Gary Winston^[1] 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.

Since retiring from playing in 1994, Lineker has featured in several television commercials for Walkers Crisps.

Lineker's sense of positioning and tap-ins earned him a reputation as one of England's most prolific strikers of all-time, although this style of play sometimes provoked accusations that he was a "goal hanger" always looking to capitalize on the efforts of others. During his professional career, Lineker is noted for never having been cautioned or sent off by the referee. He studied the Spanish and Japanese languages,^[2] 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.

[edit] Early life

Lineker first attended Linden primary school in Evington and then went to the City of Leicester School on Downing Drive in Evington. He joined Leicester City FC in 1977.

[edit] Club career

[edit] Leicester City (1977-1985)

Lineker began his career at his home town club of Leicester City when he left school in 1977. Lineker began scoring prolifically in the early 1980s, helping Leicester win promotion to the First Division in 1980 and again in 1983. During his time at Filbert Street he finished twice amongst the top flight's leading scorers and winning his first England call up. He helped Leicester win promotion to the top flight in 1983 and was the First Division's joint top goalscorer in 1984-85 (tied on 24 goals with Kerry Dixon).

[edit] Everton (1985-1986)

In the 1985 close season, Lineker was sold to defending league champions Everton for £800,000, and scored 40 goals in 52 games for his new team. He was again the First Division's leading goal scorer, this time with 30 goals, and helped Everton finish second in the league. While he was at Everton, they reached the FA Cup final for the third year in a row but they lost 3-1 to Liverpool, despite Lineker giving them an early lead.

[edit] Barcelona (1986-1989)

After a strong showing at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, Barcelona signed Lineker for £2,200,000. 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.^[3]. Barcelona went on to win the Copa del Rey in 1988 and the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1989. However, Barcelona coach Johan Cruijff decided to play Lineker on the right of the midfield and he eventually lost his place on the first team.

[edit] Tottenham Hotspur (1989-1992)

Alex Ferguson of Manchester United attempted to sign Lineker to partner his ex-Barcelona team-mate Mark Hughes in attack, but Lineker spurned the Manchester club. Instead, he signed with Tottenham Hotspur in 1989. Over three seasons, 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 was in the Tottenham side that won the FA Cup in 1991 and was the top-division's second-highest goalscorer in 1991-92 with 28 goals from 35 games, behind Ian Wright, who scored 29 times in 42 games. Despite Lineker's personal performance, Tottenham finished this final pre-Premier League season in 15th place.

[edit] Nagoya Grampus Eight (1992-1994)

Lineker 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, before announcing his retirement in the autumn of 1994. He was PFA Players' Player of the Year in 1986 and placed third in voting for the inaugural FIFA World Player of the Year in 1990 - the award ultimately went to Germany's Lothar Matthaus. Despite his long career, Lineker was never cautioned by a referee for foul play (never once receiving a yellow or red card).

[edit] 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 Boot, 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^{[4] [5]}.

In the 1990 World Cup, he scored four goals to help England reach the semi-finals. He scored an equaliser against West Germany after Andreas Brehme sent England 1-0 down, but the West Germans triumphed in the penalty shoot-out and went on to win the trophy.

He retired from international football with 80 caps and 48 goals, one fewer goal 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 England coach Graham Taylor, in favour of Arsenal striker Alan Smith, ultimately denying Lineker the chance to equal Charlton's record of 49 goals. He had earlier missed a penalty that would have brought him level, in a pre-tournament friendly against Brazil. He was visibily upset at the decision, not looking at Taylor as he took the bench.

He scored four goals in an England match on two occasions^[6].

[edit] Honours

• Fifa World Cup - Golden Shoe: 1986 (Mexico)
• Copa del Rey: 1988
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1989
• FA Cup: 1991; Runner-up 1986
• First Division (now Premier League): Runner-up 1986
• English league top scorer: 1985, 1986, 1990