'People said it was embarrassing that our player-coach was our best player, but he would have been the best at any club' – Micky Hazard on the genius of Glenn Hoddle at Swindon Town
Glenn Hoddle inspired Swindon to the Premier League as a player-coach ahead of the 1993-94 season
(Image credit: Nick Potts/Allsport/Getty Images)
Ask anyone who witnessed Glenn Hoddle in his mercurial pomp and they'll tell you the same thing: the man was a genius.
The former Tottenham Hotspur, Monaco and England midfielder was as graceful and visionary as any player in world footballer on his day, just ask former team-mate Micky Hazard, who came through the ranks at Spurs when Hoddle was wowing crowds across the country.
"As an apprentice at Spurs, I watched the first team train and thought he was just the best player in the world," Hazard tells FourFourTwo now. "Glenn Hoddle was simply brilliant. I don’t think you can paint a picture of Glenn that does him justice. He epitomises the footballer who was born to play football – he was a complete master of the ball, with either foot or any part of his body. That never changed, even when I played alongside him. It was a privilege to watch him at work."
(Image credit: PA Images)
Hazard departed for Chelsea in 1985 but he was reunited with Hoddle at Swindon Town when Hoddle joined from Monaco as player-coach in 1991. As player-coach, Hoddle inspired the Robins to the Premier League in the 1993-94 season, before leaving to manager Chelsea. Hoddle's Robins were
Very. Suddenly I’m being managed by my schoolboy hero. I knew when Glenn came in that I could play to my strengths; I played nice football and it was a joy to be a part
of that team. That Swindon side was really good, with an attacking philosophy. Being promoted through the play-offs, in Glenn’s second season, was a brilliant achievement for a club like Swindon. People used to laugh at us and say it was embarrassing that our player-coach was our best player, but he was just that good. He would have been the best player at any club. It wasn’t our fault.
Ed is a staff writer at FourFourTwo, working across the magazine and website. A German speaker, he’s been working as a football reporter in Berlin since 2015, predominantly covering the Bundesliga and Germany's national team. Favourite FFT features include an exclusive interview with Jude Bellingham following the youngster’s move to Borussia Dortmund in 2020, a history of the Berlin Derby since the fall of the Wall and a celebration of Kevin Keegan’s playing career.
