Steve Hodge
Stephen Brian " Steve" Hodge ( born October 25, 1962 in Nottingham ) is a former English international football player and the 1980s and 1990s.
Sports career
The first professional years (1980-1986)
Hodge, a quasi central and outer attacking midfielder with a strong left foot, entered in 1980 the club Nottingham Forest as a junior player at and debuted on the last matchday of the 1981/82 season against Ipswich Town. He quickly became one of the favorite players of the legendary coach Brian Clough and was thus quickly became a regular player, as Clough rejuvenated his getting on in years and slowly dissolving team with new players after winning two trophies in the European Cup of Champions. Hodge scored regularly as a midfielder goals and helped the team to establish themselves in the top half of the table, although after the break stayed away more titles. A final highlight of his station in Nottingham was then in 1984 to reach the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup, where the club was eliminated after a 2-0 first leg due to the 0:3 in the return match against RSC Anderlecht from the tournament.
In the summer of 1985, Hodge then moved surprisingly for a transfer fee of £ 450,000 from the East Midlands in the West Midlands to Aston Villa. Hodge played from then on constantly in the team of Aston Villa and due to its strong performances on the left wing position (although he was less a pure winger as a creative attacking midfielder ) the England manager Bobby Robson was aware of him and put him first for England as a substitute against the Soviet Union in a Tbilisi. Hodge was nominated for the 1986 World Cup shortly afterwards in Mexico for one of the last remaining places in the squad. A month after his first Hodge was first used in the national team from the start, beating out Scotland 2-1 at Wembley and was suddenly a serious competitor on the position of the left winger for the technically gifted, but also less constant and defensively weaker John Barnes.
Although Hodge had denied at this time only three matches, he was appointed by Robson in the team for the World Cup. In the first two group games against Portugal and Morocco, England could not win both, Hodge came on. For the last and decisive round match against Poland Robson made a number of changes in the team and brought Hodge in the starting eleven. Hodge was able to convince through outstanding performance, prepared by an asset offensive run the second goal by Gary Lineker ago, which paved the way of England in the second round with his hat trick in the first half. In the second round England faced the team from Paraguay. Also in this game, Hodge should be involved in a crucial situation, as he gave a really imprecise pass by Glenn Hoddle in the game and the ball centered in the path of Lineker suggested that transformed the original a hit. Once again, England win 3-0 and was then expected in the quarter final of Argentina and a memorable game. Hodge should thus tackling its way into the English sporting history and was involved in a memorable moment in the history of soccer world championships. When the game was still in the early stages of the second half scoreless, Diego Maradona tried on the right side, near the English goal, a one-two with Jorge Valdano. However, the back pass ended up taking behind Maradona, so Hodge got the ball and wanted to give him with his left foot back to his goalkeeper Peter Shilton. It remains unclear whether Hodge has recognized the pursuing Maradona and so really wanted to pass the ball to Shilton, or whether he was planning a coup. However, he hit the ball so badly that this was moving in a high trajectory towards Shilton. Both the England goalkeeper and Maradona rose high to reach the ball, and although Shilton was much larger, Maradona could move the ball over the line with his hand. The referee assessed the gate, which was later called the hand of God, as a rule requirements. Maradona scored by a remarkable single-handedly a few minutes later his second goal before the Hodge substitute Barnes gave the opportunity to flank, which Lineker took the first goal. However, England could not score the equalizer and dropped out after that. Hodge was able to exchange his jersey after the game with Maradona and kept this jersey to this day.
After the 1986 World Cup ( 1986-1988 )
Hodge was further part of the team that started in qualifying for the European Championship in Germany in 1988 with victories against Northern Ireland and Yugoslavia. At the end of 1986 he moved to Tottenham Hotspur for 650,000 pounds.
Tottenham manager David Pleat built Hodge on the left as part of a five-man attacking midfield one, on the side of Hodges national colleagues Hoddle and Chris Waddle, the Argentinian Osvaldo Ardiles veterans and the hive of Paul Allen. All of these players should be a goal threat and the single central striker Clive Allen provide you with templates, which could be put into practice. Hodge scored on his first game for Tottenham on Boxing Day of 1986 in a 4-0 against West Ham United and his first goal made three more to follow in the course of a season in which the Spurs played for three trophies.
Unfortunately for Hodge, he could not win a title this year when he initially lost in the semifinals of the League Cup against local rivals Arsenal and still fell off the end of the season in the championship in third place. Moreover, Tottenham defeated by a 4-1 semi-final victory against FC Watford, in the Hodge scored twice in the FA Cup final against Coventry City. One consolation for Hodge should be, that he will continue in the national team came to inserts and 0-0 against Scotland at Wembley completed his 15th international match. Thereafter, however, he should no longer be considered for a long time.
The Spurs could no longer keep up the good form into the following season, with the negative trend by the departure of Hoddle and later coach Pleat then reinforced. In the meantime, Hodges was a competitor in the national team, Barnes, changed in the summer for Liverpool and played until 1988, a very good season. Although Hodge played constantly on the team the Spurs, but was unable to repeat his previous achievements and no longer was also in the squad of the English team that went to the European Championship finals in Germany. In retrospect, however, Hodge was a winner of this decision, as England with three defeats from three games prematurely adopted from the tournament and presented very weak.
Return to Nottingham (1988-1991)
Robson reached in the first game after the European Championships, in the 1-0 win over Denmark at Wembley Stadium, back to Hodge back. This had been restored to its former strength after returning to Nottingham for 550,000 pounds under Clough again. Hodge was appointed with increasing shape in Nottingham again regularly in the national team, although operations were scarce on the pitch.
Forest won the 1989 relatively meaningless poor Simod Cup and reached the final of the League Cup. Could win his first major title win, as Forest with a 3-1 win against Luton Town, Hodge was brought down in an offensive action in the penalty area. Nigel Clough from the penalty spot and thus brought Forest on the road to victory. Just a week later, the semi-final match in the FA Cup against Liverpool had to be postponed due to the events in Hillsborough. When replayed Hodge played Trafford Stadium in the 1-3 defeat at Old. In the following season, Hodge was a 1-0 League Cup defend the title against Oldham Athletic with Forest. In addition, Hodge was taken into account for a good performance as a substitute against Italy at Wembley again frequently in the English team. After England had secured its place at the 1990 World Cup in Italy, Hodge played in four preseason games at the tournament.
Hodge was then called in the squad for the World Cup, but suffered immediately after an injury, as a result he came to no use during the tournament in England's way to the semi-finals ( the only outfield player in England ). Also in the match for third place Hodge was not completely healthy so that he could not participate in this game. Robson resigned after the World Cup and Hodge was initially ignored by his successor Graham Taylor. At this time Hodge had also in his club fight for his place against a distinguished Irish teenager named Roy Keane to form a series with Garry Parker, as a central midfielder, though never was set national team. Taylor Hodge nominated in 1991 in the 2-0 victory against Cameroon. In the 1-0 win against Turkey, during a qualifying match for the European Championship in Sweden in 1992, Hodge then completed his 24th international match. In Nottingham Forest he had in the meantime lost his place and was not initially set up in the FA Cup final against his old club Tottenham Hotspur. Hodge came on in the second half, but the Spurs won the game 2-1 after extra time.
The 1990s ( 1991-1998 )
In the summer Clough sold him for a transfer fee of 900,000 pounds of Leeds United, which was the highest total in the transfer history of Hodge, although this was already in the autumn of his career. He then came at Elland Road only sparsely inserts, but led him to his first championship in his first season for Leeds. The success has been primarily associated with the other midfielders Gordon Strachan, Gary McAllister and Gary Speed , whose services were rewarded ostensibly in public.
Hodge was briefly loaned out to Derby County, before he moved in 1994 for a nominal fee to the Queens Park Rangers. This was followed by two seasons in which he only came in 15 games for use, before he joined the Watford FC. After that he played in Hong Kong. His last player station before his final resignation was then Leyton Orient.
Hodge retired after his retirement from public life, though he occasionally shows up in the English media in order to present his most Maradona jersey. The jersey itself he has loaned to the National Football Museum in Preston in the long term.
Achievements
- English Champion: 1992
- League Cup winners: 1989, 1990
- Simod Cup winner: 1989