Chris Coleman

Club

Swansea City

The first professional team Coleman was contracted to was Manchester City, aged 16, although he later left them, citing homesickness as the major reason. He then joined his hometown club Swansea City. He made his first professional appearance for them aged 17, in the autumn of 1987. He made nearly 200 appearances for the south Wales club and helped win the Welsh Cup in 1989 and 1991.

Crystal Palace

After spending four years with Swansea, Coleman was signed by Crystal Palace in 1991 for a transfer fee set by a Football League tribunal at around £270,000, plus a percentage of any future sale. After making 143 appearances, scoring 16 goals in that period – a 1 in 9 record explained by the fact that manager Steve Coppell often used Coleman as a makeshift centre forward. Palace finished 10th in Coleman's first season at Selhurst Park, but they were relegated from the new FA Premier League in his second season (although they did reach the semi-finals of the League Cup). They won promotion as Division One champions at the first attempt, but were relegated the following season. Coleman was sold to Blackburn Rovers. While at Palace, he was capped for Wales at senior level for the first time. In 2005, Palace supporters voted Coleman into their Centenary XI.

Blackburn Rovers

Coleman joined Premier League champions Blackburn Rovers for a fee of £2.8 million. Blackburn did not retain the Premier League title they had won in…

Fulham

Coleman joined Fulham's coaching staff in October 2002 under Tigana. He later succeeded the Frenchman as caretaker manager in April 2003, and steered Fulham away from relegation danger. He was named as Fulham's permanent manager in May 2003, beating the more experienced Klaus Toppmöller and George Burley to the post, and also became the youngest manager in the Premier League. His first full season in charge saw Fulham finish a surprise ninth place, as many pundits had predicted a season of struggle for the club. Many of Fulham's key players, such as Edwin van der Sar, Louis Saha, Steed Malbranque and Luís Boa Morte, were sold in the following years and Fulham did not repeat their earlier successes under Coleman though he kept them clear of relegation. He was dismissed on 10 April 2007 in a move that caught some observers by surprise, after a seven-game winless run that left the club four points above the relegation zone.

Real Sociedad

Coleman moved abroad to manage recently relegated Segunda División side Real Sociedad on 4 July 2007, after being recommended to the club by fellow Welshman and former Real Sociedad manager John Toshack. With the club in 5th place and having only lost once in its previous eleven games, Coleman resigned as manager on 16 January 2008, citing a divergence in vision for the club with newly elected President Iñaki Badiola.

Coventry City

Coleman was appointed manager of Championship club Coventry City on 19 February…

Coleman was born in Swansea. His Irish father was from Dublin. Coleman was educated at St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School and Bishop Vaughan Catholic School. Coleman has been nicknamed "Cookie" since childhood, as friends likened his eating habits to the Cookie Monster from Sesame Street.

He is married to TV presenter Charlotte Jackson. They had a son at the end of 2014. Coleman's godson is Republic of Ireland international Ronan Curtis, who plays as a forward for Plymouth Argyle. In June 2010, Coleman worked as a commentator for ITV at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. He has also worked as a commentator and pundit for Sky Sports. For Euro 2020, he worked for ESPN. On 20 October 2016 he was awarded the Freedom of the City of Swansea. Coleman was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to football. In 2017, he was awarded an honorary degree from his hometown's University of Swansea, and fellowships at both Bangor University and University of Wales Trinity Saint David. In July 2017, he endorsed the Welsh Government's project to double the number of speakers of Welsh by 2050.