The very sad passing of Craig Brown robs Aberdeen Football Club of a true friend and a magnificent ambassador, but more than that, the larcenous grip of Father Time has stolen from us one of the most significant figures of the last 60 years of Scottish football, for as one of the great pioneers of the importance of coach education in this country, his is a legacy that will ring down the ages for years to come.

I remember speaking to him back in March 1998, as he was preparing to take the national team to the World Cup in France. Even with that rare honour just around the corner it was clear that education was a passion that burned within.

“I did alright as a young player but I had five knee operations and that slowed me down! When it became obvious I wouldn’t be fit enough to sustain a full-time football career, I took a degree in English and geography – I’d already trained as a physical education teacher. I started to teach in the classroom, I worked in grammar schools, became a Head Teacher, then a lecturer in primary education. I could play and still teach in the afternoons, the best of both worlds.”

As noted, injury cost him much of his playing career, but nonetheless, he won a Scottish league title medal at Dundee in 1962 before he called time on his playing career at 28. He had not long moved to Stranraer at that point but, typical of the man, when it became clear that he would not be able to play for the club after all, he insisted on returning the signing on fee he had been paid.

An absolute gentleman, and a joyous conversationalist, Craig’s approach was very much from the age in which he grew up, wittily self-deprecating when it came to his own achievements, generous in the extreme when discussing the abilities of others. Not for him the desire to burn his colleagues that passes for banter nowadays, but a kinder approach that we would do well to recapture.

Football and education were at his core and we spoke again about 18 months ago to put down the story of his playing career for posterity, an interview that we will run in the matchday programme, for Brown understood that knowledge is of no value if you hoard it. You must disseminate it to the future, it must not be allowed to simply pass with you. There is no danger of that in Brown’s case, for his influence will be felt for many years to come thanks to his tireless work as a coach.

A four year term as assistant manager with Motherwell was followed by ten years as manager of Clyde, winning the Second Division in his first season in the job, but it was his move to join the SFA’s staff in August 1986 that really allowed him to make his mark on our game. In seven years as Assistant Technical Director and Assistant National Coach, Craig was in charge of the Scotland Under 19 team which was sixth in the World Cup in 1987, the Scotland Under 17 team which lost on penalties to Saudi Arabia in the World Cup final in 1989 and Scotland’s Under 21 team which finished third in Europe in 1992.

These magnificent achievements were backed up by a mountain of vital work behind the scenes that improved national coaching structures, saw an increase in players taking their coaching badges and laid the foundations for technical and tactical improvements throughout the national game, no small achievement at a time when many Scottish sides were going down the foreign route.

After one game in temporary charge, against Italy in Rome, Craig Brown was appointed International Team Manager on 17th November 1993 in succession to Andy Roxburgh. Under his charge, the Scotland team qualified for Euro ‘96 in England, failing by the narrowest of margins to get to the quarter-finals, and then continued its run of excellent results by qualifying for France ’98, opening the tournament in a narrow defeat to Brazil. Having become Scotland’s longest serving manager, he resigned following the 2-1 victory over Latvia in October 2001, and although he continued with the SFA as Director of Football Development, he was later appointed manager of Preston North End in May 2002.

He returned to Scotland to take charge at Motherwell, assisted by Archie Knox, in 2009 and after a strong spell there, he was invited to revive Aberdeen’s fortunes in December 2010, again in tandem with Knox. At a tough time in the club’s story, Craig Brown was a steady hand on the tiller, again doing important work behind the scenes to stabilise things and bringing in players such as Jonny Hayes and Niall McGinn.

Deciding to retire at the end of 2012/13, it was again typical of the man that he thought of the club rather than himself, leaving early to give his successor Derek McInnes a handful of games to get his feet under the table before the end of that season. The club persuaded Craig to take a seat on the board thereafter, and from that day through to his sad passing, he has provided wise counsel for the football club, with his bubbly, effervescent tones even appearing in RedTV commentary from time to time.

They don’t make ‘em like Craig Brown anymore, not that there has ever been a glut of such wonderful, inspirational characters. We can only be grateful that he gave so much of his time, talent and wisdom to this football club over the last dozen years.

Rest easy, Craig.