Alan Ball - Football Coach

Alan James Ball (12 May 1945 – 25 April 2007) was an English professional football player and manager. Often regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, he won the 1966 World Cup with England and played for various clubs, scoring more than 180 league goals in a career spanning 22 years. After retiring as a player, he had a 15-year career as a manager which included spells in the top flight of English football with Portsmouth, Southampton and Manchester City. He was inducted in the English Football Hall of Fame in 2003. Ball started his professional career at Blackpool at the age of 17 in 1962, following a brief non–league spell at Ashton United, becoming the club's star player and ensuring Blackpool's First Division status. He signed for Everton in 1966 for a record fee of £220,000. He became a fan favourite at Goodison Park, winning the First Division in 1970 and the Charity Shield the same year. After five and a half years and over 250 appearances for the club, he signed with Double winners Arsenal in December 1971, becoming a central player in the club's transitional period following the 1971 Double before being sold to Second Division side Southampton in December 1976. Whilst with Southampton, he captained the side to promotion in 1978 and the 1979 League Cup final. He spent time on loan managing Philadelphia Fury in the NASL and was transferred to the Vancouver Whitecaps for two seasons, before returning to Blackpool as player–manager and then Southampton for two years as a First Division outfit. Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License - Full article

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