He’s one of the most decorated footballers in the history of the British game. With four English league winner’s medals, three FA Cups and a European Cup — as well as 27 Scotland caps — Steve Nicol has seen and done everything in the sport.
But he’s getting rid of his impressive medal haul — because he’s tired of them just sitting about in drawers or boxes in his home in Connecticut, USA.
The defender turned manager and TV football analyst is selling a massive haul of his football memorabilia — estimated to be worth £150,000 — in an auction launching today.
He insists he won’t miss any of the strips or medals, because he prefers to think of the memories and the thrill of winning games rather than the souvenirs.
Now 64, Nicol admits that going through his personal treasure trove has been a good moment to stop and remember the highs and the lows.
Having played an important role in one of Liverpool’s greatest ever sides, represented Scotland at the 1986 World Cup and been a key figure in the growth of the MLS, Troon-born Nicol certainly has enough big moments to look back on.
Steve Nicol has taken time to look back on his career as he prepares to auction off memorabilia
‘When you’re younger, you’re too busy. But I’m now at the stage where I’m nearly 65 and I’ve got time to sit back and think about the things I’ve done.
‘I kind of forgotten the amount of stuff I had because I haven’t seen it for 20 years since we moved to America. We’ve moved about three times since then and I’ve been kind of carrying the stuff around with me and I never see it.
‘I don’t need the stuff because the stories behind the things I have are in my head anyway.’
When he decided to clear out his silverware and souvenirs, he gave his family first pick of the historic items and has put the rest, including his 1984 European Cup medal, his 1986 FA Cup medal and various shirts and precious keepsakes, up for sale via auction house Propstore.
The lot of 56 items goes on sale today with bidding open until May 14.
Nicol was thrilled to uncover a particularly special artefact from his Merseyside days.
‘Every day of every year, Ronnie Moran would log what we did in training, the weather conditions and the team that played that week,’ he says. ‘He gave me one when I was when I was leaving Liverpool back in 94.
Steve Nicol celebrates Liverpool’s 1984 European Cup success in Rome with fellow Scots Kenny Dalglish, Alan Hansen, Gary Gillespie and Graeme Souness
‘So when I pulled that out, it was the biggest surprise. It’s such an unusual piece but there’s no point in me having it in a drawer when there’s so many Liverpool fans who’ll be interested in it.’
Nicol’s career has been so busy and so varied that it’s little surprise he’s not had the time or the inclination to look back.
He moved from Ayr United to Liverpool in 1981 and quickly established himself as one of the best defenders in the English first division. He made his Scotland debut in 1984 and was capped 27 times, including the 1986 World Cup.
At Liverpool he won every honour in England — but was also in the team on the day of the fateful Hillsborough disaster in Sheffield. The death of 97 fans at the FA Cup semi-final in April 1989 lives with him still.
Players and manager Kenny Dalglish attended funerals and played a huge part in the city’s mourning period.
‘At the time you’re just doing what you can to help. For a period of time the only thing that mattered was what we could do to help anybody who needed us.
‘It doesn’t matter what it is. It’s just: “What can we do to help?” Things like that are with you every day. A tragedy like that affects the way you think, for the rest of your life, about how important life is.
Nicol gets in the party spirit again as Liverpool celebrate winning Division One in 1990
‘You understand what the club means to people and what football means to people as opposed to just playing and winning and wages, all of these things. It becomes something different.’
Nicol left Liverpool in 1995 after 13 years, moving to Notts County and then Sheffield Wednesday before enjoying brief spells at West Bromwich Albion and Doncaster Rovers. He then headed west as part of the wave of European stars joining the nascent soccer revival in the USA.
He was a player coach for A-league side Boston Bulldogs in 1999 and then became assistant manager of New England Revolution in 2002, before taking the top job shortly after.
He became one of the most successful coaches in MLS history — winning the US Open Cup and the North American Superliga while regularly finishing in the play offs. He also managed the MLS All-Stars side on several occasions.
From day one, he brought the Liverpool boot room ethos to his coaching setup.
‘One of the biggest things that Liverpool gave me was that no matter what you do, you do your best — and that’s it.
‘That’s the only acceptable thing for you and for your team. Be humble. Know that you don’t get anything for yesterday. It’s all about what you do now.
Shirts, medals and memorabilia from Nicol’s glittering playing career go up for auction today
‘Whether you train and whether you play, it’s the same thing. Every single time you train, you do every single thing to the best of your ability. Basically, the standards that were expected at Liverpool, I tried to put on the players I was coaching.
‘For me, it was normal. But for them, I’m pretty sure it was like: “Who’s this guy not letting us off with anything?” Once they get it, that changes everything. I had a core group of guys that absolutely got it.
‘As long as you can see that they’re giving their best, then you can’t ask for any more. And you shouldn’t accept any less.’
Steve and wife Eleanor settled in the Boston area with kids Katie and Michael, who are now busy making their own lives and raising families in the States.
While much of his sporting activity currently involves running around playparks with grandkids, he’s very proud to have influenced football in the US.
‘When I joined the MLS in 2000/2001, the truth was, the league was struggling,’ recalls Nicol. ‘There were only three owners and ten teams. And attendances weren’t particularly brilliant.
‘To think of what it was like then to what it is now, you wouldn’t believe it.
The Scot went on to play and manage in the MLS and has helped the growth of soccer in the US
‘A major part of that was David Beckham coming because he obviously interests people around the country who normally had no interest in soccer, as they call it. He was a huge part of why MLS is so big now.
‘When he came to LA (Galaxy), they had to start getting better travel, better conditions, better training facilities.
‘So then everybody was getting better facilities. Back in the early 2000s, we were flying in economy in the middle seat. Now it’s all private jets.’
‘The MLS hasn’t caught up with the baseball and the basketball yet. But there’s no question it’s getting there.
‘It’s great to have been a part of it. One of the things that I’m very proud of is that way back when MLS was struggling, I was a part of keeping it going and hopefully in some small way help them build it.’
Since leaving ‘the Revs’ in 2011, Nicol has become one of the biggest names in US football TV coverage. He works for sports network ESPN alongside fellow Scot Craig Burley and ex-Newcastle goalkeeper Shaka Hislop, and he even moved with his wife from Boston to Connecticut to be closer to ESPN’s base.
He mainly covers the EPL, Spanish La Liga and German Bundesliga, as well as some MLS and international games. And he can’t wait for this year’s World Cup to kick off across North America.
Nicol enjoys an FA Cup victory parade after his club’s defeat of Everton in the 1986 final
But he admits his TV job will have one downside, as he is likely to miss Scotland’s big return to the World Cup.
‘I’m going to be working with ESPN, so in the qualifying rounds we’re going to be doing two and three shows a day and I’ll probably not get to any games,’ he says.
‘I have had plenty of phone calls from friends about getting tickets, asking where they can stay and all those things. I’ve been inundated with requests, shall we say.
‘It’s probably a good job I don’t live in Boston now because if I lived there, I’d probably have people staying in the house and in the garden.’
Nicol played for Scotland in the 1986 World Cup but was beset by stomach muscle and hernia problems, then missed out on Italia 90 due to shoulder injury issues.
So he wants his successors in the dark blue jerseys to appreciate every minute of this summer, and not let the emotion get to them.
‘I remember making my debut against Yugoslavia with 100 pipers playing Scotland the Brave,’ he recalls. ‘I’d been to see Scotland and I’d stood on the terraces.
‘But when you’re playing, you can’t be thinking about being a kid in the stand and this and that. You have to quell all those different emotions.
Nicol was capped 27 times by Scotland and featured in the 1986 World Cup squad
‘It’s not until you’re not playing that you start thinking about it and you start realising how lucky you are and how enjoyable it was.
‘Just give it everything you’ve got. Don’t regret not giving everything. Because at the end of the day, when you do that, if you’re lucky enough and everybody’s giving their best, then you might get somewhere. And if you don’t then at least you’ve had your opportunity and will have no regrets.’
Nicol admits to being apprehensive about Scotland’s chances in a group with Brazil and high-flying Morocco, but hopes Steve Clarke’s side can get a good result against Haiti to see them through.
‘We’ll have to be at our very best to get anything from those games,’ he states. ‘I think there will be a team in this World Cup that goes to the next round with three points because of the way the qualifying is. Hopefully it’s us.’
The auction of Steve Nicol’s medals and memorabilia is online today and will conclude with a live auction on May 14, 2026. Visit propstoreauction.com
