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Ian Callaghan
MBE
LFC Legends - FA Cup Final 1974 (25633138964).jpg
Callaghan in 2016
Personal information
Date of birth (1942-04-10) 10 April 1942 (age 82)
Place of birth Toxteth, Liverpool, England
Height 1.70 m
Playing position 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)
National team
1966–1977 England 4 (0)
  • Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (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. He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1975 New Year Honours.

Club career

Liverpool

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. He was booked only once in his career, in the 1978 League Cup final replay at Old Trafford, which Liverpool lost to Nottingham Forest.

Callaghan played in the 1977 European Cup final, when Liverpool beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 3–1, but in the 1978 season, which proved to be 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 Club Brugge in 1978.

Later career

Callaghan 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 United States, Australia and Ireland towards the end of his career. He spent the final season of his career in the Fourth Division with Crewe Alexandra, making 15 appearances in the 1981–82 season and retiring as a player in his 40th year.

International career

Of Irish descent, Callaghan played four times at senior level for England. 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 against 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.

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

Career statistics

Club

Ian Callaghan (1966)
Callaghan with Liverpool in 1966
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 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

International

Source:
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
England 1966 2 0
1977 2 0
Total 4 0

Honours

Liverpool

England

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Ian Callaghan para niños

  • List of men's footballers with the most official appearances
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