Glenn Hoddle Biography; Tottenham Hotspur Legend

Maybe later football fans know Glenn Hoddle well as a pundit, but the Tottenham icon’s career both as a player and as a manager was ultimately successful as he lifted four major trophies with the Spurs as a player and leaded England to World Cup 98 qualification as a manager.

However, a lot of controversies affected the Spurs icon both on and off the pitch, and here in

Glenn Hoddle biography

, you can find the amazing facts about the life of a man who was inducted English Football Hall of Fame in 2007 and is known as one of the best English midfielders ever.

Despite joining Chelsea in the spring of 1991 and later became the manager of the club, but he never ceased to be a favorite for Tottenham fans as he served his beloved Spurs for more than 12 years, and will remain Tottenham’s ‘Glenda’ perhaps forever.

All You Need to Know about Glenn Hoddle Biography

Here in

Glenn Hoddle biography

, you found amazing details of the spanned life of the England former midfielder. Having careers in

 makes Glenn Hoddle life story an entertaining topic to read.

Glenn Hoddle Information

• Full name: Glenn Hoddle

• Nickname: Glenda

Personal information

• Glenn Hoddle date of birth: Sunday, 27 October 1957

• Zodiac sign: Scorpio

• Place of birth: Hayes, Middlesex, England

• Glenn Hoddle religion: Christian

• Mother’s name: Teresa Roberts

• Father’s name: Derek Hoddle

• Glenn Hoddle nationality: English

• Marital status: Divorced

• Former wives: Vanessa J. Colbourn, Christine Anne Stirling

Body Measurements

• Hair color: Blonde

• Eye color: Blue

• Height: 1.83 m

• Weight: 78 kg

• Body Type: Athletic

Glenn Hoddle Early Life

We continue Glenn Hoddle biography by mentioning

Glenn Hoddle date of birth

is 27 October 1957, to his father Derek Hoddle and mother Teresa Roberts. He attended Burnt Mill School in Harlow and has been supporting Tottenham Hotspur since he was eight, he mentioned Martin Chivers as his favorite player. He first caught the attention of the Spurs when he was 11 and was playing at a school tournament final.

Being invited to train with the club at Tottenham's practice ground in Cheshunt by Tottenham legend, Martin Chivers, Hoddle eventually joined the club academy when he was 12.

Glenn Hoddle childhood

before becoming professional ends at his early ages, as at the age of 15, Hoddle played for Harlow-based Sunday league club Longmans alongside his father. Hoddle's uncle, Dave, was part of the Stansted team that won the 1984 FA Vase.

Glenn Hoddle Profile

In this part of Glenn Hoddle biography, we learn out how he achieved success as both a football player and manager. Being born in London,

Glenn Hoddle nationality

is English, and has made 53 appearances for England.

In addition to representing Tottenham, Monaco,

, and Chelsea, Hoddle has been manager of Swindon Town (earning promotion to the Premier League), Chelsea (taking them to the FA Cup final), Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur (reaching a League Cup final) and most recently Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Tottenham

Glenn Hoddle life story

as

starts when he made his Spurs first-team debut as a 17-year-old substitute for Cyril Knowles against Norwich City on 30 August 1975, a game that ended 2–2. Hoddle was forced to wait until 21 February 1976 to start a First Division match when he scored the winning goal against Stoke City, with a spectacular strike past Stoke City and England goalkeeper Peter Shilton.

Despite the club's relegation to the Second Division in 1976–77 after 27 seasons of First Division football, a Hoddle-inspired Spurs side won promotion to the top flight at the first attempt as Tottenham's transitional phase continued.

The 1979–80 campaign heralded the emergence of Hoddle as a top-class player; the 22-year-old midfielder scored 19 goals in 41 league appearances and was awarded the PFA Young Player of the Year award at the end of the season. In 1981, he starred as Spurs won the FA Cup for the sixth time against Manchester City. Hoddle scored in both the Final and Final replay.

Hoddle performed as the midfield fulcrum in many of these successes and also contributed magnificently as the team reached the final of the League Cup, losing 3–1 to Liverpool, and the semi-final stage of the European Cup Winners Cup.

However, a number of niggling injury problems restricted Hoddle appearances the following season. However, Hoddle proved to be the architect behind the team's 1984 UEFA Cup triumph despite missing the Final due to fitness concerns.

In 1987, the newly appointed AS Monaco manager Arsène Wenger brought him to the French league for a fee of £750,000.

Monaco

Hoddle joined AS Monaco alongside

and fellow Englishman Mark Hateley and immediately inspired the club to the 1988 Ligue 1 championship, its first league title in six seasons. Hoddle was voted the Best Foreign Player in French football and helped to guide the team to the quarter-finals of the European Cup in the 1988–89 campaign. However, a severe knee injury curtailed Hoddle's career at the highest level, and in November 1990, the 33-year-old left the club by mutual consent, having helped to improve the standing of English footballers in foreign countries.

He returned to England and signed for Chelsea on a non-contract basis to regain his fitness, leaving Stamford Bridge in March 1991 without playing a senior match to become player-manager of Swindon Town in the Second Division.

Swindon Town (Player-Manager)

He joined the club as player-manager in April 1991, his first match Swindon boss was on April 6th, when he watched his new side slump to a 2-1 defeat at home to Watford.

Hoddle's first job was to rescue the Town from relegation. After the irregular payments scandal and subsequent demotion, Swindon had lost their form, and players had been sold to balance the books. Hoddle had just eight games to put things right, and he succeeded - their Second Division place being assured after a convincing 5-2 win over Leicester at the County Ground at the end of April.

The following season saw Hoddle change the Town's formation from Ossie's 4-4-2 diamond system to a new 5-3-2 lineup, in which Hoddle played as a sweeper, utilizing wing-backs to bolster both the attack and the defense. Hoddle proved to be a shrewd tactician, with many future Town greats, such as Shaun Taylor and John Moncur, signed for small fees - and his first full season in charge saw the Town narrowly miss out on a play-off place.

Hoddle kicked off the 1992/1993 season in style, scoring an amazing winning goal in the opening game versus Sunderland. The Town started as they meant to go on, and they finished the campaign in fifth place. Amidst speculation that he was to take over the manager's role at Chelsea, Hoddle led the Town to the Premier League, scoring the first goal in the 4-3 Play-Off final victory over Leicester.

Hoddle refused to confirm or deny the rumors, and it came as no surprise when, just days after the Wembley triumph, he resigned to join Chelsea.

Chelsea (Player-Manager)

His performances for Swindon were such that Chelsea was forced to pay an undisclosed fee, rumored to be in the region of £500, 000, to secure the services of the 35-year-old. He made his League debut in a 2-1 defeat by Blackburn at Stamford Bridge on the opening day of the 1993/94 season.

The Blues' early season form was unconvincing but in true

fashion the disappointing results were interspersed with outstanding home wins against Liverpool and Manchester United, Hoddle looking particularly impressive against a United side who were destined to win the domestic double that year. After 14 games, most as a sweeper but a handful in midfield, Glenn dropped out of the team and started only two more matches that campaign.

In the relegation zone at Christmas, Chelsea eventually avoided relegation comfortably. However, a fine FA Cup run saw The Blues reach the final against Manchester United and allowed Hoddle to lead his team out at Wembley at the end of his first season in charge. He picked Craig Burley in the starting line-up ahead of himself and replaced the young Scot after United's second goal, The Reds eventually running out 4-0 winners. Hoddle restricted himself to just three starts and nine substitute appearances throughout the following campaign.

Always a big game player, the matches he selected himself for just happened to be home clashes with Manchester United, Liverpool, and Arsenal. The match against the Gunners came on the final day of the season and marked his final appearance as a player. Turning back the clock, he created the opening goal for Paul Furlong with a sublime pass as Chelsea beat their London rivals 2-1 to end the season in the 11th spot, their highest League placing during his tenure.

When he was substituted midway through the second period, he received a standing ovation from both sets of supporters. Having reached the semi-finals of the European Cup Winners Cup in 1994/95, Chelsea had another impressive cup run during Glenn's final season in charge, reaching another FA Cup semi-final but again finding Manchester United too tough a nut to crack. At the end of that season, with Chelsea still in mid-table but with a far more solid infrastructure now in place, Hoddle accepted the poisoned chalice which is the England job.

England (Manager)

In 1996, Hoddle replaced Terry Venables after England's Euro 96 campaign and guided England to qualification for the 1998 World Cup.

However, controversies surrounding not calling up

and installing supposed faith healer Eileen Drewery as part of the England coaching staff made his reign in England bitter. After being eliminated in the 1998 World Cup during a penalty shoot-out against Argentina and a disappointing start to the Euro 2000 qualifying campaign led to him being sacked.

However, Hoddle's 60% win rate during his spell as a manager is only bettered by Sir Alf Ramsey, Fabio Capello, and Sam Allardyce.

Other Managing Spells

After England, Hoddle had spells as manager at Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Hoddle kept the Saints in the Premier League with a 15th-place finish, but left in March 2001 to return to Tottenham as manager. Southampton were on course for a 10th-place finish – their highest since 1995 – when Hoddle left.

However, finishing 9th and 10th in 01-02 and 02-03 seasons led Hoddle to be sacked in September 2003 after a slow start to the season.

After two years at Wolverhampton Wanderers, in 2008 Hoddle formed the Glenn Hoddle Academy based in Spain, and said he won’t take any jobs until his Academy raises to his expectations.

The academy aims to give another chance to young players released by football clubs in England to become professional players.

Style of Play

In this part of

Glenn Hoddle bio

, we tell you what a great player Glenn was. Most of the modern football experts liken Hoddle’s style of play to Real Madrid and Croatia’s midfielder,

.

Starting his career at his boyhood club Spurs, he was immediately marked out from the rest of his peers; possessing a vision, awareness, agility, and a two-footed passing repertoire he stuck out in the largely stagnant First Division. During his prime, no player has been able to manipulate the ball to their own will, not exhibited the ability to capture the imagination of fans, quite like Hoddle did.

Modern-day players such as Zinedine Zidane, Luka Modrić, David Silva, and Andrés Iniesta can all be compared to Glenn Hoddle in his prime; fleet-footed, intelligent, and clinical. However, the English media and fans could never really warm to Hoddle, instead favoring strength and fist-pumping determination.

Hoddle once lamented in an interview that he

“was playing against the tide a lot of the time

”. Successive England managers simply considered him to be an extravagance and didn’t know how to utilize him effectively. Many of his former teammates in France have lamented the fact he was born English.

His former manager, Wenger, later said. “

His control was superb and he had perfect body balance. His skill with both feet was uncanny… I couldn’t understand why he hadn’t been appreciated in England. Perhaps he was a star in the wrong period, years ahead of his time.”

Reception

Universally acknowledged as the most elegant and talented player of his generation, Glenn Hoddle spent 12 years as a player at White Hart Lane and earned himself a place in Spurs' folklore with his dazzling range of passing and exquisite close control.

Tottenham’s official website writes honoring their legend: ‘One of the most gifted players of his generation, voted many times over the years as our greatest-ever player, Glenn Hoddle lit up Spurs for 12 years with his sublime skills, unequaled passing ability, eye for a goal and that knack of being able to turn a game with a moment of magic.

Fans of a certain vintage will be able to reel off any number of goals - volleys against Forest and United, that chip at Watford, a 35-yard humdinger into the top corner at the Kop end at Anfield or his final goal at the Lane in 1987, a run from inside his own half against Oxford, to name but a few.’

Goal Celebration

After scoring an amazing chip at Watford in 1983, Hoddle slides on his knees toward the traveling Whites and let his emotion flow, a celebration that was his perhaps most know goal celebration.

Glenn Hoddle outside football

In May 1987, Hoddle released the pop single "

Diamond Lights

'", which reached number 12 in the UK Singles Chart. It was a duet with his Spurs and England teammate Chris Waddle. The pair's follow-up single 'It's Goodbye' only managed to reach 92 in the British charts.

In addition, Hoddle appeared as a contestant on the second series of the British version of The Masked Singer, masked as the Grandfather Clock, in 2021.

On

Glenn Hoddle religion

, while he was on holiday in Israel in 1986, Hoddle said that he had an experience that led him to become a born-again Christian.

Glenn Hoddle Personal Life

As a former England manager, Hoddle is one of BT's most regularly-used and highly-respected pundits.

Glenn Hoddle has an estimated net worth of $4million. He earned it through his career as a professional footballer and coach.

A born-again Christian, in 1996 Hoddle’s younger brother, former footballer Carl Hoddle, overdosed on paracetamol but recovered. However, he died in March 2008 at the age of 40 after collapsing suddenly from a brain aneurysm.

Family, Children and Relationships

Two failed marriages mark Glenn Hoddle life story outside the pitch. Hoddle has been married twice, firstly to Christine Ann Stirling (1979–1998) and subsequently to Vanessa Colburn (2000–2015). He has three children with his first wife (Zara, Jamie and Zoe).

Philanthropy

In addition to his mentioned football academy, Glenn Hoddle launched a Barts Charity fundraising campaign at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, where he had a life-saving quadruple heart bypass.

Glenn suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed whilst filming a live TV show on BT Sport in October 2018. Following on-the-scene CPR by sound engineer Simon Daniels, Glenn was rushed to St Bartholomew’s Hospital. Surgeons performed open-heart surgery to improve blood flow to his heart, and Glenn remained in the hospital for a month.

In 2020, Glenn Hoddle delighted members of one local club in Kent by paying them a special visit during their CPR training, one of the seven clubs that he generously donated defibrillators around the country.

Legal Issues

On 30 January 1999, with the England team preparing for Euro 2000, and amidst the fall-out from the previous season's World Cup, Hoddle gave an interview to Matt Dickinson of The Times newspaper in an attempt to defend himself against his critics (over issues such as Eileen Drewery and his ideology.) and show a strong front for the remainder of the qualifiers. Dickinson's interview reported that Hoddle had a "

controversial belief that the disabled, and others, are being punished for sins in a former life

." Hoddle's comments were criticized by several politicians including Sports Minister Tony Banks and Prime Minister Tony Blair.

The interview ultimately led to Hoddle being sacked from his England job.

Glenn Hoddle Career Statistics

Having a successful playing career both in England and abroad in France, Glenn Hoddle was an England regular as well during his playing career.

In addition, despite the England job that he lost to controversies, Glenn Hoddle had a good managing career as well.

Club

In a total of 490 appearances for Tottenham, the playmaker scored 110 goals.

For Monaco, being a huge influence in their 1987-88 Division 1 triumph, he scored 30 goals in a total of 87 appearances.

For Swindon Town and Chelsea, where he served as a player-manager, in a total of 113 appearances the English midfielder scored three goals.

International

Hoddle made his debut alongside Kevin Reeves in England's Euro 80 qualifying tie against Bulgaria on 22 November 1979, and bagged a total of 53 appearances, bagging 8 goals.

He was included in the 1982 and 1986 FIFA World Cup squads, and England reached the quarter-finals against Argentina in the latter.

In addition, he was also featured prominently in the European Championship squads of 1980 and 1988, making his 53rd and final international appearance in the final group game of Euro 88, in a 3–1 defeat to the Soviet Union in West Germany.

Managerial

During his time at Swindon Town, when he led them to promotion to England’s Division 1, Hoddle maintained a 42.61% win rate in a total of 115 games.

However, in Chelsea, his win rate drops to 33.76% in 157 games. But with a 60.71% win rate during his time at England, he maintains one of the best win rate percentages as the England boss.

In a total of 533 games as a manager, Hoddle’s teams have won 209 games, drew 156, and lost 168 games.

Glenn Hoddle Honors

Reaching nearly end of

Glenn Hoddle biography

, here we mention the English football icon's decorated career.

Being included in 5 PFA First Division Team of the Year, Glenn Hoddle was included in PFA Team of the Century in 2007 as well.

Hoddle was named Division 1 Foreign Player of the Year in the 1987–88 season, competing with the likes of George Weah.

With Tottenham, he won two FA Cups, a UEFA Cup, and an FA Charity Shield. These trophies add to the first-tier league title he won with Monaco in 1987–88 under the management of

.

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