as the nearby town of Carluke). After leaving school, Jordan became an apprentice draughtsman. At age 15, Jordan had also begun playing for the Scottish Junior Football Association club, Blantyre Victoria.
Club career
Morton Jordan began his professional career in 1968, joining Morton from Blantyre Victoria for £250. He initially played for Morton part-time. His only Morton goal was in the 4–1 home league win against Partick Thistle on 14 April 1970. That win clinched Morton's place in the new Texaco Cup. Four days later he was involved in the build-up for Bobby Collins' goal which clinched a 2–0 win at Rangers.
39-year-old Collins was Morton's player-coach. He had started his professional career playing for Celtic, the club Jordan supported as a boy. In 1962, Collins had joined Don Revie's Leeds United for five seasons. Revie later described Collins as "the best signing I ever made". As well as his Morton duties, Collins was now also Leeds' scout in Scotland. Collins personally recommended Jordan to Revie. Revie watched Jordan in Morton's Texaco Cup game at West Bromwich Albion. Morton won both legs (2–1 home and 1–0 away) for a 3–1 aggregate victory. Jordan described Collins as his "footballing godfather". Jordan recalled the Rangers game in his book: "I got involved in the move that resulted in a goal for Collins, my hero and, as it turned out, the man who put in the word that carried me to where I wanted to be, at the top of the professional game".
In total, Jordan made 12 league and cup appearances for Morton.
Leeds United Aged 18, Jordan signed for Revie at Leeds in November 1970 for £15,000, plus an extra £5,000 if Jordan made Leeds' first-team. There was little initial prospect of Jordan making the first team ahead of the well-established, successful forward partnership of Allan Clarke and Mick Jones.
In 1973, Jordan made 16 League starts and scored nine goals. However, he was left out of the team that lost the FA Cup final 1–0 to Sunderland. He played in the 1–0 defeat to Milan in the 1973 European Cup Winners' Cup final. Jordan scored seven goals in his 25 games in Leeds' 1973–74 League-winning team.
By 1974, Jordan was Leeds' main target man providing many knock-downs, especially for Peter Lorimer. With other Scottish players at Leeds, Jordan formed part of the so-called "Scottish mafia", alongside goalkeeper David Harvey (1965–1980, 1982–1984), defender Gordon McQueen (1972–1978), midfielder Billy Bremner (1959–1976), left winger Eddie Gray (1965–1983) and right winger Peter Lorimer (1963–1979, 1983–1986).
In the 1974–75 European Cup, Jordan scored in the home first-leg wins over FC Zürich (4–1 for 5–3 on aggregate) and Anderlecht (3–0 for 4–0 on aggregate). Leeds also eliminated Újpesti Dózsa (5–1 on aggregate) and FC Barcelona (3–2 on aggregate). Jordan and Leeds lost the 1975 European Cup final 2–0 to Bayern Munich.
In the 135 league games that Jordan played for Leeds, he scored 39 goals.
Manchester United Aged 26, Jordan signed for Manchester United, managed by Dave Sexton, on 4 January 1978 for £350,000. The club reached the 1979 FA Cup final, losing 3–2 to Arsenal. During a 1980 FA Cup third round replay at Old Trafford, Jordan clashed with Tottenham Hotspur's goalkeeper Milija Aleksic, dislocating Aleksic's jaw. The Independent in 2011 described this as a revenge act for Aleksic repeatedly charging Jordan during corners. It became known as the game that saw Tottenham's Glenn Hoddle play in goal.
During Jordan's time at Old Trafford, they were runners-up in the 1979–80 Football League First Division. They recovered from a poor start to the season to finish two points (equivalent to one win at the time) off top spot. The winners were Liverpool, who for 15 years from the mid-1970s succeeded Leeds as England's team to beat. Jordan top scored for United that season with 13 goals, all in the league. United's second place finish qualified them for the 1980–81 UEFA Cup, alongside Bobby Robson's Ipswich Town who finished third. United were eliminated in the UEFA Cup first round by Widzew Łódź on away goals after drawing 1–1 at home and 0–0 in Poland. Ipswich won the UEFA Cup that season. Jordan top scored again that season, this time with 15 (all in the league).
Milan Aged 29, Jordan transferred to AC Milan in July 1981. He played in the 1981–82 Serie A season, succeeding Denis Law as the second Scotsman to both play in and score in the Italian Football Championship since its rebranding as Serie A in 1929–30. Jordan scored two goals in his 22 Serie A games that season, the first of which, on 7 November 1981, was the opener in a 1–1 home draw against Como.
In the 1981–82 Coppa Italia, Milan finished third in the five-team group behind group winners Internazionale and Hellas Verona. Jordan's header put Milan 2–1 ahead against Inter in the 49th minute. Walter Novellino had put Milan ahead before Alessandro Altobelli equalised. Giuseppe Bergomi added a second Inter equaliser in the 89th minute for a 2–2 final score.
Milan won the 1981/82 Mitropa Cup. Their opponents in the 4 team round-robin competition were TJ Vítkovice, Haladás and NK Osijek.
Milan went into the last game of the league season in 14th, the third of the relegation places in the 16 team division. To avoid relegation they needed to catch Genoa who were better off by two points (with two points for a win) and a goal difference of four. After 63 minutes, Genoa were losing 2–1 at SSC Napoli. Milan though were losing 2–0 at AC Cesena. Jordan scored in the 67th minute to ignite a comeback to lead 3–2 after 81 minutes. Genoa though equalised in the 85th minute of their match to draw 2–2. With no further goals in either match, Milan were relegated. In all domestic competitions Jordan joint top-scored for Milan that season with Roberto Antonelli, both scoring six goals.
Playing in Serie B in 1982–83, Jordan became the first Scotsman to play in the division since its creation in 1929. He scored 10 goals in 30 Serie B games, with Milan losing only two league games all season and remaining in the top two places in the table from matchweek four onwards. They won promotion back to Serie A as Serie B champions, eight points ahead of 2nd placed Lazio. He was again joint top scorer for Milan with Aldo Serena, scoring 14 goals from his 36 league and cup appearances. Penalties were not taken by an attacking player but by defender Franco Baresi.
Jordan's 30 Serie B appearances record for a Scotsman was surpassed by Liam Henderson in 2019. In 2023, Henderson equalled Jordan's record 10 career Serie B goals by a Scotsman. Henderson's Serie B goals, though, were not in one season.
In the 1982–83 Coppa Italia group stage, Milan's only loss in five games was a 2–1 away defeat to Juventus. Jordan scored Milan's goal, with Paolo Rossi scoring both Juventus goals. Jordan also scored in the group stage home win against Serie A club Genoa. 2–0 down to a Mauro Tassotti own goal and a René Vandereycken strike, Jordan's 43rd minute goal sparked a comeback. Serena added Milan's second and third goals for a 3–2 win. In the quarter-final, Milan played against Hellas Verona, who would finish fourth in Serie A that season and qualify for the UEFA Cup. Milan drew the first, away leg 2–2. In the second leg in Milan, Jordan put his team 3–1 ahead in the 54th minute. However, after Hellas made it 3–3 in the 89th minute, Milan were eliminated 5–5 on away goals.
Jordan completed two seasons at Milan, scoring 12 goals in his 52 league games. He made 66 domestic league and cup appearances, scoring 20 goals."Joe Jordan: stats and matches | AC Milan" acmilan.com
In 2011, on the eve of a return to the club as a coach with Tottenham, Jordan said that the move to Milan was the best move of his career. He opined that it gave him an experience he had always wanted, namely a chance to play abroad. He retained strong links with Milan, through one of his four children, Caroline, who lives there and raised her children Italian.
Hellas Verona Aged 31, Jordan transferred to fellow Serie A club Hellas Verona in 1983. While Jordan had been in Serie B with Milan, Verona finished fourth in the 1982–83 Serie A season, earning a UEFA Cup berth. Jordan played three games in the 1983–84 UEFA Cup campaign. He came on as a substitute in the first round first leg 1–0 home win against Red Star Belgrade as part of a 4–2 aggregate win. He thus became the first Scotsman to play for an Italian club in UEFA-organised competition. In the second round, he played all 90 minutes of the 2–2 home draw and came on as a substitute in the 0–0 away draw against SK Sturm Graz. Verona were thus eliminated on the away goals rule without having lost a game over 90 minutes in that season's UEFA Cup.
Jordan played 24 league and cup games for Verona. His appearances were limited by a combination of his injuries and the good form of Maurizio Iorio (21 goals) and Giuseppe Galderisi (13 goals) that season. Jordan made six substitute appearances in his 12 Verona Serie A games. His only Verona Serie A goal was in the 1–0 home win against UC Sampdoria on 8 April 1984. Verona finished the 1983–84 Serie A season sixth on equal points with Sampdoria and Jordan's former club Milan.
Jordan scored once in nine 1983–84 Coppa Italia games, opening the scoring in the semi-final first leg 2-1 win at SSC Bari. Jordan came on as a substitute in both legs of the 1984 Coppa Italia final, which Verona lost for the second season in a row, this time to AS Roma. After drawing the first leg 1–1 at home, they lost 1–0 in Rome. The defeat in Rome was Jordan's last Verona game.https://www.hellastory.net/verona/almanacco/s/tabellino/26-06-1984/roma_verona_hellas/ "Roma-Verona Hellas 1-0" https://www.hellastory.net] He was the first Scotsman to play in a Coppa Italia final.
Despite his limited game time, Jordan's season with Verona is looked back on as a success. Verona fans appreciated his passion and commitment on the pitch. They displayed a large Scottish flag in the Curva Sud in tribute to him. He was credited with passing on valuable experience to Iorio, Galderisi and other young players at the club. Replacing Jordan with Preben Elkjaer up front, Verona were Italian champions for the first time in their history in 1985.