Craig Levein facts for kids
Levein in 2012
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Craig William Levein | ||
| Date of birth | 22 October 1964 | ||
| Place of birth | Dunfermline, Scotland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Lochore Welfare | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1981–1983 | Cowdenbeath | 60 | (0) |
| 1983–1997 | Heart of Midlothian | 326 | (15) |
| Total | 386 | (15) | |
| International career | |||
| 1990–1994 | Scotland | 16 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1997–2000 | Cowdenbeath | ||
| 2000–2004 | Heart of Midlothian | ||
| 2004–2006 | Leicester City | ||
| 2006 | Raith Rovers | ||
| 2006–2009 | Dundee United | ||
| 2009–2012 | Scotland | ||
| 2017–2019 | Heart of Midlothian | ||
| 2023–2024 | St Johnstone | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Craig William Levein (born October 22, 1964) is a Scottish football manager and former player. He recently managed the Scottish Premiership club St Johnstone.
During his playing days, Craig played as a defender for Cowdenbeath and Heart of Midlothian. He played over 300 league games for Hearts before an injury made him stop playing. He also played 16 times for the Scotland national team and was part of their team for the 1990 FIFA World Cup.
After his playing career, Levein became a manager. He managed clubs like Cowdenbeath, Heart of Midlothian, Leicester City, Raith Rovers, and Dundee United. In 2009, he became the manager of the Scotland national team. However, he left this job after the team struggled in the qualifiers for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
He returned to Hearts in 2014 as their director of football. Later, he also became their manager from 2017 to 2019. After a short time advising Brechin City, Levein took over as manager of St Johnstone in November 2023. He left this role in September 2024.
Contents
Playing Football: Craig's Journey on the Field
Starting Out in Football
Craig Levein was born in Dunfermline, Scotland. He went to Inverkeithing High School, where he played football with another future Scottish international player, Gordon Durie. As a young boy, he supported Raith Rovers.
He played for local youth teams like Dalgety Bay and Leven Royals. At 15, he stopped playing for a year. He started again when his brother, who played for Lochore Welfare, invited him to practice. Craig then joined Lochore and, after trying out for several bigger clubs, he signed with Cowdenbeath in 1981. He quickly became a key player there.
Playing for Hearts
In 1983, Craig moved to Heart of Midlothian, also known as Hearts, for £40,000. He quickly became a regular player in their first team. He was recognized as a top young player, winning the SPFA Young Player of the Year award in both 1985 and 1986. He was the first player to win this award two years in a row.
In the 1985-86 season, Hearts almost won both the league and the cup. However, they lost the league title to Celtic in the very last game. Craig missed that important match because he was ill. The next week, Hearts lost the 1986 Scottish Cup Final to Aberdeen.
Craig faced tough times with injuries. In 1986, he got a serious knee injury in a reserve game. He had the same injury again in 1988, which kept him out of the game for another year. He also received a 12-game ban after an incident with a teammate during a pre-season friendly.
Craig had to stop playing football in 1997 because of another serious knee injury. He played a total of 401 games for Hearts during his career.
Playing for Scotland
Craig made his first appearance for the Scotland national team in March 1990. It was a 1-0 win against the world champions, Argentina. He played so well that he earned a spot in Scotland's 1990 FIFA World Cup squad. Overall, Craig played 16 times for Scotland.
Craig's Career as a Manager
After his playing career ended, Craig Levein started coaching. He worked at Hearts and Livingston. In November 1997, he became the manager of Cowdenbeath. He helped the team improve a lot, and they were promoted in 2001. However, Craig had already left in December 2000 to become the manager of Hearts.
Managing Hearts (First Time)
Craig's first time as Hearts manager was very successful. He led the team to finish third in the Scottish Premier League (SPL) for two seasons in a row. This meant they qualified for European competitions. He was the first Hearts manager since the 1960s to take the team into Europe in back-to-back seasons.
Managing Leicester City
Craig's good results in Scotland caught the eye of Leicester City in England. He became their manager on October 29, 2004. But after a difficult start to the 2005-06 season, with the team near the bottom of the Championship league, he was let go on January 25, 2006.
Managing Raith Rovers
On September 5, 2006, Craig became the manager of his childhood favorite team, Raith Rovers, which played in the Scottish Second Division. He was there for a short time.
Managing Dundee United
Craig left Raith Rovers to become the manager of Dundee United on October 30, 2006. He quickly led United to four wins in a row at home, earning him the 'Manager of the Month' award for November 2006. He won this award two more times in 2007.
In January 2008, he also became the Director of Football at the club. This meant he had a role on the club's board of directors, in addition to being manager. During his time, Dundee United often finished in the top half of the Scottish Premier League. They reached the 2008 Scottish League Cup Final, but lost to Rangers after a penalty shootout. Craig signed a new contract in December 2008, but he left the club in December 2009 to manage the Scotland national team. Dundee United went on to win the 2009–10 Scottish Cup under his assistant, Peter Houston. Craig also improved the club's youth system, which helped develop young players like Ryan Gauld and John Souttar.
Managing Scotland
On December 23, 2009, Craig Levein became the new manager of the Scotland national team. He signed a 5 and a half-year deal. Scotland won his first game in charge, a friendly match against the Czech Republic. However, his second game was a 3-0 loss to Sweden. This was followed by a 0-0 draw with Lithuania and a close 2-1 win over Liechtenstein in the first two Euro 2012 qualifying matches.
In a game against the Czech Republic, Craig used a very defensive tactic, which led to criticism after a 1-0 defeat. He later explained he was trying something new but admitted it might have been too early in his time as manager. In the next game against World and European champions Spain, Scotland lost 3-2, but they showed great spirit by coming back from 2-0 down.
Scotland needed to beat the Czech Republic in their next qualifier to have a good chance of reaching the Euro 2012 play-offs. The match ended in a 2-2 draw, with some controversial penalty decisions going against Scotland. Even though they won their next two qualifiers, a 3-1 defeat by Spain meant Scotland was out of the competition.
For the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Scotland was in a group with strong teams like Belgium and Croatia. After a friendly draw and a big loss to the United States, Scotland beat Australia 3-1 in August. Craig faced some criticism for picking a player from a lower league for this match.
Scotland started their World Cup qualifiers with two home draws against Serbia and Macedonia. Craig was again criticized for his defensive tactics. After two more away defeats, Scotland was at the bottom of their group. He was removed from his role as Scotland manager on November 5, 2012.
Returning to Hearts
Craig Levein came back to Hearts in May 2014. He was appointed as the director of football by the new owner, Ann Budge. In this role, he helped choose the head coaches for Hearts. Four weeks after the previous coach was let go in August 2017, Craig was appointed as the first team manager. He signed a three-year contract and continued as director of football.
Craig was let go as Hearts manager and director of football on October 31, 2019. However, he stayed in an advisory role until May 2020.
Advising Brechin City
During the 2020-21 season, Craig worked as a football expert for BBC Scotland. In June 2021, he joined Brechin City as an advisor to their board of directors.
Managing St Johnstone
Craig Levein returned to managing a team in November 2023 with St Johnstone. However, he was let go in September 2024 after a series of four losses in a row.
Awards and Achievements
As a Player
- Hearts
- Scottish Cup runner-up: 1985–86
- Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year: 1985, 1986
As a Manager
- Dundee United
- SPL Manager of the Month: November 2006, March 2007, October 2007, November 2009
- Scottish League Cup runner-up: 2007–08
- Hearts
- SPL Manager of the Month: December 2001, April 2003
- Scottish Premiership Manager of the Month: August 2018
- Scottish Cup runner-up: 2018–19
Images for kids
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Craig Levein in 2012
See also
In Spanish: Craig Levein para niños
