Bill Shankly: biography, sports career

Bill Shankly is one of the most famous football coaches in the UK. He is especially famous for his work in Liverpool.

Origin

Bill Shankly was born on September 2, 1913. The birthplace is the small mining town of Glenback. In the family, except for Bill, there were nine more children. Five children from nine became professional football players. One of his brothers (Bob Shankli), being a famous coach, was able to win the title of champions in 1962 with the Dundee team.

Bill Shankley has repeatedly admitted that he had a rather complex childhood. However, the legendary coach always remembered those times with a smile. Once he joked that he had not washed himself until he was fifteen.

First steps

In the village where Bill Shankly spent his childhood, football was the most popular entertainment. The brothers and Bill himself spent all their free time on the sports ground. In addition, football was one of the ways to make money without going down into the mine. Bill Shankly, whose quotes can be heard today in many sports programs, made the first steps in football, playing for the local team "Glenback Cherrypikers." By the way, all the brothers of Bill also played for this club. It is worth noting that this small team was able to raise forty-nine professional football players in a short time. However, Bill (William) Shankly did not play a single match for the main line-up of the club.

Carier start

Despite the difficult life, Shankley did not throw football. Liverpool, while Bill was just starting his career, could not claim himself and win a serious trophy. The first team for the future coach of the "Reds" was "Cronberry Eglington", which, incidentally, has already ceased to exist. In the summer of 1932, the player drew the attention of the football club Carlisle United and soon signed a contract with him. However, appear on the field Bill Shankly (football for which he became the meaning of life) was able only in December. For "Carlisle United" he spent only sixteen matches, while not being distinguished once. In July 1933, the player made the transition to the Preston North End. The transfer amount was five hundred pounds.

Preston North End and Scotland

Only when he came to the new team, Bill Shankly immediately managed to win a place in the starting lineup and become one of the key players. In 1934 Preston managed to rise to the First Division. In 1937 and 1938, the football club managed to reach the Cup final of the country. The first title "Preston" was not given, but in the second final the team managed to beat "Huddersfield Town."

April 1938 became the month in which Bill Shankly, whose biography is filled with both ups and downs, made his debut in the national team of Scotland. The first match he spent against the British and helped the team win with a score of 1: 0. As part of the Scotland team, he appeared four more times, as well as seven times during the war. It is worth noting that it was the war, which began in 1939, that prevented Bill Shankly from making a career in the national team.

The Second World War

During the war, Shankly continued to play football. "Liverpool", "Northampton Town", "Arsenal", "Cardiff City", "Bolton Wanderers", "Luton Town" and "Partik Thistle" - these are the football clubs in which Shankly had time to play. In addition, Bill helped Preston win the World Cup in 1941. After the Second World War, professional football was slowly revived in the UK. Bill Shankly continued to play for Preston. However, at that time he was thirty-three years old, and his career was nearing completion.

Finish career football player Bill Shankly decided in March 1949.

Coach career

Immediately after the end of his career, Shankly ascended to the post of coach of Carlisle United, where he once made his first steps in professional football. According to Bill himself, he talked a lot with people who know about coaching. Shankley mentoring methods differed significantly from those used by other coaches. Bill was ready to do anything to achieve results. Quite often I personally communicated with the fans of the team. However, he could not achieve significant achievements with the club. One of the reasons for failures, he often called insufficient funding. This reason he expressed and in the work with other teams.

In 1951, Shankly decided to move to Grimsby Town, where the mentor's place had just been vacated. By the way, "Grimsby" and "Carlisle" played in one division. One of the reasons for the transition was large financial opportunities. At the post of mentor "Grimsby" Shankly stayed two and a half years.

The next club for coach Shankly was "Workington Town", who played in the third division and was at the bottom of the standings. In general, the team was close to the end of existence. However, Shankley was not afraid of difficulties. Thanks to the work of the coach, the work of "Workington" went up the hill. Most likely, Bill would continue to work in this club, but he was offered the role of an assistant in "Huddersfield". And at the beginning of the 1956 season, the old coach was fired, and Shankley took over his post.

The team just flew to the lower division, and everyone expected from the coach that he would return it to the first. However, this did not happen. Soon after, Shankly was faced with the problem of financing in this team. He wanted to buy a couple of new players, and the management did not have enough money.

"Liverpool"

Although Shankly could not win titles with teams that trained for ten years, the management of Liverpool was interested in an ambitious and talented mentor. In 1959, Bill received an offer to lead the "Reds" and realized that he could finally buy players who would interest him. In December of the same year, he signed a contract. It was with this team that he was able to achieve the greatest success in his career, winning many titles and awards. When Shankly became head of Liverpool, the team was quite a miserable sight. She occupied the last places in the second division, she had to play at the old stadium, terrible training conditions and so on. Players who were part of the then "Liverpool", also could not boast of skill. The only thing that can be singled out in the "Reds" is the coaching staff who worked with Bill until the end of his career, and the famous Bob Paisley finally took his place.

However, in the "Liverpool" Bill did not turn out right away. To return to the elite division took several seasons. Two seasons, the "Reds" took the title of champions. This achievement was the first in a long chain of trophies "Liverpool". Shankley in a short time managed to put together a formidable team that posed a threat not only to local clubs, but also European.

Unexpected departure from the team occurred in July 1974 (at that time he was 60 years old). At the post of head coach, Shankly spent 15 years, but at the end of his career, relations with the leadership of the Reds seriously deteriorated.

On September 29, 1981, Bill Shankley died of a heart attack.