Gary Winston Lineker, OBE (born 30 November 1960 in Leicester) is a former English international football striker who scored ten goals in two World Cups for the England national team and is currently a sports broadcaster for the BBC. He is also known for appearing in adverts for the Walkers crisp brand.It was his sense of positioning and tap-ins that made him one of England's most prolific strikers of all-time, although this style of play sometimes provoked accusations that he was a "goal hanger" capitalising on the effort of others. However, Lineker was an intelligent player with an understanding of the game and dedication to improvement[citation needed]. He achieved fluency in the Spanish and Japanese languages, which allowed him to adjust better than most of his compatriots when playing for foreign clubs, and also to make a smooth transition into his role as a pundit and sports broadcaster.
Club career
He began his career at his hometown club of Leicester City in 1976, breaking into Leicester's first-team squad in 1978. Lineker began scoring prolifically in the early 1980s, finishing twice amongst the top flight's leading scorers and winning his first England call up. He was Division One top goalscorer in 1984-85 (tied on 24 goals with Kerry Dixon). After transfer to Everton (1985-86), he scored 38 goals in 52 games, and was top scorer in Division One with 30 goals. Barcelona signed him just prior to the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. His Golden Shoe-winning performance at the finals led to much anticipation of success at the Nou Camp, and he didn't disappoint, scoring 21 goals in 41 games during his first season, including a hat-trick in a 3-2 win over arch rivals Real Madrid. Barcelona went on to win the Copa del Rey in 1988 and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1989. However, Barcelona coach Johan Cruijff decided to play Lineker on the right of midfield and he eventually lost his first team place. Lineker was wanted by Alex Ferguson of Manchester United to partner his ex-Barcelona team-mate Mark Hughes in attack, but Lineker rejected the Manchester club and returned to England to play three seasons at Tottenham Hotspur, scoring 67 goals in 105 games and winning the FA Cup. He finished as top scorer in Division One in the 1989–90 season, scoring 24 goals. He ended his career with an injury-plagued spell in Japan's J. League with Nagoya Grampus Eight where he made 23 appearances over two seasons scoring nine times. Lineker was PFA Players' Player of the Year in 1986 and placed third in voting for the inaugural FIFA World Player of the Year in 1991. Despite his long career, Lineker was never cautioned by a referee for foul play (never once receiving a yellow card or a red card).
National team career
He first played for the England national team against Scotland in 1984. He played five games in the 1986 World Cup, and was top scorer of the tournament with six goals, winning the Golden Shoe, making him the first and to this day only English player to have done so. He played most of the tournament wearing a lightweight cast on his forearm. In 1988 Lineker played in the European Football Championship, but failed to score as England lost all three Group games. It was later established that he had been suffering from hepatitis.
In the 1990 World Cup, he scored four goals to help England reach the semi-finals.
He retired from international football with 80 caps and 48 goals, one fewer than Bobby Charlton's England record (although Charlton took 26 more caps to score his one extra goal). In what proved to be his last England match, against Sweden at Euro 92, he was controversially substituted by the unsuccessful England coach Graham Taylor, in favour of Arsenal striker Alan Smith, ultimately denying him the chance to equal the total. He had earlier missed a penalty that would have brought him level, in a pre-tournament friendly against Brazil. He was seen to be visibily upset at the decision, not looking at Taylor as he took the bench.
He scored 4 goals in an England match on two occasions.
