Gary Mabbutt

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Personal information
Gary Mabbutt
Full name	Gary Mabbutt
Date of birth	23 August 1961 (1961-08-23) (age 46)
Place of birth	Bristol, England
Height	5'10"
Playing position	Defender
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1979–1982 1982–1998	Bristol Rovers Tottenham Hotspur	131 (10) 482 (27)
National team
1982–1992 1982–1986 1984–1992	England England U21 England B	016 0(1) 007 0(2) 009 0(1)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. * Appearances (Goals)

Gary Mabbutt MBE (born 23 August 1961 in Bristol) is an English former professional football player. He was most regularly seen in central defence but was a versatile player who excelled also in midfield.

He his best remembered for his 16-year spell at Tottenham Hotspur, where he played from 1982 until 1998.

In 1991, he appeared in a Comic Relief Special as a special one-time-only member of "Scouts in Skirts", playing drums.

He became one of the best known defenders in English football in the 1980s, playing initially for Bristol Rovers before joining the first division club Tottenham Hotspur, where he became captain and won 16 caps for England, and scored one goal for England against Yugoslavia in 1986.

Mabbutt also has diabetes, and became an icon for many children with the condition. He famously appeared on the BBC's children's television programme Blue Peter where he demonstrated injecting insulin into an orange to show how he dealt with his condition on a daily basis.

Another CBBC appearance came in the drama series The Queen's Nose, an adaptation of the book by Dick King-Smith. Mabbutt appeared in a cameo as himself, appearing in the nick of time to help save a children's football team from defeat.

With Spurs, he won the UEFA Cup in 1984 and the FA Cup in 1991.

He suffered a broken leg on the opening day of the 1996-97 season and did not return until the following campaign, after which he retired from playing after 16 years at White Hart Lane. By this stage, he was the club's longest-serving player.

He remains famous in Coventry where the unofficial Coventry City fanzine is named Gary Mabbutt's Knee, following his own goal which gave them victory in the 1987 FA Cup Final.