Former Rangers star Gordon Smith on the heartbreaking moment when he heard pal Davie Cooper was gone

Picking an all-time Scotland XI is no easy task. Who to include and who to leave out could spark a pub debate that would go on for hour after hour.

Gordon Smith, though, believes there ought to be a spot on the left wing for Davie Cooper in anybody’s team.

Tomorrow marks the 25th anniversary of the Rangers and Scotland legend’s death and Smith can scarcely believe that a quarter-of-a-century has now passed.

The pair both moved to Ibrox in the summer of 1977 and became firm friends from that day on until Cooper’s untimely passing aged just 39 in 1995.

Smith reveals he had been due to meet the former wing ace for lunch the next day – and was stunned when a phone call told him the tragic news.

The former Scottish FA chief-executive said: “I’ll never forget the moment I heard. Someone from STV phoned me up to ask for my thoughts on Coop.

“I thought they were maybe producing a documentary looking back on his career or something like that.

“I hadn’t heard the news, so they were the ones to break it to me. And I just remember being in total shock and thinking this couldn’t be true. That was a real heart-breaking moment for me.

“Coop and I had stayed good friends long after we had both stopped playing. We were actually meant to be having lunch the next day. It was so tragic what happened. He was the best player I played with at any point in my career.”

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Smith explained what it was about Cooper that made him such a special talent.

He added: “He was just so comfortable on the ball. He was a great striker and a brilliant passer.

“I never had to shout for the pass as he always saw you going. And then he would slot the ball through with perfect timing. He made it look almost effortless.

“He was a special talent with a great technique. People say he was one-footed but that was enough. It didn’t matter about his right foot as his left foot was so good.

“If you’re picking an all-time Scottish team then you’d have to have Coop in there. You couldn’t leave out someone with that talent. Any manager would have loved to have been able to call upon Davie and what he could bring.

“I just wish there was more footage available of Coop that we could all look back on.”

Smith and Cooper’s first season at Ibrox together was a special one. Jock Wallace’s side won the Treble and the two new signings made a huge impact along the way.

Smith recalled: “The two of us and Bobby Russell were the new faces in the dressing-room that summer. Most of the other guys had been there for a while so the three of us had a closeness as we had all arrived at Rangers around the same time.

“We all got in the team around the same time under Jock. And it ended up being a really successful season. Those were really special moments.

“In the first cup final we played in together I made the first goal for Coop and then got the winner as we beat Celtic 2-1 at Hampden. So that was a brilliant day for both of us. It meant a lot that we had both contributed to such a big occasion in our first season.

“To go on from there to win the Treble was just incredible. We couldn’t have asked for a better start on the pitch.”