Ricky Sbragia facts for kids
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Richard Sbragia | ||
| Date of birth | 26 May 1956 | ||
| Place of birth | Lennoxtown, Scotland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Rangers | |||
| Glasgow Amateurs | |||
| 1972–1974 | Birmingham City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1974–1978 | Birmingham City | 15 | (1) |
| 1975–1976 | → Morton (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 1978–1980 | Walsall | 77 | (4) |
| 1980–1982 | Blackpool | 26 | (1) |
| 1982–1987 | York City | 149 | (7) |
| 1985 | → Darlington (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| Total | 277 | (13) | |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2002–2005 | Manchester United Reserves | ||
| 2008–2009 | Sunderland | ||
| 2011–2012 | Scotland U17 | ||
| 2012–2015 | Scotland U19 | ||
| 2015–2016 | Scotland U21 | ||
| 2016–2017 | Scotland U19 | ||
| 2017–2019 | Manchester United U23 | ||
|
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Richard Sbragia (born on May 26, 1956) is a Scottish football coach and former player. He is often called Ricky.
He played as a defender for several English teams. These included Birmingham City, Walsall, Blackpool, and York City. He also had a short time playing on loan for Morton in Scotland and Darlington in England.
After his playing days, Sbragia became a well-known coach. He worked at big clubs like Manchester United, Bolton, and Sunderland. He even managed Sunderland for a short time. Later, he coached different age groups for the Scottish Football Association, including the Scotland Under-17, Under-19, and Under-21 teams.
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Ricky Sbragia's Playing Career
Ricky Sbragia was born in Lennoxtown, Scotland. His family has Italian roots. He grew up in Castlemilk, a housing area in Glasgow. He went to Grange Secondary School. There, he played football with Jimmy Calderwood, who also became a professional footballer and manager.
Starting at Birmingham City
Sbragia began his football journey as an apprentice at Birmingham City in June 1972. An apprentice learns a trade while working. He became a professional player for the club in May 1974. He played his first game in the 1974–75 season.
In the 1975–76 season, he joined Morton in Scotland for a short time. This is called a loan spell. He played four games for them. He found it hard to get a regular spot in Birmingham's main team. After playing 15 games and scoring one goal, he moved to Walsall in October 1978. Walsall paid £15,000 for him.
Success with Walsall and York City
With Walsall, Sbragia helped the team get promoted in the 1979–80 season. They finished second in the Fourth Division. After that, he moved to Third Division team Blackpool in July 1980 for £35,000.
He played 26 games and scored one goal in two seasons at Blackpool. In August 1982, Denis Smith signed him for York City. He played his first game for York on August 28, 1982, against Torquay United. He played in every game that season, making 52 appearances. He also scored a goal against Halifax Town.
In the 1983–84 season, Sbragia formed a strong defence with John MacPhail. York City won the Fourth Division title that year, earning 101 points. He scored an important goal for York against Liverpool in the FA Cup on February 20, 1985. This led to another match against Liverpool at their famous stadium, Anfield. During this game, Sbragia got a back injury and needed surgery. In August 1985, he joined Darlington on loan and played six games. Towards the end of his playing career, he also played one exhibition game for Linfield in Belfast, where he scored two goals.
Ricky Sbragia's Coaching and Managerial Career
Ricky Sbragia stopped playing football in 1987. He then started his coaching career at York City as a youth-team coach. He earned his Football Association coaching badge in May 1990. He led the youth team to the quarter-finals of the FA Youth Cup in the 1992–93 season.
Coaching at Sunderland, Manchester United, and Bolton
In 1994, he became the youth-team coach at Sunderland. Later, he was promoted to coach the reserve team. On November 20, 2002, he moved to Manchester United as their reserve team coach. He helped develop young talents like Kieran Richardson and Darren Fletcher.
On October 10, 2005, he became the first-team coach at Bolton Wanderers. When manager Sam Allardyce left Bolton in April 2007, Sammy Lee became the new manager. Sbragia stayed on as first-team coach, working with Jimmy Phillips and Gary Speed.
Managing Sunderland
Sbragia returned to Sunderland's coaching staff in November 2007. He was appointed as a caretaker manager on December 4, 2008, after manager Roy Keane left. A caretaker manager takes charge temporarily. His first game as caretaker was a 1–0 loss to Manchester United. However, his team then won 4–0 against West Bromwich Albion and 4–1 at Hull City.
On December 27, he was officially appointed as Sunderland's permanent manager with an 18-month contract. On May 24, 2009, Sbragia resigned as manager. This was after he successfully kept Sunderland in the Premier League on the very last day of the season. He stayed at Sunderland as the chief scout until April 2011. A scout finds new players.
Coaching Scotland's Youth Teams
In August 2011, Sbragia was named the head coach of the Scotland national under-17 team. He then moved up to coach the Scotland national under-19 team for the 2012–13 season.
In November 2014, Sbragia took temporary charge of the Scotland national under-21 team. He took on the Under-21 job full-time on August 12, 2015. He left this role in September 2016 after a 4–0 loss to Ukraine under-21s.
On July 7, 2017, Sbragia went back to Manchester United. He became the manager of the club's Under-23 team, returning after 12 years. He left the club on May 21, 2019.
Statistics
Manager
| Team | Nation | From | To | Matches | Won | Drawn | Lost | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunderland |  England |
4 December 2008 | 24 May 2009 | 26 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 23.08 |
Honours
Walsall
- Fourth Division runners-up: 1979–80
York City
- Fourth Division: 1983–84
