Jimmy Calderwood: Former Aberdeen and Dunfermline manager and footballer for Birmingham City dies aged 69 after dementia battle

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Former Aberdeen and Dunfermline Athletic manager Jimmy Calderwood has died aged 69.

Calderwood was diagnosed with early onset dementia in 2017, three years after his final managerial post with Dutch side De Graafschap. The Glaswegian won the 2000 Scottish second tier with Dunfermline and guided them to a record fourth-place finish in the top flight four years later.

His Aberdeen team famously drew with Bayern Munich in the 2007-08 Uefa Cup. Calderwood also had short spells with Kilmarnock and Ross County - the latter featuring a Scottish Challenge Cup win - and spent much of his playing and coaching career in the Netherlands.

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A midfielder, Calderwood won an apprentice contract with Birmingham City in 1971, going on to make over 150 senior appearances. He joined Sparta Rotterdam in 1979, where he played alongside Dutch football giants, and future coaching luminaries, in former Rangers boss Dick Advocaat, Danny Blind and Louis van Gaal.

Former Aberdeen and Dunfermline Athletic manager Jimmy Calderwood has died aged 69. (Photo: Getty Images)Former Aberdeen and Dunfermline Athletic manager Jimmy Calderwood has died aged 69. (Photo: Getty Images)
Former Aberdeen and Dunfermline Athletic manager Jimmy Calderwood has died aged 69. (Photo: Getty Images) | Getty Images

Calderwood would see out his playing days in the Netherlands, turning out for Willem II, Roda JC and Hercales, where he retired in 1989 and became a coach. His first managerial appointment came in 1996, as he was promoted from his assistant's position at Willem II, before moving to NEC Nijmegen a year later.

In 1999, Dunfermline brought him home to Scotland, and Calderwood repaid their faith by winning the second-tier title in his first season. In the top division, Calderwood's side finished ninth, sixth, then fifth, qualifying for the Uefa Cup, before earning a club-best fourth place in 2004, while losing the Scottish Cup final to Celtic.

Dunfermline say they are "hugely saddened" by his death. After five years at East End Park, Calderwood moved north to Aberdeen, spending another five years at Pittodrie.

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Calderwood left Aberdeen in 2009, and kept Kilmarnock in the top flight after taking over at Rugby Park in January 2010. He oversaw Ross County's Challenge Cup win a year later, before returning to the Netherlands with Go Ahead Eagles. He revealed his dementia diagnosis in August 2017 in a bid to raise awareness of the condition.

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