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Gary Lineker

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'''Gary Winston Lineker''' Order of the British Empire OBE, (born 30 November, 1960), was an England international football (soccer) footballer and is now a broadcaster. Born in Leicester, he became the foremost English striker of his generation. Lineker's intelligence enabled him to cope better than his contemporaries when playing in continental Europe, as well as to make a smooth transition into a role as a pundit and sports broadcaster. He 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. 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. At this point he is currently living with his wife and two of his sons.

Career in football
He began his career at his hometown club of Leicester City F.C. Leicester City in 1976. He broke into Leicester's first-team squad in 1978. He rose to fame with Everton F.C. Everton (1985-86) scoring 40 goals in 42 games, before FC Barcelona Barcelona signed him just prior to the Football World Cup 1986 1986 World Cup Finals in Mexico. His World Cup Golden Boot 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 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 European Cup Winners' Cup in 1989. He then returned to England to play three seasons at Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Tottenham Hotspur, scoring 67 goals in 105 games and winning the FA Cup, before ending his career with an injury-plagued spell in the J. League with Nagoya Grampus Eight. He first played for England national football team England's national team against Scotland national football team Scotland in 1984, winning the World Cup Golden Boot Golden Boot at the Football World Cup 1986 1986 FIFA World Cup and reaching the semi-finals in the Football World Cup 1990 1990 FIFA World Cup. He retired from international football with 80 caps (football) caps and 48 goals, one fewer than Bobby Charlton's England record (although Charlton took 26 more caps to score his extra goal). In what proved to be his last England match, against Sweden national football team Sweden at 1992 European Football Championship Euro 92, he was controversially substituted in favour of Arsenal striker Alan M. Smith Alan Smith, ultimately denying him the chance to equal the total. He had earlier missed a penalty kick penalty that would have brought him level in a pre-tournament friendly against Brazil national football team Brazil. He was PFA Players' Player of the Year in 1986 and, despite his long career, was never yellow card cautioned by a referee for foul play (never once receiving either a yellow card yellow let alone a red card), a feat equalled only by Billy Wright (footballer) Billy Wright, John Charles and Stanley Matthews 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 was announced in late 2005 as the new presenter for the corporation's golf coverage. 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, friend and 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 also choose 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 Â£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 Ghostwriter ghost-written by a journalist at the ''Sunday Telegraph''. {{start box}} {{succession box|title=FWA Footballer of the Year Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year|before=Neville Southall |after=Clive Allen|years=1986}} {{succession box|title=PFA Players' Player of the Year.html">Peter Reid after=Clive Allen|years=1986}} {{succession box|title=FWA Footballer of the Year Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year|before=Gordon Strachan |after=Chris Waddle|years=1992}} {{end box}}

Lincs Trivia
*His favourite sitcom is Cheers. *He drives a Lexus. *Shares a birthday with Winston Churchill, hence his middle name of Winston. *Once remarked with typical irony "Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans win." *Has never scored at Villa Park, the home of Aston Villa football club

External links

- English Football Hall of Fame Profile Category:1960 births Lineker, Gary Category:British football broadcasters Lineker, Gary Category:British sports broadcasters Lineker, Gary Category:England international footballers Lineker, Gary Category:English footballers Lineker, Gary Category:Everton F.C. players Lineker, Gary Category:FC Barcelona footballers Lineker, Gary Category:FIFA 100 Lineker, Gary Category:Leicester City F.C. players Lineker, Gary Category:Leicesterians Lineker, Gary Category:Living people Lineker, Gary Category:Officers of the British Empire Lineker, Gary Category:Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Lineker, Gary de:Gary Lineker es:Gary Lineker fi:Gary Lineker fr:Gary Lineker he:×’×?×¨×™ ×œ×™× ×™×§×¨ it:Gary Lineker ja:ã‚²ãƒ¼ãƒªãƒ¼ãƒ»ãƒªãƒ?ã‚«ãƒ¼ ko:ê²Œë¦¬ ë¦¬ë„¤ì»¤ nl:Gary Lineker no:Gary Lineker pl:Gary Lineker pt:Gary Lineker sv:Gary Lineker zh:åŠ åˆ©Â·é€£å°¼åŠ

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