Craig Levein facts for kids
Levein as manager of Scotland 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 22 October 1964) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player. He was most recently the manager of Scottish Premiership club St Johnstone.
During his playing career, Levein played as a defender for Cowdenbeath and Heart of Midlothian. He played over 300 league games for Hearts before he had to stop playing because of an injury. He also played 16 times for the Scotland national team and was part of their team for the 1990 FIFA World Cup.
After he stopped playing, 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. He left this job in 2012 after the team had a tough start in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification. He later returned to Hearts in 2014 as a director of football and then managed them again from 2017 to 2019. After a short time advising Brechin City, Levein managed St Johnstone from November 2023 to September 2024.
Playing Career Highlights
Early Football Days
Craig Levein was born in Dunfermline, Scotland. He went to Inverkeithing High School and played football there with Gordon Durie, who also became a Scottish international player. As a young fan, he supported Raith Rovers. He played for local youth teams before taking a year off from football at age 15. He started playing again when his brother invited him to train with a junior club called Lochore Welfare. Levein then joined Cowdenbeath in 1981 and quickly became an important player.
Time at Hearts
In 1983, Levein moved to Heart of Midlothian, known as Hearts, for £40,000. He quickly became a regular player in their first team. He won the SPFA Young Player of the Year award two years in a row, in 1985 and 1986. This was a big achievement!
In 1986, Hearts almost won both the league and the cup. However, they lost the league title to Celtic in the last minutes of the season. Levein missed that game due to illness. The next week, Hearts lost the 1986 Scottish Cup Final to Aberdeen.
Levein faced some tough times with injuries. He had a serious knee injury in 1986 and again in 1988, which kept him out of the game for a long time. He had to stop playing football completely in 1997 because of another serious knee injury. He played a total of 401 games for Hearts.
Playing for Scotland
Craig Levein made his first appearance for the Scotland national team in March 1990. Scotland won 1–0 against Argentina, who were the world champions at the time. His good performance helped him get a spot in Scotland's team for the 1990 FIFA World Cup. Overall, Levein played 16 games for Scotland.
Coaching and Managerial Career
After his playing career ended due to injury, 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, Levein had already left in December 2000 to become the manager of Hearts.
Hearts Manager (First Time)
Levein's first time managing Hearts was very successful. He led them to finish third in the Scottish Premier League (SPL) for two seasons in a row. This meant they qualified for European competitions, which was the first time Hearts had done that in back-to-back seasons since the 1960s.
Leicester City
Because of his good results in Scotland, Leicester City in England hired Levein as their manager in October 2004. However, after a difficult start to the 2005–06 season, he was let go in January 2006.
Raith Rovers
On 5 September 2006, Levein became the manager of his childhood favourite team, Raith Rovers, who were in the Scottish Second Division. This was a short-term role.
Dundee United
Soon after joining Raith Rovers, Levein left to become the manager of Dundee United in October 2006. He quickly made a positive impact, winning 'Manager of the Month' awards several times. In 2008, he also became the Director of Football at the club.
Under Levein, 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. Levein also improved the club's youth system, which helped develop talented young players. He left Dundee United in December 2009 to manage the Scotland national team.
Scotland National Team Manager
On 23 December 2009, Craig Levein became the new manager of the Scotland national team. His first game was a 1–0 win against the Czech Republic. However, the team then had some tough results, including a 3–0 loss to Sweden and a 0–0 draw with Lithuania in Euro 2012 qualifiers.
Levein faced criticism for his tactics in some games, especially when Scotland lost 1–0 to the Czech Republic. He later admitted that he might have tried a new formation too early in his time as manager. Scotland's chances to qualify for Euro 2012 ended after a 3–1 defeat by Spain.
For the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Scotland was in a tough group. After two draws at home and two away defeats, Scotland was at the bottom of their group. Because of these results, Levein was removed from his role as Scotland manager on 5 November 2012.
Return to Hearts (Director and Manager)
Levein returned to Hearts in May 2014 as the director of football. In this role, he helped choose new coaches for the team. In August 2017, he was appointed as the first team manager again, while also continuing as director of football.
He managed Hearts until October 2019, when he was let go from both his manager and director roles. He stayed in an advisory role for a short time after that.
Brechin City
In June 2021, Levein joined Brechin City as an advisor to their board of directors.
St Johnstone
Levein returned to managing a team in November 2023 with St Johnstone. However, he was sacked in September 2024 after the team lost four games in a row in the SPFL.
Career Honours
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
See also
In Spanish: Craig Levein para niños
- List of Scotland national football team captains
