New manager Roy Hodgson arrives at Watford with 60 years in the professional game under his belt, armed with experience coaching in eight countries around the world.
Following his appointment on a deal initially running until the end of the 2021/22 campaign, here’s all you need to know about the former Liverpool, England and Switzerland boss…
Playing Days
Though best known for his qualities in the dugout, the new Hornets manager enjoyed over a decade on the pitch in the 1960s and 70s. A youth player at Crystal Palace, the former defender spent time at the likes of Maidstone United, Gravesend & Northfleet, Tonbridge and even enjoyed a spell in South Africa with Berea Park.
Early Development
His career path seemed inevitable even during his playing days, with Hodgson completing his coaching badges aged 23 and serving as player-assistant manager at Maidstone. It’s no surprise that Hodgson, then 29, jumped into management as soon as his time on the pitch was done, taking over as manager of Swedish top-tier side Halmstads. The coastal club were favourites for relegation, with 20 newspapers predicting the drop, but ‘HBK’ won the Allsvenskan a season after the side had survived only on goal difference.
After winning the league again in 1979, three years after the first triumph, Hodgson ventured back to England with Bristol City as caretaker manager, with the Robins enduring financial trouble. Two stints in the Swedish second division preceded his next first division job, at Malmö FF. His most successful trophy haul so far, winning five consecutive league titles, Hodgson was lauded for his side’s consistency in league and cup competition in the four years he spent at Sweden’s most decorated side.
Next up was the Swiss division, and Neuchâtel Xamax. Hodgson qualified for the UEFA Cup with Xamax, beating Real Madrid at home and earning his appointment as manager of the Switzerland national team in 1992. The most successful Switzerland manager in three decades, the Englishman took the country to their first major tournament since 1966 - the 1994 World Cup - and reached the knock-out stages. He also helped the European nation qualify for Euro 96 before departing for his most high-profile job yet.
In The Spotlight
Inter Milan came calling in 1995 and gave Hodgson his first taste of elite football. Inheriting an under-achieving squad sat at the bottom of Serie A, and boasting talent including new signings Roberto Carlos, Javier Zanetti and Paul Ince, Inter climbed to seventh under Hodgson’s tutelage and qualified for the UEFA Cup. Inter would reach the final of the European competition, thriving with the likes of Youri Djorkaeff, Maurizio Ganz and Iván Zamorano, and finishing third in the table.
His return to England followed with Blackburn Rovers, and Hodgson qualified again for the UEFA Cup in his only full season at Ewood Park. A brief return to Inter and then Switzerland with Grasshoppers garnered relative success before a move to Copenhagen, his first role in Denmark. Hodgson was an instant hit in the Scandinavian country, winning successive championships and the Danish Cup.
Six months at Udinese which saw Le Zebrette reach the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia and finish ninth in Serie A ended in December 2001, but Hodgson continued to achieve all over Europe before moving back to England in 2007.
After spending nearly two years with Finland, qualifying again for European football at Norwegian outfit Viking, and a stint with the United Arab Emirates, it would be at Fulham where he again turned heads for his impressive coaching. Twelve points in the last five games of the season kept the west-Londoners afloat in the Premier League, and he followed that up with a seventh-placed finish in the following campaign.
Recent Achievements
Winning the League Managers Association Manager of the Year Award in 2010, Hodgson steered Fulham to a Europa League final, narrowly losing to Quique Sánchez Flores’ Atlético Madrid. A turbulent spell with Liverpool marred by players’ injuries was followed by a highly successful one at West Bromwich Albion, as the Baggies finished in their highest league position in 30 years, and in the Premier League top 10.
With England, Hodgson can be credited for handing debuts to some of the country’s biggest and most successful names in his four years at the helm. Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford and 33 others won their first caps under Hodgson, and although the Three Lions didn’t advance past the quarter-finals of a tournament during his reign, there was relative success.
Hodgson’s most recent role was back at the club where he developed as a player, Crystal Palace. Arriving at Selhurst Park with the Eagles in the bottom three, the Croydon-born manager turned around their fortunes and secured safety for all four of his seasons at the club.
In his storied career to date, Hodgson has built up an impressive CV and coached some of the best to play the game. Speaking five languages, winning trophies across Europe and having become one of the most respected names in the sport, he now takes up the role of Watford manager, and will lead out the Hornets for the first time on Saturday February 5, against Burnley.
