One of the most controversial figures of English football is the former England team coach Roy Hodgson. He was born on August 9, 1947 in London. In 2012, Hodgson was appointed head coach of the England national team, but he did not succeed in achieving anything special until 2016. After the 2016 European Championships, which took place in France, Hodgson resigned from his post.
Bad player career
Roy Hodgson was not the highest level player. His career as a player could have turned out very differently if he could have been in the main team of Crystal Palace football club, but this did not happen, and Roy went to play in low-grade teams. Speaking for weak clubs, he had no chance to make a name for himself in England. But he decided to become a coach, even though he had no connections and name in world football. No one knew who Hodgson was. In such a situation, a trip abroad was the best option.
Coaching career
After working for some time as an assistant coach at the Maidstone United football club, Roy Hodgson was able to get a certain base that gave him the opportunity to find his first club in a coaching career. The team where Roy began his coaching career is Halmstad, which, before the Englishman arrived, fought for survival. For four years, the club twice won the national championship, and in the 1977/78 season the coach made his debut in European competitions.
The coach became famous when he worked in Switzerland. For a long time, the Swiss team could not get to the world championships. But then Roy Hodgson was appointed head coach. The 1994 World Cup was the first in a coach’s career and the first for his national team in 28 years, and Euro 1996 in 36 years.
England in the early 21st century suffered from turmoil on the coaching bridge. In the spring of 2012, Roy Hodgson was appointed head coach of the team. The coach received his first serious challenge immediately after the appointment. The Euro 2012 Championship, which was held in Ukraine, was the first test for the Englishman as head coach of the England team. It is impossible to call the performance of the team successful. The team with great difficulties and scandal related to the unscored goal of the Ukrainian national team went into the playoffs of the tournament. Already in the first round of relegation games, England met Italy and lost in the penalty shoot-out. In 2014, the team could not even leave the group at the World Championships in Brazil, and in 2016 lost in the quarterfinal of the European team of Iceland.
Work outside the coaching bench
Roy Hodgson worked not only as a coach for national teams and football clubs. During the 2006 World Cup in Germany, he was a member of the UEFA technical research team. He also held this position at several European championships.
Roy speaks five languages, and this gave him the opportunity to work as a football expert on television in those countries where his coaching career came.
