English footballer Glenn Hoddle was born on the 27th of October 1957, in Hayes,
Middlesex. As a player he showed a precocious talent and was signed by
Tottenham Hotspur as an apprentice in 1974. The following year, at the age of 17, he made his professional debut, and in 1976 he scored in his first full game, against
Stoke City.
During his time at Spurs he was generally a popular player, but experienced something of a love-hate relationship with the country in general. He was doubtless a skilled, graceful midfielder, but was seen by some as non-committal - his reluctance to engage in tackles earned him the nickname "Glenda".
His time at Tottenham coincided with one of the club's more successful spells. They won the FA Cup successively in 1981 and 1982, Hoddle scoring in both the original final and the replay in the second of these years. In 1984 they did even better and won the UEFA Cup, although injury kept him out of the final. He was also a regular figure in the England side, appearing for his country 53 times.
In 1987 he moved to Monaco, his last game for Spurs being their FA Cup final defeat by Coventry. Monaco, under current Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, won the French championship in Hoddle's first season. In 1991, after a brief spell at Chelsea, he moved to lower-division Swindon Town as player-manager. In two years he guided them to the Premiership, scoring one of the goals in their play-off victory, but in 1993 was tempted into rejoining Chelsea, again as player-manager.
Hoddle was unable to win any trophies there but did lay the foundations for the club's later good fortune, and earned himself a reputation as a noteworthy manager as well as player. Having played his final game in 1995, he was taken on the following year as the England manager. He succeeded in gaining qualification to the 1998 World Cup, defying many people's expectations, and hopes were high for England's chances. However, Hoddle's popularity started to waver when he decided not to include maverick midfielder Paul Gascoigne in the World Cup squad, and declined further when England were knocked out in the second round of the tournament.
In August he made the unwise decision to publish his World Cup Diaries, a book which included some intimate revelations about England's players over the preceding months (particularly Gascoigne's reaction to being dropped). The autumn's European Championship qualification got off to a bad start, and Hoddle was hit with further controversy over an alleged row between him and England striker Alan Shearer.
The FA were becoming increasingly uncomfortable with Hoddle, and the final blow came in January 1999. During an interview for the BBC's Football Focus programme, Hoddle, who had become intensely religious and spiritualist in the preceding years, appeared to claim that disabled people were paying for sins in a previous life. The controversy was huge, and Hoddle was sacked on the 2nd of February: officially for these comments, but probably also for footballing reasons and his general lack of popularity at the FA.
Hoddle took some time out of football but returned to manage Premiership club Southampton in 2000. He was an instant success, but was soon offered the chance to take over at his old club Spurs. He accepted, and has been managing the club since 2001 (so far without any major success).
Playing career:
1975-87: Tottenham Hotspur, England
1987-91: Monaco, France
1991-93: Swindon Town, England (player-manager)
1993-96: Chelsea, England (player-manager)
Managerial career:
1991-93: Swindon Town (player-manager)
1993-96: Chelsea (player-manager)
1996-99: England
2000-01: Southampton
2001-present: Tottenham Hotspur
Major honours: (all as player)
1981: FA Cup, Tottenham Hotspur
1982: FA Cup, Tottenham Hotspur
1984: UEFA Cup, Tottenham Hotspur
1988: French championship, Monaco
Sources:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/world/news/1999/02/02/glenn_hoddle_profile/
http://www.fa-premier.com/managerprofile?personid=921
http://www.spurs2000.com/Profile/hoddle.htm