Trevor Brooking

Sir Trevor David Brooking CBE (born 2 October 1948 in Barking) is a football player turned manager, pundit and administrator.

He is chiefly associated with West Ham United, having played as an attacking midfield player for the club for his entire playing career, between 1967 and 1984, making 636 appearances and scoring 102 times, wearing the number 10 jersey. He won the FA Cup twice, in 1975 and 1980; in the latter, he scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over Arsenal with a rare header.

He also played for England 47 times, scoring 5 goals. However, he only played in major tournaments twice, both times for just half an hour; as a substitute against Spain in the 1982 World Cup and in Euro 1980 (European Championships) in Italy.

Brooking was one of the most intelligent and cerebral footballers of his generation (he left Ilford County High School with 11 O-levels and 2 A-levels), and had a very clean disciplinary record. Directly following the Bobby Moore, Martin Peters, Geoff Hurst era, he was the player who best exemplified West Ham's traditional commitment to attractive, entertaining football (even if this style of play did not bring consistent successes).Since retiring, he has taken up a number of positions in broadcasting and administration.

In 1984, Brooking joined the BBC as a pundit, and has featured on radio and television commentary since, including the BBC's Match of the Day and coverage of World Cups and European Championships, in which he became famed for regular references to his old club West Ham United.

Brooking is also the co-commentator of Pro Evolution Soccer, his unique commentary style along with cohort Peter Brackley has become a signature of the game.

Brooking was Chair of the Eastern Region Council for Sport and Recreation from 1987 until 1997, and between 1999 and 2002 he was chairman of Sport England.

In April 2003, after West Ham manager Glenn Roeder collapsed due to a brain tumour, Brooking, having long been on the board of West Ham, briefly took over as caretaker manager. The club were fighting relegation from the Premiership, and went down despite a late rally under Brooking, albeit with a record number of points (42) for a relegated team. After the first three games of the 2003/2004 season, Roeder was sacked and Brooking was again installed as caretaker manager. He spent a successful month in charge of the team before being replaced by Alan Pardew.

In December 2003, Brooking joined the Football Association as Director of Football Development, and was a key part of the selection process for the successor of the Sven-Göran Eriksson, revealed in May 2006 to be Steve McClaren.

Trivia

Brooking has also been featured in the current Pro Evolution Soccer video games. Most noticeably in Pro Evolution Soccer 5 and Pro Evolution Soccer 4. He co-commentates alongside Peter Brackley. Rated as one of the best football commentators ever to some of his critics, Brooking has excelled in his pro evolution career.