Ian Callaghan
MBE
Callaghan in 2016
Personal information
Full name Ian Robert Callaghan
Date of birth (1942-04-10) 10 April 1942 (age 81)
Place of birth Toxteth, Liverpool, England
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1959–1978 Liverpool 640 (49)
1978 → Ft Lauderdale Strikers (loan) 20 (0)
1978–1981 Swansea City 76 (1)
1979 → Canberra City (loan) 9 (0)
1981 Cork United 2 (0)
1981 Crewe Alexandra 15 (0)
Total 762 (50)
International career
1966–1977 England 4 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ian Robert Callaghan MBE (born 10 April 1942) is an English retired professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He holds the record for most appearances for Liverpool.[2] He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1975 New Year Honours.[3]

Playing career

Liverpool

Callaghan with Liverpool in 1966

Callaghan played 857 times for Liverpool between 1960 and 1978, breaking into the first team just after the appointment of Bill Shankly as Liverpool manager. He made his debut on 16 April 1960 at Anfield in a 4–0 victory over Bristol Rovers. He was a regular member of the first team by the time Liverpool won promotion to the First Division in 1962, and went on to help them win the league title in 1964, 1966, 1973, 1976 and 1977, as well as the 1965 and 1974 FA Cup Finals, the UEFA Cup in 1973 and 1976, and the European Cup in 1977 and (as a substitute) in 1978. He was voted FWA Footballer of the Year in 1974.[2] He was booked only once in his career, in the 1978 League Cup Final replay at Old Trafford, which Liverpool lost to Nottingham Forest.[4]

Callaghan played in the 1977 European Cup Final, when Liverpool beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 3–1, but in the 1978 season, which proved his last year at the club, his playing time was reduced as younger additions like Graeme Souness and Kenny Dalglish established themselves at the club. Callaghan was on the substitutes' bench when Liverpool retained the European Cup against FC Brugge in 1978.

Later club career

He left Liverpool shortly after the 1978 European Cup final and signed for Swansea City, managed by former Liverpool striker John Toshack. He helped Swansea win a second successive promotion in 1979, which took them into the Second Division, and also had brief spells playing in the US, Australia and Ireland towards the end of his career. He spent the final season of his career in the English Fourth Division with Crewe Alexandra, making 15 appearances in the 1981–82 season and retiring as a player in his 40th year.[5]

England

Callaghan was born in England and is of Irish descent.[6] He played four times at senior level for England.[7] Although he was in the squad for the 1966 FIFA World Cup, he did not play in the final so did not receive a medal. He did play in the group-stage match versus France on 20 July 1966, one of three wingers tried before manager Alf Ramsey decided to go with a team with no wingers. Following a Football Association-led campaign to persuade FIFA to award medals to all the winners' squad members, Callaghan was presented with his medal by Prime Minister Gordon Brown at a ceremony at 10 Downing Street on 10 June 2009.[5]

After that 1966 match against France, Callaghan's next England appearance, his third, came against Switzerland on 7 September 1977, aged 35.[7] This gap of 11 years 49 days between appearances is the longest such interval for any England player.[8]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Liverpool[9] 1959–60 Second Division 4 0 0 0 0 0 – 4 0
1960–61 Second Division 3 0 0 0 2 0 – 5 0
1961–62 Second Division 23 1 5 0 0 0 – 28 1
1962–63 First Division 37 2 6 0 0 0 – 43 2
1963–64 First Division 42 8 5 0 0 0 – 47 8
1964–65 First Division 37 6 8 1 0 0 9 1 55* 8
1965–66 First Division 42 5 1 0 0 0 9 0 53* 5
1966–67 First Division 40 3 4 0 0 0 5 1 50* 4
1967–68 First Division 41 3 9 0 2 1 6 3 58 7
1968–69 First Division 42 8 4 1 3 1 2 0 51 10
1969–70 First Division 41 3 6 0 2 0 4 2 53 5
1970–71 First Division 23 0 5 0 1 0 5 0 34 0
1971–72 First Division 41 2 3 0 3 0 4 0 52* 2
1972–73 First Division 42 3 4 0 8 0 12 1 66 4
1973–74 First Division 42 0 9 0 6 3 4 0 61 3
1974–75 First Division 41 1 2 0 3 0 4 1 51* 2
1975–76 First Division 40 3 2 0 3 0 12 1 57 4
1976–77 First Division 33 1 5 0 2 1 7 0 48* 2
1977–78 First Division 26 0 1 0 7 0 6 1 41* 1
Total 640 49 79 2 42 6 89 11 857 68
Fort Lauderdale Strikers 1978 NASL 20 0 — – — 20 0
Swansea City 1978–79 Third Division 40 0 — — — 40 0
1979–80 Second Division 36 1 — — — 36 1
Total 76 1 8 0 0 0 0 0 76 1
Canberra City (loan) 1979 NSL 9 0 — — — 9 0
Cork United 1980–81 LOI 2 0 — — — 2 0
Crewe Alexandra 1981–82 Fourth Division 15 0 — — — 15 0
Career total 762 50 88 2 42 6 89 11 979 68

* Includes one appearance in the FA Charity Shield

^ Includes one goal in the FA Charity Shield

Honours

Liverpool

England

See also

References

  1. ^ Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Ian Callaghan (Player)". www.national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Appearances". Liverpool F.C. Archived from the original on 13 August 2012. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
  3. ^ United Kingdom list: "No. 46444". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1974. p. 14.
  4. ^ "A timeline for Liverpool Football Club – LFChistory – Stats galore for Liverpool FC!". Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  5. ^ a b "World Cup 1966 winners honoured". BBC Sport. 10 June 2009. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  6. ^ Jackson, Dan (12 July 2021). "The making of the Three Lions". UnHerd.
  7. ^ a b "Ian Callaghan". englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  8. ^ "England players - Longest interval between appearances". englandfootballonline.com. 11 October 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  9. ^ "Liverpool career stats for Ian Callaghan – LFChistory – Stats galore for Liverpool FC!". Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  10. ^ "League table for the 1963–1964 season – LFChistory – Stats galore for Liverpool FC!". Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  11. ^ "League table for the 1965–1966 season – LFChistory – Stats galore for Liverpool FC!". Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  12. ^ "League table for the 1972–1973 season – LFChistory – Stats galore for Liverpool FC!". Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  13. ^ "League table for the 1975–1976 season – LFChistory – Stats galore for Liverpool FC!". Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  14. ^ "League table for the 1976–1977 season – LFChistory – Stats galore for Liverpool FC!". Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  15. ^ "League table for the 1961–1962 season – LFChistory – Stats galore for Liverpool FC!". Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  16. ^ "Matchdetails from Liverpool – Leeds United played on 1 May 1965 – LFChistory – Stats galore for Liverpool FC!". Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  17. ^ "Matchdetails from Liverpool – Newcastle United played on 4 May 1974 – LFChistory – Stats galore for Liverpool FC!". Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  18. ^ "1964/65 Charity Shield". footballsite.co.uk. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  19. ^ "1965/66 Charity Shield". footballsite.co.uk. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  20. ^ "Matchdetails from Everton – Liverpool played on 13 August 1966 – LFChistory – Stats galore for Liverpool FC!". Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  21. ^ "Matchdetails from Liverpool – Leeds United played on 10 August 1974 – LFChistory – Stats galore for Liverpool FC!". Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  22. ^ "Matchdetails from Liverpool – Southampton played on 14 August 1976 – LFChistory – Stats galore for Liverpool FC!". Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  23. ^ "Matchdetails from Liverpool – Manchester United played on 13 August 1977 – LFChistory – Stats galore for Liverpool FC!". Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  24. ^ "Matchdetails from Liverpool – Borussia Moenchengladbach played on 25 May 1977 – LFChistory – Stats galore for Liverpool FC!". Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  25. ^ "Matchdetails from Liverpool – Bruges played on 10 May 1978 – LFChistory – Stats galore for Liverpool FC!". Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  26. ^ "Matchdetails from Liverpool – Borussia Moenchengladbach played on 10 May 1973 – LFChistory – Stats galore for Liverpool FC!". Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  27. ^ "Matchdetails from Borussia Moenchengladbach – Liverpool played on 23 May 1973 – LFChistory – Stats galore for Liverpool FC!". Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  28. ^ "Matchdetails from Liverpool – Bruges played on 28 April 1976 – LFChistory – Stats galore for Liverpool FC!". Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  29. ^ "Matchdetails from Bruges – Liverpool played on 19 May 1976 – LFChistory – Stats galore for Liverpool FC!". Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  30. ^ "Matchdetails from Hamburg SV – Liverpool played on 22 November 1977 – LFChistory – Stats galore for Liverpool FC!". Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  31. ^ "Matchdetails from Liverpool – Hamburg SV played on 6 December 1977 – LFChistory – Stats galore for Liverpool FC!". Retrieved 30 June 2015.

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