Who is Roy Hodgson? All you need to know about the new Crystal Palace manager
All you need to know about Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson
Follow Us
Roy Hodgson is an English football manager and former player. Hodgson served several times as a member of UEFA’s technical study group at the European Championships and was also a member of the FIFA technical study group at the 2006 World Cup. Hodgson speaks five languages and has worked as a television pundit in several of the countries in which he has coached.
He returned to Crystal Palace as manager until the end of the season after taking over from Patrick Vieira. The former England manager takes over with the Eagles fighting for Premier League survival, sitting three points above the relegation zone with 10 games to go. The 75-year-old has been brought in to keep Palace in the top flight, a feat he achieved for four seasons in a row with the London club, between 2017 and 2021.
Roy Hodgson early life
Hodgson was born in Croydon, Surrey. His mother was a baker in the town, and his father, Bill, a Newcastle United fan, worked as a bus driver south of the River Thames. Hodgson’s family lived in the same building as Steve Kember, one of Hodgson’s schoolmates at John Ruskin Grammar School.
The two played in the school football team, a side which also included Lennie Lawrence. Bob Houghton, who would go on to play a prominent part in Hodgson’s career, joined the school in the sixth form.
Roy Hodgson playing career
Hodgson was a moderately successful youth player with Crystal Palace but was never able to break into the first team. After leaving Crystal Palace he played non-league football for several years with Tonbridge and Gravesend & Northfleet. At the age of 23, he completed training to gain his full coaching badge. He then joined Maidstone United, where he played and also served as assistant manager to Bob Houghton.
In 1972, after a year at Maidstone, he moved to Ashford Town, while also working as a PE teacher at Alleyn’s School in South London. The following year, he moved to Pretoria, South Africa to play for Berea Park, despite the sporting boycott of South Africa in effect at the time. In 1974 Hodgson returned to England for his final playing spell, joining Carshalton Athletic. Again he supported himself by teaching, this time at Monks Hill Comprehensive.
Roy Hodgson managerial career
In his coaching career managed 22 different teams in eight countries, beginning in Sweden with Halmstads BK in the 1976 season. Hodgson had great success managing the Swiss national team and helped them reach a new level of football under his charge. At their peak, while managed by Hodgson, Switzerland has been rated the third-best international side in the world according to the FIFA World Rankings. Prior to signing on as manager, Switzerland had not qualified for a major international tournament since the 1966 World Cup. Hodgson took the team to the 1994 World Cup where they only lost one game during qualification in a group that included Italy, Portugal and Scotland. The Swiss went on to easily qualify for Euro 1996 and again only lost one game during qualification.
From 2006 to 2007, he managed the Finland national team, guiding them to their highest-ever FIFA ranking of 33rd place and coming close to qualifying for a major tournament for the first time in their history. He managed the England national team from May 2012 to June 2016. Other clubs that Hodgson has managed include Inter Milan, Blackburn Rovers, Malmö FF, Grasshoppers, FC Copenhagen, Udinese, Fulham, Liverpool, West Bromwich Albion, Crystal Palace, and Watford.
Hodgson took over as England’s manager in May 2012 after Fabio Capello resigned from the role. Hodgson’s tenure with England was marked by a series of disappointments, most notably an early exit from Euro 2016 after losing to Iceland in the knockout stages. The team also failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, and Hodgson resigned shortly after.
During his time in charge of the national team, Hodgson was credited with bringing through a new generation of players, including Adam Lallana, and Raheem Sterling. Roy Hodgson’s England team boasted of players like Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard He also oversaw some memorable victories, including wins over Germany and Italy at Wembley Stadium.
One of Hodgson’s biggest successes was at Fulham, where he guided the club to their first-ever European final in 2010. He achieved this feat by leading them to a seventh-place finish in the Premier League and also took them past Juventus and holders Shakhtar Donetsk en route to the UEFA Europa League Final. In his three years at Craven Cottage, Hodgson’s team recorded victories over Liverpool and Manchester United.
After leaving Fulham, Hodgson was appointed as manager of Liverpool in July 2010. However, his time with the team was short-lived as he was sacked just six months later following some poor results. Despite this setback, he went on to manage West Bromwich Albion from February 2011 until May 2012.
Hodgson was able to lead West Brom to an impressive eighth-place finish in his first season with the club, despite having been appointed after only a few weeks before the start of the season. He continued to impress in the following season, leading the Baggies to their highest league finish since 1981, a 10th-place finish. His success as West Brom’s manager led Crystal Palace to appoint him as the head coach in September 2017.
Hodgson then took the managerial position at Crystal Palace in September 2017 and has since become the longest-serving manager of the club. Under his charge, Palace has solidified its status as a Premier League team and achieved some impressive results. These include victories over Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Chelsea. He also led them to an 11th-place finish in the 2019/20 season which was their highest league position since 1992/93.
Against Manchester United, Hodgson has a mixed record. He earned his first Premier League win against the Red Devils in December 2010 when Fulham won 1-0 at Old Trafford. His only other win came in October 2011 when Liverpool beat United 2-1 at Anfield. During his tenure as the head coach with Crystal Palace, Hodgson’s teams have drawn four times with the Red Devils and lost twice – both.
In the Europa League, Hodgson has had a largely successful career. During his very first season with Fulham in 2009-10 he managed to take them all the way to the final of the competition. He guided Fulham to a 2-1 victory over Hamburg in the semi-final before they eventually lost 2-1 to Atletico Madrid in the showpiece event.
In the Champions League, Hodgson’s record is somewhat lesser. Although he led Liverpool to the semi-final stage in 2007/08 and Serie A giants Inter Milan to a quarter-final berth in 2012, his teams have largely struggled to make it past the group stages. Hodgson’s Inter Milan team were eliminated after finishing third in their group while his Liverpool team were knocked out by Chelsea on away goals.
Roy Hodgson Net Worth and Salary
He has an estimated net worth of $26 million. The Crystal Palace manager is known to have drawn $6 million per year as his career earning. Known for his strong team works and well-organized defenses, he has enjoyed a financially successful football career in overall.
On 20 October 2013, Hodgson and Rio Ferdinand were appointed to The Football Association’s commission to improve the state of the national game. Alongside Ignacio Trelles for Mexico, Hodgson is one of only two managers to have taken charge of 1,000 or more club games and 100 or more national team games.
Roy Hodgson trophies
Hodgson has won 13 trophies as a manager. His first came as boss of Halmstads BK in 1975/76, becoming the Swedish league champion for the first time. He has won the Swedish top-flight on seven separate occasions, with his last five coming in charge of Malmö FF in consecutive seasons between 1985-1989. He also won the Swedish Cup with Malmö in 1985/86 and 1988/89, and the Division 2 Norra with Örebro SK in 1984.
He won the Swiss Super Cup with Neuchâtel Xamax in 1990 and was the Danish champion with FC Copenhagen during the 2000/01 season. The Danish Super Cup followed in 2001 with Copenhagen.
Also read:
Who is Javier Tebas? All you need to know about the La Liga President
WATCH: Huge crowd surrounds Lionel Messi as he tries to leave a restaurant in Buenos Aires
Stay Updated!
Arpan Ghosh
(1403 Articles Published)