Ian Callaghan

Ian Callaghan
Ian Callaghan, 1966
Personnel
Surname	Ian Robert Callaghan
birthday	April 10, 1942
place of birth	Toxteth ,  England
position	midfield player
Men's
Years	station	Games (goals) 1
1960-1988	Liverpool FC	640 (49)
1978	→  Fort Lauderdale Strikers  (loan)	20 0(0)
1978-1981	Swansea City	76 0(1)
1979	→  Canberra City  (loan)	9 0(0)
1981	Cork United
1981	Sandefjord Fotball
1981-1982	Crewe Alexandra	15 0(0)
National team
Years	selection	Games (goals)
1966-1977	England	4 0(0)
1 Only league games are given.

Ian Robert Callaghan (born April 10, 1942 in Toxteth ) is a retired English football player . He holds the record for most games for Liverpool FC .

Athletic career

Callaghan was a supporter of Liverpool FC as a youth and joined the club in 1960. In April he made his debut for the club and received a new coach in the legendary Bill Shankly .

As a winger on the right, Callaghan had been a regular since 1961. During this time Liverpool was still in the Second Division , but rose under Shankly in 1962 in the elite league.

Callaghan played in the emerging team that won the English championship in 1964 and 1966 and the FA Cup in the intervening year . Callaghan prepared Ian St John's decisive header in the Cup final at Wembley Stadium by serving him with a cross.

The success with the English championship in 1966 was awarded with the subsequent defeat in the final of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup a mood damper, but Callaghan was able to, as well as two Liverpool team-mates, with the nomination of Alf Ramsey for the cadres of the England team for the 1966 World Cup in comfort one's own country.

Callaghan played against France in the group stage when England won 2-0. However, this was the only game Callaghan played in the tournament, as Ramsey opted for an innovative game system without conventional wingers that Callaghan embodied. The team then won the world championship and became known as "wingless wonders". Callaghan's national team career should almost be over at the age of just 24.

The rest of the 1960s passed with little success for Liverpool and Shankly began to restructure and rejuvenate the team. Callaghan benefited from this development with his teammates Tommy Smith , Chris Lawler and Emlyn Hughes and, although he was not even 30 years old, became a kind of "Elder Statesman" figure in a very young team around him. In addition, Callaghan moved from his winger position to a midfield role .

With Callaghan Liverpool reached the final of the FA Cup , but lost the game 1: 2 against Arsenal . Two years later, the club won both the English championship and the UEFA Cup . In 1974 they defeated Newcastle United 3-0 in the FA Cup final , winning the trophy for the second time. Shortly thereafter, Shankly resigned and Callaghan was the only player who was longer in the team than Shankly in office. Also in 1974, Callaghan was named England's Footballer of the Year and the Order of the British Empire for his services to football as an MBE .

Even at the age of 34, Callaghan's career did not slow down and he won the championship and UEFA Cup double in 1976. In the following year, in which Liverpool won the triple of championship, European Cup and Super Cup , Callaghan came to his fourth and final international match.

In the same year, Liverpool only lost to Manchester United in the FA Cup final . Callaghan was a substitute for the second half and impressed his coach Bob Paisley so much that he considered him for the European Cup final against Borussia Mönchengladbach in Rome only a few days later, which the team won 3-1.

He played another season for Liverpool, at the end of which the club was able to win the national championship again, with Callaghan not being used in the final. He then took part in the final of the League Cup, which Liverpool lost at Wembley against Nottingham Forest after a replay game. The league cup should also be the only domestic trophy Callaghan never won.

In the autumn of 1978 Callaghan left Liverpool after 857 competitive games. He joined his former teammate John Toshack and the club Swansea City and helped the club to two consecutive promotions. He was also temporarily active in the USA for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers , together with longtime companions Gordon Banks and George Best , and ended his career at Crewe Alexandra . Callaghan ended his footballing career in 1981 at the age of 39, although it was less advanced age than Achilles tendon problems that moved him to take this step.

Callaghan received only a comparatively low level of awareness after his resignation. However, he continues to be Liverpool's record holder for most first-team games, most league games and most European club appearances. He is also the only Liverpool player to date who has made his way from second division player in Liverpool to European Cup winner.

successes

• World Champion: 1966
• European Champion Clubs' Cup: 1977, 1978
• UEFA Cup winners: 1973, 1976
• Super Cup Winner: 1977
• English champion: 1964, 1966, 1973, 1976, 1977
• FA Cup winners: 1965, 1974
• Community Shield winner: 1964 *, 1965 *, 1966, 1974, 1976, 1977 * (*: title shared)

Web links

• Profile at lfchistory.net
• Profile on englandfootballonline.com