FRIENDS and fans of footballer Davie Cooper yesterday spoke fondly of

the quiet lad who became a national hero.

His sparkling talent and gentlemanly decency was obvious even in his

primary school days.

The boy who was to become known as Super Cooper won his first medal at

the age of 11 when he captained the team at Udston primary in Hamilton.

In his early secondary school days, he featured prominently in the

Hamilton under-15s.

Mr Tommy Gilligan, a teacher who helped run that team, said: ''David

was a small boy but had such talent that he could not be overlooked. He

was a treat to watch, even as a schoolboy. It was quite clear he had the

talent.

''I remember seeing him play even when he was at primary school. You

could not help but marvel at his skills.''

Mr Gilligan, who teaches modern languages at Hamilton's Earnock High

School, added: ''He also had very good personal qualities, even at that

stage. He had a very healthy approach to the game and was a good team

player. He would never do anything on the field to disgrace you.''

One of Mr Gilligan's colleagues at Earnock High, deputy head Ian

Nicoll, was an art teacher at the town's St John's Grammar when Cooper

was a pupil there.

He said: ''He showed lots of footballing skill and talent. Although he

was a small boy for his age, he was very courageous and honourable in

his dealings. He was always a very clean player.''

Mr Nicoll paid tribute to the links Cooper had maintained with local

schools for charitable and other events. ''He was looked up to by

pupils. He was regarded as a very decent person and fine role model for

young people.''

Cooper was playing for local amateur side Hamilton Avondale when the

17-year-old trainee printer was snapped up by Clydebank and began his

professional career.

Mr Bill Munro, Clydebank manager at the time, said: ''He gave so much

pleasure to so many and was far and way the greatest talent I have ever

worked with. He put so much into the game as a player -- and he was

looking forward to passing on his knowledge and skill to the new

generation of young stars.

''Davie Cooper wasn't just one of Scotland's greatest players -- he

was one of the game's nicest men.''

Cooper's passion for sport was wide-ranging: he was a keen squash and

tennis player and dabbled with golf. He was also a horse-racing

enthusiast who enjoyed a flutter and a day out at the races.

He shunned the limelight and preferred the company of his own circle

of friends to the glitter of the night-clubbing set. His desire for

privacy helped earn him the nickname Moody Blue in his Rangers' days.

Mr Stuart McLaren, a long-time friend, described him as ''his own

man''. He added: ''Nobody could tell him what to do. He wouldn't always

take people's advice but he was respected because he was an

individual.''

Mr McLaren, 46, of Regency Court, Hamilton, who had been due to play

squash with Cooper around the time the life support machine was switched

off, added: ''He could have been a superstar abroad but preferred his

own native heath and his own people round about him. He could have been

a millionaire, but decided to stay in Scotland.''

At the Santa Lucia, Hamilton, the player's favourite restaurant, owner

Mrs Rita Martalo said: ''He was a wonderful person. Davie was always the

same to everyone. He was always the same person even when he was a

famous footballer.''

In Brankholm Brae, Hamilton, where Cooper lived in a flat with his

parents as a boy, resident James Low, 69, said: ''I'm absolutely

devastated, like everyone in the street. Every time you saw him when he

was a wee boy, he had a ball at his feet. Even then he was football

daft. And after he moved away, if you saw him in the street he would

always stop and ask you how you were.''

Mr Pat Lyons, 53, who lived in the flat above the Cooper family, said:

''I remember when he was picked for the Mexico World Cup and Alex

Ferguson brought him back to see his parents. It was great to see him

doing so well. It didn't matter what team he played for, he was one of

our own.''

Sports broadcaster and former Rangers player Derek Johnstone described

Cooper as a great man as well as a great player. Visiting the hospital

to pay his respects, Johnsjtone said: ''I can't believe he has been

taken so young. My heart goes out to family. I can hardly believe this

has happened.''

Among other visitors at the hospital were Rangers striker Ally

McCoist, who was in tears, and Tommy Craig, the Scotland under-21 coach,

who had been at the training session in Cumbjernauld where Cooper

collapsed.

Cooper was capped 22 times for Scotland and played in the 1986 World

Cup finals. He began his career with Clydebank before moving in 1977 to

Rangers. He spent 12 seasons at Ibrox where he won a host of honours

before joining Motherwell. There he proved he could still win trophies

when the team lifted the Scottish Cup in 1991.

He rejoined Clydebank in December, 1993, as player and coach and had

been due to retire from playing at the end of this season.

Cooper is survived by his estranged wife, Christine, from whom he

separated several years ago, and their 10-year-old daughter, Nicola.

Yesterday, his girlfriend, Ms Thomson, was too grief-stricken to talk

when she arrived back from hospital at the detached villa she shared

with the footballer in Silvertonhill, Hamilton. Her mother, Lorraine

Cameron, said: ''We are just too upset to talk. We are devastated.''

The player's parents, Jock and Jean, both in their 70s, were being

comforted by relatives and friends at their home in Clarkwell Road,

Hamilton. A family friend said: ''They are absolutely devastated,

totally shattered. They just need time alone to try to come to terms

with this. Davie will be sadly missed not just by his family but by

everyone who knew him.''

At the home of Cooper's estranged wife in Motherwell, a close friend

said: ''They were not divorced, but were separated. He kept in touch

regularly with Christine by phoning and dropping in.''

The player's collapse on Wednesday happened during the filming of a

Scottish Television series on football skills which was planned for

transmission this summer. He was one of the main presenters and several

episodes of the series had already been recorded.

A spokesman for the STV said yesterday no decision had yet been taken

about what would happen with the project now. ''It is too early to say.

That is a decision to be taken later.''

The footballer was a role model for many young fans and his death will

be particularly upsetting for the group of school pupils who were taking

part in Wednesday's recording and witnessed his collapse.

A spokesman for Strathclyde Regional Council's education department

last night said that its psychological services staff would be available

to provide counselling if the pupils required it. ''There has been no

demand yet for this, but it is early days and it will no doubt take some

time to sink in.''