Phil Thompson

This article is about soccer player Phil Thompson. For other people, see Philip Thompson .

Phil Thompson
Personnel
Surname	Philip Bernard Thompson
birthday	January 21, 1954
place of birth	Liverpool ,  England
size	183 cm
position	Central defender
Men's
Years	station	Games (goals) 1
1971-1984	Liverpool FC	340 (7)
1984-1986	Sheffield United	37 (0)
National team
Years	selection	Games (goals)
1976-1982	England	42 (1)
Stations as a trainer
Years	station
1986-1990	Liverpool FC (Assistant)
1998-2004	Liverpool FC (Assistant)
1 Only league games are given.

Philip "Phil" Bernard Thompson (born January 21, 1954 in Liverpool ) is a former English football player . He was active as a defender in the successful Liverpool team in the 1970s and 1980s and later took care of the club as an assistant coach .

Career as a soccer player

Thompson was a Liverpool fanatic in his youth, joined the professional squad in 1971 and made his first-team debut just a year later. In 1973 he won the English championship and UEFA Cup double with his club and played a key role in both successes. In the course of the following season he had already ousted his immediate rivals Larry Lloyd from the team and Tommy Smith to the full-back position and from then on formed an effective partnership in central defense with team captain Emlyn Hughes .

In the 3-0 final win in the FA Cup against Newcastle United in 1974, he took the opposing center forward Malcolm Macdonald out of the game by consistently marking him and two years later was part of the team that again won the UEFA Cup and the English championship. In the same year Thompson was also called up for the first time in the English national team. During a mini-tournament in the USA , he scored his first goal in the summer game against Italy .

It followed in 1977 one of the most successful seasons in the history of Liverpool FC, but in the Thompson suffered a long injury break. Although he came to a sufficient number of games to receive the medal for the English championship title, the injuries prevented his participation in the crucial phase of the FA Cup and the European Cup . Liverpool initially lost the FA Cup final with the veteran substitute for Thompson, Smith, but only a few days later won the national championship cup against Borussia Mönchengladbach in Rome .

Thompson recovered from his injury and returned to Liverpool's defensive the following season. The team reached the final of the League Cup for the first time , a competition that the club had not taken very seriously before. After a goalless draw against Nottingham Forest at Wembley , they met again for a replay in which Thompson committed a foul on Forest center forward John O'Hare , which led to the decisive penalty and gave Brian Clough's side the victory . In retrospect, however, it was found that the foul was committed outside the penalty area and should have resulted in a free kick instead of a penalty kick . Also in the championship Liverpool lost the title race against Nottingham, but was able to repeat the success in the European championship competition, whereby in the final, now with Thompson in their own ranks, Club Bruges was defeated.

With Alan Hansen as Thompson's new partner in central defense, Liverpool won the English championship back in 1979. When Hughes then left the club for the Wolverhampton Wanderers late in 1979 , Thompson was named the new team captain and in 1980 lifted the English championship trophy in this capacity. Thompson also played regularly in the national team and qualified for the 1980 European Championship in Italy, the first tournament for England in ten years, in which, however, they were eliminated early.

The most successful point in Thompson's captaincy took place in 1981, when he received the trophy after winning the European Cup final against Real Madrid , now Liverpool's third overall success. He also received the league cup, which the team won after winning the replay against West Ham United , which also initiated a four-year winning streak for Liverpool in this competition.

There were some disagreements with coach Bob Paisley , who passed the captaincy on to Graeme Souness , although Thompson continued to be used regularly in the defense and in 1982 and 1983 again won the English championship. When he won the League Cup in 1982, he was also in the team, but missed the final win the following year due to an injury.

From 1984, Thompson's perspective in Liverpool worsened significantly after Hansen received a new regular defensive partner in the young Mark Lawrenson . Liverpool won both the championship, the league cup and the national championship competition, but Thompson could not contribute to these successes.

Career as a football coach

Thompson was sold to Sheffield United in 1985 , but where he did not establish himself there and ended his active football career at the age of only 31. He was then hired by Liverpool's new coach Kenny Dalglish as assistant coach. As "Dalglish's right hand man", he looked after the team, which was now led by Hansen as captain, for the following four years and won the English championship with them in 1988 and 1990 and the FA Cup in 1989. A well-known picture shows Thompson during the final minutes of the FA Cup final against Merseyside rivals Everton , when he was sweating heavily in a suit and tie and looking forward to an Everton goal. Everton also scored the equalizer during this phase, which forced extra time . Nevertheless, Liverpool subsequently won.

When Souness, who had already replaced Thompson as team captain, returned to Liverpool to take over as coach of Dalglish later in 1991, Thompson's days were numbered and he left the club at the same time.

In the following years Thompson worked mostly as a football expert in the English public, until Gérard Houllier was the new coach in Liverpool in 1998. After the departure of Roy Evans, Houllier needed a long-time connoisseur of the Liverpool scene and offered Thompson to return to his old job. Thompson accepted this offer, and a second, very eventful era followed. His argument with popular striker Robbie Fowler has been widely accepted as the main reason for Fowler's transfer to Leeds United . In addition, he took over the sole care of the team with some success when Houllier had to undergo heart surgery.

When Houllier left the club in 2004, Thompson did the same. Today he is on the road again as an expert and mainly works regularly for Sky Sports .

successes

• European championship champions: 1977, 1978, 1981
• UEFA Cup winners: 1973, 1976
• English champion: 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983
• FA Cup Winner: 1974
• English League Cup winners: 1981, 1982, 1983
• Community Shield winner: 1974, 1976, 1977 *, 1979, 1980, 1982 * (shared title)

Web links

• Photo by Phil Thompson