Gary Lineker

Gary Winston Lineker, OBE (born 30 November, 1960 in Leicester) is a former English international footballer, playing as a striker, and is now a sports broadcaster for the BBC.

Lineker's ability came from his understanding of the game and a dedication to improvement. Rather than flashy play with the ball, it was his sense of positioning and accurate finishing skill that made him one of England's all-time most successful strikers, although this style of play sometimes provoked accusations that he was a "goal hanger" capitalising on the support of others. Nonetheless, Lineker's intelligence enabled him to cope better than most of his compatriots when playing for foreign clubs, achieving fluency in Catalan and Japanese, and also enabled him to make a smooth transition into his role as a pundit and sports broadcaster.

Career in football

He began his career at his hometown club of Leicester City in 1976, breaking into Leicester's first-team squad in 1978. He rose to fame with Everton (1985-86), scoring 38 goals in 52 games, before FC Barcelona signed him just prior to the 1986 World Cup Finals in Mexico. His Golden Boot-winning performance at the finals led to much anticipation of success at the Camp Nou, and he didn't disappoint, scoring 21 goals in 41 games during his first season, including a hat-trick in a 3-2 win over arch rivals Real Madrid. He went on to win the Copa del Rey in 1988 and the Cup Winners' Cup in 1989. He then returned to England to play three seasons at Tottenham Hotspur, scoring 67 goals in 105 games and winning the FA Cup, before ending his career with an injury-plagued spell in Japan with Nagoya Grampus Eight.

He first played for England's national team against Scotland in 1984, and won the Golden Boot at the 1986 FIFA World Cup (where he played most of the tournament wearing a lightweight cast on his forearm), and reaching the semi-finals in the 1990 FIFA World Cup. He retired from international football with 80 caps and 48 goals, one fewer than Bobby Charlton's England record (although Charlton took 26 more caps to score his one extra goal). In what proved to be his last England match, against Sweden at Euro 92, he was controversially substituted in favour of Arsenal striker Alan Smith, ultimately denying him the chance to equal the total. He had earlier missed a penalty that would have brought him level, in a pre-tournament friendly against Brazil.

He was PFA Players' Player of the Year in 1986 and, despite his long career, was never cautioned by a referee for foul play (never once receiving a yellow, let alone a red card), a feat equalled only by Billy Wright, John Charles and Sir Stanley Matthews. He acquired a "Mr Nice Guy" image; some cynics have suggested that this was because he rarely joined in defensive duties.

Post-playing career

Following retirement from professional football, he developed a career in the media, initially as a pundit before replacing Des Lynam as the BBC's anchorman for football coverage, including their flagship football television programme Match of the Day, and as a team captain on the acerbic sports game show, They Think It's All Over from 1995 to 2003, where he was heavily (though affectionately) ridiculed for being a "goal hanger". Following the departure of Steve Rider from the BBC, Lineker, who is a keen recreational golfer with a handicap of 4, became the new presenter for the BBC's golf coverage. However his debut in this role at the The Masters was much derided - one commentator saying that "...keeping him in the anchor's chair would be a major own goal."

Gary is married and he and his wife Michelle have four sons. His oldest son George survived leukemia as a baby; Lineker has since appeared in adverts encouraging people to give blood as a result. On 30 April 2006, the Linekers announced their separation after 20 years of marriage. The split is described as "amicable" ^*.

Lineker is a freeman of the City of Leicester (which entitles him to graze his sheep – should he have any – on Town Hall Square) and he is often referred to as "Leicester's Favourite son". As a youngster, he famously worked on his family's stall in Leicester Market. His links with cricket were renewed when he was invited to become Hon. President of Kent-based wandering cricket club, Paraguayan Elbows ^*. The club, which was founded in 1986, was named in his honour after an incident in that summer's World Cup match between England and Paraguay.

His popularity has enabled him to appear in a light-hearted series of commercials for Walkers crisps, playing a comical role as an arch-villain which sends up his reputation as a nice guy.

In 2001, Gary Lineker was approached by game makers Codemasters to front the LMA Manager series on Playstation. Lineker would pair up with Alan Hansen, fellow MOTD pundit to voice the post match comments on the game, with Barry Davies voicing the commentary. Since then the game has sold millions of copies and in LMA 2006, Gary Lineker voices news items and the cup draws on the game. In 2004 he was also chosen to front the Codemasters England International Football game, with him voicing the team selection and the pre- and post-match menus.

In 2003 Lineker was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his talents.

In October 2003, Lineker announced a £5 million rescue plan for cash-strapped club Leicester City, describing his involvement as charity rather than an ego trip. Lineker said that he would invest a six-figure sum and other members of his consortium would invest a similar amount. Lineker met the fans' group to persuade them to try and raise money to rescue his former club.

In 2005 Lineker was sued for defamation by Australian footballer Harry Kewell over comments Lineker had made writing in his column in the Sunday Telegraph about Kewell's transfer from Leeds to Liverpool. However the jury was unable to reach a verdict. It transpired in the case that the article had actually been ghost-written by a journalist at the Sunday Telegraph.

In 2006, Lineker took on his first acting role, barring roles playing himself in films such as Bend It Like Beckham, as the voice of Underground Ernie on the BBC's children's channel, CBeebies.

Lineker presented most of the World cup 2006 matches for the BBC, chairing a panel of pundits which included Alan Hansen, Alan Shearer and Martin O'Neill

Links Trivia

Shares a birthday with Winston Churchill, hence his middle name of Winston.
Once remarked "Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win."
Both Gary and Michelle Lineker make a 'blink-and-you'll-miss-them' appearance as diners leaving a restaurant in the 1993 Eric Idle film Splitting Heirs.
Lineker played 2nd XI cricket for Leicestershire County Cricket Club. He also competed in a cricket match against a German XI at Lord's for the MCC, making only 1 run. He later remarked "I always score one against the Germans."
Walkers, a British producer of snack foods, temporarily named their salt & vinegar crisps after Lineker in the late 1990s - they were labelled 'Salt-n-Lineker.'

External links

English Football Hall of Fame Profile

Gourt Home::Gourt :: Gary Lineker

Career in football

Post-playing career

Links Trivia

External links