Harry Lineker biography. Gary Lineker - Biography, Photos

A true gentleman both on and off the football field. Bobby Charlton 80s. Gary didn't waste time talking to the arbiter, sorting things out with the enemy. He treasured every minute of the match, afraid to squander it in empty, undeciding disputes. He silently walked forward and scored, scored, scored ...

Country England.

Role striker (started as a right winger, but already in the first season he turned into a pure center forward-scorer).

Height 177 cm

Nagoya Grampus Eight: July 1992 - 1994, bought for £900,000,

He ended his career due to numerous injuries.

England 80 caps, 48 goals (1984 - 1992)

Member of the European Championship-88, World Cup-86 (5 games, 6 goals), World Cup-90 (7 matches, 4 goals), European Championship-92

Titles: the best player in England - 1986, 1991,

the best scorer of the World Cup-86 - the owner of the golden boot,

winner of the Spanish Cup - 1988,

winner of the Cup Winners' Cup - 1989,

FA Cup winner - 1991.

I am modest, modest, modest, shy through and through, I'm like a homeless dog, take it out, cut it off and throw it away. This is me from head to toe. All the friends in the neighborhood are talking about it.

For me, there is only one England team - the team of Bobby Robson, the team of my childhood ... The team of the legendary keeper Peter Shilton and the great captain Bryan Robson, the team of Psycho and Gazza, the team of John Barnes and Chris Waddle. Team Gary Lineker - the last hero of the last British England team ... I was in a pink childhood when Gary became a revelation and one of the legends of the 86 World Cup. Then for me football ended at Dynamo Kiev and the Union team, which, in principle, was the same Dynamo Kiev. The World Cup in Mexico - my childhood tears: "My God, - I thought, - how did our great guys manage to lose to some Belgians ?!" At that time, I did not know such a country.

I discovered Lineker's game a year after the events of the hot Mexican summer, in August 1987. National team clashed at Wembley in an exhibition match English League and the FIFA team. What a match it was! Where is the current feast-demonstration football show !!! "Ancestors and founders" in a beautiful fight nailed the "Rest of the World" - 3:0. A fantastic episode ran into my memory - the ball flies into the empty goal of the British, and Stuart Pierce (Psycho - that's what he is. - Ed.) in a delightful flight (yes, yes, in flight, and not in a fall) with the back of his head takes him out with the very ribbons. ...and Gary Lineker! I don’t remember if Gary scored in that match, in my opinion - no, but how he played, with what tenacity he stormed the gate first of Rinat Dasaev, and then Anthony Zubizarreta! They tried to stop him at any cost, beat him in the legs without pity, but Gary got up and walked forward again. With a smile. The charming smile of Gary Lineker, a modest guy from the provincial Leicester.

Bobby Robson's England team ... A team that played traditional British football and at the same time met all the requirements of modern football: athleticism, speed, attacks from the flanks, the priority of long passes in the deployment of attacking actions and, of course, the spirit, the spirit of the harsh male struggle until the last minute with all your might. Ivica Osim, Yugoslavia's 1990 World Cup coach: "Bobby Robson prepared a team that showed combinational, spectacular, fast-paced football, while remaining true to the traditional British style - strong and uncompromising." And Gary Lineker personified all these traits with his game: he played excellently with his head, according to the situation he could be both a typical British center of attack - a ram, and a nimble, maneuverable forward, able to seep through the densest enemy screens. He had good speed, he liked to get rid of his guardian with a jerk, go to an empty place and break through on goal. He did not shy away from rough work. Gary was an excellent all-rounder, taking on himself, in addition to the work of a scorer, and the function of a passer (remember the Swedish Euro-92?). In terms of the way he plays, Gary resembles the great Bomber der Nation, Gerd Muller, a striker who reflected all the salt, all the pragmatism of the striker's work with his game: "It doesn't matter how the ball was scored, at least, sorry, with a back seat. As long as he crossed the goal line" . No show off, no publicity. After all, in the end, the current public only requires a result, a winning result, goals scored by him. So, the vast majority of Gary's goals were scored either after a successful game ahead of the curve, or on rebounds. Something, but Lineker's scoring instinct was excellent.

Gary Lineker... A true gentleman both on and off the football field. Bobby Charlton 80s. Gary didn't waste time talking to the arbiter, sorting things out with the enemy. He treasured every minute of the match, afraid to squander it in empty, undeciding disputes. He silently went forward and scored, scored, scored ... At the same time, Gary was not a "ballerina", he could play hard in the fight for the ball, but invariably correctly. The last hero of the last British England team. And no one was surprised that it was Gary, along with Bobby Robson, who received the Fair Play award for his team at the 90 World Cup. And in 1991, FIFA awarded Lineker with an individual Fair Play prize. IN Everyday life Gary remains a simple, modest guy, a faithful husband and a loving father. And a great producer. Humility is one of distinguishing features Lineker. Having become a superstar and football legend, Gary is genuinely surprised when he is told about this: "Of course, it is very difficult for me to see myself as a legend, especially in the company of Pele and Maradona." This modest man was born on November 30, 1960 in the modest English city of Leicester, in a modest family of a vegetable merchant. Remember the movie "The House That Swift Built" and the policeman who stood by the prison in the market square from life to life? So the Leicester Linekers from generation to generation traded in potatoes, cabbage and other vegetables in the central market of the city. From the age of five, Gary woke up at four in the morning and sullenly pushed a cart of cabbages to the market. Who knows, maybe even now Gary would have stood behind the counter, prophesying in a loud voice: "Come, people - your own garden!", If not for football. As a kid, Gary was small and frail, but as the British journalist Eric Linklater said: "Football will make a man out of you! .. And hair will grow on your chest!" With the help of enhanced nutrition and thanks to hellish work in training for the children's, and after the youth team of Leicester City, Lineker turned from a laugh-inducing slob into a formidable striker (in best years the combat weight of Gary was 79 kg with a height of 177 cm), not leaving the field without goal scored. (His parents loved football so much that they moved to another house only so that the future star would be closer to going to a school that had its own football, and not rugby team. - Ed.) Gary Lineker was 19 when he first appeared at the start of Leicester. At this age, players are divided into budding and just players. Gary was "just a player" of a small club that, for almost a century of history (founded in 1884), was content with the fact that, after floundering in high society, he flew into the lower one, from which he heroically climbed back to fly out again ... Top Achievements Leicester City in the first English division came at the end of the 20s: in 1938, the Foxes became third, and a year later, only a point separated them from the champion SHU. Four times "Leicester" played in the FA Cup finals but invariably turned out to be beaten. A suitable club for a novice football player (success in English cup tournaments and the current confident performance in the championship come at the end of the 90s and 2000, and, therefore, they have nothing to do with Lineker. - Ed.). Prominent players here tended not to stick around, either leaving at a young age (Shilton, Lineker, Heskey) or playing out with the Foxes before retirement (Rowley). The only exception was the great Gordon Banks, who won the 66 World Cup while being the collar of Leicester City.

"I always lacked self-confidence," recalls Gary, "especially early in my career." This is what prevented Lineker from quickly opening up. He walked slowly towards his summit. Only in 1984, at the age of 23 and a half, Gary received his first call-up to the national team: "I was scared to death ... Who am I compared to the players of the national team? And when I arrived, I felt even worse." Wise Bobby Robson decided not to put a frightened Gary in the first match (against Wales), giving him time to get used to the idea that he was now a national team player. Lineker's debut took place three weeks later, on May 26, in Glasgow in a match with the Scots (1:1).

Inspired, Gary had a great season the following season, winning a scorer dispute with Chelsea forward Kerry Dixon (28 goals). It becomes clear that the level of “Leicester” Lineker has outgrown (finally), and “Everton”, one of the then giants, lays out 800 thousand pounds for him. Gary is scared half to death again. Everton of the 80s ... A club that fought on equal terms for the championship with the great and powerful Liverpool, a club that confidently won the KOC-85 draw (Bavaria was defeated in the semi-finals - 0:0, 3:1, and in the final, Rapid Vienna - 3: 1), a club that included players from Wales (Southall, defenders Ratcliffe and Van den Hove), Scotland (Graham Sharp and Andy Gray), Ireland (Kevin Sheedy), England (Steven , Stevens, Reid, Bracewell)! .. My God, how many light-years away is it from the "Everton" of our days!

This time, Gary was not afraid for long, because on the verge of a fantastic 1985-86 season, the season that truly became the best in the striker's career. He becomes the leader of Everton, painlessly replacing Goodison Park idol Andy Gray, wins, already single-handedly, the first division snipers competition, scoring 30 goals (he added 10 more in cup games), proclaimed best football player England, both according to journalists and according to the players, wins a place at the base of the national team. However, Gary could not call the last season completely successful. Firstly, he never managed to make his debut in European competition - the disqualification of English clubs came into effect. Secondly, “Everton” did not get two points in the championship race with “Liverpool” and, moreover, blew their neighbors and eternal enemies in combination with the Cup final – 1:3. But ahead was Mexico: "Mexico! It changed my whole life." Robson carefully looked for a striker to replace the departed Kevin Keegan. He tried the peers of Mickey Mouse Francis and Mariner, young Barnes, Beardsley, Dixon and Hateley, until he finally settled on Lineker. “I found what I was looking for!” Robson exclaimed. “Lineker is a technical, fast striker who plays modern football. And most importantly, he is a scoring player!” The coach's plans were in jeopardy when, in the very first training match at the pre-Mexican training camp, Gary received serious injury - closed fracture left wrist. But the coach believed in the player, there was no question of excluding Lineker from the application. At the same time, “FIFochka” became stubborn, which they managed to persuade only shortly before the starting duel with the Portuguese. When Gary entered the field of the Tecnolohiko stadium in Monterrey, his left hand was hidden in a special elastic bandage replacing plaster. Portugal - England. Gary is eager to fight, plays assertively, but the "port wine" defense, led by the keeper Bento, acts calmly and unmistakably. And 15 minutes before the end of the match, Carlos Manuel holds the only goal. England - Morocco. It was not Lineker's day, another football player shone - Moroccan goalkeeper Zaki Badou. 0:0. England - Poland. Before the last match in the group, England is last. A flurry of criticism. We need goals. Need a win. And the British played! The Poles are discouraged, the founders abandoned traditional canopies, relying on speed game with an emphasis on penetrating crosses from the flanks into the penalty area, on Lineker. 9th minute - Gary closes the cross with a shot under the crossbar from outside the goalkeeper's area. 14th minute - again a chamber on Lineker and again a goal! 34th - the same. Gary makes a hat-trick and brings the national team to the playoffs! Forgive the stamp, but in the morning Lineker woke up famous. England - Paraguay. The benefit continues! Gary, with his fast, non-standard movements, over and over again confuses the South American defense, exhausting it to the limit. 31st minute. A longitudinal pass from Steve Hodge, the ball from Gary, another spurt, the completely stunned Paraguayans bring down Lineker, but he continues to fight, gets up, is the first to get to the ball and knocks it into Fernandez's goal. After 25 minutes, the defenders, focusing all their attention on the "top ten" of the English, yawn Beardsley - 2:0. At the end of the match, smart Glenn Hoddle gives a thin pass to Gary's move - then it's up to the small. The little one didn't budge. 3:0! All! Dry the oars, or rather, "unharness the horses," amigos! Argentina - England. Quarterfinal. "Divine hand" and the divine slalom of Maradona. The British midfield is completely crushed. Gary rushes ahead to no avail. Too late to replace John Barnes, who managed to organize at least some counterplay and built a goal. His cross from the right, Lineker wins the fight in the air against the defender and heads the ball into the net. England, offended by the judge and admiring Maradona, goes home.

From Mexico, "one-armed forward brings worldwide fame and the Golden Boot" prize top scorer. Everton are inundated with offers to sell Lineker. But Gary has the last word: "Of course, I like it here, but, you know, I want to play in European competitions." Barça are right there with six million greenbacks in their pocket. Liverpool are making good money. Catalan coach Terry Venables is not averse to creating a British colony from Barcelona and, in pair with Gary, buys Mark Hughes from Manchester United. At first, in Spain, everything went like clockwork for Lineker: goals, delight and sometimes specialists. Gary, in turn, is delighted with Catalonia. And then there is France Football, following the results of 1986, proclaims the English striker the No. 2 player in Europe (62 points). Ahead only jet Belanov (84).

But this could not go on forever - a severe knee injury unsettles Lineker. Operation - skipping matches - loss of form. Inchas began to whistle, and Josep Nunez looked askance. Nevertheless, Gary helps Barcelona in the 1987-88 season to grab the Spanish Cup, it is difficult to count on more - for example, Real Madrid, led by Hugo Sanchez, Vulture Emilio Butragueno and Michel, reigns supreme. Euro 88, A hard memory for Gary Lineker. After the injury, it is impossible to get in shape, to start scoring again. It happens. Catastrophic bad luck. In matches with the Irish and the Dutch, Gary misses from incredible positions, losing 3-4 100% chances. In the game with the Lobanovsky machine, he is covered tightly by Kuznetsov and Khidiyatullin (oh, what a couple we had in the center! The British say: “This has not happened with Lineker in his entire career).

Black days ... "I feel, closing my eyes - the whole world goes to war with me" (this is not Lineker, this is Tsoi). Nunez fires Venables, who is replaced by Cruyff. The "Flying Dutchman" does not hide his dislike for Lineker and his game. Gary plays less and less. Croyff makes attempts (quite unsuccessfully) to exchange him to AC Milan for his favorite Marco Van Basten. Barcelona wins KOC-89. Gary plays in the final and helps to break "Sampdoria" Vialli and Mancini - 2:0. But he doesn't score. “That's it! - not a bad word about the Dutch mentor, Nunez and Barcelona.Moreover: "Michel (Lineker's wife) and I warmly recall the three years spent in Catalonia."

Tottenham Hotspur. An amazing club - many stars, immense ambitions, but few titles. A typical king without a kingdom. Two titles of the champion, eight FA Cups for more than a century of history - it will not be enough for a super club! But Gary was full of hope to fulfill another of his dreams - to become a champion. Together with his beloved coach Venables and teammates Paul Gascoigne and Gary Mzbbutt. Alas ... (Before the start of the season, Tottenham fans were really preparing to fight for first place. The compiler was indeed one of the strongest in England - Lineker, Gazza, Waddle. However, the proposal of the president of the Marseille Olympic, Bernard Tapie, to sell Waddle arrived in time At first, Spurs president Irving Skolar refused. Tapi added. When it came to £ 5 million - at that time, I remember, only Gullit was valued more highly among midfielders - Skolar resigned. Moreover, financial problems were already plaguing the club with White Hart Lane. .. Soon they will lead to the fact that the club will change ownership - the era of Alan Sugar will come. - Ed.)

In the 1989-90 season, Lineker finally gained his usual form (although he started it neither shaky nor roll. - Ed.). He is the top scorer for the third time (24 goals in 38 games) and helps the Daredevils jump on the podium (only thanks to a super finish - 8 wins in 10 matches. 3rd place, 7 points behind Aston Villa, 16 (! ) - from Liverpool), and the national team - to win a ticket to the World Cup in Italy (2 goals).

Italy-90... Swan song of the Robson team. "We are capable of winning the World Cup, no matter what anyone says, but whatever the final result, I'm leaving," was the meaning of the coach's statements. The British approached the tournament perfectly prepared both physically and psychologically. Starting with a creak, they gradually dispersed, and only the "panzer division" of Kaiser Franz in a duet with "her noble lady luck" managed to stop them. England - Ireland. Fundamental meeting. The Irish, who inflated their eternal enemies at the Euro-88, were full of bold thoughts, but already in the 8th minute, Gary, jumping one on one with Bonner, opened the scoring with a right shot. In the second half, Lineker's former Everton teammate Kevin Sheedy responded with a well-aimed shot. Equal, in general, the game. Holland - England. Painted draw. Grandmaster. Although referee Petrovich should have counted Waddle's goal (Chris struck a free direct blow, but the fact of the matter is that the ball hit the Dutchman standing in the wall on the way to the goal), but the judges at that championship spoiled pretty badly. After two rounds, all four teams have absolutely identical performance. England - Egypt. The Egyptians had an excellent team: disciplined, tactically competent, but somehow squeezed, or something. Tough match. Opponents do not spare each other - in one of the clashes, Mark Wright's eyebrow was cut. But the British spirit! .. Gazza's corner from the left. Wright soars up to the ball and with a bandaged bloody head he beats a goal! Ah-ah-ah-ah! England in 1/8. Belgium - England. Fun match. A clean goal from Barnes was canceled, in response to the bar, the ball was sandaled by Kulemans, and then Shifo. And finally, the 119th minute. Gascoigne's brilliant pass and Platt's insight. 1:0! And again - ah-ah-ah! Cameroon - England. That's who played fun and liberated, so it's Cameroon. But the Indomitable Lions were tamed, Lineker and Gazza. Seven minutes before the end of regular time, with the score 2:1 in favor of the Africans, when it seemed that there would be no salvation for the British and no mercy for them, Paul throws Gary into the gap, he is knocked down into the “karma maidanchik”. Penalty. Lineker - N "Kono - 2: 2. Overtime. And again Gascoigne's pass, Gary's jerk, which ended with a 11-meter one. Lineker is merciless. England in the semi-finals !!! For the first time since 1966 !!! England - Germany. Game of nerves "Stupid Brehme-Parker goal and Lineker's masterpiece. 80th minute. Paul Parker, after that stupid rebound, desperately rushes forward. His cross from the right flank almost from the center line. Only a dozen British and four German beks are ahead. Gary does not get involved in a hopeless fight, but prudently steps aside. The defender plays unsuccessfully with his head (a copy of Cannavaro's discount for Wiltor in the memorable Euro 2000 final). After Parker's cross, the ball hit the ground and for some reason completely disorientated the German trinity - Berthold, Augenthaler and especially Kohler, who was simply obliged to play takeaway. As a result, if one of the defenders touched the ball, then purely nominally. Gary hip at the same time moonlights the ball and moves away from opponents, and then inflicts a smashing blow from fourteen meters into the far right corner of Illgner's goal. ten balls in final tournaments World Championship - the norm of a grandmaster (senior master). Post-match penalties. Game of nerves. Gary executed his shot flawlessly... Psycho and Waddle are little tragedies great game... Tears of Paul Gascoigne... Italy - England. And who needs these "consolation endings"?!

Season 1990-91. "Tottenham" falls in the championship (10th place), but takes the FA Cup. The final with Nottingham Forest at Wembley (2:1) actually broke Gazze's career - a severe injury, after which Paul never played his strength. (How the crazy Gazza ruined his own life and career in this dramatic match, being out of action for six months and almost breaking his transfer to Lazio is another story. And here we will comment on the general course of the match and the actions of our hero. So, on 12- In the 3rd minute Stuart Pierce free-kick - Gascoigne knocked down opposing right-back Gary Charles - opens the scoring as Gazza falls to the grass, signaling an inability to continue; Cup Winners' Cup in extra time, a crazy goal against Arsenal - from the center of the field, Seaman will miss the ball flying from the center of the field ... In the 25th minute, Paul Allen leads Lineker to the gate, he breaks away from the defenders and scores his signature goal - referee calls offside by mistake 30 minutes Paul Stewart now assists his scorer Nottingham keeper Mark Crossley knocks Lineker down and should be happy to be only penalised, not sent off. Lineker from the "point" hits hard and into the corner, but Crossley creates a small masterpiece, taking out an almost non-taking ball. After the first half - 0:1. 80,000 spectators are looking forward to the continuation ... Tottenham, not embarrassed by the loss of the leader, is moving forward. 52nd minute. After the transfer of Nyima Stewart delivers the strongest diagonal blow - 1:1. Extra time, Nayim takes a corner from the right. The start extends the serve to the far post, where Mabbatt is already on duty. Blow, and Des Walker, trying to hit the ball, sends it into the net of his own goal - 2:1. The Daredevils become the first English club to win the National Cup 8 times! The team shakes Terry Venables, Gazza in a hospital bed pours burning tears on his medal ... - Ed.)

At the helm of the national team is Graham Taylor. Gary gets the captain's armband main team countries after the departure of Bryan Robson. In the 1991/92 season, when Lineker almost single-handedly saved Tottenham from relegation from the first division and saved them for the newly established Premier League, Gary was haunted not only by the injuries that literally tortured him in the previous season. Very seriously - leukemia! - Lineker's eldest son fell ill ... The fact that his father managed to demonstrate the habitually highest class of the game raised him from the ordinary idols of the crowd to some unattainable height - from now on, Lineker in England could be forgiven by everyone!

The following season became typical for Lineker. "Spurs" crashed to the bottom standings(15th place), the attempt to take possession of the Cup Winners' Cup was also unsuccessful (defeat in 1/4 from Feyenoord - 0:1 and 0:0). Gary shone: 28 goals in the championship (only in last round he was one goal ahead of gunner Ian Wright) and only 35 in 50 matches of the season for the club, a great game for the national team (it was his fantastic kick in a fall over himself 13 minutes before the end of the meeting with the Poles that allowed him to level the score and brought the British to the final of the Euro- 92). At the end of the season, Gary is recognized as the best football player in England according to the “hyenas of the pen and jackals of rotary machines”.

Before the start of the European Championship in Sweden, Lineker signed a two-year contract with the Japanese club Nagoya Grampus Eight and announced his retirement from the national team. "Ability" in addition to the title of European champion expected Gary to break the performance record of Bobby Charlton. Sir Bobby scored 47 goals in the games for the national team, Gary had 46. But all this was not destined to come true: England did not leave the group, and its main striker did not score a single goal. But he proved to be a good assistant - in most cases, it was from his passes that the few sharp moments that the British had were created, it was from his pass that the only goal of the national team was scored (the most accurate pass from the right flank. Platt had only to hit the target). And Graham Taylor replaced Lineker in the middle of the second half decisive match with the hosts of the tournament with the score 1:1 on Alan Smith. The British lost. Gary left the field ... Throwing the captain's armband in the direction of Pierce ... He left the field without scoring ... With his departure, the era of the last British England team ended (after the failure at the Euro, all mentors will blindly head for the “Europeanization” of the national team What came out of it, we all saw very well). I cried... A piece of my childhood left with Gary...

Jimmy Greaves, 1966 World Champion and "Great Kick": "Replacing Lineker: Taylor's worst move. Although Gary lost his grip, he was still the only one capable of scoring. There are players who can score even when everyone is around badly. Lineker is one of those."

Gary Lineker: "I think what happened in Sweden hurt Taylor more than me ... But it was so long ago, and I have no vindictiveness. He is a good person, and we talked for a while. I do not take offense at him ... Some, "I guess they think I regret not breaking Bobby Charlton's record. They are very wrong. I still can't believe that I scored one goal less than Charlton. Who am I compared to him?"

After finishing his playing career in Japan, Gary returned to his homeland. Received the Order of the British Empire from the hands of the Queen. Now he football commentator on the BBC, the excellent host of the popular program "Match of the Day". To get on the air with Lineker is an honor for any celebrity, and not only football. "I still feel like I'm going to be exposed sooner or later."

Harry Lineker

Like someone - a hooligan, a brawler, a swindler. Like an Englishman, a gentleman. Apparently, the principles of fair play are laid down by British footballers in children's teams.
Harry Lineker also for my long sports life did not receive a single warning, especially since he was never sent off the field.
He came from a poor farming family. WITH early childhood learned hard work. He was also a hard worker, unpretentious, modest in football. His first club was the provincial Leicester, where he played for 5 years. Not from great loyalty, they simply did not call anywhere, there were not enough stars from the sky. True, from year to year he recorded more and more goals at his own expense, although he did not possess any sophisticated technique, he simply had the talent to be in the same place on time.
In 1985, he scored 28 goals in this way. Received an invitation to Everton and the national team. A year later, new success: the top scorer in England (30) and the World Cup in Mexico (6).
Further, the sports road led Lineker first to Barcelona, where he spent 3 years, then to Tottenham. As part of the national team, he participated in the 1990 World Cup and the 1992 European Championship.
With Tottenham, Lineker won his last prize - the FA Cup and was again recognized as the best in the country. And this despite the drama in his family - a serious illness of his son.
Finishing his career in sports, he played in Japan for 2 years, and became a television commentator for the BBC.

Short biography of Harry Winston Lineker

Spanish Cup winner - 1 (1988)
Cup Winners' Cup (Barcelona) - 1 (1989)
FA Cup Winner - 1 (1991)
Commander of the Order of the British Empire

Gary Lineker calmly, without fear of making a mistake, can be called a mystery footballer. He was born in the most, that neither is football country, played in top championships, is included in the famous FIFA-100 list.

And at the same time, such an outstanding football player does not have a single gold medal: neither European and world championships, nor national championships. But fans, and not only English ones, still remember and respect Lineker. I'll try to tell you why.

Gary Lineker

Country - England.
Position - striker.
Born: 30-11-1960.
Height: 177 cm.

Biography and career of a football player

Gary was born into a poor family, where the profession of a vegetable merchant was inherited. Perhaps, if the father of the future star did not love football, Lineker would still sell cabbage and cucumbers in the market of his native Leicester.

But Lineker's passion saved the outstanding player for all of us. In order for Gary to better develop his football skills, his family moved to another house, which was located closer to the school, where there was a strong football team.

Later, Lineker got into the Leicester City youth team and there he grew up to a professional football player.

Leicester City

1978-1985

This club has never grabbed stars from heaven, but it is this fact that emphasizes the dignity of the striker. For example, in the 1984-1985 season, Lineker shared the laurels of the top scorer of the championship with Kerry Dixon from Chelsea - 24 goals each.

At the same time, Gary's club took 15th place in the championship of England! Come on, let's close our eyes and imagine today that the forward from the 15th team of the top championship wins the scoring race. Closed? Represented? Personally, I didn't succeed.

It was from Leicester that Gary got into the England national team and moved to Everton, which at that time was the champion of England.

Everton

1985-1986

As part of Everton, Lineker had perhaps the best season of his career. He again became the top scorer of the League, this time scoring 30 goals, and was also recognized as the best football player in England, which was not to a small extent contributed by his performance for the national team, which I will discuss below.

Unfortunately, in the title race, Everton lost first place to their sworn enemies Liverpool, just two points behind them.

"Barcelona"

1986-1989

Lineker's first season at Barcelona went off with a bang. He immediately became the main striker of the club, and in the goalscoring race he took second place with 20 goals, only behind the legendary Hugo Sanchez from Real Madrid.

And Real Madrid itself was ahead of Barcelona in the championship race, whose coach, Englishman Terry Venables, was fired. And his successor immediately made it clear that he did not see Lineker in the game that he was going to instill in the team.

In truth, Gary really did not fit the elegant style of the great Dutchman. Tom needed aesthetes, masters of dribbling and passing. And Lineker played in the style of Gerd Müller, scoring from rebounds, rebounds, watching for the opponent's mistakes. But he knew his business well.

And it was with Barcelona that Gary won his only international trophy - the Cup Winners' Cup.

"Tottenham Hotspur"

1989-1992

In the London club, Lineker spent three seasons, continuing to hit the opponents' gates with enviable regularity. Once again, he won the goalscoring race in the 1989/1990 season, scoring 24 goals.

Next season, Gary will be awarded the title of the best English player and helped his club win the FA Cup.

"Nagoya Grampus Eight"

1992-1994

In Japan, where in those years the ambitious J-League project was being formed, Lineker left at a far from critical age for a football player. This was due to injuries, which, according to by and large, did not allow Gary to really play in an exotic championship for a European.

During his two years at the club, Lineker played just over 20 matches, hitting the opponents' gates 9 times.

England team

1984-1992

For the national team, Lineker played 80 matches in which he scored 48 goals, to this day remaining the third scorer of the national team after Wayne Rooney and Bobby Charlton.

As part of the English team, Gary played in two world and two European championships. And if at the European Championships, Gary, as well as his team, did not work out - in 1988 and 1992 the British did not leave the group, and Lineker could not score a single goal, then at the World Championships the picture was completely different. Here Lineker is England's top scorer with 10 goals.

Gary Lineker arrived at the 1986 World Championships with a closed fracture of his wrist. But, nevertheless, it was his championship. For the first two matches group stage the British failed to score more than one goal and scored only a point.

In the decisive match with the Polish team, Lineker came to the fore, who needed a little more than half an hour for a hat-trick - a 3-0 victory for England.

In the 1/8 finals, two goals of Lineker predetermined the outcome of the meeting with Paraguay (3:0), and in the quarterfinals he scored against Argentina. But that game went down in history with the goals of another great football player. Diego Armando Maradona scored one goal with the "hand of God" and the other - bypassing half of the England team, laying the foundation between England and Argentina.

At the 1990 World Cup, Gary Lineker scored 4 times, but two of his goals brought victory in the quarterfinal match over and a goal in the semifinals against the German national team could have brought the British a ticket to the final if they had beaten the post-match penalties more accurately.

Lineker ended his career in the national team after the unsuccessful European Championship in 1992 for the British.

Gary Lineker - TV presenter

Today, Lineker is the host of the very popular Match of the Day program on English television. This season, Gary became famous for promising to broadcast live in his shorts if Leicester became champions of England.

By all appearances, this is exactly what is going on, and I believe that Lineker will keep his promise, because he is a real gentleman and a man of his word.

In fact, Lineker never climbed into his pocket for a word, because it was he who owns the legendary phrase:

"Football is played by 22 people, and the Germans always win."

Titles by Gary Lineker

Command

FA Cup Winner.
Spanish Cup Winner.
Winners Cup Winner.

Individual

The top scorer of the championship of England in 1985, 1986, 1990.
1986 World Cup top scorer.
Footballer of the Year in England (1986, 1992).

Lineker is the only English footballer, who became the top scorer of the championship of England in the composition of three different clubs.

Lineker has not played a single match in the European Cup. Leicester, Barcelona and Tottenham did not become champions under him, and Everton, like other English clubs, was deprived of the right to play in European competition after the tragedy at the Heysel.
Gary Lineker once relieved himself right on the football field, I beg your pardon for such a juicy detail. It happened in the group stage match of the 1990 World Cup England - Ireland. In the first half, Gary opened the scoring, and during the break (I apologize again), he was covered with severe diarrhea.
Going to the second half, Gary felt that his intestines were failing him, which is why, after one of the collisions, he did not rise, but tinkered around the field. So from the outside everything looked pretty decent.

“It was raining, there was mud and puddles on the field, and that’s the only reason I could afford it,” Lineker admitted a few years later.

And finally, about a truly unique achievement. For more than 600 matches in professional football, Lineker has not received a single yellow, much less a red card. Number of exclamation marks after last sentence- at your discretion.

Gary himself, in his characteristic manner, explained everything briefly and concisely, saying that before the judges turned a blind eye to many sins that are now mercilessly punished.

Still, Lineker is a real gentleman!

GARY LINEKER

(Born in 1960)

He played in the English clubs Leicester City, Everton, Tottenham Hotspur, the Spanish Barcelona, the Japanese club Nagoya Grampus Eight. In 1984-1992 he played 80 matches for England.

Gary Lineker's star flared brightly at the 1986 World Championships. The best sniper of the championship, who scored 6 goals, forever became the favorite of all England. The British were impressed not only by his great diligence and amazing correctness on the field, but also by his modesty, frankness and unpretentiousness in everyday life. However, Gary could not be different, because he was born into a poor family of a hereditary vegetable merchant and knew from childhood what hard work is.

He had to help his father from the age of five - get up at dawn and take a cart with potatoes or carrots to the city market of his hometown of Leicester. Who knows, if he had not become interested in football, it is quite possible that he would have had to continue the family business.

But to his happiness, his father passionately loved football and in every possible way encouraged his son's hobby. The Linekers even moved to another house, closer to the school, which was famous for its football team. It was there that Gary took his first steps towards future worldwide fame. He then played in the youth team of Leicester City. Finally, in November 1979, he entered the field in the first team.

The Leicester City club has never taken stars from heaven. His highest achievements before Lineker's arrival were four FA Cup final appearances, most recently in 1969, and all four times Leicester left the field defeated. If outstanding players appeared in the club, such as goalkeeper Peter Shilton, for example, they did not stay long. Gary Lineker played here for 5 whole years, longer than other celebrities brought up by Leicester, but the fact of the matter is that at first he was quite an ordinary football player.

Gary's game has never been outwardly spectacular and beautiful. He was not a dribbling master or a free-kick specialist who masterfully directed the cut ball around the “wall”. But from season to season, he sharpened his scoring instinct - the ability to be exactly where the next moment the ball bounces off the defender or an unexpected transfer from a partner follows.

He scored almost all his goals not after spectacular breakthroughs into the penalty area with a beating of several defenders or unexpected blows, but ahead of a slightly hesitant defender by a fraction of a second or being the first to reach the ball in the pandemonium at the gate. In this, Lineker can, perhaps, be compared with the great German goalscorer Gerd Müller, whose goals sometimes turned out to be surprisingly “clumsy”, “clumsy”, but brought victory.

Be that as it may, Gary scored more and more goals from season to season. In 1984, England coach Bobby Robson invited him to the national team for the first time. The following season, Gary scored 28 goals for Leicester City and finally, in 1985, ended up in a much more eminent club - Liverpool Everton.

The 1985-1986 season was perhaps the best in the scorer's entire career. Lineker became the undisputed leader of Everton's attack, scoring 30 goals and showing best result championship. True, the club remained only second, losing the title of champion to its eternal rival Liverpool. Furthermore, in the spring of 1986, Everton lost to Liverpool and the FA Cup final. But Lineker was named the best player in England that year. And in the same year, the stellar World Championship for him took place in Mexico.

Not everyone knows that Lineker played it with a serious injury - the day before he received a closed fracture of the wrist of his left hand. Since no one would have allowed him to play with the cast, the doctors hid his wrist in an elastic bandage. Maybe that's why at first the game of Lineker, as well as the England team, did not go very well. The first match group tournament with the Portuguese national team was lost - 0:1. The match with the national team of Morocco, thanks to the brilliant game of the Moroccan goalkeeper Zaki Badu, ended in a goalless draw.

Before last game with the Polish team, the British needed only a victory. And already in the ninth minute, Lineker drove the ball under the crossbar, breaking through after a cross right from the goalkeeper's area. In the fourteenth minute, he again used the cross, scoring the second goal. Even in the first half, he brought the score to 3:0, making a hat-trick.

This brilliant game alone made Gary Lineker famous. But he continued his exploits. In the match of the one-eighth final with the Paraguayan national team, he scored the first goal in his usual manner - after a jerk, the Paraguayan defenders knocked him down, but he instantly got up, being the first to reach the bounced ball and hammer it into the net. In that match, he scored the third and last goal: the England team won with the same score - 3:0.

The quarter-final match was the famous duel with the Argentina national team, when Maradona scored the first goal with the help of the "right hand of God", and the second - after a brilliant pass, beating six defenders and the goalkeeper along the way, and then driving the ball into the net almost from the goal line. But the only goal of the British in this match was scored by Gary Lineker, this time winning the air duel after a pass and heading the ball into the net.

After Lineker became the hero of the World Cup, he received many offers from the most famous clubs in Europe. In the same 1986, he went to Barcelona. At first, everything went great - Gary scored a lot of goals and became a favorite of the Catalan public. But the following season, injuries began to haunt him. IN full force he no longer played. In addition, in 1988, Barcelona was headed by Johan Cruyff, with whom Gary did not have a relationship.

In 1989, he also won the Cup Winners' Cup with Barcelona - in the final 2-0 was defeated by the Italian "Sampdoria" - and in the same year he returned to England, this time to Tottenham Hotspur. The year was also notable for the fact that, as part of the England team, he won a ticket to the 1990 World Cup, held in Italy.

This time the England team reached the semi-finals, where they met with the German national team. The Germans were leading 1-0 for a long time, but in the eightieth minute of the match, Lineker was the first to catch the ball that bounced off the ground and delivered an irresistible blow. After extra time, the score was still a draw - 1:1. Germany won in the penalty shoot-out.

But be that as it may, in all matches Gary Lineker scored 4 goals, bringing the total number of his goals scored at the world championships to 10.

The scorer's last achievement was winning the FA Cup with Tottenham in 1991. This year, Lineker won even more love and respect throughout the country by playing, showing high class, despite the family tragedy - his son fell ill with leukemia. At the end of the season, he was named the best player in England.

In 1992, Lineker participated in the European Championship, held in Sweden, but it was completely unsuccessful for the national team. Matches of the group stage with the national teams of Denmark and France ended in goalless draws, and the English team lost to the Swedish team - 1:2. Nevertheless, their only goal in the championship was scored after Lineker's jewelry pass.

Gary Lineker completed his glorious career in Japan. He spent two years at the Nagoya Grampus Eight club, but even here he was plagued by injuries. In 1994, he returned to his homeland, where he was awarded the Order of the British Empire for all his merits. Today, the great scorer has become a great football commentator, hosting the popular TV show "Match of the Day".

This text is an introductory piece.

Country England.

Role striker (started as a right winger, but already in the first season he turned into a pure center forward-scorer).

Height 177 cm

Best of the day

Nagoya Grampus Eight: July 1992 - 1994, bought for £900,000,

He ended his career due to numerous injuries.

England 80 caps, 48 goals (1984 - 1992)

Member of the European Championship-88, World Cup-86 (5 games, 6 goals), World Cup-90 (7 matches, 4 goals), European Championship-92

Titles: the best player in England - 1986, 1991,

the best scorer of the World Cup-86 - the owner of the golden boot,

winner of the Spanish Cup - 1988,

winner of the Cup Winners' Cup - 1989,

FA Cup winner - 1991.

I discovered Lineker's game a year after the events of the hot Mexican summer, in August 1987. At Wembley in an exhibition match, the English League team and the FIFA team met. What a match it was! Where is the current feast-demonstration football show !!! "Ancestors and founders" in a beautiful fight nailed the "Rest of the World" - 3:0. A fantastic episode ran into my memory - the ball flies into the empty goal of the British, and Stuart Pierce (Psycho - that's what he is. - Ed.) in a delightful flight (yes, yes, in flight, and not in a fall) with the back of his head takes him out with the very ribbons. ...and Gary Lineker! I don’t remember if Gary scored in that match, in my opinion - no, but how he played, with what tenacity he stormed the gate first of Rinat Dasaev, and then Anthony Zubizarreta! They tried to stop him at any cost, beat him in the legs without pity, but Gary got up and walked forward again. With a smile. The charming smile of Gary Lineker, a modest guy from the provincial Leicester.

Gary Lineker... A true gentleman both on and off the football field. Bobby Charlton 80s. Gary didn't waste time talking to the arbiter, sorting things out with the enemy. He treasured every minute of the match, afraid to squander it in empty, undeciding disputes. He silently went forward and scored, scored, scored ... At the same time, Gary was not a "ballerina", he could play hard in the fight for the ball, but invariably correctly. The last hero of the last British England team. And no one was surprised that it was Gary, along with Bobby Robson, who received the Fair Play award for his team at the 90 World Cup. And in 1991, FIFA awarded Lineker with an individual Fair Play prize. In everyday life, Gary remains a simple, modest guy, a faithful husband and a loving father. And a great producer. Modesty is one of Lineker's hallmarks. Having become a superstar and football legend, Gary is genuinely surprised when he is told about this: "Of course, it is very difficult for me to see myself as a legend, especially in the company of Pele and Maradona." This modest man was born on November 30, 1960 in the modest English city of Leicester, in a modest family of a vegetable merchant. Remember the movie "The House That Swift Built" and the policeman who stood by the prison in the market square from life to life? So the Leicester Linekers from generation to generation traded in potatoes, cabbage and other vegetables in the central market of the city. From the age of five, Gary woke up at four in the morning and sullenly pushed a cart of cabbages to the market. Who knows, maybe even now Gary would have stood behind the counter, prophesying in a loud voice: "Come, people - your own garden!", If not for football. As a kid, Gary was small and frail, but as the British journalist Eric Linklater said: "Football will make a man out of you! .. And hair will grow on your chest!" With the help of enhanced nutrition and thanks to the hellish work in training for the children's, and after the Leicester City youth team, Lineker turned from a chuckle that caused only laughter into a formidable striker (in his best years, Gary's combat weight was 79 kg with a 177 cm height), not leaving the field without a goal scored. (His parents loved football so much that they moved to another house just so that the future star would be closer to going to school, which had its own football team, and not a rugby team. - Ed.) Gary Lineker was 19 when he first appeared in the base Leicester. At this age, players are divided into budding and just players. Gary was "just a player" in a small club that, for almost a century (founded in 1884), had been content to flounder in high society, fly into the lower one, from which he heroically climbed back to fly out again. .. The highest achievements of "Leicester City" in the first English division come at the end of the 20s: in 1938, the "Foxes" became the third, and a year later only a point separated them from the champions "SHU". Four times "Leicester" played in the FA Cup finals but invariably turned out to be beaten. A suitable club for a novice football player (success in English cup tournaments and the current confident performance in the championship come at the end of the 90s and 2000, and, therefore, they have nothing to do with Lineker. - Ed.). Prominent players here tended not to stick around, either leaving at a young age (Shilton, Lineker, Heskey) or playing out with the Foxes before retirement (Rowley). The only exception was the great Gordon Banks, who won the 66 World Cup while being the collar of Leicester City.

This time, Gary was not afraid for long, because on the verge of a fantastic 1985-86 season, the season that truly became the best in the striker's career. He becomes the leader of Everton, painlessly replacing Goodison Park idol Andy Gray, wins, already single-handedly, the first division sniper competition, scoring 30 goals (he added 10 more in cup games), is proclaimed the best football player in England, both according to journalists and and, according to the players, wins a place at the base of the national team. However, Gary could not call the last season completely successful. Firstly, he never managed to make his debut in European competition - the disqualification of English clubs came into effect. Secondly, “Everton” did not get two points in the championship race with “Liverpool” and, moreover, blew their neighbors and eternal enemies in combination with the Cup final – 1:3. But ahead was Mexico: "Mexico! It changed my whole life." Robson carefully looked for a striker to replace the departed Kevin Keegan. He tried the peers of Mickey Mouse Francis and Mariner, young Barnes, Beardsley, Dixon and Hateley, until he finally settled on Lineker. “I found what I was looking for!” Robson exclaimed. “Lineker is a technical, fast striker who plays modern football. And most importantly, he is a scoring player!” The coach's plans were in jeopardy when, in the very first training match at the pre-Mexican training camp, Gary was seriously injured - a closed fracture of the wrist of his left hand. But the coach believed in the player, there was no question of excluding Lineker from the application. At the same time, “FIFochka” became stubborn, which they managed to persuade only shortly before the starting duel with the Portuguese. When Gary entered the field of the Tecnolohico stadium in Monterrey, his left arm was hidden in a special elastic bandage that replaced the cast. Portugal - England. Gary is eager to fight, plays assertively, but the "port wine" defense, led by the keeper Bento, acts calmly and unmistakably. And 15 minutes before the end of the match, Carlos Manuel holds the only goal. England - Morocco. It was not Lineker's day, another football player shone - Moroccan goalkeeper Zaki Badou. 0:0. England - Poland. Before the last match in the group, England is last. A flurry of criticism. We need goals. Need a win. And the British played! The Poles are discouraged, the founders abandoned the traditional crosses, relying on a high-speed game with an emphasis on penetrating crosses from the flanks into the penalty area, on Lineker. 9th minute - Gary closes the cross with a shot under the crossbar from outside the goalkeeper's area. 14th minute - again a chamber on Lineker and again a goal! 34th - the same. Gary makes a hat-trick and brings the national team to the playoffs! Forgive the stamp, but in the morning Lineker woke up famous. England - Paraguay. The benefit continues! Gary, with his fast, non-standard movements, over and over again confuses the South American defense, exhausting it to the limit. 31st minute. A longitudinal pass from Steve Hodge, the ball from Gary, another spurt, the completely stunned Paraguayans bring down Lineker, but he continues to fight, gets up, is the first to get to the ball and knocks it into Fernandez's goal. After 25 minutes, the defenders, focusing all their attention on the "top ten" of the English, yawn Beardsley - 2:0. At the end of the match, smart Glenn Hoddle gives a thin pass to Gary's move - then it's up to the small. The little one didn't budge. 3:0! All! Dry the oars, or rather, "unharness the horses," amigos! Argentina - England. Quarterfinal. "Divine hand" and the divine slalom of Maradona. The British midfield is completely crushed. Gary rushes ahead to no avail. Too late to replace John Barnes, who managed to organize at least some counterplay and built a goal. His cross from the right, Lineker wins the fight in the air against the defender and heads the ball into the net. England, offended by the judge and admiring Maradona, goes home.

From Mexico, "the one-armed striker brings worldwide fame and the Golden Boot - the prize for the top scorer. Everton are inundated with offers to sell Lineker. But Gary has the last word: "Of course I like it here, but, you know, I want to play in European competition" Barcelona are right there with six million greenbacks in their pockets.Liverpudl are making good money.Catalan coach Terry Venables is not averse to creating a British colony from Barcelona and pairs Gary with Mark Hughes from Manchester United.Firstly in Spain everything went like clockwork for Lineker: goals, the delight of an hour and specialists, while Gary, in turn, is delighted with Catalonia, and then France Football proclaims the English striker No. 2 player in Europe in 1986 (62 points) Ahead only jet Belanov (84).

Italy-90... Swan song of the Robson team. "We are capable of winning the World Cup, no matter what anyone says, but whatever the final result, I'm leaving," was the meaning of the coach's statements. The British approached the tournament perfectly prepared both physically and psychologically. Starting with a creak, they gradually dispersed, and only the "panzer division" of Kaiser Franz in a duet with "her noble lady luck" managed to stop them. England - Ireland. Fundamental meeting. The Irish, who inflated their eternal enemies at the Euro-88, were full of bold thoughts, but already in the 8th minute, Gary, jumping one on one with Bonner, opened the scoring with a right shot. In the second half, Lineker's former Everton teammate Kevin Sheedy responded with a well-aimed shot. Equal, in general, the game. Holland - England. Painted draw. Grandmaster. Although referee Petrovich should have counted Waddle's goal (Chris struck a free direct blow, but the fact of the matter is that the ball hit the Dutchman standing in the wall on the way to the goal), but the judges at that championship spoiled pretty badly. After two rounds, all four teams have absolutely identical performance. England - Egypt. The Egyptians had an excellent team: disciplined, tactically competent, but somehow squeezed, or something. Tough match. Opponents do not spare each other - in one of the clashes, Mark Wright's eyebrow was cut. But the British spirit! .. Gazza's corner from the left. Wright soars up to the ball and with a bandaged bloody head he beats a goal! Ah-ah-ah-ah! England in 1/8. Belgium - England. Fun match. A clean goal from Barnes was canceled, in response to the bar, the ball was sandaled by Kulemans, and then Shifo. And finally, the 119th minute. Gascoigne's brilliant pass and Platt's insight. 1:0! And again - ah-ah-ah! Cameroon - England. That's who played fun and liberated, so it's Cameroon. But the Indomitable Lions were tamed, Lineker and Gazza. Seven minutes before the end of regular time, with the score 2:1 in favor of the Africans, when it seemed that there would be no salvation for the British and no mercy for them, Paul throws Gary into the gap, he is knocked down into the “karma maidanchik”. Penalty. Lineker - N "Kono - 2: 2. Overtime. And again Gascoigne's pass, Gary's jerk, which ended with a 11-meter one. Lineker is merciless. England in the semi-finals !!! For the first time since 1966 !!! England - Germany. Game of nerves Breme-Parker's stupid goal and Lineker's masterpiece 80 minutes Paul Parker, after that stupid rebound, desperately rushes forward. Gary does not get involved in a hopeless fight, but prudently steps aside. The defender plays unsuccessfully with his head (a copy of Cannavaro's discount for Wiltor in the memorable Euro 2000 final). After Parker's cross, the ball hit the ground and for some reason completely disorientated the German trinity - Berthold, Augenthaler and especially Kohler, who was simply obliged to play takeaway. As a result, if one of the defenders touched the ball, then purely nominally. Gary hip at the same time moonlights the ball and moves away from opponents, and then inflicts a smashing blow from fourteen meters into the far right corner of Illgner's goal. Ten goals in the final tournaments of the World Cup is the norm of a grandmaster (senior master). Post-match penalties. Game of nerves. Gary executed his shot flawlessly... Psycho and Waddle - little tragedies of a great game... Paul Gascoigne's tears... Italy - England. And who needs these "consolation endings"?!

At the helm of the national team is Graham Taylor. Gary receives the captaincy of the main team of the country after the departure of Bryan Robson. In the 1991/92 season, when Lineker almost single-handedly saved Tottenham from relegation from the first division and saved them for the newly established Premier League, Gary was haunted not only by the injuries that literally tortured him in the previous season. Very seriously - leukemia! - Lineker's eldest son fell ill ... The fact that his father managed to demonstrate the habitually highest class of the game raised him from the ordinary idols of the crowd to some unattainable height - from now on, Lineker in England could be forgiven by everyone!

The following season became typical for Lineker. "Spurs" crashed to the bottom of the standings (15th place), and the attempt to win the Cup Winners' Cup was also unsuccessful (defeat in 1/4 from Feyenoord - 0:1 and 0:0). Gary, on the other hand, shone: 28 goals in the championship (only in the last round he was one ball ahead of gunner Ian Wright) and only 35 in 50 matches of the season for the club, an excellent game for the national team (namely, his fantastic kick in a fall through himself 13 minutes before the end meeting with the Poles allowed to even the score and brought the British to the final of Euro 92). At the end of the season, Gary is recognized as the best football player in England according to the “hyenas of the pen and jackals of rotary machines”.

Before the start of the European Championship in Sweden, Lineker signed a two-year contract with the Japanese club Nagoya Grampus Eight and announced his retirement from the national team. "Ability" in addition to the title of European champion expected Gary to break the performance record of Bobby Charlton. Sir Bobby scored 47 goals in the games for the national team, Gary had 46. But all this was not destined to come true: England did not leave the group, and its main striker did not score a single goal. But he proved to be a good assistant - in most cases, it was from his passes that the few sharp moments that the British had were created, it was from his pass that the only goal of the national team was scored (the most accurate pass from the right flank. Platt had only to hit the target). And Graham Taylor replaced Lineker in the middle of the second half of the decisive match with the hosts of the tournament with the score 1:1 for Alan Smith. The British lost. Gary left the field ... Throwing the captain's armband in the direction of Pierce ... He left the field without scoring ... With his departure, the era of the last British England team ended (after the failure at the Euro, all mentors will blindly head for the “Europeanization” of the national team What came out of it, we all saw very well). I cried... A piece of my childhood left with Gary...

After finishing his playing career in Japan, Gary returned to his homeland. Received the Order of the British Empire from the hands of the Queen. Now he is a football commentator on the BBC, a great host of the popular program "Match of the Day". To get on the air with Lineker is an honor for any celebrity, and not only football. "I still feel like I'm going to be exposed sooner or later."