Gary Stevens

Everton

Stevens, who was a right-back, progressed through Everton's youth academy while manager Howard Kendall was building a young team to take on their local competitors Liverpool, who had been winning trophies at a time when Everton hadn't won any major trophy in England since 1970. Stevens made his Everton debut on 10 October 1981 against West Ham United and settled into the senior game quickly during the second half of the 1981–82 season as Kendall's otherwise ageing side struggled to make an impact on their rivals and on the top flight in general during the first couple of years after Kendall's appointment in 1981. However, with a few astute signings and one or two more graduates from the ranks, Everton reached the 1984 FA Cup final, having already lost to their great rivals in the replay of the League Cup final earlier in the season. Stevens played his part in Everton's opening goal at Wembley against Watford – his pace enabling him to reach a loose ball from a half-cleared cross first and set up Graeme Sharp for a clinical finish. Everton won 2–0. The following year, Stevens was an integral part of the Everton team which chased a treble of League Championship, FA Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup. The title was clinched but Everton were beaten by Manchester United (reduced to ten men after Kevin Moran was sent off) in the FA Cup final. However, a glorious and eventful run in Europe ended in triumph for Everton and Stevens when the Cup Winners' Cup was…

After a fine season for Everton, Stevens was given his debut for England by Bobby Robson in June 1985, and he quickly established himself as first choice right back for his country. Stevens was named in the squad for the 1986 FIFA World Cup (along with the Tottenham Hotspur player Gary A. Stevens, which caused a spot of confusion (England supporters humorously chanted "Two Gary Stevens! There's only two Gary Stevens!") and played in all of the games as England reached the quarter-finals, where they were beaten controversially by Argentina, who went on to win the tournament. England also qualified for UEFA Euro 1988 with Stevens in his familiar No.2 shirt. By now one or two critics had started to scorn him for supposedly poor positional play and ball distribution, but his coaches at club and international level kept resolute faith in him. Unfortunately, the competition was a disaster for both England and Stevens. After a shock defeat to the Republic of Ireland, England went into the tough second group game against the Netherlands needing to win. Stevens was, however, instrumental in the defeat which followed, losing the ball to Ruud Gullit down the flank, which led to the opening goal of a famous hat-trick by Marco van Basten. Stevens had come close to blocking Van Basten's shot when he'd been caught napping wide on the flank seconds earlier by Gullit, showing his speed and determination, but it was tough to accept as England wimped out of the tournament without a point. When…

Stevens was born in Hillingdon, Middlesex, and attended Thurston Upper School in Suffolk. He joined Brighton & Hove Albion in 1977. Stevens made his debut as a 17-year-old on 15 September 1979, in the First Division as Brighton won 2–0 at home to Ipswich Town, the club which had released him as a schoolboy. A versatile defender who could also play in midfield, he made 26 appearances in his first season, scoring once, and remained a regular in the side. In 1983, Brighton, already relegated to the Second Division, played in the FA Cup Final for the first time in their history. Losing to Manchester United 2–1 with three minutes of normal time remaining, Stevens equalised, and teammate Gordon Smith missed an easy chance to win the game at the end of extra time, remembered for the commentator's line "And Smith must score..." Brighton lost the replay 4–0, and Stevens joined Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of "about £350,000". Stevens made his Tottenham debut at the start of the 1983–84 season, again against Ipswich, but this time was on the losing side. He was a first team regular that season, making 40 league appearances and scoring four goals, and played on the winning side in the 1984 UEFA Cup Final, scoring his penalty in the shootout against Anderlecht. He was also in the side that suffered an unlikely 3–2 defeat to Coventry City in the 1987 FA Cup Final. He was also capped seven times by England, and was included in the squad for the 1986 World Cup squad – as, confusingly, was…

Following retirement Stevens worked as a presenter for Sky Sports, and for Talksport radio in the UK, although he has since left the station. He also became manager of Wessex league side Petersfield Town in 1992–93 season but resigned six months later. At the start of the 2010–11 Azerbaijan Premier League, Stevens joined Gabala as assistant to Tony Adams. Stevens stayed on as assistant after Adams left in November 2011, until April 2012 when he also left the club. In January 2013 he became the assistant coach at Sligo Rovers. Stevens works as a presenter on Astro SuperSport in Malaysia with former England teammate Steve McMahon.

Everton

Football League First Division: 1984–85, 1986–87 FA Cup: 1983–84; runner-up: 1984–85, 1985–86 FA Charity Shield: 1984, 1985 European Cup Winners' Cup: 1984–85 Rangers

Scottish Premier Division: 1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94 Scottish Cup: 1991–92 Scottish League Cup: 1990–91, 1992–93 Individual

PFA Team of the Year: 1984–85 First Division, 1985–86 First Division, 1987–88 First Division

Brighton & Hove Albion

FA Cup runner-up: 1982–83 Tottenham Hotspur

UEFA Cup: 1983–84 FA Cup runner-up: 1986–87 England U21

UEFA European Under-21 Championship: 1984