Craig Levein

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Craig Levein
CraigLeveinCoachSCO.jpg
Craig Levein (2012)
Personnel
Surname Craig William Levein
birthday October 22, 1964
place of birth DunfermlineScotland
size 185 cm
position Central defender
Juniors
Years station
FC Lochore Welfare
Men's
Years station Games (goals) 1
1981-1983 Cowdenbeath FC 60 0(0)
1983-1997 Heart of Midlothian 329 (15)
National team
Years selection Games (goals)
1990-1994 Scotland 16 0(0)
Stations as a trainer
Years station
1997-2000 Cowdenbeath FC
2000-2004 Heart of Midlothian
2004-2006 Leicester City
2006 Raith Rovers
2006-2009 Dundee United
2009–2012 Scotland
2017-2019 Heart of Midlothian
1 Only league games are given.

Craig William Levein (born October 22, 1964 in Dunfermline , Scotland ) is a former Scottish football player and current coach.

Player career

society

Levein attended Inverkeithing High School in his teens , where he was part of the school's soccer team. At the age of 15 he wanted to stop playing football, but his brother, who played for FC Lochore Welfare , convinced him to join the club. Levein signed up with Lochore Welfare and finally signed his first professional contract with FC Cowdenbeath in 1981 . Levein stayed with the then Scottish third division club for two years and then moved to Heart of Midlothian in the Scottish Premier League , where he spent the rest of his football career. Already in the 1983/84 season, the defender was a regular part of the Hearts starting line-up. In 1984 he broke his own teammate Graeme Hogg 's nose in a friendly against the Raith Rovers and was suspended for twelve games. In the following year he developed into a high performer. He also scored his first first division goal this season. With the Hearts he reached the final of the Scottish FA Cup in 1986 , but it was lost 3-0 to Aberdeen FC . In 1985 and 1986 he was also recognized as Scotland's Young Player of the Year . Because of injuries Levein came to only 42 league appearances between 1986 and 1989. It wasn't until the beginning of the 1989/90 season that he made his comeback to become a full-fledged player. Until 1994, he never played less than thirty league games per season.

In 1997, Levein retired from professional football at the age of 32 due to complicated injuries.

National team

Levein played 16 games for the Scottish national team between 1990 and 1994 . He made his debut in the home game against Argentina in March 1990. Shortly thereafter, national coach Andy Roxburgh appointed him to the squad for the World Cup . There he was used in one of three possible preliminary round matches. In the only win in the competition against Sweden Levein was on the field for the full 90 minutes. In the decisive game for a place in the knockout round, he was not considered.

Coaching career

After the Scot had involuntarily resigned as a player, he took over his first coaching position at FC Cowdenbeath in November 1997 , where he had also played as an active player. He looked after the team for three years and managed to incorporate new structures into the club environment. In 2000 he moved to his former club, the Hearts of Midlothian, where he had a successful time. He was third in the league in 2003 and 2004 and qualified for the UEFA Cup over the years . In 2004 he left Hearts and joined Leicester City as a coach. He was released there in 2006. In the same year he coached the Scottish third division Raith Rovers for a short time . He was head coach of the team for only seven games and could only celebrate one victory. Levein coached Dundee United from 2006 to 2009 . For the 2007/08 season he succeeded with Dundee in fifth place in the league. This place was defended the following year. Due to the poorer goal difference, they missed a better placement and thus qualification for the UEFA Europa League . On December 22, 2009, the Scottish Football Association announced that Lev would be the new coach of the Scottish national team . This happened without the consent of his previous club Dundee United. On November 5, 2012, Levein was sacked by the Scottish Football Association after poor results in World Cup qualifiers . In August 2017 he took over the post of head coach at Heart of Midlothian for the second time . At the end of October 2019, he was dismissed as coach and sports director after the club was only separated by the better goal difference from last place in the table.

successes

As a player

As a trainer

  • Scottish League Cup with Dundee United : Runner-up 2007/08
  • Manager of the Month in Scotland: (5) December 2001, April 2003, November 2006, March 2007, October 2007

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Has anyone ever been sent off for fouling his own team-mate? from May 19, 2004 on guardian.co.uk
  2. List: Appearances of the Scottish players at the World Cup 1990 on weltfussball.de
  3. Levein takes over Scottish selection from December 23, 2009 on focus.de
  4. scottishfa.co.uk: Scottish FA Board Statement: Craig Levein , November 5, 2012, accessed November 5, 2012
  5. bbc.com: Hearts: Craig Levein sacked as manager & director of football (October 31, 2019) , accessed November 1, 2019