Footballer Terri Butcher: biography, sports career

Terry Butcher is a significant figure in British football. First he became a real legend of the English "Ipswich", then did no less for the Scottish club "Rangers", but after the completion of his career, he coached more than one British club and even was an assistant coach in the national team of Scotland. The central defender at one time was one of the most formidable opponents of any striker, and especially remembered the episode of 1989, when Terry Butcher played before the final whistle with a broken head in a match against the Swedish team. However, everything in order - how was the career of this phenomenal football player?

Carier start

Terry Butcher was born on December 28, 1958 in Singapore. However, his parents were British, and pretty soon the boy was in England, where he lived during all his childhood. He was fond of football and was a fan of the club "Ipswich Town", for which his father was ill, so the fate of the boy was a foregone conclusion. At an early age he went to the academy of this team and competed for youth formations, until in 1976 he was offered a professional contract. However, not immediately Butcher got a place in the base - until twenty years he played for a double, only occasionally appearing in the main team. During this time he played only three matches, but then gradually began to approach the base. As a result, he became one of the leaders of the team, and, after six full seasons, having played 271 matches, became a full-fledged pillar of the club's defense. Only when he turned 28 Terry Butcher decided to leave his favorite since childhood club to go on raising. After all, by the time the team was not so strong, and for all this time, Terry was able to win the UEFA Cup in 1981 - on this his achievements for Ipswich ended. And in 1986 he moved to the Scottish club "Rangers", where he also managed to become a legend.

Going to the "Rangers"

Terry Butcher at the age of 28 became a player of the "Rangers" and, of course, immediately turned out to be one of the key players in the defensive plan at the club. In the first season, he managed to win both the League of Scotland and the League Cup, after which for four years he took three more trophies - twice in the championship and once in the League Cup. But in 1990, it turned out that the defender had become a bit old and clumsy for the Scottish club, so he was sold to Coventry City - it was Butcher's second English club after Ipswich Town. As for the "Rangers", there is a defender of 127 matches and also became a player, which the fans remembered for a long time - and remember until now. But what happened to the 32-year-old football player next?

Continuation of his career in "Coventry"

In the new club, the defender did not stay too long - he stayed there for only two seasons. However, he was no longer just a football player - in "Coventry" from FC "Rangers" Butcher moved to the position of playing coach. For two years he released himself on the field only six times, but at the same time he constantly supervised the game process from the crook. Naturally, this could not be regarded as a full-fledged coaching experience - Butcher so far looked closely at how he would go coaching, could he continue to train clubs on an ongoing basis. As a result, he decided that he would end his career, but he did not become a full-fledged coach, at least not right away. Of course, he would like to lead a major club like FC Rangers, for which he acted as a player, but so far no one needed Butcher's services, so January 1992 is considered the first official date of a player's career completion.

Resuming career

However, Terry Butcher is a football player who could not at all resign himself to the fact that he needs to move away from football. Therefore, less than a year later, the defender resumed his career by signing a contract with Sunderland. Again, he became not just a player, but a playing coach. This time he played absolutely all 38 matches for the club, coaching it with it. However, he remained one more step before finally saying goodbye to the career of football player - Butcher went to Scotland, where he signed a short-term contract with the club "Clydebank", for which he played three games during the month. After that, in December 1993, the central defender Terence Ian Butcher officially announced that he is leaving big football at the age of 35 years.

National team appearances

Although Butcher was born in Singapore, he was an Englishman, so he played for England, for which he spent as many as 77 matches. He made his debut in 1980 in a friendly match against the Australian national team that preceded the 1980 European Championship, which, of course, Terry did not go to, because he was too young and inexperienced. But at the 1982 World Cup, he was in the application and even became a key player in the defensive orders of the British. He played four of five matches, giving one assists. With him, the British missed only one goal. The next major tournament was the 1986 World Cup, in which the British flew in the quarterfinals of the Argentines - Butcher played in all five matches, in one of them giving an assist. At the 1988 European Championship Butcher did not go - and the British shammed out, losing all three group matches. As for the 1990 World Cup , he was the last for Terry. He played in five of seven matches and helped the team reach the semi-finals, where she lost to the Germans. In the match for third place Butcher no longer participated, and the British lost and him. Separately, it is worth noting the fight of 1989 against the Swedish team, by which many remember this defender.

Then he was captain of the team and was injured - he was beaten by the head, but he bravely played the duel until the very end of the whistle. Terry Butcher in the blood is a sight that all those who saw that match remember.

Return to football

As you may remember, Butcher completed his career in 1993, after which he retired for a long period. Until 2002 he was not very active in football life, yet he did not decide to follow his vocation. In April, he was appointed to the post of coach of the Scottish club "Motherwell". Why did this club choose Terri to return to football? Scotland has always played an important role in his life, and he would have dreamed of heading the Rangers, but there he was not expected, so he decided to start with something not so impressive. In the end, Butcher for four years, led the team, but the results left him to be desired. Of 175 matches, he won only 60, so in the end in May 2006 Terry moved to Australia, where he was offered a job at the club "Sydney".

Successes in "Sydney"

Slightly less than a year was Butcher in Australia, and his coaching at the helm of "Sydney" was one of the best in his career. Of 23 matches, he won 9 and lost only six. But the homeland was calling the British coach, so in February 2007 he returned to the British Isles to become an assistant to Jimmy Bone at the helm of the Scottish club "Patrick Thistle". There he spent only one month before receiving a new invitation - from the English club "Brentford".

English failure

In the new club Butcher could not prove himself - he did not hold out in the coach even full season. Of the 23 matches that Patrick brought to the players, they won only five. Therefore, in December of the same year, he was forced to resign, as the fans were extremely unhappy with him. After that, Butcher decided that he still needs to practice - under the leadership of George Burley, who led the team of Scotland. So he worked for almost two years, learning at a new level of coaching and football. Scotland during this time did not show particularly impressive results, and in November Burly was dismissed from the post of national team coach. Butcher also left, but did not continue to cooperate with an experienced mentor, but went his own way.

A new beginning in "Inverness"

In parallel with the work in the national team Butcher began to train the Scottish club "Inverness". Even the head coaches sometimes combine work in the national team and the club, what can we say about the assistant coach. He did not interfere in January 2009 to take under his command a small club, which at that time was performing in the second division. However, Butcher showed that he was not just wasting time - he learned something. Almost for five years, which he spent at the helm of this team, Terry was able to raise her to the top division. Moreover, it was in this club that he had the best coaching result. Of 208 games the team lost just 65, while having won 86 times. As a result, Butcher's activities attracted the attention of the larger Scottish club "Hibernian", which he headed in November 2013.

Scottish failure

Unfortunately, it turned out that it was "Inverness" that was the best stage in Butcher's career, because in Hibernian he completely failed. In 29 matches the club was able to win only six wins, which led to the flight to the second division. In June of the next year, a meeting was held, at which the future of the club was discussed - and the management decided to terminate the contract with Butcher ahead of schedule. Simply put, he was dismissed for unsatisfactory results.

The worst result in "Newport"

In December of the same year, Butcher wanted to become a coach of Motherwell, who had already coached earlier, from 2002 to 2006, but after a while withdrew his candidacy. As a result, about a year he did not appear in the coaching position in any of the clubs, until it turned out that in May 2015 he signed a contract with the Welsh club "Newport", which acted in the second Welsh league. It would seem that a coach with such experience can show an impressive result in such a league, but Butcher was waiting for the most nightmarish failure in his career. He was the coach of Newport for only 12 matches and managed to win only one. Having scored five points, the club was at the very bottom of the second league, so Butcher was fired on October 1, 2015. Since then he is out of work. Perhaps in the future he will resume coaching activities, but so far he has arranged for himself another break.