Coordinates	13 °31 ′30 ″N71 °58 ′20 ″N
union	International Tennis Federation
first	19th century (U.K.)
contact	No
team	Single or doubles
category	Racquet sport
equipment	Tennis ball, tennis racquet
olympic	1896–1924, 1988–present }}

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all ages. The sport can be played by anyone who can hold a racket, including people in wheelchairs.

The modern game of tennis originated in Birmingham, England in the late 19th century as "lawn tennis" which has close connections to various field/lawn games as well as to the ancient game of ''real tennis''. Up to then, "tennis" referred to the latter sport: for example, in Disraeli's novel ''Sybil'' (1845), Lord Eugene De Vere announces that he will "go down to Hampton Court and play tennis. As it is the Derby [classic horse race], nobody will be there". After its creation, lawn tennis spread throughout the upper-class English-speaking population before spreading around the world.

The rules of tennis have not changed much since the 1890s. Two exceptions are that from 1908 to 1961 the server had to keep one foot on the ground at all times, and the adoption of the tie-break in the 1970s. A recent addition to professional tennis has been the adoption of electronic review technology coupled with a point challenge system, which allows a player to challenge the line (or chair) umpire's call of a point. Players have unlimited opportunity to challenge, but once three incorrect challenges are made in a set, they cannot challenge again until the next set. If the set goes to a tie break, players are given one additional opportunity to challenge the call. This electronic review, currently called Hawk-Eye, is available at a limited number of high-level ATP and WTA tournaments.

Tennis is enjoyed by millions of recreational players and is also a hugely popular worldwide spectator sport, especially the four Grand Slam tournaments (also referred to as the "Majors"): the Australian Open played on hard courts, the French Open played on red clay courts, Wimbledon played on grass courts, and the US Open played also on hard courts.

History

Most historians believe that tennis originated in France in the 12th century, but the ball was then struck with the palm of the hand. It was not until the 16th century that rackets came into use, and the game began to be called "tennis." It was popular in England and France, although the game was only played indoors where the ball could be hit off the wall. Henry VIII of England was a big fan of this game, which is now known as real tennis.

Between 1859 and 1865 Harry Gem and his friend Augurio Perera developed a game that combined elements of rackets and the Basque ball game pelota, which they played on Perera's croquet lawn in Birmingham, United Kingdom. In 1872, along with two local doctors, they founded the world's first tennis club in Leamington Spa.

In December 1873, Major Walter Clopton Wingfield designed and patented a similar game — which he called ''sphairistike'' (, from ancient Greek meaning "skill at playing at ball"), and was soon known simply as "sticky" — for the amusement of his guests at a garden party on his estate of Nantclwyd, in Llanelidan, Wales. He likely based his game on the evolving sport of outdoor tennis including real tennis. According to some tennis historians, modern tennis terminology also derives from this period, as Wingfield borrowed both the name and much of the French vocabulary of real tennis and applied them to his new game. The first championships at Wimbledon in London were played in 1877. The first Championships culminated a significant debate on how to standardize the rules.

In America in 1874 Mary Ewing Outerbridge, a young socialite, returned from Bermuda where she met Major Wingfield. She laid out a tennis court at the Staten Island Cricket Club in New Brighton Staten Island, New York. The exact location of the club was under what is now the Staten Island Ferry terminal. The first American National tournament in 1880 was played there. An Englishman named O.E Woodhouse won the singles match. There was also a doubles match which was won by a local pair. There were different rules at each club. The ball in Boston was larger than the one normally used in NY. On May 21, 1881, the United States National Lawn Tennis Association (now the United States Tennis Association) was formed to standardize the rules and organize competitions. The U.S. National Men's Singles Championship, now the US Open, was first held in 1881 at Newport, Rhode Island. The U.S. National Women's Singles Championships were first held in 1887. Tennis was also popular in France, where the French Open dates to 1891. Thus, Wimbledon, the US Open, the French Open, and the Australian Open (dating to 1905) became and have remained the most prestigious events in tennis. Together these four events are called the Majors or ''Slams'' (a term borrowed from bridge rather than baseball).

The comprehensive rules promulgated in 1924 by the International Lawn Tennis Federation, now known as the International Tennis Federation, have remained largely stable in the ensuing eighty years, the one major change being the addition of the ''tie-break'' system designed by James Van Alen. That same year, tennis withdrew from the Olympics after the 1924 Games but returned 60 years later as a 21-and-under demonstration event in 1984. This reinstatement was credited by the efforts by the then ITF President Philippe Chatrier, ITF General Secretary David Gray and ITF Vice President Pablo Llorens, and support from IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch. The success of the event was overwhelming and the IOC decided to reintroduce tennis as a full medal sport at Seoul in 1988.

The Davis Cup, an annual competition between men's national teams, dates to 1900. The analogous competition for women's national teams, the Fed Cup, was founded as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the ITF also known as International Tennis Federation.

In 1926, promoter C.C. Pyle established the first professional tennis tour with a group of American and French tennis players playing exhibition matches to paying audiences. The most notable of these early professionals were the American Vinnie Richards and the Frenchwoman Suzanne Lenglen. Once a player ''turned pro'' he or she could not compete in the major (amateur) tournaments.

In 1968, commercial pressures and rumors of some amateurs taking money under the table led to the abandonment of this distinction, inaugurating the open era, in which all players could compete in all tournaments, and top players were able to make their living from tennis. With the beginning of the open era, the establishment of an international professional tennis circuit, and revenues from the sale of television rights, tennis's popularity has spread worldwide, and the sport has shed its upper/middle-class English-speaking image (although it is acknowledged that this stereotype still exists).

In 1954, Van Alen founded the International Tennis Hall of Fame, a non-profit museum in Newport, Rhode Island. The building contains a large collection of tennis memorabilia as well as a hall of fame honoring prominent members and tennis players from all over the world. Each year, a grass-court tournament and an induction ceremony honoring new Hall of Fame members are hosted on its grounds.

Equipment

Part of the appeal of tennis stems from the simplicity of equipment required for play. Beginners need only a racquet and balls.

Racquets

The components of a tennis racquet include a handle, known as the grip, connected to a neck which joins a roughly elliptical frame that holds a matrix of tightly pulled strings. For the first 100 years of the modern game, racquets were of wood and of standard size, and strings were of animal gut. Laminated wood construction yielded more strength in racquets used through most of the 20th century until first metal and then composites of carbon graphite, ceramics, and lighter metals such as titanium were introduced. These stronger materials enabled the production of oversized rackets that yielded yet more power. Meanwhile technology led to the use of synthetic strings that match the feel of gut yet with added durability.

Under modern rules of tennis, the racquet must adhere to the following guidelines;

The hitting area, composed of the strings, must be flat and generally uniform.

The frame of the hitting area may not be more than 29 inches in length and 12.5 inches in width.

The entire racquet must be of a fixed shape, size, weight, and weight distribution. There may not be any energy source built into the racquet.

The racquet must not provide any kind of communication, instruction or advice to the player during the match.

The rules regarding racquets have changed over time, as material and engineering advances have been made. For example, the maximum length of the frame had been 32 inches until 1997, when it was shortened to 29 inches.

Balls

Tennis balls are of hollow rubber with a felt coating. Traditionally white, the predominant color was gradually changed to Optic Yellow in the latter part of the 20th century to allow for improved visibility.

Miscellaneous

Advanced players improve their performance through a number of accoutrements. Vibration dampers may be interlaced in the proximal part of the string array for improved feel. Racket handles may be customized with absorbent or rubber-like materials to improve the players' grip. Players often use sweat bands on their wrists to keep their hands dry as well. Finally, although the game can be played in a variety of shoes, specialized tennis shoes have wide, flat soles for stability and a built-up front structure to avoid excess wear.

Manner of play

:''For individual terms see: Glossary of tennis''

Court

Tennis is played on a rectangular, flat surface, usually grass, clay, a hardcourt of concrete and/or asphalt and occasionally carpet (indoor). The court is 78 feet (23.77 m) long, and 27 feet (8.23 m) wide for singles matches and 36 ft (10.97 m) for doubles matches. Additional clear space around the court is required in order for players to reach overrun balls. A net is stretched across the full width of the court, parallel with the baselines, dividing it into two equal ends. The net is 3 feet 6 inches (1.07 m) high at the posts and 3 feet (91.4 cm) high in the center.'''

The modern tennis court owes its design to Major Walter Clopton Wingfield who, in 1873, patented a court much the same as the current one for his stické tennis (sphairistike). This template was modified in 1875 to the court design that exists today, with markings similar to Wingfield's version, but with the hourglass shape of his court changed to a rectangle.

Lines

The lines that delineate the width of the court are called the baseline (farthest back) and the service line (middle of the court). The short mark in the center of each baseline is referred to as either the hash mark or the center mark. The outermost lines that make up the length are called the doubles sidelines. These are the boundaries used when doubles is being played. The lines to the inside of the doubles sidelines are the singles sidelines and are used as boundaries in singles play. The area between a doubles sideline and the nearest singles sideline is called the doubles alley, which is considered playable in doubles play. The line that runs across the center of a player's side of the court is called the service line because the serve must be delivered into the area between the service line and the net on the receiving side. Despite its name, this is not where a player legally stands when making a serve. The line dividing the service line in two is called the center line or center service line. The boxes this center line creates are called the service boxes; depending on a player's position, he or she will have to hit the ball into one of these when serving. A ball is out only if none of it has hit the line or the area inside the lines upon its first bounce. All the lines are required to be between 1 and in width. The baseline can be up to wide if so desired.

Play of a single point

The players (or teams) start on opposite sides of the net. One player is designated the ''server'', and the opposing player is the ''receiver''. Service alternates game by game between the two players (or teams.) For each point, the server starts behind their baseline, between the center mark and the sideline. The receiver may start anywhere on their side of the net. When the receiver is ready, the server will serve, although the receiver must play to the pace of the server.

In a legal service, the ball travels past the net (without touching it) and into the diagonally opposite service box. If the ball hits the net but lands in the service box, this is a ''let'' or ''net service'', which is void, and the server gets to retake that serve. The player can serve any number of let services in a point and they are always treated as voids and not as faults. A fault is a serve that falls long or wide of the service box, or does not clear the net. There is also a "foot fault", which occurs when a player's foot touches the baseline or an extension of the center mark before the ball is hit. If the second service is also a fault, the server ''double faults,'' and the receiver wins the point. However, if the serve is in, it is considered a legal service.

A legal service starts a ''rally'', in which the players alternate hitting the ball across the net. A legal return consists of the player or team hitting the ball before it has bounced twice or hit any fixtures except the net, provided that it still falls in the server's court. A player or team cannot hit the ball twice in a row. The ball must travel past the net into the other players' court. A ball that hits the net during a rally is still considered a legal return. The first player or team to fail to make a legal return loses the point.

Scoring

A tennis match is determined through the best of 3 or 5 ''sets''. While recreational players may agree to play any number of sets, depending upon time availability or stamina, on the professional circuit, including all four Grand Slam tournaments, Davis Cup, and the final of the Olympic Games, women play 3 set matches, while men play 5 set matches. For men, the first player to win three sets wins the match, and for women, the first player to win two sets wins the match. A set consists of ''games'', and games, in turn, consist of ''points''.

A game consists of a sequence of points played with the same player serving. A game is won by the first player to have won at least four points in total and at least two points more than the opponent. The running score of each game is described in a manner peculiar to tennis: scores from zero to three points are described as "''love''", "''fifteen''", "''thirty''", and "''forty''" respectively (see ''Tennis score''.) If at least three points have been scored by each player, making the player's scores equal at forty apiece, the score is not called out as "forty-forty", but rather as "''deuce''". If at least three points have been scored by each side and a player has one more point than his opponent, the score of the game is "''advantage''" for the player in the lead. During informal games, "''advantage''" can also be called "''ad in''" when the serving player is ahead, or "''ad out''" when the receiving player is ahead. The score of a tennis match during play is always read with the serving player's score first. In tournament play, the chair umpire calls the point count (e.g., "''fifteen-love''") after each point. At the end of a game, the chair umpire also announces the winner of the game and the overall score.

A ''game point'' occurs in tennis whenever the player who is in the lead in the game needs only one more point to win the game. The terminology is extended to sets (set point), matches (match point), and even championships (championship point). For example, if the player who is serving has a score of 40-love, the player has a triple game point (triple set point, etc.) as the player has three consecutive chances to win the game. Game points, set points, and match points are not part of official scoring and are not announced by the chair umpire in tournament play.

A ''break point'' occurs if the receiver, not the server, has a chance to win the game with the next point. Break points are of particular importance because serving is generally considered advantageous, with the server being expected to win games in which they are serving. A receiver who has one (score of 30-40), two (score of 15–40) or three (score of love-40) consecutive chances to win the game has ''break point'', ''double break point'' or ''triple break point'', respectively. If the receiver does, in fact, win their break point, the game is awarded to the receiver, and the receiver is said to have ''converted'' their break point. If the receiver fails to win their break point it is called a ''failure to convert.'' Winning break points, and thus the game, is also referred to as ''breaking serve'', as the receiver has disrupted, or ''broken'' the natural advantage of the server. If in the following game, the server, who is now the receiver, also wins a break point, it is often referred to as ''breaking back''.

A set consists of a sequence of games played with service alternating between games, ending when the count of games won meets certain criteria. Typically, a player wins a set by winning at least six games and at least two games more than the opponent. If one player has won six games and the opponent five, an additional game is played. If the leading player wins that game, the player wins the set 7–5. If the trailing player wins the game, a ''tie-break'' is played. A tie-break, played under a separate set of rules, allows one player to win one more game and thus the set, to give a final set score of 7–6. Only in the final sets of matches at the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, the Olympic Games, Davis Cup, and Fed Cup are tie-breaks not played. In these cases, sets are played indefinitely until one player has a two-game lead. A "love" set means that the loser of the set won zero games. In tournament play, the chair umpire announces the winner of the set and the overall score.

In tournament play, the chair umpire announces the end of the match with the well-known phrase "''Game, set, match''" followed by the winning person's or team's name. The final score in sets is always read with the winning player's score first, even if the winning player loses set(s) during the match (e.g., "''6-2, 4-6, 6-0, 7-5''").

Rule variations

+Variations	!Name	!Description
No ad	The first player or doubles team to win four points wins the game, regardless of whether the player or team is ahead by two points. When the game score reaches three points each, the receiver chooses which side of the court (advantage court or deuce court) the service is to be delivered on the seventh and game-deciding point.
Pro set	Instead of playing multiple sets, players may play one "pro set". A pro set is first to 8 (or 10) games by a margin of two games, instead of first to 6 games. A 12-point tie-break is usually played when the score is 8–8 (or 10–10). These are often played with no-ad scoring.
Match tiebreak	This is sometimes played instead of a third set. This is played like a regular tiebreak, but the winner must win ten points instead of seven. Match tiebreaks are used in the Hopman Cup for mixed doubles, on the Association of Tennis Professionals

Another, however informal, tennis format is called [[Canadian doubles. This involves three players, with one person playing a doubles team. The single player gets to utilize the alleys normally reserved only for a doubles team. Conversely, the doubles team does not use the alleys when executing a shot. The scoring is the same as a regular game. This format is not sanctioned by any official body.

"Australian doubles", another informal and unsanctioned form of tennis, is played with similar rules to the "Canuk" style, only in this version, players rotate court position after each game. As such, each player plays doubles and singles over the course of a match, with the singles player always serving. Scoring styles vary, but one popular method is to assign a value of 2 points to each game, with the server taking both points if he or she holds serve and the doubles team each taking one if they break serve.

Wheelchair tennis can be played by able-bodied players as well as people who require a wheelchair for mobility. An extra bounce is permitted. This rule makes it possible to have mixed wheelchair and able-bodied matches. It is possible for a doubles team to consist of a wheelchair player and an able-bodied player (referred to as "one-up, one-down"), or for a wheelchair player to play against an able-bodied player. In such cases, the extra bounce is permitted for the wheelchair users only.

Surface

There are five types of court surface used in professional play. Each surface is different in the speed and height of the bounce of the ball. The same surface plays faster indoors than outdoors.

!Name	!Description
	Examples are red clay (used at the French Open and many other tournaments, especially in Europe and Latin America) and green clay (an example of which is Har-Tru and used mainly in the U.S.). Clay courts normally have a slower paced ball and a fairly true bounce with more spin.
Carpet	Any form of removable court covering, including carpeting and artificial turf. The bounce can be higher or lower than a hard court.
Wood	Popular from the 1880s through the first half of the 20th century, there are no longer any professional tournaments held on wood.

Officials

In most professional play and some amateur competition, there is an officiating head judge or chair umpire (usually referred to as the umpire), who sits in a raised chair to one side of the court. The umpire has absolute authority to make factual determinations. The umpire may be assisted by line judges, who determine whether the ball has landed within the required part of the court and who also call foot faults. There also may be a net judge who determines whether the ball has touched the net during service. In some tournaments, certain line judges, usually those who would be calling the serve, are replaced by electronic sensors that beep when an out call would have been made. In some tournaments, electric line calls are not made, but rather are used to assist the linespeople. When a ball lands in a spot where the linesperson is not sure if the ball was in or out, a noise is made that only linespeople can hear (because they are wearing headsets), and helps them to make the call. In some open-tournament matches, players are allowed to challenge a limited number of close calls by means of electronic review. The US Open, the NASDAQ-100 Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, the US Open Series, and World Team Tennis started using a "challenge" system in 2006 and the Australian Open and Wimbledon introduced the system in 2007. This used the Hawk-Eye system and the rules were similar to those used in the NFL, where a player gets a limited number of opportunities to challenge per match/set. More recently, a player may use unlimited challenges in a set, provided that he or she is not incorrect more than three times. In clay-court matches, such as at the French Open, a call may be questioned by reference to the mark left by the ball's impact on the court surface.

The referee, who is usually located off the court, is the final authority about tennis rules. When called to the court by a player or team captain, the referee may overrule the umpire's decision if the tennis rules were violated (question of law) but may not change the umpire's decision on a question of fact. If, however, the referee is on the court during play, the referee may overrule the umpire's decision.

Ball boys and girls may be employed to retrieve balls, pass them to the players, and hand players their towels. They have no adjudicative role. In rare events (e.g., if they are hurt or if they have caused a hindrance), the umpire may ask them for a statement of what actually happened. The umpire may consider their statements when making a decision. In some leagues, especially junior leagues, players make their own calls, trusting each other to be honest. This is the case for many school and university level matches. The referee or referee's assistant, however, can be called on court at a player's request, and the referee or assistant may change a player's call. In unofficiated matches, a ball is out only if the player entitled to make the call is sure that the ball is out.

Junior tennis

In tennis, a junior is a player 18 and under who is still legally protected by a parent or guardian. Players on the main adult tour who are under 18 must have documents signed by a parent or guardian. These players, however, are still eligible to play in junior tournaments.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) conducts a junior tour that allows juniors to establish a world ranking and an Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) or Women's Tennis Association (WTA) ranking. Most juniors who enter the international circuit do so by progressing through ITF, Satellite, Future, and Challenger tournaments before entering the main circuit. The latter three circuits also have adults competing in them. Some juniors, however, such as Australian Lleyton Hewitt and Frenchman Gaël Monfils, have catapulted directly from the junior tour to the ATP tour by dominating the junior scene or by taking advantage of opportunities given to them to participate in professional tournaments.

In 2004, the ITF implemented a new rankings scheme to encourage greater participation in doubles, by combining two rankings (singles and doubles) into one combined tally. Junior tournaments do not offer prize money except for the Grand Slam tournaments, which are the most prestigious junior events. Juniors may earn income from tennis by participating in the Future, Satellite, or Challenger tours. Tournaments are broken up into different tiers offering different amounts of ranking points, culminating with Grade A.

Leading juniors are allowed to participate for their nation in the Junior Fed Cup and Davis Cup competitions as well. To succeed in tennis often means having to begin playing at a young age. To facilitate and nurture a junior's growth in tennis, almost all tennis playing nations have developed a junior development system. Juniors develop their play through a range of tournaments on all surfaces, accommodating all different standards of play. Talented juniors may also receive sponsorships from governing bodies or private institutions.

Match play

A tennis match is intended to be continuous. Because stamina is a relevant factor, arbitrary delays are not permitted. In most cases, service is required to occur no more than 20 seconds after the end of the previous point. This is increased to 90 seconds when the players change ends (after every odd-numbered game), and a 2 minute break is permitted between sets. Other than this, breaks are permitted only when forced by events beyond the players' control, such as rain, damaged footwear, damaged racquet, or the need to retrieve an errant ball. Should a player be determined to be stalling repeatedly, the chair umpire may initially give a warning followed by subsequent penalties of "point", "game", and default of the match for the player who is consistently taking longer than the allowed time limit.

In the event of a rain delay, darkness or other external conditions halting play, the match is resumed at a later time, with the same score as at the time of the delay, and the players at the same end of the court when rain halted play, or at the same position (north or south) if play is resumed on a different court.

Balls wear out quickly in serious play and, therefore, in ATP and WTA tournaments, they are changed after every nine games with the first change occurring after only seven games, because the first set of balls is also used for the pre-match warm-up. As a courtesy to the receiver, the server will often signal to the receiver before the first serve of the game in which new balls are used as a reminder that they are using new balls. However, in ITF tournaments like Fed Cup, the balls are changed in a 9–11 style. Continuity of the balls' condition is considered part of the game, so if a re-warm-up is required after an extended break in play (usually due to rain), then the re-warm-up is done using a separate set of balls, and use of the match balls is resumed only when play resumes.

A recent proposed rules change is to allow coaching on court during a match on a limited basis. This has been instituted in women's tennis for WTA Tour events from 2009 onwards.

Shots

A competent tennis player has eight basic shots in his or her repertoire: the serve, forehand, backhand, volley, half-volley, overhead, drop shot, and lob.

Serve

A serve (or, more formally, a "service") in tennis is a shot to start a point. The serve is initiated by tossing the ball into the air and hitting it (usually near the apex of its trajectory) into the diagonally opposite service box without touching the net. The serve may be hit under- or overhand. If the ball hits the net on the first serve and bounces over into the correct diagonal box then it is called a "let" and the server gets two more additional serves to get it in. If the server misses his or her first serve and gets a let on the second serve, then they get one more try to get the serve in the box.

Experienced players strive to master the conventional overhand serve to maximize its power and placement. The server may employ different types of serve including flat serve, topspin serve, slice serve, and kick (American twist) serve. A reverse type of spin serve is hit in a manner that spins the ball opposite the natural spin of the server, the spin direction depending upon right- or left-handedness. If the ball is spinning counterclockwise, it will curve right from the hitter's point of view and curve left if spinning clockwise.

Some servers are content to use the serve simply to initiate the point; however, advanced players often try to hit a winning shot with their serve. A winning serve that is not touched by the opponent is called an "ace".

Grips

Players use various grips during play, including the continental (The "Handshake Grip"), eastern (Can be either semi-eastern or full eastern. Usually used for backhands.), and western (semi-western or full western, usually for forehand grips) grips. Most players change grips during a match depending on what shot they are hitting for example a slice shot and serve you would have a continental grip.

Forehand

For a right-handed player, the forehand is a stroke that begins on the right side of the body, continues across the body as contact is made with the ball, and ends on the left side of the body. There are various grips for executing the forehand, and their popularity has fluctuated over the years. The most important ones are the ''continental'', the ''eastern'', the ''semi-western'', and the ''western''. For a number of years, the small, apparently frail 1920s player Bill Johnston was considered by many to have had the best forehand of all time, a stroke that he hit shoulder-high using a ''western'' grip. Few top players used the ''western'' grip after the 1920s, but in the latter part of the 20th century, as shot-making techniques and equipment changed radically, the ''western'' forehand made a strong comeback and is now used by many modern players. No matter which grip is used, most forehands are generally executed with one hand holding the racquet, but there have been fine players with two-handed forehands. In the 1940s and 50s, the Ecuadorian/American player Pancho Segura used a two-handed forehand to achieve a devastating effect against larger, more powerful players. Currently, France's Fabrice Santoro uses a two-handed forehand. Some females such as Monica Seles and France's Marion Bartoli also use a two-handed forehand.

Backhand

For right-handed players, the backhand is a stroke that begins on the left side of their body, continues across their body as contact is made with the ball, and ends on the right side of their body. It can be executed with either one hand or with both and is generally considered more difficult to master than the forehand. For most of the 20th century, the backhand was performed with one hand, using either an ''eastern'' or a ''continental'' grip. The first notable players to use two hands were the 1930s Australians Vivian McGrath and John Bromwich, but they were lonely exceptions. The two-handed grip gained popularity in the 1970s as Björn Borg, Chris Evert, Jimmy Connors, and later Mats Wilander and Marat Safin used it to great effect, and it is now used by a large number of the world's best players, including Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams. Two hands give the player more control, while one hand can generate a slice shot, applying backspin on the ball to produce a low trajectory bounce. Reach is also limited with the two-handed shot. The player long considered to have had the best backhand of all time, Don Budge, had a powerful one-handed stroke in the 1930s and 1940s that imparted topspin onto the ball. Ken Rosewall, another player noted for his one-handed backhand, used a very accurate slice backhand through the 1950s and 1960s. A small number of players, notably Monica Seles, use two hands on both the backhand and forehand sides.

Other shots

A ''volley'' is a shot returned to the opponent in mid-air before the ball bounces, generally performed near the net, and is usually made with a stiff-wristed punching motion to hit the ball into an open area of the opponent's court. The ''half volley'' is made by hitting the ball on the rise just after it has bounced, once again generally in the vicinity of the net. The ''swinging volley'' is hit out of the air as the player approaches the net. It is an offensive shot used to take preparation time away from the opponent, as it returns the ball into the opponent's court much faster than a standard volley. From a poor defensive position on the baseline, the ''lob'' can be used as either an offensive or defensive weapon, hitting the ball high and deep into the opponent's court to either enable the lobber to get into better defensive position or to win the point outright by hitting it over the opponent's head. If the lob is not hit deeply enough into the other court, however, an opponent near the net may then hit an ''overhead smash'', a hard, serve-like shot, to try to end the point. Finally, if an opponent is deep in his court, a player may suddenly employ an unexpected ''drop shot'', by softly tapping the ball just over the net so that the opponent is unable to run in fast enough to retrieve it. Advanced players will often apply back spin to a drop shot, causing the ball to "skid" upon landing and bounce sideways, with less forward momentum toward their opponent, or even backwards towards the net, thus making it even more difficult to return.

Tournaments

Tournaments are often organized by gender and number of players. Common tournament configurations include men's singles, women's singles, and doubles, where two players play on each side of the net. Tournaments may be arranged for specific age groups, with upper age limits for youth and lower age limits for senior players. Example of this include the Orange Bowl and Les Petits As. There are also tournaments for players with disabilities, such as wheelchair tennis and deaf tennis. In the four Grand Slam tournaments, the singles draws are limited to 128 people for each gender.

Most large tournaments Seed players, but players may also be matched by their skill level. According to how well a person does in sanctioned play, a player is given a rating that is adjusted periodically to maintain competitive matches. For example, the United States Tennis Association administers the National Tennis Rating Program (NTRP), which rates players between 1.0 and 7.0 in 1/2 point increments. Average club players under this system would rate 3.0–4.5 while world class players would be 7.0 on this scale.

Grand Slam tournaments

The four Grand Slam tournaments are considered to be the most prestigious tennis tournaments in the world. They are held annually and include, in chronological order, the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Apart from the Olympic Games, Davis Cup, Fed Cup, and Hopman Cup, they are the only tournaments regulated by the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The ITF's national associations, Tennis Australia (Australian Open), the French Tennis Federation (French Open), the United States Tennis Association (US Open), and the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club and Lawn Tennis Association (Wimbledon), are delegated the responsibility to organize these events.

Aside from the historical significance of these events, they also carry larger prize funds than any other tour event and are worth double the number of ranking points to the champion than in the next echelon of tournaments, the Masters 1000 (men) and Premier events (women). Another distinguishing feature is the number of players in the singles draw. There are 128, more than any other professional tennis tournament. This draw is composed of 32 seeded players, other players ranked in the world's top 100, qualifiers, and players who receive invitations through wild cards. Grand Slam men's tournaments have best-of-five set matches throughout. Grand Slam tournaments are among the small number of events that last two weeks, the others being the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California and the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida. Currently, the Grand Slam tournaments are the only tour events that have mixed doubles contests. Grand Slam tournaments are held in conjunction with wheelchair tennis tournaments (with the exception being Wimbledon, where the grass surface prevents this) and junior tennis competitions. Grand Slam tournaments are often seen as the culmination of a particular season, such as the US Open Series. These tournaments also contain their own idiosyncrasies. For example, players at Wimbledon are required to wear predominantly white, a rule that has motivated certain players, such as Andre Agassi, to skip the tournament. Wimbledon has its own particular methods for disseminating tickets, often leading tennis fans to follow complex procedures to obtain tickets.

{| cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" border="1" style="background:#f7f8ff; font-size:95%; border:gray solid 1px; border-collapse:collapse;" |+Grand Slam Tounaments !Period !Tournament !Location !Surface |- style="background:#EFEFEF;" | January || Australian Open || Melbourne || Hard (Plexicushion) |- | May–June || French Open || Paris || Clay |- style="background:#EFEFEF;" | June–July || Wimbledon || London || Grass |- | August–September ||US Open || New York City || Hard (DecoTurf) |}

Masters 1000

The ATP World Tour Masters 1000 is a group of nine tournaments that form the second-highest echelon in men's tennis. Each event is held annually, and a win at one of these events is currently worth 1000 ranking points. When the Association of Tennis Professionals, led by Hamilton Jordan, began running the men's tour in 1990, the directors designated the top nine tournaments, outside of the Grand Slam events, as "Super Nine" events. These eventually became the Tennis Masters Series. In November at the end of the tennis year, the world's top eight players compete in the ATP World Tour Finals, a tournament with a rotating locale. It is currently held in London, England.

On August 31, 2007 the ATP announced that major changes will take place in 2009. The Masters Series will be renamed to the “Masters 1000”, with the addition of the number 1000 referring to the number of ranking points earned by the winner of each tournament. Contrary to earlier plans, the number of tournaments will not be reduced from nine to eight and the Monte Carlo Masters will remain part of the series although, unlike the other events, it will not have a mandatory player commitment. The Hamburg Masters event will be downgraded to a 500 point event. The Madrid Masters will move to May and onto clay courts, and a new tournament in Shanghai will take over Madrid's former indoor October slot. In 2011 six of the nine “1000” level tournaments will be combined ATP and WTA events.

{| cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" border="1" style="background:#f7f8ff; font-size:95%; border:gray solid 1px; border-collapse:collapse;" |+Current Masters 1000 tournaments (2009) !Start Month !Tournament Name !City !Surface !Opening |- style="background:#EFEFEF;" | March | BNP Paribas Open | Indian Wells | Hard | Outdoors |- style="background:#EFEFEF;" | March | Sony Ericsson Open | Miami | Hard | Outdoors |- style="background:#EFEFEF;" | April | Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters | Monte-Carlo | Clay | Outdoors |- style="background:#EFEFEF;" | April | Internazionali BNL d'Italia | Rome | Clay | Outdoors |- style="background:#EFEFEF;" | May | Mutua Madrileña Masters Madrid | Madrid | Clay | Outdoors |- style="background:#EFEFEF;" | August | Rogers Cup | Montreal, Toronto | Hard | Outdoors |- style="background:#EFEFEF;" | August | Western & Southern Financial Group Masters & Women's Open | Cincinnati | Hard | Outdoors |- style="background:#EFEFEF;" | October | Shanghai Masters 1000 presented by Rolex | Shanghai | Hard | Outdoors |- style="background:#EFEFEF;" | November | BNP Paribas Masters | Paris | Hard | Indoors |}

250 and 500 Series

The International Series for men is split into two categories, both run by the ATP: the 250 Series and 500 Series. Like the Masters 1000, these events offer various amounts of prize money, and some regular International Series events offer larger prize monies than 500 Series tournaments. The Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships offer the largest financial incentive to players, with total prize money of US$1,426,000.

Challenger Tour and Futures Tournaments

The Challenger Tour for men is the lowest level of tournament administered by the ATP. It is composed of roughly 160 events and, as a result, features a more diverse range of countries hosting events. The majority of players use the Challenger Series to work their way up the rankings, including World No. 1s Pete Sampras, Marcelo Ríos, Patrick Rafter, and Gustavo Kuerten. Andre Agassi, between winning Grand Slam tournaments, plummeted to World No. 141 and used Challenger Series events for match experience and to progress back up the rankings. The Challenger Series offers prize funds of between US$25,000 and US$150,000.

Below the Challenger Tour are the Futures tournaments, events on the ITF Men's Circuit. These tournaments also contribute towards a player's ATP rankings points. Futures Tournaments offer prize funds of between US$10,000 and US$15,000. Approximately 530 Futures Tournaments are played each year.

Premier events

Premier events for women form the most prestigious level of events on the Women's Tennis Association Tour after the Grand Slam tournaments. These events offer the largest rewards in terms of points and prize money. Within the Premier category are Premier Mandatory, Premier 5, and Premier tournaments. The tiering system in women's tennis was introduced in 1988. At the time of its creation, only two tournaments, the Lipton International Players Championships in Florida and the German Open in Berlin, comprised the Tier I category. In 2009, four tournaments are Premier Mandatory, five tournaments are Premier 5, and ten tournaments are Premier.

Players

Professional tennis players enjoy the same relative perks as most top sports personalities: clothing, equipment and endorsements. Like players of other individual sports such as golf, they are not salaried, but must play and finish highly in tournaments to obtain money. In recent years, some controversy has surrounded the involuntary or deliberate noise caused by players` grunting.

Grand Slam tournament winners

Players who have played at least part of their careers during the open era and who have won at least two singles titles at Grand Slam tournaments.

Male

Roger Federer (16)

Pete Sampras (14)

Roy Emerson (12)

Rod Laver (11)

Björn Borg (11)

Rafael Nadal (10)

Ken Rosewall (8)

Jimmy Connors (8)

Ivan Lendl (8)

Andre Agassi (8)

John Newcombe (7)

John McEnroe (7)

Mats Wilander (7)

Boris Becker (6)

Stefan Edberg (6)

Manolo Santana (4)

Jim Courier (4)

Guillermo Vilas (4)

Arthur Ashe (3)

Jan Kodeš (3)

Gustavo Kuerten (3)

Novak Djokovic (3)

Stan Smith (2)

Ilie Năstase (2)

Johan Kriek (2)

Lleyton Hewitt (2)

Yevgeny Kafelnikov (2)

Patrick Rafter (2)

Sergi Bruguera (2)

Marat Safin (2)

Female

Margaret Court (24)

Steffi Graf (22)

Chris Evert (18)

Martina Navrátilová (18)

Serena Williams (13)

Billie Jean King (12)

Monica Seles (9)

Maria Bueno (7)

Justine Henin (7)

Evonne Goolagong Cawley (7)

Venus Williams (7)

Martina Hingis (5)

Kim Clijsters (4)

Hana Mandlíková (4)

Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (4)

Darlene Hard (3)

Ann Haydon Jones (3)

Maria Sharapova (3)

Virginia Wade (3)

Lindsay Davenport (3)

Jennifer Capriati (3)

Lesley Turner Bowrey (2)

Nancy Richey Gunter (2)

Tracy Austin (2)

Mary Pierce (2)

Amélie Mauresmo (2)

Svetlana Kuznetsova (2)

Greatest male players

A frequent topic of discussion among tennis fans and commentators is who was the greatest male singles player of all time. By a large margin, an Associated Press poll in 1950 named Bill Tilden as the greatest player of the first half of the 20th century. From 1920–1930, Tilden won singles titles at Wimbledon three times and the U.S. Championships seven times. In 1938, however, Donald Budge became the first person to win all four Grand Slam singles titles during the same calendar year and won six consecutive Grand Slam singles titles in 1937 and 1938. Tilden called Budge "the finest player 365 days a year that ever lived." And in his 1979 autobiography, Jack Kramer said that, based on consistent play, Budge was the greatest player ever. Some observers, however, also felt that Kramer deserved consideration for the title. Kramer was among the few who dominated amateur and professional tennis during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Tony Trabert has said that of the players he saw before the start of the open era, Kramer was the best male champion. By the latter half of the 1950s and 1960s, Budge and others had added Pancho Gonzales and Lew Hoad to the list of contenders. Budge reportedly believed that Gonzales was the greatest player ever. Gonzales said about Hoad, "When Lew's game was at its peak nobody could touch him.  ... I think his game was the best game ever. Better than mine. He was capable of making more shots than anybody. His two volleys were great. His overhead was enormous. He had the most natural tennis mind with the most natural tennis physique."

During the open era, first Rod Laver and then more recently Björn Borg and Pete Sampras were regarded by many of their contemporaries as among the greatest ever. Andre Agassi, the first of two male players in history to have achieved a Career Golden Slam in singles tennis (followed by Rafael Nadal), has been called the best service returner in the history of the game. He is the first man to win slams on all modern surfaces (previous holders of all slams played in an era of grass and clay only), and is regarded by a number of critics and fellow players to be among the greatest players of all time. Roger Federer is now considered by many observers to have the most "complete" game in modern tennis. He has won 16 grand slam titles, the most for any male player. Many experts of tennis, former tennis players and his own tennis peers believe Federer is the greatest player in the history of the game. Federer's biggest rival Rafael Nadal is regarded as the greatest competitor in tennis history by former players and is regarded to have the potential to be the greatest of all time.

Greatest female players

In popular culture

David Foster Wallace, an amateur tennis player himself at Urbana High School in Illinois, included tennis in many of his works of nonfiction and fiction including "Tennis Player Michael Joyce's Professional Artistry as a Paradigm of Certain Stuff about Choice, Freedom, Discipline, Joy, Grotesquerie, and Human Completeness," the autobiographical piece "Derivative Sport in Tornado Alley," and ''Infinite Jest'', which is partially set at the fictional "Enfield Tennis Academy" in Massachusetts. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) features Richie Tenenbaum (Luke Wilson), a tennis pro who suffers from depression and has a breakdown on court in front of thousands of fans. ''Wimbledon'' (2004) is a film about a discouraged pro tennis player (Paul Bettany) who meets a young woman on the women's tennis circuit (Kirsten Dunst) who helps him find his drive to go and win Wimbledon. In The Squid and the Whale (2005), Joan (Laura Linney) has an affair with her kids' tennis coach, Ivan (William Baldwin). In a symbolic scene, Joan's ex-husband, Bernard (Jeff Daniels), loses a tennis match against Ivan in front of the kids. Woody Allen's Match Point (2005) features a love affair between a former tennis pro (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) who falls in love with his best friend's fiance (Scarlett Johansson).

Confetti (2006) is a mockumentary which sees three couples competing to win the title of "Most Original Wedding of the Year". One competing couple (Meredith MacNeill and Stephen Mangan) are a pair of hyper-competitive professional tennis players holding a tennis-themed wedding.

There are several tennis video games including Mario Tennis, the TopSpin series, Wii Sports, and Grand Slam Tennis.

In the Japanese anime and manga series known as Prince of Tennis, the main character is Echizen Ryoma, a tennis prodigy who recently moves to Japan and attends Seishun Academy. He joins the tennis club and has defeated many of his upperclassmen, gaining a spot in the team's regulars. The team's ultimate goal is to compete in the National Middle School Tennis Championship but they must play against other teams along the way to reach their goal.

See also

;General

Tennis strategy

Tennis games

Glossary of tennis

Tennis technology

History of tennis

;Other forms

Paddle tennis

Real tennis

Soft tennis

Turbo tennis

Types of tennis match ;Statistics

Tennis statistics

Tennis male players statistics

Major professional tennis tournaments before the Open Era (1927–1967)

World number one male tennis player rankings (1913–2009)

List of ATP number 1 ranked players (1973–present)

List of WTA number 1 ranked players (1975–present)

Tennis players with most titles since 1968

Tennis performance timeline comparison (men)

Tennis performance timeline comparison (women)

References

;Notes

;Further reading

''We Have Come a Long Way''. King, Billie Jean and Starr, Cynthia. (1998) McGraw-Hill ISBN 0-07024-625-9

''The Tennis Junkie's Guide (To Serious Humor)''. Whitehead, Dave. (2002) iUniverse ISBN 0-595-65364-2

External links

International Tennis Federation site

ATP Tennis: Men's Professional Tennis Sony Ericsson WTA Tour:Women's Professional Tennis

USTA: United States Tennis Association

Tennis Grand Slam tournaments history

Category:Racquet sports

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Coordinates

13 °31 ′30 ″N71 °58 ′20 ″N

{{infobox football biography | playername

Demba Ba | image | height | dateofbirth May 25, 1985 | cityofbirth Sèvres | countryofbirth France | currentclub Newcastle United | clubnumber 19 | position Striker | youthyears1 1998–2000 | youthclubs1 Port Autonome du Havre | youthyears2 2000–2001 | youthclubs2 Frileuse | youthyears3 2001–2004 | youthclubs3 Montrouge | youthyears4 2004–2005 | youthclubs4 Watford | years1 2005–2006 | clubs1 Rouen | caps1 26 | goals1 22 | years2 2006–2007 | clubs2 Mouscron | caps2 12 | goals2 8 | years3 2007–2011 | clubs3 1899 Hoffenheim | caps3 97 | goals3 37 | years4 2011 | clubs4 West Ham United | caps4 12 | goals4 7 | years5 2011– | clubs5 Newcastle United | caps5 2 | goals5 0 | nationalyears1 2007– | nationalteam1 Senegal | nationalcaps1 10 | nationalgoals1 3 | pcupdate 28 August 2011 | ntupdate 27 April 2011 }}

Demba Ba (born 25 May 1985) is a French-born Senegalese footballer who plays as a striker for Newcastle United in the Premier League, and for the Senegal national team.

Early life

Ba was born in Sèvres (Hauts-de-Seine), the sixth child of residents in suburban Paris, and grew up in Seine-Maritime with his seven brothers and sisters.

He joined a youth club in Montgaillard in 1992. Whilst studying in Saint-Valery-en-Caux, he played for Port Autonome du Havre between 1998 and 2000, and then for Frileuse between 2000 and 2001.

In 2001 his family moved to Châtillon and Ba played for Montrouge. He played there until 2004, at which point he decided to concentrate on his football. He had trials with Olympique Lyonnais and then with AJ Auxerre, both of which were unsuccessful. He then left France to take part in trials at Watford and Barnsley, and was offered a one year deal at Watford. After Watford manager Ray Lewington was sacked in 2005, Ba found that he was not in the first team plans of Aidy Boothroyd, and left the club in March 2005.

Career

Club career

Ba signed with Alain Michel because they were both moving to Rouen on a one year contract, and Ba enjoyed a highly successful season with the club. Mouscron beat off competition from numerous other clubs to win Ba's signature in 2006. Scoring in each of his first three games, he then picked up fractures in his tibia and fibula, and out of action between August 2006 and April 2007. Following his eight month recovery period he scored seven goals in nine games, and picked up his first international cap.

1899 Hoffenheim

On 29 August 2007, he moved to 1899 Hoffenheim for €3 million. Ba was an integral part of Hoffenheim's promotion to the Bundesliga and their successful first season in the Bundesliga, where they finished seventh after leading during the Christmas break. In that season he scored 14 goals, only missing one game all season. These goals included a hat-trick in a 3–3 game against Stuttgart on 24 February 2009. In all competitions Ba scored 40 goals in 103 appearances for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.

In July 2009, he was due to move to VfB Stuttgart, but the move fell through after he failed a medical. In December of that year Ba extended his contract at Hoffenheim to 2013.

West Ham United

In January 2011, Ba refused to travel to Hoffenheim's training camp as he wanted to move to West Ham United. Hoffenheim announced that Ba would be punished. However, Ba claimed that Hoffenheim had assured him that he would be allowed to leave the club under the current conditions. In January 2011 a proposed move to Stoke City fell through after Ba failed a medical. He completed his move to West Ham on 28 January, signing a three-year deal that would take him until June 2014. The transfer fee was undisclosed but was dependent upon Ba's appearances for West Ham. Ba made his West Ham and Premier League debut on 6 February coming on as a 75th minute substitute for Robbie Keane in a 1–0 home defeat by Birmingham City. His first West Ham goals came on 12 February when Ba, making his full debut, scored twice for West Ham in a 3–3 draw against West Bromwich Albion. Ba scored two goals against Wigan Athletic on 15 May 2011, giving West Ham a 2–0 lead at half-time. West Ham lost 3–2 and were relegated from the Premier League. He finished as West Ham's top scorer in the Premier League with seven goals from twelve games.

Newcastle United

On 17 June 2011, Ba signed for Newcastle United on a three-year deal. He joined fellow new recruit Yohan Cabaye as Newcastle concluded early business. He made his Newcastle debut at home against Arsenal on 13 August 2011. This game resulted in 0-0 draw.

International career

Ba has played a total of ten games for Senegal, scoring three goals. He scored on his debut against Tanzania, in June 2007.

Career statistics

References

External links

Demba Ba at Soccerbase

Premier League profile

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Coordinates	13 °31 ′30 ″N71 °58 ′20 ″N
playername	Arsène Wenger
dateofbirth	October 22, 1949
cityofbirth	Strasbourg
countryofbirth	France
height
position	Sweeper
currentclub	Arsenal (manager)
youthyears1	–1969
youthyears2	1969–1973
youthclubs1	FC Duttlenheim
youthclubs2	AS Mutzig
years1	1973–1975
years2	1975–1978
years3	1978–1981
clubs1	Mulhouse
clubs2	ASPV Strasbourg
clubs3	RC Strasbourg
caps1	56
goals1	4
caps2	80
goals2	20
caps3	11
goals3	0
totalcaps	147
totalgoals	24
manageryears1	1984–1987
manageryears2	1987–1994
manageryears3	1995–1996
manageryears4	1996–
managerclubs1	Nancy-Lorraine
managerclubs2	Monaco
managerclubs3	Nagoya Grampus Eight
managerclubs4	Arsenal }}

Arsène Wenger, OBE (; born 22 October 1949) is a French association football manager and former player, who has managed English Premier League side Arsenal since 1996. He is currently the club's longest serving manager and most successful, based on trophies won.

After completing a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Electrical engineering and Economics respectively at the University of Strasbourg, Wenger began his short lived playing career, moving to three different French clubs in the space of eight years—the last of which being RC Strasbourg in 1981. He briefly managed top flight club AS Nancy-Lorraine, before entering a highly successful period at AS Monaco, winning the Ligue 1 championship in his first season and later the Coupe de France in 1991, along with developing young talent such as Youri Djorkaeff, George Weah and Thierry Henry. In 1995, he coached Japanese J-League side Nagoya Grampus Eight, winning the prestigious Emperor's Cup and the Japanese Super Cup a year after.

At Arsenal, Wenger became the first non-British manager to win the Double in English football in 1998 and replicated the achievement in 2002. In 2004, he became the only manager in Premier League history to go through the entire season undefeated, a run which ended at 49 games. Wenger's tenure also brought Arsenal a first appearance in a Champions League final in 2006 at Paris; the team however lost to FC Barcelona late on.

Despite a trophy barren spell in recent seasons, Wenger is widely regarded by many as one of the world's best managers. He has been dubbed the "miracle worker" by former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein for achieving maximum success with little resources and is often credited for revolutionising the state of the game. The nickname ''Le Professeur'' was given to him by former Arsenal players and is still used by fans and the British media today, reflecting his astute and forward thinking approach.

Wenger is also renowned for being multilingual; in addition to speaking fluent French, German and English, he commands some Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Japanese.

Early life and ventures

The son of Alphonse and wife Louise Wenger, Arsène Charles Ernest Wenger was born in Strasbourg and grew up in the nearby village of Duttlenheim with an older sister and brother, Guy. His parents owned an automobile spare-parts business in Strasbourg, as well as a bistro in Duttlenheim called ''La Croix d'Or''. Speaking of his upbringing above ''La Croix d'Or'', he stated in an address to the League Managers Association: }}

Wenger is married to former basketball player Annie Brosterhous, with whom he has one daughter, Léa (born 1997), and currently lives in Totteridge, London. He is also a world brand ambassador for FIFA World Cup sponsor Castrol, and as part of his arrangement has conducted several training camps for international youth teams worldwide, as well as advising and providing input to the Castrol Performance Index, FIFA's official ratings system, used for gauging player ratings at official FIFA tournaments, ever since the system's inception. He has also authored a book on football management exclusively for the Japanese market, , published by Japan Broadcast Publishing (a subsidiary of NHK) in September 1997, in which he highlights his managerial philosophy, ideals and values, as well as his thoughts on Japanese football and the game as a whole.

Early career

Wenger spent much of his youth playing football and organizing matches at the village team, FC Duttlenheim, where he made the first team at 16 and was subsequently recruited to nearby third division club AS Mutzig by the team's manager Max Hild, who would go on to become his mentor, advising Wenger on managerial decisions later in his career, and whose team had been noted for playing the "best amateur football" in Alsace. Wenger's playing career was modest. He played as a defender for various amateur clubs, while studying at the ''faculté des sciences économiques et de gestion'' of University of Strasbourg, where he completed a master's degree in 1971. Wenger turned professional in 1978, making his debut for RC Strasbourg against Monaco. He only made twelve appearances for the team, including two as they won the Ligue 1 title in 1978–79, and played once in the UEFA Cup in the same season. In 1981, he obtained a manager's diploma and was appointed the coach of the club's youth team. After his stint at Strasbourg, Wenger joined AS Cannes as assistant manager in 1983.

Managerial career

Wenger's first senior job was at Nancy-Lorraine, which he joined in 1984, but he enjoyed little success there – during his third and final season in charge, Nancy finished 19th and were relegated to the second tier of French football (now Ligue 2). His managerial career took off when he became the manager of AS Monaco in 1987. He won the league in 1988 (his first season in charge) and the French Cup in 1991, and signed high-calibre players such as Glenn Hoddle, George Weah and Jürgen Klinsmann. He also signed 23-year old Youri Djorkaeff from Strasbourg; the future World Cup winner finished joint top goalscorer in Ligue 1, with 20 goals during Wenger's final season in France. Wenger was shortlisted for the managerial role at Bayern Munich, but could not take the job due to Monaco's board refusing to allow them to talk with Wenger, only to release Wenger several weeks later after the post was filled.

He moved on to a successful 18-month stint with the Japanese J. League team Nagoya Grampus Eight, with whom he won the Emperor's Cup, the national cup competition. He also took the club from the bottom three to runners-up position in the league, its best showing until 2010, when his former protege Dragan Stojković led the club to its first title, citing Wenger's positive influence and continued advice throughout the season. His success at the club led to him winning the J. League Manager of the Year award in 1995, the first foreign manager to do so. At Grampus, he hired former Valenciennes manager Boro Primorac, whom he had met during the 1993 match-fixing scandal involving Olympique de Marseille, as his assistant. Wenger, who'd long held the view that Marseille was acting improperly, fully supported the Bosnian manager when he attempted (ultimately with success) to clear himself from any wrongdoing. Primorac would remain Wenger's "right-hand man" for years to come, and still holds this position.

Wenger had in the meantime become a friend of the then Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein, after the two had met when Wenger attended a match between Arsenal and Queens Park Rangers in 1988. After Bruce Rioch was sacked in August 1996, Gérard Houllier, the then technical director of the French Football Federation, recommended Wenger to David Dein in the summer of 1996. Arsenal confirmed his appointment on 30 September 1996, and he officially took up the reins on 1 October. Wenger was Arsenal's first manager from outside the United Kingdom. Though he had previously been touted as a potential technical director of the Football Association, at the time, Wenger was a relative unknown in England, where ''The Evening Standard'' newspaper greeted his nomination with the headline 'Arsene Who?'.

A month before Wenger formally took charge of the team, Wenger requested that the club sign French midfielders Patrick Vieira and Rémi Garde. His first match was a 2–0 away victory over Blackburn Rovers on 12 October 1996. Arsenal finished third in Wenger's first season, missing out on second place (occupied by Newcastle United), and hence the Champions League qualification, on goal difference.

In his second season (1997–98), Arsenal won both the Premier League and FA Cup, the second Double in the club's history. Arsenal had made up a twelve-point deficit on Manchester United and secured the league title with two games left. Key to the success was the inherited defense of Tony Adams, Steve Bould, Nigel Winterburn, Lee Dixon and Martin Keown, along with striker Dennis Bergkamp and a blend of Wenger's new signings, Emmanuel Petit as a partner for Patrick Vieira, winger Marc Overmars, and teenage striker Nicolas Anelka.

The following few seasons were comparatively barren with a series of near misses. In 1998–99, they lost the Premier League title to Manchester United by a single point on the final day of the season, and United also eliminated Arsenal in extra time after a goal from Ryan Giggs in an FA Cup semi-final. In 1999–2000, Arsenal lost the UEFA Cup final to Galatasaray on penalties and the 2001 FA Cup Final to Liverpool 2–1. Wenger resolved to bring new players to the squad, with the controversial signing of out-of-contract Tottenham defender and former captain Sol Campbell, as well as first-team players, such as Fredrik Ljungberg, Thierry Henry and Robert Pirès.

The new signings would help Wenger's Arsenal achieve the Double once more in 2001–02. The crowning moment was the second-to-last game of the season, against Manchester United. Arsenal won 1–0 in a game, in which Arsenal were seen to have outplayed Manchester United. Arsenal went the whole season unbeaten away from home and scored in every single Premier League game that season, and completed the Double by beating Chelsea 2–0 in the final of the FA Cup with goals from Ray Parlour and Fredrik Ljungberg.

In the 2002 close season, Wenger publicly spoke of his confidence that Arsenal could go all of the forthcoming league season unbeaten and retain their title. This led to fans of both Arsenal and their rival clubs mocking his beliefs by wearing T-shirts proclaiming ''Comical Wenger says: "We can go the whole season unbeaten"''.

After a strong start to the 2002–03 season, Arsenal had looked as though they were going to retain the Premier League crown for the first time in their history. Arsenal were leading eventual winners Manchester United by eight points at one point, but their form collapsed late on in the season. Manchester United overhauled the Gunners in the latter stage of the season to win the title, as Arsenal threw away a two-goal lead against Bolton Wanderers to draw 2–2 and then lost at home 2–3 to Leeds United.

Arsenal were compensated with an FA Cup win in 2003, a 1–0 win over Southampton, and the following season made history by winning the 2003–04 Premier League title without a single loss, the first top-flight team to manage this feat since Preston North End in 1888–89, a feat that only Milan, Perugia, Genoa, Athletic Bilbao, Real Madrid, and Ajax had formerly achieved in elite European football. A year earlier, Wenger had been derided for saying it was possible Arsenal could go unbeaten in an entire season.

Wenger later reflected on his comments that Arsenal could go through the 2002-03 season unbeaten by remarking that he was "a season too early".

Arsenal's run of 49 league games unbeaten under Wenger came to an end with a 2–0 defeat at Manchester United on 24 October 2004. Arsenal enjoyed another relatively strong league campaign, but were beaten to the title by Chelsea. Consolation again came in the FA Cup in 2005, Arsenal defeating Manchester United on penalties after a scoreless final.

Arsenal endured two comparatively poor seasons in 2005–06 and 2006–07, finishing fourth in the Premier League on both occasions. Arsenal in a resurgent form threatened to take the Premier League by storm in 2007–08, leading the league for much of the season, but were overhauled by both Chelsea and winners Manchester United after a shocking open ankle fracture to their forward Eduardo unsettled Arsenal's relatively young squad for a few weeks.

In all, Arsenal have won three Premier League titles and four FA Cups under Wenger, making him Arsenal's most successful manager in terms of trophies. However, the UEFA Champions League title still eludes him, the closest Arsenal have come was when they reached the final in 2005–06, the first time in club history, which they lost 2–1 to Barcelona.

In October 2004, he signed a contract extension that would keep him at Arsenal through the 2007–08 season. The then Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein stated that Wenger has a "job for life" at Arsenal, and planned to offer Wenger a role on the Arsenal board once he retires as a manager. Wenger's future at Arsenal was thrust into question when David Dein left the Arsenal board on 18 April 2007, and rumours kept circulating that Wenger might leave to become a manager at Real Madrid. However, on 6 September 2007, Wenger agreed to sign a new three-year contract at Arsenal. Just a few months earlier Wenger led his side to the 2007 Football League Cup Final, where Arsenal lost 2–1 to Chelsea, despite taking the lead.

In August 2010, he signed a three-year contract to continue management of Arsenal until June 2014. His side were on course for a quadruple trophy haul in 2010–11 before a collapse to Birmingham City in the League Cup Final following a mix-up in the Arsenal defence. This was followed by a run of just two wins in eleven Premier League games to take them from title contenders to a fourth place finish, as well as exits in FA Cup and Champions League at the hands of Manchester United and Barcelona respectively.

At the start of 2011–12, Wenger was forced to sell star talents Cesc Fàbregas and Samir Nasri. Suspensions and injuries left an understrength team to face Manchester United at Old Trafford on 29 August, and the result was a 8–2 defeat, Arsenal's worst defeat for 115 years. After the game Alex Ferguson defended Wenger from increasing criticism, as some lambasted the Frenchman for refusing to pay big money to bring established stars to the club.

Approach and philosophy

Wenger has been described as a coach who "has spent his career building teams that combine the accumulation of silverware with a desire to entertain and attack", and as "a purist, dedicated to individual and collective technical quality". ''The Times'' notes that since 2003–04 Wenger's approach to the game has been an emphasis on attack. His style of play has been contrasted with the pragmatic approach of his rivals, but has also been criticised for lacking a "killer touch". Although Wenger for a number of years employed a 4–4–2 formation, since 2005, he has often relied on 4–5–1 with a lone striker and packed midfield, especially since the move to the wider pitch at Emirates Stadium, and in Champions League games. Beginning with the 2009–10 season, largely due to the development of Cesc Fàbregas, Wenger has instituted a fluid 4–3–3 formation at Arsenal, with the front five attackers changing positions freely during the match.

Wenger has a strong reputation for unearthing young talent. At Monaco, he brought Liberian George Weah, who later became FIFA World Player of the Year with Milan from Cameroonian side Tonnerre Yaoundé, and Nigerian Victor Ikpeba, who later became African Player of the Year from R.F.C. de Liège. At Arsenal, Wenger signed young, relatively unknown players such as Patrick Vieira, Francesc Fàbregas, Robin van Persie and Kolo Touré, and helped their transition to become world-class players. Notably, the defence, which set a new record after going 10 consecutive games without conceding a goal on the way to the UEFA Champions League final against Barcelona in 2005–06, cost Arsenal less than £5 million to assemble.

Although Wenger has made some big-money signings for Arsenal, his net spending record is far superior to other leading Premier League clubs. A survey in 2007 found he was the only Premier League manager to have made a profit on transfers, and between 2004 and 2009, Wenger made an average profit of £4.4 million per season on transfers, far more than any other club. A notable example was the purchase of Nicolas Anelka from Paris Saint-Germain for only £500,000 and his subsequent sale to Real Madrid just two years later for £23.5 million. This enabled Wenger to buy three players, Thierry Henry, Robert Pirès, and Sylvain Wiltord, who all played a significant role in the Double in 2001–02 and the league title win in 2003–04.

Wenger opposes greater regulation in English football and stated that: ″I do not want to go too much to a centralised, computerised society. I'm more of a liberal, but I'm also in favour of common sense and good management.″

As well as bringing in younger and relatively unknown talents to the club, Wenger has also seen a few of his veterans rejuvenate their careers at Arsenal. Dennis Bergkamp, who had been signed by Arsenal a year before Wenger joined, reached his peak under Wenger. Wenger also helped his former protégé at Monaco, Thierry Henry, develop into a world class player, and saw him become Arsenal's all-time top scorer and captain.

Wenger also reformed the training and dietary regimes, ridding the club of drinking and junk-food culture. Wenger stood by captain Tony Adams after Adams had admitted to alcoholism in 1996. Wenger supported Adams during rehabilitation, and the player returned to form and likely extended his career by several years. Wenger's training and dietary regime may have also prolonged the careers of the other members of Arsenal's back four, defenders Nigel Winterburn, Lee Dixon and Martin Keown. Wenger initially was planning to replace them, but later realised that he did not need to.

Wenger had a direct input into the design of the new Emirates Stadium, which opened in 2006, and the move to a new training ground at London Colney.

Plaudits and awards

Wenger enjoys a great deal of support from Arsenal's fans, who demonstrated tremendous faith in the manager and his long-term vision. Supporters regularly display banners claiming "Arsène knows" and "In Arsène we trust" during matches at Emirates Stadium. At the Arsenal's valedictory campaign at Highbury in 2005–06, supporters showed appreciation by deciding to have "Wenger Day" as one of various "themed matchdays". The Wenger Day was held on his 56th birthday on 22 October 2005, during a match against Manchester City.

David Dein, former vice-chairman of Arsenal, described Wenger as the most important manager in the club's history: "Arsene's a miracle worker. He's revolutionized the club. He's turned players into world-class players. Since he has been here, we have seen football from another planet." On 18 October 2007, a commissioned bronze bust of Wenger, similar to the earlier version of Herbert Chapman, was unveiled as a tribute to him, by the board of directors of Arsenal, at the club's Annual General Meeting.

Wenger was awarded France's highest decoration, the Légion d'Honneur, in 2002. He was awarded an honorary OBE for services to British football in the Queen's Birthday Honours List of 2003, along with fellow Frenchman and then Liverpool manager Gérard Houllier. In 2006, Wenger was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his achievements as a manager in the English game. He was the second foreign manager to be inducted to the Hall of Fame, after Italian-born Dario Gradi of Crewe Alexandra.

In 2007, Wenger had an asteroid, 33179 Arsènewenger, named after him by the astronomer Ian P. Griffin, who states Arsenal is his favourite football club.

On 11 January 2011, it was announced that Wenger was named "World Coach of the Decade" by International Federation of Football History & Statistics. The organization aggregated the results from each year of the decade, and he narrowly beat Sir Alex Ferguson and José Mourinho for the honor.

Controversies

Wenger's sides were often criticised for their indiscipline, receiving 73 red cards between 1996 and 2008. However, in both 2004 and 2005, Wenger's Arsenal won the Premier League's Fair Play League tables for sporting behaviour and almost repeated the feat in 2006, finishing second. Their record as one of the most sporting clubs in the division continued up to 2009 with the club always a feature in top four of the Fair Play table. Wenger's team again topped the fair play table for the 2009–10 season.

In 1999, Wenger offered Sheffield United a replay of their FA Cup fifth round match immediately after the match had finished, due to the controversial circumstances in which it was won. Arsenal's winning goal, scored by Marc Overmars, had resulted from Kanu failing to return the ball to the opposition after it had been kicked into touch to allow Sheffield United's Lee Morris receive treatment for an injury. Arsenal went on to win the replayed match 2–1.

He is also well known for his rivalry with Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson. This rivalry reached its culmination in the infamous "Pizzagate" incident at Old Trafford in October 2004 after a controversial penalty resulted in a 2–0 defeat and ended Arsenal's 49 game unbeaten Premier League run. After the match, a member of the Arsenal side allegedly threw food at the opposition in the tunnel. Wenger was fined £15,000 for calling United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy "a cheat" in a post-match television interview. He was later fined for again calling van Nistelrooy a cheat, demonstrating that he firmly believed his claim. Both managers have since agreed to tone down their words in an attempt to defuse the rivalry.

During October and November 2005, Wenger became embroiled in a war of words with then Chelsea manager José Mourinho. Mourinho accused Wenger of having an "unprofessional obsession" with Chelsea, labeling Wenger a "rat" and "voyeur". Mourinho was quoted as saying, "He's worried about us, he's always talking about us – it's Chelsea, Chelsea, Chelsea, Chelsea". Wenger responded by pointing out he was only answering journalists' questions about Chelsea, and described Mourinho's attitude as "disrespectful". Mourinho has since been quoted as saying that he regrets the "voyeur" comment, and Wenger has accepted his apology.

Wenger has often been criticised by other Premier League managers for not fielding many English players, particularly in the Champions League. West Ham United's former manager Alan Pardew said that Arsenal's Champions League success was "not necessarily a triumph for British football". Wenger saw the issue of nationality as irrelevant and said, "When you represent a club, it's about values and qualities, not about passports", also implying that there was a racial aspect to what Pardew had said. In response, Pardew said that, "A manager who is married to a Swede and has signed players from all over the world cannot be called racist." Other pundits, including Trevor Brooking, the director of football development at the The Football Association, defended Wenger. Brooking noted that a lack of English players in one of England's most successful clubs was more of a reflection of the talent pool in England rather than Wenger himself. Several English players started their careers at Arsenal under Wenger, including David Bentley, Steve Sidwell, Jermaine Pennant, Matthew Upson, and perhaps most notably Ashley Cole, and young English talents such as Theo Walcott, Kieran Gibbs and Jack Wilshere are currently building careers at Arsenal.

Wenger made controversial statements on referees after decisions did not go his team's way. Following the Carling Cup final in 2007, he called a linesman 'a liar', leading to an investigation by The Football Association, a fine of £2500, and a warning. Wenger has often tried to defend his players when involved in controversial incidents on the field by saying that he has not seen the incident; this is an option Wenger says he resorts to when there is no "rational explanation" to defend him, and that he has the player's best interests in mind.

Statistics

Player

|- |1978–79 |rowspan="3"|Strasbourg |rowspan="3"|Division 1 |2||0|| || || || ||1||0|| || |- |1979–80 |1||0|| || || || ||colspan="2"|–|| || |- |1980–81 |8||0|| || || || ||colspan="2"|–|| || 11||0|| || || || ||1||0|| || 11||0|| || || || ||1||0|| ||

Manager

.

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
G	W	D	L	Win %
align=left
align=left
align=left
align=left
Total

;Note

Honours

Player

Strasbourg

Ligue 1: 1978–79

Manager

Monaco

;Winner

Ligue 1 (1): 1987–88

Coupe de France (1): 1990–91

;Runner-up

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (1): 1991–92

Ligue 1 (3): 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93

Nagoya Grampus

Emperor's Cup (1): 1995

J-League Super Cup (1): 1996

Arsenal

FA Premier League (3): 1997–98, 2001–02, 2003–04

FA Cup (4): 1997–98, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05

FA Community Shield (4): 1998, 1999, 2002, 2004

Individual

French Manager of the Year: 1988, 2008

J. League Manager of the Year: 1995

Officer of the British Empire: 2003

Onze d'Or Coach of The Year: 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004

FA Premier League Manager of the Year: 1998, 2002, 2004 LMA Manager of the Year: 2001–02, 2003–04 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Coach Award: 2002, 2004 Freedom of Islington: 2004 FWA Tribute Award: 2005 English Football Hall of Fame: 2006 Premier League Manager of the Month (11): (March 1998, April 1998, October 2000, April 2002, September 2002, August 2003, February 2004, August 2004, September 2007, December 2007, February 2011) World Coach of the Decade

References

External links

Arsène Wenger profile at Arsenal.com

Arsène Wenger profile at BBC Sport

}}

Category:1949 births Category:Living people Category:People from Strasbourg Category:FC Mulhouse players Category:Association football sweepers Category:RC Strasbourg players Category:ASPV Strasbourg players Category:Ligue 1 players Category:French footballers Category:French football managers Category:AS Nancy managers Category:AS Monaco FC managers Category:Ligue 1 managers Category:Premier League managers Category:Expatriate football managers in England Category:Arsenal F.C. managers Category:Honorary Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Category:Nagoya Grampus managers Category:Expatriate football managers in Japan Category:English Football Hall of Fame inductees Category:University of Strasbourg alumni Category:UEFA Pro Licence holders

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Coordinates	13 °31 ′30 ″N71 °58 ′20 ″N
name	Leona Lewis
background	solo_singer
birth name	Leona Louise Lewis
born	April 03, 1985Islington, London, England
genre	Pop, R&B
occupation	Singer
years active	2006–present
label	Syco, J
website	}}

Leona Louise Lewis (born 3 April 1985) is a British singer-songwriter. Lewis was a contestant in third series of the British television series ''The X Factor'', which she won. Lewis is a multi-platinum selling artist and three time Grammy Award nominee. Her most successful single, "Bleeding Love", reached number one in over thirty countries around the world. She was proclaimed 'Top New Artist' by ''Billboard'' magazine in 2008. Lewis has released two albums to date, ''Spirit'' and ''Echo'', in 2007 and 2009 respectively. ''Spirit'' became the fastest-selling debut album and the biggest seller of 2007 in both the United Kingdom and Ireland, and made Lewis the first British solo artist to top the Billboard 200 with a debut album. It has sold over 6.5 million copies worldwide. Lewis has currently sold over 9 million albums worldwide. Lewis's debut single "A Moment Like This" became the fastest selling UK single after being downloaded over 50,000 times within thirty minutes of its release. In November 2008 she set a record in the UK for the fastest selling download-only release with her cover version of the Snow Patrol song "Run" which sold 69,244 copies in two days. Lewis's debut tour, The Labyrinth, took place in 2010.

Early life

Lewis was born in the London Borough of Islington, to Aural Josiah "Joe" Lewis of Afro-Guyanese descent, and Maria Lewis of Welsh, Italian and Irish descent. Her parents enrolled her at the Sylvia Young Theatre School, and from there she attended the Italia Conti Academy and the BRIT School, where she learned to play instruments such as the guitar and piano, in the hope of becoming a singer-songwriter. Lewis wrote her first full-length song at the age of 12. She initially trained in opera, but went on to singing jazz and blues, eventually leading to popular music, citing Minnie Riperton, Eva Cassidy and Stevie Wonder as her main influences. After leaving the BRIT School at 17, she took a number of jobs to fund studio time, recording a demo album called ''Twilight''. The album, almost exclusively comprising her own compositions, was recorded under Spiral Music, a production company based in Fulham. "I tried to secure a record deal by doing things my own way. I worked very hard but I never managed to land a contract", said Lewis. Other demos were recorded under licence from UEG Entertainment, later included on an album called ''Best Kept Secret''. However, none of Lewis's demos were released and she considered taking a hiatus from her music career to attend university until her boyfriend persuaded her to enter ''The X Factor'' which subsequently severed her connections with UEG.

Music career

2006: ''The X Factor''

Lewis auditioned for the third series of ''The X Factor'' in 2006, singing "Over the Rainbow". She was mentored by Simon Cowell and was announced the winner on 16 December 2006, winning a £1 million recording contract.

Her debut single, a cover of Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This", was released on CD on 20 December 2006, and was available as a digital download from midnight on 17 December. It broke a world record after it was downloaded 50,000 times in thirty minutes. On 24 December, "A Moment Like This" was crowned the 2006 UK Christmas number-one single, having sold 571,253 copies, outselling the rest of the Top 40's sales combined. The single became the most downloaded song in 2006; it stayed at number one for four weeks and stayed at the top spot in the Irish Singles Chart for six weeks.

2007–2009: ''Spirit'' and international breakthrough

In February 2007, Lewis signed a £5 million ($9.7 million) five-album contract in the United States with Clive Davis's record label, J Records, and showcased for several American music executives. A press release was sent out revealing that Cowell and Davis would work together in a first-of-its-kind partnership on both the song and producer selection for Lewis's debut album, entitled ''Spirit''. Lewis recorded tracks for the album in London, Miami, Los Angeles, New York City, and Atlanta, where she worked with several songwriters and record producers including Dallas Austin, Walter Afanasieff, Salaam Remi, Steve Mac, Stargate and Ne-Yo. It was released in November 2007 and entered both the Irish Albums Chart and the UK Albums Chart at number one, becoming the fastest-selling debut album in both countries, and the United Kingdom's fourth fastest selling album of all time. It was released in several other nations in January 2008, and went to number one in New Zealand, Australia, Austria, Germany, South Africa and Switzerland. Two further tracks were recorded in 2008 for the US release of the album: "Forgive Me", produced by Akon, and "Misses Glass", produced by Madd Scientist. It was released in the United States in April 2008 and entered the Billboard 200 at number one, making Lewis the first British artist to reach number one with a debut album. A special edition of ''Spirit'' was re-released in November 2008 in Europe, including the songs "Forgive Me", "Misses Glass" and a cover of the Snow Patrol song "Run". The album again went to number one in the UK Albums Chart. To date the album has sold over 6.5 million copies worldwide and has a 9× platinum certification in the UK.

Lewis's second single, "Bleeding Love", produced by Ryan Tedder and written by Tedder and Jesse McCartney, was released in October 2007 in the UK, where it sold 218,805 copies in its first week, giving it the biggest first-week sales of 2007 to date. It entered the UK Singles Chart at number one, where it stayed for seven weeks, and in the Irish Singles Chart it remained at number one for eight weeks. It reached number one in the singles charts of New Zealand, Australia, France, Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Belgium, The Netherlands, Austria, Canada and the United States. "Bleeding Love" won The Record of the Year in December 2007. In February 2008, "Bleeding Love" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 85 and then went on to peak at number one for four non-consecutive weeks. The song became the first track by a UK female to reach number one since Kim Wilde's "You Keep Me Hangin' On" in 1987. Lewis's third single, a double A-side featuring "Better in Time" and "Footprints in the Sand", was released in the United Kingdom in March 2008, in aid of Sport Relief, and she visited South Africa for the charity. The single reached a peak of number two in the UK singles chart selling over 40,000 copies in its first week of physical release. "Better in Time" was released as Lewis's second single in the US, where it peaked at number 11 in the Billboard Hot 100. "Forgive Me" was released as Lewis's fifth single in November 2008; it reached number five in the UK. "Run" was released as a download-only single in the UK, reaching number one, and becoming the UK's fastest-selling download-only single with 69,244 copies sold in two days. Lewis's last single from ''Spirit'', "I Will Be", was released in January 2009, only in North America; it peaked at number 66 on the Billboard Hot 100. In August 2008, she performed "Whole Lotta Love" with guitarist Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin at the 2008 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in Beijing, representing the handover to London as the host of the 2012 Summer Olympics. In September 2008, she joined several female singers to perform a single for the anti-cancer campaign Stand Up to Cancer. The single, titled "Just Stand Up!", was performed live during the one-hour telethon that aired on all major US television networks. Lewis received three nominations for the 51st Grammy Awards in December 2008. "Bleeding Love" was nominated for Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and ''Spirit'' was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album. She was nominated for four BRIT Awards, in the categories British Female Solo Artist, British Breakthrough Act, British Album for ''Spirit'', and British Single for "Bleeding Love", but despite being the favourite to win the most awards, she received none. She won two awards at the 2008 MOBO Awards: Best Album for ''Spirit'' and Best Video for "Bleeding Love". In December 2008 Lewis was named 'Top New Artist' by ''Billboard'' magazine.

2009–2010: ''Echo'' and The Labyrinth

Lewis's second album, ''Echo'', was given a worldwide release in November 2009. Production took place throughout 2009, including work with Ryan Tedder, Justin Timberlake, Max Martin, Arnthor Birgisson, Kevin Rudolf, and John Shanks. It was recorded in Los Angeles and took nine months to produce. Lewis described the album as "more guitar-driven" compared to ''Spirit''. Lewis performed her first full UK show at the Hackney Empire in London on 2 November 2009, performing songs from ''Spirit'' and ''Echo''. ''Echo'' reached number one in the UK Albums Chart and the top ten of Austria, Ireland and Switzerland. Despite previous attempts from Lewis's lawyers to ban the release of ''Best Kept Secret'' by UEG Music, claiming that the singer had not given her consent, the album was released in January 2009 when the label insisted it owned the rights to the music and Lewis would receive a 50% share of the album's profits. However, a television advert for the album was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority, who said in a statement: "We considered that the claim 'Leona Lewis's new album' misleadingly implied it was the singer's latest recording rather than a new CD of tracks recorded some years ago." The album was released to iTunes in standard and deluxe editions, and two EPs, "Private Party" and "Dip Down"/"Joy", were released in September 2009. The first single released from ''Echo'' was "Happy", which was written by Lewis, Tedder and Evan Bogart and produced by Tedder. The single was released on 15 September 2009, peaking at number two in the UK, and reaching the top ten in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Japan and Switzerland. Lewis also recorded the theme song for the 2009 science fiction film ''Avatar'', directed by James Cameron. The song, "I See You (Theme from Avatar)", was written by James Horner and Simon Franglen. It was nominated for Best Original Song at the 67th Golden Globe Awards. In January 2010, Lewis provided vocals on a cover of "Everybody Hurts", released to help raise money for victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. The second single from ''Echo'', "I Got You", was released in February 2010. The song "My Hands" was used as the theme song for Final Fantasy XIII In April 2010, she featured on a duet with Italian singer Biagio Antonacci, called "Inaspettata (Unexpected)", from his album ''Inaspettata''. They performed the song on the Italian TV show ''Io Canto'' on 22 October 2010. Lewis performed a 13-piece set list at the Rock in Rio festival in Lisbon, Portugal, on 22 May 2010, including songs from ''Spirit'' and ''Echo''. Her first tour, titled The Labyrinth supporting ''Spirit'' and ''Echo'', started in May 2010, with a theme based on the film ''Labyrinth''. Lewis was scheduled to tour North America from July to August 2010 supporting Christina Aguilera's Bionic Tour, however, Aguilera postponed the tour until 2011, leaving Lewis's plans unknown. A DVD of the tour, along with a ten-track CD, was released with the title ''The Labyrinth Tour Live from The O2'' on 29 November 2010.

2010–present: ''Glass Heart''

Lewis began work on her third album shortly after she had completed The Labyrinth tour. She suggested the album would be "a bit different from what people have heard" from her before, adding that she planned to "go in and create and just see what happens". Lewis later described the album as "more progressive", "more eclectic", "more uptempo" and "a bit darker". Reports suggested that the album had taken a dubstep direction, with songwriters asked to submit dance songs and no ballads. It was also reported that Simon Cowell had set a deadline for the album for a summer 2011 release. On 25 May 2011, Lewis was named as an ambassador for BBC Radio 1's Hackney Weekend 2012, the BBC's biggest ever free-ticketed live music event, and one of the artists confirmed to be performing at the event, which will take place on 23 and 24 June 2012. Following the announcement, she performed a special Live Lounge at the Hackney Empire, with a reggae version of "Better in Time", which incorporated Rihanna's "Man Down", and a cover of Labrinth's "Let the Sun Shine". In June 2011, when asked about the upcoming album, Lewis described it as "energetic, deep, [and] unique". She also commented that it would have a darker tone and that she would be putting her "heart into [her] lyrics". She cited Tracy Chapman, Kate Bush and Tears for Fears as the album's primary influences.

On 14 July 2011, it was confirmed that "Collide" would be the first track to be taken from Lewis's third studio album, ''Glass Heart''. The dance-pop anthem, written by Autumn Rowe and produced by Sandy Vee, had its first UK radio play on ''The Scott Mills Show'' on BBC Radio 1 on 15 July 2011. It will be released in the UK on 4 September 2011 and Germany on 9 September 2011. The single courted controversy after it was claimed to have plagiarised Swedish musician Avicii's 2010 song "Penguin". Berg took the case to the British High Court.

For the album, Lewis has worked with numerous writers and producers including: Ammo, Jonas Quant, Chuck Harmony, Claude Kelly, Ryan Tedder, Fraser T. Smith, Al Shux, Steve Robson, Dallas Austin, Rico Love and Ne-Yo. In May 2011, it was reported that Lewis had recorded a track called "Trouble" written by Emeli Sandé and Naughty Boy. Lewis also recorded a track called "Mountains" written by Sandé, Naughty Boy and Blazin' Squad members Flava (James Murray) and Mus (Mustafa Omer).

It has been confirmed that the album is entitled ''Glass Heart'' and to be released in the UK on 28 November 2011.

Voice

A mezzo-soprano, Lewis is often compared with other singers such as Celine Dion, Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. Lewis is also known to sing opera, stating that she practises operatic scales every week. Music critic Neil McCormick, of ''The Daily Telegraph'', has praised Lewis's technical skills, writing, "Her mezzo-soprano range allows her to take melodies from luxurious low notes to high-flying falsetto, gliding with elegant power and impressive control through all kinds of fluctuations and modulations." Stephen Thomas Erlewine of ''AllMusic'' adds, "Lewis can hit [high belted] notes but make it seem easy, never straining her voice and building nicely to the climax." In the same vein, ''Slant'' describes Lewis's vocals as "technically unimpeachable".

Other activities

In October 2008, ''The Times'' reported that Lewis had turned down a $1 million deal with Mohamed Al Fayed to open a Harrods sale. Lewis commented in the press that she turned down the deal on the grounds that Harrods is the only UK department store which continues to stock clothing made from animal fur. She told ''The Big Issue'', "I got a lot of flak for that. There were people who said I should have done it and given the money to charity, but that would have been such a contradiction." She announced in October 2008 that she was in the "bargaining period" of launching her own ethical line of accessories through Topshop, and that she was in the late stages of releasing her own perfume for Europe. Her perfume, ''Leona Lewis'', was launched by LR in July 2009. In 2010, she set up a fashion company with her then boyfriend, Lou Al-Chamaa, called LOA Clothing Ltd.

Lewis signed a book deal in January 2009 to release an illustrated autobiography in October 2009. The book, entitled ''Dreams'', contains mostly pictures taken by photographer Dean Freeman. In 2010, it was reported Lewis was offered a cameo role in the second series of the American television programme ''Glee''.

Personal life

Lewis lives in Hackney. She lived with her boyfriend Lou Al-Chamaa until their split in June 2010. Lewis and Al-Chamaa knew each other since she was approximately ten years old. A vegetarian since she was 12, Lewis won PETA's Sexiest Vegetarian along with Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis in 2008, and Europe's Sexiest Vegetarian in 2009 with actor Scott Maslen. She also was named PETA's Person Of The Year for 2008. Lewis is a supporter of the World Society for the Protection of Animals.

At a book signing for ''Dreams'' on 14 October 2009 at the Piccadilly branch of Waterstone's book store in central London, Lewis received a punch to the head from Peter Kowalczyk, a 29-year-old man from south London. Kowalczyk was arrested at the scene, and Lewis suffered bruising. She later released a statement thanking fans for their support. Kowalczyk was sectioned under the Mental Health Act and was charged with common assault, which he admitted to. He was ordered to remain in hospital for an indeterminate period.

Discography

''Spirit'' (2007)

''Echo'' (2009)

''Glass Heart'' (2011)

Tours

2010: The Labyrinth

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Category:1985 births Category:Living people Category:Alumni of the Sylvia Young Theatre School Category:English crime victims Category:English female singers Category:English-language singers Category:English people of Guyanese descent Category:English people of Irish descent Category:English people of Italian descent Category:English people of Welsh descent Category:English pop singers Category:English rhythm and blues singers Category:English singer-songwriters Category:English soul singers Category:English vegetarians Category:People educated at the BRIT School Category:Ivor Novello Award winners Category:J Records artists Category:Singers from London Category:People from Islington Category:Sony BMG artists Category:The X Factor (UK) contestants Category:World Music Awards winners Category:X Factor series winners

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Coordinates	13 °31 ′30 ″N71 °58 ′20 ″N
name	Roy Hodgson
fullname	Roy Hodgson
birth date	August 09, 1947
birth place	Croydon, England
position	Defender
currentclub	West Bromwich Albion (manager)
youthyears1	1963–1965
youthclubs1	Crystal Palace
years1	1965–1966
clubs1	Crystal Palace
caps1	0
goals1	0
years2	1966–1969
clubs2	Tonbridge
years3	1969–1971
clubs3	Gravesend & Northfleet
caps3	59
goals3	1
years4	1971–1972
clubs4	Maidstone United
years5	1972–1973
clubs5	Ashford Town
years6	1973–1974
clubs6	Berea Park
years7	1974–1976
clubs7	Carshalton Athletic
manageryears1	1971–1972
managerclubs1	Maidstone United Assistant Coach
manageryears2	1976
managerclubs2	Carshalton Athletic
manageryears3	1976–1980
managerclubs3	Halmstad
manageryears4	1980–1982
managerclubs4	Bristol City
manageryears5	1982
managerclubs5	Oddevold
manageryears6	1983–1985
managerclubs6	Örebro
manageryears7	1985–1990
managerclubs7	Malmö FF
manageryears8	1990–1992
managerclubs8	Neuchâtel Xamax
manageryears9	1992–1995
managerclubs9	Switzerland
manageryears10	1995–1997
managerclubs10	Internazionale
manageryears11	1997–1998
managerclubs11	Blackburn Rovers
manageryears12	1999
managerclubs12	Internazionale
manageryears13	1999–2000
managerclubs13	Grasshopper
manageryears14	2000–2001
managerclubs14	FC Copenhagen
manageryears15	2001
managerclubs15	Udinese
manageryears16	2002–2004
managerclubs16	United Arab Emirates
manageryears17	2004–2005
managerclubs17	Viking
manageryears18	2006–2007
managerclubs18	Finland
manageryears19	2007–2010
managerclubs19	Fulham
manageryears20	2010–2011
managerclubs20	Liverpool
manageryears21	2011–
managerclubs21	West Bromwich Albion }}

Roy Hodgson (born 9 August 1947 in Croydon, England) is a former English footballer and current manager of West Bromwich Albion.

Hodgson, who has managed sixteen different teams in eight countries, guided the Switzerland national team to the last 16 of the 1994 World Cup and qualification for Euro 1996; Switzerland had not qualified for a major tournament since the 1960s. From 2006 to 2007, he managed the Finland national team, guiding them to their highest ever FIFA ranking of 33rd place, and coming close to qualifying for a major tournament for the first time in the nation's history. He has been the beaten finalist in the UEFA Cup and the Europa League. Hodgson has also coached many notable club sides, including Halmstads BK, Internazionale, Blackburn Rovers, Grasshoppers, FC Copenhagen, Udinese, Viking, Fulham and Liverpool. Hodgson has served several times as a member of UEFA's technical study group at the European Championships, and he was also a member of the FIFA technical study group at the 2006 World Cup. Hodgson speaks five languages and has also worked as a television pundit in several of the countries in which he has coached.

Early life and club career

Hodgson was born in Croydon, Surrey. His mother was a local baker in the town, and his father, who was an Everton fan, originally from Walton, Liverpool, worked in a chemical factory. He was educated at John Ruskin Grammar School and was a moderately successful youth player with Crystal Palace, but was never able to break into the first team. After leaving Crystal Palace he played non-League football for several years with Tonbridge, Gravesend & Northfleet, Maidstone United, where he also served as assistant manager, and Carshalton Athletic. He briefly worked as a PE teacher from 1972–73 at Alleyn's School in south London, and later at Hillview High School in Pretoria, South Africa.

Managerial career

Early career

Hodgson started his managerial career in 1976 at the Swedish top division side Halmstad. Hodgson spent five years at Halmstads BK, winning the league championship in 1976 and 1979. His success with Halmstad in 1976 is considered one of the biggest surprises of all time in Swedish football. The year before, Halmstad had struggled against relegation, and before the 1976 campaign began they were almost universally tipped for relegation. Hodgson himself says that "my greatest achievement would have to be the water-into-wine job at Halmstads BK." Early in his career, he was dubbed the nicest man in the world.

In 1980, he moved to Bristol City in his native England, where he was assistant manager and later manager. Due to the club's financial problems he was largely unsuccessful. In 1983, Hodgson moved back to Sweden to take over Örebro. In 1985, he took over at Malmö FF, which he led to five consecutive league championships, two Swedish championships (at the time the Swedish championship was decided through play-offs) and two Swedish Cups. Due to his successful time at Malmö, Hodgson is still highly appreciated by the club's fans who have unofficially named a section of the new Swedbank Stadion "Roy's Hörna" (Roy's Corner). His greatest continental achievement at Malmö was knocking the then-Italian champions Internazionale out of the Champions League, winning 1–0 at home and drawing 1–1 at the San Siro. Hodgson continues to be held in high regard at Malmö where he is known as 'Royson'. His period as manager of the club is seen as one of the best in the club's history.

Malmö offered Hodgson a lifetime contract, but he declined, saying later that "moving to another place seemed exciting. The decision was also financial. Swedish taxes were so high that even if you were being paid reasonable money, after losing 65% in tax there wasn't a lot left." Hodgson moved to Swiss side Neuchâtel Xamax in 1990. He led Xamax to European victories over Celtic and Real Madrid.

His early coaching career was closely linked to that of his friend Bob Houghton; they worked together at Maidstone, Stranraer and Bristol City, and they both worked in Swedish football at the same time. The pair are credited with transforming Swedish football, bringing in zonal marking for the first time.

Switzerland

Hodgson took over as manager of the Switzerland national team from Uli Stielike on 26 January 1992. Stielike had been the first Swiss coach to have a winning record, winning 13 of the 25 games he was in charge. As Hodgson was succeeding Stielike at the national level, Stielike took over the job Hodgson had just vacated at club level with Swiss Super League side Neuchâtel Xamax.

Hodgson took the ''Schweizer Nati'' to the 1994 World Cup, losing only one game during qualification, from a group that included Italy and Portugal. The Swiss took four points off Italy, who, managed by the successful former coach Arrigo Sacchi, went on to make it to the World Cup final and lose only on penalties. In the game in Italy, the Swiss were at one stage leading 2–0 before being pegged back to 2–2. This was Switzerland's first World Cup since 1966. At the 1994 World Cup, the Swiss finished runners-up in their group, qualifying for the Round of 16 where they lost to Spain.

The Swiss easily qualified for Euro 1996, but Hodgson left immediately after qualification, on 15 November 1995, to join Italian club F.C. Internazionale Milano. He had in fact been doing both jobs from October of that year. Without Hodgson, the Swiss had a difficult time at Euro '96 losing to the Netherlands and Scotland. Switzerland finished bottom of their group with only one point from three matches.

At their peak while managed by Hodgson, Switzerland were rated the third best international side in the world, according to the FIFA World Rankings.

Internazionale

Before the European Championships, Hodgson joined Italian Serie A giants Internazionale, where he worked from 1995 to 1997. With significant investment, he presided over a rebuilding phase. Inter had finished 13th and 6th in the seasons prior to his arrival. After a terrible start to the season, Hodgson was brought in and guided the club to 7th place in the 1995–96 season, qualifying for the UEFA Cup. The 1996–97 season saw Hodgson leave Inter after 14 wins, 13 draws and five defeats in Serie A, with Inter placed 3rd in the league, and he was replaced by Luigi Simoni whose side finished 2nd in the league in the 1997–8 season and won the UEFA Cup. In 2009 Hodgson recalled his time at Inter: "We lacked stars, apart from Paul Ince. It wasn't the Inter we see today of household names. They weren't the best technically but physically they were like machines. The Premier League is like that now, but back then Italy was far ahead."

Hodgson managed to get his Inter team, containing Javier Zanetti, Youri Djorkaeff and Paul Ince, through to the 1997 UEFA Cup Final where they would play Schalke 04. Given that Inter had a recent history of winning UEFA Cup finals, with victories in both 1990 and 1994, the Italian side started as favourites. When the German underdogs won the final in Milan on penalties, Inter fans pelted Hodgson with coins and lighters.

Hodgson later admitted that, throughout his one-and-a-half seasons at Inter, there had been regular speculation that he would get the sack, but he insisted he had had the support of the owners.

Blackburn Rovers

In the 1997 close season, Hodgson was tempted by Jack Walker to become manager of Blackburn Rovers. Rovers had finished 13th the previous season — only two seasons after winning the title — and had been in danger of relegation. Manager Ray Harford had quit on 25 October 1996 with Blackburn winless, bottom of the Premier League and just knocked out of the Football League Cup by Division Two underdogs Stockport County. Coach Tony Parkes had been put in charge for the rest of the season, and had overseen an improvement in league form to secure survival, but it was clear that chairman Walker wanted a more experienced man to build a side capable of regaining the form of a few years earlier, and Hodgson accepted the offer to take over.

In the 1997–98 season, his first season in charge, Blackburn finished 6th, qualifying for the UEFA cup and appearing to be in the ascendancy, especially as they had been outsiders in the title race for more than half of the season and Hodgson had been voted Premier League Manager of the Month on two occasions; however, the team's form collapsed dramatically in the second half of the season, and it was only on the last day of the season that they secured a UEFA place.

Hodgson's second season with Blackburn did not match the relative success of the first, due to numerous injuries, dressing room unrest, the failure to find an adequate replacement for departed central defender Colin Hendry, and a succession of poor buys – notably the £7.5 million Kevin Davies. As a result, Blackburn had a disastrous start to the season and Hodgson was sacked on November 21st 1998, with the club bottom of the league table. As Hodgson later explained, Blackburn's owner gave him the chance to resign honourably, but he refused to do so, leaving the club with no option but to sack him: "To Blackburn's honour, Jack Walker wanted me to resign, he wanted to still pay for the rest of my contract. He said, 'Why don't you resign? You've had enough, it's not working out.' I refused to do that, arrogant of course as I was in those days. I thought if they stuck with me I'd save them from relegation. I do think that the players were very much still with me, so I couldn't resign because that would be a suggestion that in some way I was doing something or something was happening which I didn't see to be the case or the truth. I gave him no choice but to sack me". His final game was a home defeat by Southampton.

Hodgson later complained that his failure at Blackburn tarnished his reputation in England, whilst his record on the continent should have made him comparable to Sir Alex Ferguson: "Of course, my track record, if people bothered to study it, would put me in the same category as [Sir Alex] Ferguson enjoys today, but people don't talk about what I've done outside England," he says. "Here, they just talk about Blackburn Rovers, but that's just a very small part of a 26-year career. To most English journalists it's the only part. I've got an excellent track record in Sweden, Switzerland, Italy and in Denmark, where FC Copenhagen was my last job before I went to Udinese. We won the league there by seven points. Admittedly, the fact that I walked out and went to Italy to some extent tarnished that reputation..."

Return to Inter, Grasshopper

In 1999, he had a brief second stint as caretaker at Inter before returning to Switzerland to coach Grasshopper for a season. In 2000, Hodgson was one of three candidates to take over as England manager; however, after having agreed to move to Copenhagen prior to the FA offering him a contract, he was obliged to refuse any offer and the job went to Sven-Göran Eriksson.

Copenhagen, Udinese

Hodgson moved to Denmark and became manager of FC Copenhagen, where he proved an instant success, taking a team that had finished 7th and 8th in the two previous seasons, and winning the Superliga championship in the 2000–01 season – the club's first championship since 1993. In 2001, he left Copenhagen to move to Serie A side Udinese. With the club five points above the relegation zone, Hodgson was fired after just four months after allegedly stating that he regretted taking up the post. Newspapers quoted him saying: "Obviously I'm very happy to be back at this level of football, but I could have chosen a better club to come back to. It's an extremely strange club." Hodgson denied making the comments but later claimed that he wanted to leave so was happy to be sacked.

United Arab Emirates

Hodgson took over as manager of the United Arab Emirates in April 2002, managing the senior and Olympic sides. Speaking of his time as manager of the United Arab Emirates, Hodgson said: "That was a period where I didn't know where my career was going. But all these experiences enrich you and it was good to know I could get my message to players who many say are uncoachable. It's hard work; they're basically lazy. But I had them drilled and pressuring opponents almost like an English team. Most coaches who go there are just fannying around, but it's not my nature."

Viking

In May 2004, he moved to Norwegian club Viking. The club had finished fifth in the season before Hodgson took over, but finished ninth under Hodgson in their first season in a new stadium, Viking Stadion. Following a spell at the top of the table, Viking finished fifth in the 2005 season. 2005 was also a good year for Hodgson and Viking in the UEFA Cup, with victories against Monaco and Austria Wien as the highlights. On 15 August 2005, he agreed to take over as coach of the Finnish national team for the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign.

Finland

Hodgson narrowly failed to reach Euro 2008 with Finland, a country who have never qualified for a major tournament. Although Hodgson's win ratio of just 27.3% was the worst of any Finland manager since 2000, all six of his wins came in official qualifying matches allowing Finland to come fourth in their group with a respectable 24 points, missing out on qualification by a mere three points. Indeed, Finland still had a chance to qualify in their last match. Hodgson's Finland were praised for well organized defending but criticized for inefficient attacking – five of Finland's 14 qualification games ended in 0–0 draws. Hodgson's contract expired at the end of November, and although the Finnish FA expressed their willingness to extend it, Hodgson decided to move on. Prior to taking up an ambassadorial role at Inter, Hodgson was linked with the vacant Republic of Ireland manager's job. He was also considered an outside candidate to replace Steve McClaren as England manager, having been linked previously to the job after the departures of Glenn Hoddle and Kevin Keegan, and given his international management record and nationality.

Fulham

On 28 December 2007, in a surprise appointment, Hodgson accepted the post of manager at struggling Premier League team Fulham, with his contract beginning on 30 December 2007. He initially endured a run of very poor results with the club, including being knocked out of the FA Cup on penalties after two draws against League One side Bristol Rovers. Apparently certainties for relegation to the Championship, Fulham picked up just nine points from Hodgson's first thirteen league games. However, a run of twelve points from the last five games of the season, including a 3–2 win over Manchester City after being 2–0 down with twenty minutes remaining, secured the Cottagers' survival on the final day of the season.

In the 2008–09 season, Hodgson led Fulham to unprecedented success, guiding his side to 7th place in the Premier League, the club's highest ever finish, and ensuring qualification for the new UEFA Europa League. There were calls for Hodgson to be given the Premier League Manager of the Year award, and he received much praise for the signings of Mark Schwarzer, Andy Johnson and Brede Hangeland, and for the improvement in Bobby Zamora's performances. Hodgson's spell at Fulham greatly revived his reputation in England after his time in charge of Blackburn over a decade earlier, with renewed speculation linking him to the England job should Fabio Capello have left.

In the 2009–10 season, Hodgson enjoyed an impressive run in the Europa League. The club's campaign, which started in July 2009, featured impressive performances in the group stage, including defeating Basel at the hostile St. Jakob-Park in the final group game to qualify for the knockout stage at the expense of the Swiss club. In the following rounds, Fulham went on to eliminate holders Shakhtar, Italian runners-up Juventus and German champions Wolfsburg. The victory against Juventus was especially memorable as Fulham came back from 4–1 down on aggregate to win the tie 5–4. On 29 April 2010, Hodgson guided Fulham to their first major European final in their 130 year history, winning the home leg 2-1 to gain a 2–1 aggregate victory over Hamburg in the Europa League semi final. In the Premier League they finished 12th.

In May 2010, Hodgson was voted the 2010 LMA Manager of the Year by a record margin. Hodgson received the award after a poll of coaches, including managers from the top four leagues in England. Two days later, he watched his Fulham side lose the club's first European final 2–1 to Atlético Madrid of Spain in Hamburg.

On 30 June, the ''Liverpool Echo'' reported that Hodgson would be named as the new Liverpool manager after the club had agreed a £2 million compensation deal with Fulham. The announcement came after weeks of speculation following the departure of Rafael Benitez.

Liverpool

On 1 July 2010, Hodgson was officially appointed as manager of Liverpool, signing a three–year contract. Former Liverpool striker and manager Kenny Dalglish had been asked by Managing Director Christian Purslow to help draw up a short list of candidates. Unimpressed by that shortlist, Dalglish put himself forward as a candidate. Some argued that the appointment of Dalglish would be a backward step. Former Liverpool players who had worked with Dalglish, such as Peter Beardsley, backed him for the job. Dalglish's application was rejected by the club, who publicly never gave a reason for their decision but may have felt he had been away from management for too long. Hodgson emerged as the front runner, the logic behind his appointment being that he could use his long experience in management 'to steady the ship'. It was realised that, with the club up for sale when he was brought in, Liverpool were likely to face some turbulent times, but Hodgson's appointment met with mixed reactions from fans, particularly after Dalglish had expressed interest in the position. At the time he was reigning LMA Manager of the Year and had just enjoyed a successful season with Fulham; however, there were many who felt that he had insufficient experience with 'big clubs' despite his tenure at Internazionale, and that he would struggle to manage genuinely star players. At the time of his appointment the newspaper the Daily Telegraph asked: "Is he high profile enough for Liverpool, or is he a mid-table manager over his head?" Some fans worried that he was just a "short term appointment". Former Marseille and Juventus manager Didier Deschamps later claimed that he had been offered the job before Hodgson, but turned it down.

On 8 July 2010, it was revealed that Milan Jovanović had completed his long-awaited move to Merseyside to become Hodgson's first signing (although the signing had been instigated by Rafael Benitez before he left Liverpool). On 19 July 2010, Hodgson's second signing was confirmed as Joe Cole, on a four-year contract on a free transfer from Chelsea. Hodgson's first game in charge of Liverpool was to be against Saudi champions Al Hilal in Austria, but due to a waterlogged pitch the game was cancelled. Instead, Hodgson's first game as manager was a friendly against his former managed club Grasshopper Club Zürich on 21 July 2010, which ended 0–0. On 29 July 2010, his first competitive game as manager was a 2–0 away win against FK Rabotnički in the Europa League. In the return leg at Anfield, Liverpool again won 2–0, winning the tie 4–0 on aggregate. Hodgson's first Premier League game for Liverpool was against Arsenal. Despite Joe Cole being sent off in the first half and Daniel Agger being injured at one point, Liverpool drew 1–1, after a last minute own goal by Liverpool goalkeeper José Manuel Reina. Hodgson also recruited goalkeeper Brad Jones, defenders Danny Wilson and Paul Konchesky, midfielders Christian Poulsen and Raul Meireles, as well as re-signing full-back Fabio Aurelio, who had been released by the club earlier in the summer, during a busy first summer at the club. Meanwhile, Benitez signings Albert Riera, Diego Cavalieri and Javier Mascherano were all sold, whilst Alberto Aquilani was loaned out to Juventus, and Emiliano Insua was loaned out to Galatasaray. On 29 August 2010, Hodgson achieved his first league win as manager by defeating West Bromwich Albion 1–0 at Anfield with Fernando Torres scoring his first goal of the season.

After that, however, Liverpool had a series of disappointing results. The Reds were eliminated from the League Cup on 23 September by League Two strugglers Northampton Town at Anfield, losing on penalties after a 2–2 draw during open play. Prior to the home game against newly-promoted Blackpool on 3 October, Hodgson responded to his critics, describing himself as "one of the most respected coaches in Europe" and said it is "insulting" to suggest he cannot handle Liverpool's big-name players. Liverpool lost the game 2-1, which continued to pile the misery on Hodgson and his team, leaving them third from bottom after seven games, and Hodgson admitted that his side were potentially facing a relegation battle. It was the club's worst start to a season in 82 years.

By late October 2010, speculation was rife that Hodgson would be sacked as Liverpool manager. Hodgson denied that he had any intention of resigning. He responded aggressively to suggestions that Frank Rijkaard, who had won the Champions League as manager of Barcelona, would be appointed in his place. However, three straight Premier League victories, including a 2–0 home win over leaders Chelsea, alleviated these speculations, as Liverpool returned to the top half of the table. New Reds owner John W. Henry backed Hodgson, however he also stated that Liverpool were still building and need new players in the January transfer market.

Whilst this run of victories provided Hodgson some much-needed respite, the team became inconsistent, dropping points in a 1–1 draw at Wigan, losing 2–0 at Stoke City (Liverpool's first defeat to Stoke in 26 years) followed by a 2–1 loss at Tottenham Hotspur. However Liverpool's home form had been better, with 3–0 victories over both West Ham Utd and Aston Villa. On 11 December, Liverpool lost 3-1 to Newcastle United.

On 29 December 2010, Liverpool were beaten 1–0 at home by bottom of the table Wolverhampton Wanderers, the club's first loss to Wolves in 27 years. After this defeat, Hodgson criticised Liverpool fans for not supporting him from the beginning of his tenure at Liverpool. At the turn of the year, Liverpool had their lowest points total since the 1953-54 season. A 2–1 home win over Bolton Wanderers in their next game appeared to lift the pressure off Hodgson, only for a 3–1 defeat at Blackburn on 5 January 2011 to spark the club's owners to consider his position. Despite the mounting pressure on Hodgson and increasing doubt over his future at Liverpool, he had been backed to remain in the job by several club legends including Kevin Keegan, John Barnes and Steve McManaman. After 31 games in charge, the shortest reign in Liverpool history, Hodgson left the club by mutual consent on the morning of 8 January 2011, with Kenny Dalglish announced as his replacement.

Hodgson was dogged thoughout his time at Anfield by suggestions that the job was beyond him, in addition to the continued presence of fan favourite Dalglish - who a significant proportion of the support preferred over him as manager. Hodgson did not help his cause with the fans with a series of well-documented an ill-judged comments to the press, more prominently regarding his friendship with Anfield bête noire Alex Ferguson. Despite his brief and unsuccessful reign at the club, Hodgson steered the club through a difficult period on and especially off the pitch and helped retain much of Liverpool's playing talent such as Pepe Reina and Fernando Torres

West Bromwich Albion

Hodgson was appointed head coach of West Bromwich Albion on 11 February 2011 signing a contract until 2012. Hodgson replaced Roberto Di Matteo after a poor run of form which saw West Brom lose 13 of their previous 18 matches.

Roy Hodgson's first game in charge as West Brom head coach ended in a 1-1 home draw against West Brom's Black Country rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers. Hodgson helped West Brom to 5 wins and 5 draws from 12 remaining games, including an important 2-1 win at the Hawthorns against the club that had sacked him earlier in the season. Hodgson led West Brom to a Premier League finish of 11th, the best finish the club has had in nearly 30 years (finishing 11th in Division 1 - 1982/83).

Personal life

Hodgson is married to Sheila, with whom he has two sons, Christopher and Michael. He is known to be a fan of rock band The Rolling Stones. Hodgson is multilingual: in addition to his native English, he speaks fluent Norwegian, Swedish, German and Italian, as well as some Danish, French and Finnish.

Hodgson has been a long time supporter of Guide Dogs for the Blind, participating in many fundraising events for the charity throughout his management career. He is partially credited with the idea of placing fluorescent jackets on the animals together with the late Roy Castle

Career statistics

Manager

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
!G!!W!!D!!L!!Win %
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Total

28 August 2011

Honours

Club

;Halmstad

Allsvenskan (2): 1976, 1979

;Malmö FF

Swedish football champions (2): 1986, 1988

Allsvenskan (5): 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989

Svenska Cupen (2): 1985–86, 1988–89

;Inter Milan

UEFA Cup Finalists (1): 1997

;Copenhagen

Danish Superliga (1): 2000–01

Danish Super Cup (1): 2001

;Fulham

UEFA Europa League Finalists (1): 2010

Individual

LMA Manager of the Year (1): 2010

References

External links

Fulham FC profile

LFC History Profile

This is Anfield Profile

Category:1947 births Category:Living people Category:People from Croydon Category:English footballers Category:Maidstone United F.C. (1897) players Category:Ashford Town F.C. (Kent) players Category:Crystal Palace F.C. players Category:English football managers Category:Premier League managers Category:The Football League managers Category:Carshalton Athletic F.C. managers Category:Halmstads BK managers Category:Bristol City F.C. managers Category:Örebro SK managers Category:Malmö FF managers Category:Neuchâtel Xamax managers Category:Blackburn Rovers F.C. managers Category:F.C. Copenhagen managers Category:F.C. Internazionale Milano managers Category:Udinese Calcio managers Category:Serie A managers Category:Expatriate football managers in Italy Category:Finland national football team managers Category:Switzerland national football team managers Category:1994 FIFA World Cup managers Category:Viking FK managers Category:Tonbridge Angels F.C. players Category:Grasshopper-Club Zürich managers Category:Fulham F.C. managers Category:Liverpool F.C. managers Category:Expatriate football managers in Denmark Category:Expatriate football managers in Norway Category:Expatriate football managers in Sweden Category:Expatriate football managers in Switzerland Category:Expatriate football managers in the United Arab Emirates

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