- Born
- Birth nameGary Winston Lineker
- Height5′ 10″ (1.78 m)
- Gary Winston Lineker OBE was English football's most famous striker in the 1980s and early 1990s. A unique blend of skill, intelligence and charm, he was venomous up front and yet also a superb professional, who rarely lost his temper. During his 14 year long professional career, Lineker was never cautioned, let alone sent off - very few footballers have achieved this feat.
He achieved stardom with Everton F.C., after initially playing for Leicester City F.C. He then had spells with F.C. Barcelona and other big clubs before returning to Tottenham Hotspur. After this, he played two years in Japan for Nagoya Grampus Eight before a foot injury finished his career and he returned to England, to become a TV pundit and presenter for the BBC. Through all these years, he was England's man up front, saving them more than once during the big matches. He has captained them for a few years too.
As an example of his value: in the 1986 World Cup, England had a lousy 1 point from the first two matches against Portugal and Morocco. Lineker's hat-trick saw England win 3-0 against Poland, and on England went into the quarter-finals, where they beat Paraguay 3-0 as well, before crashing out to Argentina, thanks to one of the greatest goals of all-time scored by Diego Maradona. Guess who scored England's only goal of the match...
When England was trailing 1-2 to Cameroon in the 1990 FIFA World Cup. Lineker produced two penalties by his dazzling runs, and scored from both, securing England's 3-2 victory. In the next match, he became one of only three England men's players ever to have scored in a World Cup semi-final (the others being Bobby Charlton against Portugal in 1966 and Kieran Trippier against Croatia in 2018) when he capitalized on a rare mistake by the West German defence and equalized for England with an extremely cold-blooded strike when England were trailing 1-0. The equalizer in the 80th minute sent the game into extra time and then penalties, making it one of the most epic and memorable games in England's history.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Christian Jahnsen
- SpousesDanielle Bux(September 1, 2009 - January 13, 2016) (divorced)Michelle Lineker(July 1986 - August 1, 2006) (divorced, 4 children)
- ChildrenTobias LinekerAngus Lineker
- RelativesWayne Lineker(Sibling)
- Played 80 times for England national team (1984-1992) and scored 48 goals.
- On 21st October 2002, his first club (and home team) Leicester City went into administration. Immediately he formed a consortium of agents and former players to bid to get the club out of administration. After putting in a six-figure sum of his own money, and donations from other former players, the consortium clled 'New Fox Plc' took over the club in Feburary 2003. He left the club many years ago, but his name is still sung by fans as a mark of respect for the home-grown star.
- He was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1992 Queen's New Years Honours List for his services to Association Football.
- Children are George, Harry, Tobias (Toby) and Angus.
- Father owns a fruit-and-veg stall in Leicester Market.
- Without the agony, the ecstasy's not quite the same.
- [speaking in 2010] At the moment, there are three bodies running English football - the Football Association, the Premier League and the Football League. What we really need is everyone working together for the benefit of the game in this country and the development of young players. Getting that right is all down to proper coaching from an early age. The fact that academies are now controlling the footballing education of our most promising youngsters is a good thing, too. Some of the clubs - not all of them - are teaching kids the right way to play in terms of technique, possession and positioning. They are giving them a greater understanding of the game, too. We might have to wait before the work benefits the senior set-up but starting with the very young is the way England must do it.
- [speaking in 2012] Technically, we're way behind some of the nations in world football at the moment.
- When you see England pass it's like they've never been introduced to each other.
- What happens to some of these players when they pull on an England shirt?
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