Gary Lineker

Gary Lineker

CountryUnited Kingdom United Kingdom
GenderMale
BirthdayNov 30, 1960
BiographyGary Winston Lineker ( LIN-ə-kər; born 30 November 1960) is an English sports broadcaster and former professional footballer. Lineker is the only player to have been the top goalscorer in England with three clubs: Leicester City, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur. He also played for Barcelona in Spain, and won 80 caps for England. His media career began with the BBC, where he has presented the flagship football programme Match of the Day since the late 1990s, the longest tenure of any MOTD presenter. Lineker is also the BBC's lead presenter for live football matches, including coverage of international tournaments such as the FIFA World Cup. He has also worked for Al Jazeera Sports, Eredivisie Live, NBC Sports Network, and BT Sport's coverage of the UEFA Champions League.

Lineker began his football career at Leicester City in 1978, and finished as the First Division's joint top goalscorer in 1984–85. He then moved to league champions Everton, where he won both the PFA Players' Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year awards in his debut season, before moving to Spanish club Barcelona, where he won the 1987–88 Copa del Rey and the 1989 European Cup Winners' Cup. He joined Tottenham Hotspur in 1989, and won his second FWA Footballer of the Year and the FA Cup, his first and only major trophy in English football. Lineker's final club was Nagoya Grampus Eight; he retired in 1994 after two seasons at the Japanese side.

Lineker made his England debut in 1984, earning 80 caps and scoring 48 goals over an eight-year international career, which made him England's second-highest goalscorer on his retirement. He remains England's fourth-highest scorer, behind Harry Kane, Wayne Rooney and Bobby Charlton, and his goals-to-games ratio remains one of the best for the country. His six goals in the 1986 World Cup made him the tournament's top scorer, receiving the Golden Boot, and he came second in the 1986 Ballon d'Or. Lineker was again integral to England's progress to the semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup, scoring another four goals. He still holds England's record for goals in the World Cup.

Lineker never received a yellow or red card during his career, and he also never won a top-flight league title. He was honoured in 1990 with the FIFA Fair Play Award. In a senior career which spanned 16 years and 654 competitive games, Lineker scored a total of 331 goals, including 283 goals at club level. After his retirement from football he was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame. A keen supporter of Leicester City, he led a consortium in 2002 that invested in his old club, saving it from bankruptcy, and was appointed honorary vice-president.

Biography from the Wikipedia article Gary Lineker. Licensed under CC-BY-SA. Full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

Recently Updated Shows

Recently updated shows that might be of your interest.
Coronation Street
Running

Coronation Street

Coronation Street is the story of working people and the city street in which they live. The show has been seen all around the world and has remained in the top viewing ratings throughout its long lifetime.

GenreDrama
EastEnders
Running

EastEnders

Set in the East End of London, the show focuses on the tensions between love and family with stories ranging from hard-hitting social issues, to personal, human tragedies. And there's plenty of funny moments too. 

Classic characters old and new across thousands of episodes have shared a drink in The Queen Vic, shed tears of despair or joy, sat on Arthur's bench in the Square... and at some point or other they probably crossed paths with Ian Beale.

GenreDrama
Bump
Running

Bump

From the team behind Love My Way and The Secret Life of Us comes the Stan Original series Bump. The series centres around Oly, an ambitious and high-achieving teenage girl who has a surprise baby; and the complications that ensue for two families.

GenreDrama
The Great Christmas Light Fight
Running

The Great Christmas Light Fight

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas with the hit holiday decorating competition series, The Great Christmas Light Fight. Decorating their homes to the extreme for Christmas, families and neighborhoods across America compete to win a cash prize and the coveted Light Fight trophy.

Jersey Shore: Family Vacation
Running

Jersey Shore: Family Vacation

The cast of Jersey Shore swore they would always do a vacation together. Now, five years, five kids, three marriages, and who knows how many GTL sessions later, the gang is back together and on vacation in a swanky house in Miami Beach.