Jimmy Hagan

Hagan was born in Washington, County Durham, England. Following in the footsteps of his father, Alfie, a former Newcastle United, Cardiff City and Tranmere player, Hagan represented England at schoolboy level and after spells with Washington Colliery and Usworth Colliery; he joined the groundstaff of Liverpool before leaving for Derby County at fifteen years of age. He stayed at the Baseball Ground until the age of twenty when United's manager Teddy Davison met his Derby counterpart George Jobey and haggled over the £3,000 asking price, eventually agreeing to pay £2,925. With a weekly wage of £7 per week plus a first-team appearance fee of £1, Hagan made his debut two days later on 5 November 1938 in a 2–1 victory against Swansea Town in the Second Division. His first goal came 21 days later at Bramall Lane in a 3–1 victory over West Ham United. His first hat-trick for the club came in the last game of the 1938–39 season, with United needing to win to gain promotion instead of local rivals Sheffield Wednesday who having played all their 42 games were one point ahead on 53 with a superior goal average. Promotion was secured with a 6–1 win, Hagan contributing a goal. After the war, Hagan initially refused to re-sign for United, missing the first four games of the 1946–47 season. Having got a job as a trainee chartered surveyor he only rejoined the team on a part-time basis. His solitary England cap came in a 0–0 draw against Denmark in Copenhagen on 26 September 1948. He…

Hagan started his managerial career with Peterborough United where he worked between 1958 and 1962. His period in charge saw Peterborough United elected to the Football League and, in 1960–61, their first season in the league, they won Division 4, scoring 134 goals. This remains a record number of goals scored in the English leagues. After leaving Peterborough, he joined West Bromwich Albion in 1963. His uncompromising approach led to a players' strike during the harsh winter of December 1963, after he refused to let players train wearing tracksuits. He nonetheless led the team to the Football League Cup in 1966. Sliding fortunes in the season thereafter put an end to this assignment. His greatest successes were with S.L. Benfica in Lisbon where he led the club between 1970 and 1973 to three successive Portuguese championships and once to the national cup, a record no coach has since been able to repeat at the helm of the Águias. In this period Benfica also attracted Europe-wide attention when the team reached the semi-finals of the European Cup, where the team was only narrowly defeated 0–1 on aggregate by the legendary Ajax of that era. In 1972 and 1973, Hagan led Benfica to become the first club in Portugal ever to win the championship without defeats and won 28 matches – 23 consecutively – out of 30, drawing the other two. In that year Eusébio also became Europe's top scorer with 40 goals, in what was his penultimate season as a Benfica player. The team scored 101 goals,…

As a manager

West Bromwich Albion

Football League Cup: 1965–66; runner-up: 1966–67 Benfica

Primeira Liga: 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73 Portuguese Cup: 1971–72 Estoril

Portuguese Second Division: 1974–75 Boavista

Portuguese Cup: 1978–79