Early life
Narey was born and brought up in Dundee and attended St John’s Roman Catholic High School. He played football for St Columba’s Boys Club and signed schoolboy forms with Dundee United in January 1972.
Playing career
Club
Narey signed professionally with Dundee United in 1973 and made his senior debut in a Scottish Football League match against Falkirk on 21 November that year, playing as an attacking midfielder.
Narey won three trophies in his career with Dundee United, the Scottish League Cup in 1979 and again in 1980 and the Scottish Football League Premier Division title in 1983. He also captained United when they played in the 1987 UEFA Cup Final against IFK Gothenburg, which they lost 1-0 in the first leg in Sweden and drew the return leg at Tannadice 1-1, for a 2-1 defeat on aggregate.
Narey played in four Scottish Cup finals (as well as the 1981 Scottish Cup Final replay) while with United, but on each occasion the side failed to win the trophy.
Upon leaving United, Narey joined Raith Rovers, who were playing in the Scottish Football League First Division. He was part of the Raith team that won promotion to the Premier Division as First Division champions. He also played in the Raith team that defeated Celtic in the 1994 Scottish League Cup Final, winning the Man-of-the-Match award for his performance in the game.
International
Narey made his international debut for Scotland against Sweden in April 1977, becoming the first Dundee United player to represent Scotland at full international level. He played in both the 1982 and 1986 FIFA World Cups an scored his only international goal during the 1982 tournament, a long range shot against Brazil. Television pundit Jimmy Hill upset Scottish fans by describing the goal as a “toe poke”. Narey made the last of his 35 appearances for Scotland in 1989.
After football
David Narey was one of the first inductees of the Dundee United Hall of Fame in January 2008. He was also inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame in November 2010.