| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ross McCormack | ||
| Date of birth | 18 August 1986 (1986-08-18) | ||
| Place of birth | Glasgow, Scotland | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Playing position | Striker / Winger | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Leeds United | ||
| Number | TBA | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2002-2003 | Rangers | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2003-2006 | Rangers | 11 | (2) |
| 2006 | → Doncaster Rovers (loan) | 19 | (5) |
| 2006-2008 | Motherwell | 48 | (10) |
| 2008-2010 | Cardiff City | 74 | (25) |
| 2010- | Leeds United | 0 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2006-2008 | Scotland U21 | 10 | (3) |
| 2007- | Scotland B | 1 | (0) |
| 2008- | Scotland | 5 | (1) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:01, 27 August 2010 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Rangers
Despite being a Celtic supporter, McCormack started his career at Rangers joining the club on 4 June 2002. He made his first appearance on 1 May 2004 against future club Motherwell at the age of 17. McCormack scored his first goal for the club in the final match of the 2003-04 season against Dunfermline Athletic at East End Park.
In 2005-06 he scored an equalizing goal in a 1-1 draw with FC Porto in the UEFA Champions League, in what was his first European appearance for the club.
Despite his memorable goal against FC Porto, McCormack was sent out on-loan to then League One club Doncaster Rovers in order to gain first team experience. He scored five times for Doncaster, the pick of them coming against Hartlepool United which kept Doncaster's play-off hopes alive.
Motherwell
At the start of season 2006-07 McCormack was told he did not feature in new Rangers manager Paul Le Guen's plans and was released. Motherwell bought him on 10 July 2006 for an undisclosed fee. However, his first season at Motherwell was severely hampered by a virus and numerous other injuries. He returned to fitness the following season and became a fixture in the Motherwell first team, where he found himself better suited to playing in a 4-3-3 formation, receiving the October 2007 Young Player of the Month award. The season also saw an improvement in his goal tally as he scored a total of 11 goals, although he reached this mark on 16 February with a brace against Gretna and suffered a goal drought in the remaining 14 games of the season.
2008-09
In January 2008, McCormack was linked with a move to Premier League side Wigan Athletic, even coming as close as having a contract ready to be signed with the club and Middlesbrough but no deal was agreed and he eventually signed for Championship side Cardiff City on 28 June on a free transfer, although the clubs would later agree on a compensation fee of £120,000.On his arrival, McCormack stated that one of the biggest reasons that persuaded him to sign for the club, alongside the chance to play first-team football and the group of Scottish players on the clubs books, was the presence of his idol Robbie Fowler, only for the former England international to leave the club soon after.
McCormack's first goal for Cardiff was in a pre-season tournament (Algarve Cup) against Vitória de Guimarães, where he scored two in a 2-1 win. He made his League debut on the opening day of the season in a 2-1 victory over Southampton and went on to score his first competitive goal for Cardiff in a 1-1 draw against one of his former clubs in Doncaster Rovers the following week. He scored his first brace for Cardiff against Norwich City in a game which finished 2-2, and a penalty in the Carling Cup game against MK Dons marked out a successful start to his first season with Cardiff with 4 goals in 5 games. His scoring run continued and, on 28 October, he scored a 25-yard free kick in a 2-0 win over Blackpool to take his tally to ten league goals for the season, equalling the total of league goals he scored during his time at Motherwell in just three months. On 1 November, after scoring Cardiff's only goal of the game, he was taken off during a 2-1 defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers after suffering a grade one tear of his hamstring which was expected to rule him out for between 3-4 weeks.
Directly after the injury McCormack stated that he would be returning ahead of schedule and was targeting a match against Crystal Palace 2 weeks after the injury as his return game,but two days prior to the game he felt a pull on his hamstring while taking part in training and would not make his return to the first team until 25 November when he converted a penalty, won by loanee Michael Chopra, who re-signed for the club later that season, during a 2-2 draw with Reading. A second penalty in two games saw him score in the South Wales derby against Swansea City as the match ended 2-2 but he suffered a second hamstring tear in two months when he was forced off in the first half of a 2-0 win over Preston North End on 6 December, ruling him out for three weeks. Following his return, he went on to finish the season as the clubs top scorer with 23 goals in all competitions and joint 2nd place Championship top scorer. His final goals of the season in a 3-1 win over Burnley were the last goals scored at Ninian Park by a Cardiff player in a competitive match.
2009-10
On 23 July 2009 it was reported Ross McCormack handed in a transfer request to Cardiff City. This was denied by his agent who claimed that there is a 'gentleman's agreement' in his contract that stipulates that he can speak to any Premier League club who bid for his services. Bids from Hull City and Portsmouth were later rejected and McCormack remained with Cardiff, playing in the opening day 4-0 win over Scunthorpe United. In the following fixture he picked up a hamstring injury which was expected to sideline him for 8 weeks, all but ending any transfer away from the club. He made his return on 4 October 2009, coming on as a substitute in place of Michael Chopra during a 4-0 win over Watford. He made his 50th Cardiff appearance in 3-2 loss to South Wales rivals Swansea City on 7 November 2009, before making his 50th league appearance for the club one month later in a 4-4 draw with Peterborough United on 28 December 2009.
2010-11
McCormack's first competitive appearance of the 2010-11 season came as a substitute in a 1-1 draw during the first league match of the season against Sheffield United. He scored his first goals of the new season in the extra time period in the first round League Cup match against Burton Albion, scoring two goals.
On 24 August 2010, Cardiff agreed a fee with Leeds United over a possible transfer.Three days later, on 27 August, McCormack completed a move to Leeds on a three year contract for an undisclosed fee.
McCormack made his debut for Scotland U21 in 2006. He scored his first goal for the side on 11 October 2007 against Lithuania and scored again in his next appearance, a 4-0 victory over Slovenia U21s. To date McCormack has won a total of ten caps for the under-21 side.
He made his debut for the senior side on 30 May 2008 when he came on as a substitute during a 3-1 defeat against Czech Republic. His second call-up for the national side came in November 2008 when he was named in the squad to face Argentina but he was forced to withdraw due to a hamstring injury.McCormack was called up again in March 2009 for the Fifa World Cup 2010 qualifiers against Netherlands and Iceland. He started both matches, scoring his first goal for Scotland in a 2-1 win over Iceland on the 1 April 2009.