Mark Hughes

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This article is about the Welsh footballer. For other people with the same name, see Mark Hughes (disambiguation).
Mark Hughes
Personal information
Full name Leslie Mark Hughes
Date of birth November 1, 1963 (age 43)
Place of birth    Ruabon, Wrexham, Wales
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Nickname Sparky
Playing position Forward
Club information
Current club Blackburn Rovers
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1980–1986
1986–1987
1987–1988
1988–1995
1995–1998
1998–2000
2000
2000–2002		 Manchester United
Barcelona
→ Bayern Munich (loan)
Manchester United
Chelsea
Southampton
Everton
Blackburn Rovers
Total		 089 0(37)
028 00(4)
018 00(6)
256 0(82)
095 0(25)
052 00(2)
018 00(1)
050 00(6)
606 (163)   
National team
1984–1999 Wales 072 0(16)
Teams managed
1999-2004
2004-		 Wales
Blackburn Rovers

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only.
* Appearances (Goals)

Leslie Mark Hughes OBE (born November 1, 1963 in Ruabon, Wrexham, Wales), nicknamed Sparky, is a legendary former Welsh football player and currently a manager at Blackburn Rovers. As a Welsh international footballer, he made 72 appearances and scored 16 goals. He was a talented forward, who was without peer at holding up the ball for himself and fellow strikers to profit.

Contents

[edit] Playing career

[edit] Manchester United

Hughes joined Manchester United on leaving school in the summer of 1980 but did not make his first team debut for three years - in a 1-1 draw away to Oxford United in the FA Cup, in the 1983-84 season. Like many other United legends, "Sparky" quickly became a favourite by scoring on his debut and establishing himself as a regular first team player. He was a key player in United's run to the 1985 FA Cup final which resulted in a 1-0 win over Everton.

[edit] Barcelona and Bayern Munich

In the summer of 1986, Hughes was surprisingly sold to Barcelona for £2 million (largely because Barcelona were perceived as the most glamorous club in Europe at the time, but also perhaps in part because the ban against English clubs taking part in European competitions at the time made playing in the other European leagues seem more attractive). Manager Terry Venables was hoping for him to be a successful strike partner for Gary Lineker but Hughes was a disappointment in his only season at Barcelona and was subsequently loaned out to German club Bayern Munich for the 1987-88 season, where he regained his form.

[edit] Back to Manchester United

In May 1988, Hughes returned to Manchester United, now managed by Alex Ferguson, for a then club record of £1.8 million. As he had done in his first spell at Old Trafford, Hughes proved to be a dynamic goalscorer and was a key player for the club in winning two League championships, two FA Cups, one League Cup and one Cup Winners' Cup.The 1991 Cup Winners' Cup final against his old club Barcelona was arguably the most memorable game of his career,scoring both goals,one from close range (helping in an already goalbound header from Steve Bruce),and a superb second,scoring from what seemed an impossible angle.

[edit] Chelsea

He left Old Trafford for the second and final time in June 1995 when he was sold to Chelsea for £1.5million, in a summer that also saw the departures of players such as Paul Ince (to Internazionale) and Andrei Kanchelskis (to Everton). However, United still managed to achieve more success without Hughes, with the team winning the double for the second time in the subsequent season.

Hughes was one of the key players in Chelsea's resurgence as a top club in the late 1990s, forming an unlikely strike partnership with Gianfranco Zola and helping to freeze out Gianluca Vialli. He put in match-winning performances against Liverpool and Wimbledon in the FA Cup in 1997, and Vicenza in the Cup Winners' Cup a year later en route to Chelsea winning both trophies. In winning the FA Cup, he became the only player of the 20th century to win the trophy four times. He ended his Chelsea career with 39 goals from 123 games and was transferred to Southampton in July 1998.

[edit] Southampton

He was signed for Southampton for £650,000 by manager Dave Jones as a replacement for David Hirst. Unfortunately, the goals failed to flow and Hughes was pushed back into midfield where his experience helped Southampton maintain their Premiership status. His 2 goals for the Saints came against Blackburn Rovers, who he was later to join, and a memorable volley at home to Newcastle United on 15 August 1999, which was the final nail in the coffin of their manager, Ruud Gullit.

[edit] Everton and Blackburn Rovers

When Glenn Hoddle arrived as Southampton's manager, Hughes did not fit in to his plans and he left for Everton. By now, Hughes was winding down his career as a player and in August 1999 was appointed national coach of the Welsh football team, although he moved outside of the top division for the first time in his playing career in 2000-01 to play a key role in getting Blackburn Rovers promoted from Division One. He also lifted the League Cup with Blackburn in February 2002 before finally hanging up his boots a few months short of his 39th birthday.

[edit] Managerial career

[edit] Wales

When Mark Hughes was appointed national coach, Wales were one of the weaker national sides in the world. But in the five years with Hughes in charge, Wales came close to qualifying for Euro 2004 and in their qualifying group beat Italy - they were only denied a place in the competition after losing to Russia in the playoffs.

[edit] Blackburn Rovers

Hughes quit the Welsh national side in September 2004 to take charge of Blackburn Rovers in the FA Premier League, the last club he had played for. His key aim was to keep Blackburn clear of relegation which he succeeded in doing, whilst also taking the club to an FA Cup semi-final for the first time in over 40 years.

In his second season, Hughes' side surprised even the most optimistic supporters by finishing inside the top 6 of the Premiership and qualifying for the UEFA Cup, beating teams such as Chelsea, Manchester United (twice) and Arsenal along the way. After just missing out on the League Cup final, his team sealed their spot in Europe by defeating champions Chelsea 1-0 at home.

On May 4, 2006, Hughes and assistant Mark Bowen signed new three-year contracts to remain at Blackburn until the summer of 2009.

Hughes has set about creating a formidable side at Ewood Park, on the smallest of transfer budgets. He has proved to be a very shrewd dealer in the transfer market, bringing in bargains such as Benni McCarthy (£2m), Ryan Nelsen (free), Stephen Warnock (£1.5m) and Christopher Samba (£400k). Rovers are currently 10th in the Premier League, heading towards another top 6 finish and face Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final, with the aim of being the first FA Cup winners at the all new Wembley Stadium in May 2007.


[edit] Other facts

Whilst Hughes was playing for Manchester United, he was chosen to officially open the Rene Road Ground, home to Midland Football Combination Premier Division side Bolehall Swifts.

[edit] Honours

[edit] As a player

With Manchester United

  • 1985 F.A. Cup
  • 1990 F.A. Cup
  • 1991 European Cup Winners Cup
  • 1992 League Cup
  • 1993 F.A. Premier League
  • 1993 F.A. Charity Shield
  • 1994 F.A. Premier League
  • 1994 F.A. Cup
  • 1994 F.A. Charity Shield

With Chelsea

With Blackburn Rovers

[edit] Managerial statistics

Team Nat From To Record
G W L D Win %
Blackburn Rovers Flag of England September 15, 2004 Present 128 55 42 32 42.19

Updated to 4th March 2007

[edit] External links


Preceded by
Paul Walsh		 PFA Young Player of the Year
1985		 Succeeded by
Tony Cottee
Preceded by
John Barnes		 PFA Players' Player of the Year
1989		 Succeeded by
David Platt
Preceded by
David Platt		 PFA Players' Player of the Year
1991		 Succeeded by
Gary Pallister
Preceded by
Graeme Souness		 Blackburn Rovers F.C. Manager
2004-present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent


Blackburn Rovers F.C. - Current Squad

1 Friedel | 3 Khizanishvili | 4 Todd | 5 Tugay | 6 Nelsen | 7 Emerton | 8 Savage | 9 Nonda | 10 McCarthy | 11 Bentley | 12 Gamst Pedersen | 13 Enckelman | 14 Reid | 15 Mokoena | 16 Henchoz | 17 Jeffers | 18 Gallagher | 19 Dunn | 20 Ooijer | 21 Samba | 22 Warnock | 23 Brown | 25 Berner | 27 Derbyshire | 28 Fielding | 29 Treacy | 30 Roberts | 31 Peter | 32 Nolan | 33 Gray | Manager: Hughes
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