Lawrie Sanchez facts for kids
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 22 October 1959 | ||
| Place of birth | Lambeth, England | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1974–1976 | Southampton | ||
| 1976-1977 | Thatcham Town | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1977–1984 | Reading | 262 | (28) |
| 1984–1994 | Wimbledon | 270 | (33) |
| 1994 | Swindon Town | 8 | (0) |
| 1994–1995 | Sligo Rovers | 18 | (1) |
| Total | 558 | (62) | |
| International career | |||
| 1977 | England Schoolboys | 1 | (0) |
| 1986–1989 | Northern Ireland | 3 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1994–1995 | Sligo Rovers | ||
| 1999–2003 | Wycombe Wanderers | ||
| 2004–2007 | Northern Ireland | ||
| 2007 | Fulham | ||
| 2011–2012 | Barnet | ||
| 2013–2014 | Apollon Smyrni | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Lawrence Sanchez (born 22 October 1959) is a football manager and a former player for the Northern Ireland national team. He played as a Midfielder.
A very famous moment in his playing career happened in the 1988 FA Cup final. He scored the winning goal for Wimbledon against Liverpool. This was one of the biggest surprises in the history of the FA Cup competition.
As a manager, Lawrie Sanchez had many great achievements. He led Wycombe Wanderers to the semi-finals of the FA Cup. He also helped the Northern Ireland team improve a lot. They went from being ranked 124th in the world to 27th. During this time, they had amazing wins against strong teams like England, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, and Portugal.
Contents
About Lawrie Sanchez
Lawrie Sanchez was born in London. His father was from Ecuador and his mother was from Northern Ireland. He went to school in Reading, England.
He also studied management science at Loughborough University while playing for Reading F.C.. Lawrie was married to Heather, who sadly passed away in 1998. They had a son named Jack. In 2004, Lawrie became a supporter of a cancer charity in Northern Ireland.
Playing Football: Lawrie's Career
Playing for Clubs
Lawrie Sanchez started his football journey as a midfielder at Reading in 1977. He played there until 1984. Then, Wimbledon bought him for £30,000. He quickly became a key player for Wimbledon.
In May 1986, he scored the goal that helped Wimbledon get promoted to the First Division. This was a big step for the club.
His most famous moment was in the 1988 FA Cup final. He scored a header that won the FA Cup for Wimbledon against Liverpool. It was a tough game. Liverpool had a goal disallowed just before Lawrie scored. Later, Liverpool got a penalty, but Wimbledon's goalkeeper Dave Beasant saved it. This made Wimbledon's dream come true.
During the 1993–94 season, Lawrie left Wimbledon. He joined Swindon Town, a newly promoted team. However, Swindon Town had a very difficult season and were relegated. Lawrie played only eight league games for them. After a few months, he left to become a player-manager at Sligo Rovers in Ireland. He scored his last professional goal on 3 December 1994.
Lawrie Sanchez is thought to be the first player ever to be sent off for a "professional foul." This happened in 1982 during a match against Oxford United. He deliberately handled the ball to stop an opponent.
Playing for His Country
In 1977, Lawrie played for England Schoolboys in a match against Scotland.
He later played three full international games for Northern Ireland. He could play for them because his mother was from Northern Ireland. He also had the chance to play for Ecuador, because his father was Ecuadorian. But he chose not to, because Ecuador was too far away.
Managing Football Teams
Sligo Rovers
In 1994, Lawrie became the player-manager for Sligo Rovers in Ireland. In his first season, he led them to the semi-finals of the 1995 FAI Cup. He also managed them in a European competition, the Cup Winners' Cup, against Club Brugge.
Wimbledon
In 1995, Lawrie returned to Wimbledon. He became the manager of their reserve team. In his first year, his team won the Football Combination league. After two years with the reserves, he became a first-team coach under manager Joe Kinnear.
Wycombe Wanderers
Lawrie took over as manager at Wycombe Wanderers in February 1999. The team was in danger of being relegated, but he helped them avoid it with 18 games left.
In 2001, he led Wycombe (who were in the Second Division at the time) to their greatest achievement. They reached the FA Cup semi-finals, where they played Liverpool. Wycombe lost 2–1, but they held Liverpool to a 0–0 score for most of the game. During this amazing cup run, Lawrie famously signed a striker named Roy Essandoh. Roy answered a call from the club because many players were injured. Roy scored a famous winning goal for Wycombe against Leicester City, which is still talked about in FA Cup history.
After finishing 12th in 2002 and 11th in 2003, the club faced financial problems. Lawrie was sacked by the club on 30 September 2003, after a difficult start to the 2003–04 season.
Northern Ireland National Team
Lawrie Sanchez became the manager of the Northern Ireland in January 2004. At that time, the team was ranked 124th in the world. They hadn't scored a goal in almost three years and hadn't won a game for nearly three years either.
Northern Ireland improved a lot under Lawrie. By the time he left, they were at the top of their Euro 2008 qualification group. They also reached their highest-ever world ranking of 27th.
During his time, they had some incredible results:
- A 1–0 win against England in a World Cup qualifying match.
- A 1–1 draw against Portugal, who later reached the 2006 World Cup semi-finals.
- A 2–1 win over Sweden.
- A 3–2 win against Spain in a Euro 2008 qualifying match. In this game, striker David Healy scored three goals (a hat-trick).
A book about his achievements with Northern Ireland was published in November 2007.
Fulham
While still managing Northern Ireland, Lawrie Sanchez became the temporary manager of Fulham in April 2007. This happened after their previous manager was sacked. His job was to keep Fulham in the Premier League, which he did. After this, he was given the manager's job permanently, but he had to leave his role with Northern Ireland.
Lawrie signed four players from Northern Ireland for Fulham: David Healy, Steven Davis, Aaron Hughes, and Chris Baird.
He was sacked in December 2007 after a home loss to Newcastle. This defeat pushed Fulham into the relegation zone. Fulham eventually avoided relegation under a new manager. Many players Lawrie signed, like Baird and Hughes, later played in a European final for Fulham.
Barnet
In 2011, Lawrie joined Barnet as a football consultant. He helped the team avoid relegation from the Football League. On 13 May 2011, Barnet appointed Lawrie as their manager.
In the 2011–12 season, the club struggled to stay in the League. Lawrie was sacked by Barnet on 16 April 2012, with three games left in the season.
Apollon Smyrnis
On 17 November 2013, Lawrie Sanchez became the head coach of Apollon Smyrni, a team in Greece. During his time there, Lawrie expressed concerns about the fairness of the Greek league.
On 13 April 2014, Apollon and Lawrie's team were relegated from the top Greek league after losing to champions Olympiacos. Apollon finished 17th, just two points away from safety.
Lawrie decided not to sign a new contract with Apollon and left the club. He was very popular with the fans. He wrote a letter to them, explaining his reasons for leaving. He made it clear he was unhappy with the fairness of the Greek league. He famously said: "In the Magic Kingdom that is SuperLeague even a Magician can only have so many powers."
Lawrie Sanchez's Achievements
- Wimbledon
- FA Cup: 1987–88 (Winner)
- Football League Second Division promotion: 1985–86
- Reading
- Football League Fourth Division: 1978–79 (Winner)
- Football League Fourth Division promotion: 1983–84
Managerial Statistics
This table shows Lawrie Sanchez's record as a manager for different teams.
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Sligo Rovers |  |
2 September 1994 | 14 August 1995 | 46 | 18 | 10 | 18 | 39.13 |
| Wycombe Wanderers |  |
5 February 1999 | 30 September 2003 | 255 | 87 | 71 | 97 | 34.12 |
| Northern Ireland |  |
21 January 2004 | 11 May 2007 | 32 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 34.38 |
| Fulham | |
11 April 2007 | 21 December 2007 | 24 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16.67 |
| Barnet | |
13 May 2011 | 16 April 2012 | 57 | 17 | 13 | 27 | 29.82 |
| Apollon Smyrni |  |
17 November 2013 | 22 April 2014 | 27 | 8 | 7 | 12 | 29.63 |
| Total | 441 | 145 | 119 | 177 | 32.88 | |||
See also
In Spanish: Lawrie Sanchez para niños
