Stuart Baxter facts for kids
Baxter as a manager of Finland in 2009
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Stuart William Baxter | ||
| Date of birth | 16 August 1953 | ||
| Place of birth | Wolverhampton, England | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1971–1973 | Preston North End | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1973–1975 | Preston North End | 41 | (1) |
| 1975 | Morecambe | 1 | (0) |
| 1975 | Dundee United | 0 | (0) |
| 1976–1977 | Stockport County | 4 | (1) |
| 1978–1979 | South Melbourne | 50 | (4) |
| 1980–1981 | Landskrona BoIS | 37 | (2) |
| 1981 | Helsingborg | 16 | (7) |
| 1982 | Landskrona BoIS | 14 | (1) |
| 1983 | San Diego Sockers | 27 | (12) |
| 1983–1984 | Örebro SK | 41 | (19) |
| Total | 251 | (76) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1985 | Örebro SK | ||
| 1986 | IF Skarp | ||
| 1987 | Vitória Setubal | ||
| 1988–1991 | Halmstads BK | ||
| 1992–1994 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | ||
| 1995–1997 | Vissel Kobe | ||
| 1998–2000 | AIK | ||
| 2001 | Lyn | ||
| 2002–2004 | England U19 | ||
| 2004–2005 | South Africa | ||
| 2006 | Vissel Kobe | ||
| 2006–2007 | Helsingborgs IF | ||
| 2008–2010 | Finland | ||
| 2012–2015 | Kaizer Chiefs | ||
| 2015 | Gençlerbirliği | ||
| 2016–2017 | SuperSport United | ||
| 2017–2019 | South Africa | ||
| 2020–2021 | Odisha | ||
| 2021–2022 | Kaizer Chiefs | ||
| 2023 | Helsingborgs IF | ||
| 2025– | Boavista | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Stuart William Baxter (born 16 August 1953) is a football coach and former player from England and Scotland. He is currently the manager for Boavista in Portugal.
Stuart Baxter was born in England but has Scottish parents. He grew up in both countries. As a player, he played for many clubs in England, Scotland, Australia, Sweden, and the United States. As a coach, he has managed teams in Sweden, Norway, Portugal, Japan, South Africa, Turkey, and India.
He has also coached national teams like South Africa (twice), Finland, and the England Under-19 team.
Contents
Stuart Baxter's Early Life and Background
Stuart Baxter was born in Wolverhampton, England, on 16 August 1953. His father, Bill Baxter, was also a professional footballer. Bill played for teams like Wolverhampton Wanderers and Aston Villa.
Stuart first lived in England while his dad coached at Aston Villa. Later, his family moved to Scotland when his father became a manager for Scottish clubs. Stuart went to school in Scotland. Because of his background, people sometimes call him English, Scottish, or an Anglo-Scot. He once said he sees himself as "a European" and is "proud to be British."
Stuart Baxter's Playing Career
Stuart Baxter started his football career as a player with Preston North End in 1973. He later joined the Scottish club Dundee United in October 1975. However, he left the next month after only playing for their reserve team.
He then went back to England to play for Stockport County. After that, Baxter played for teams in Australia (like South Melbourne), Sweden (Helsingborgs IF), and the United States (San Diego Sockers). His playing career ended in 1983.
While playing for South Melbourne, Baxter trained with the Australia national team. He even played in some unofficial matches for Australia in 1979. However, he could not play in official international games because he was not an Australian citizen.
Stuart Baxter's Coaching Journey
After his playing career, Stuart Baxter returned to Scandinavia to start coaching. He first worked with the youth team at Örebro SK. In 1986, he became the manager of a smaller Norwegian team called IF Skarp.
The next year, he took on a bigger role managing the Portuguese team Vitória de Setúbal. He then went back to Sweden for three years (1988-1991) to coach Halmstads BK. In his first year, he helped them get promoted to the top league, the Allsvenskan.
Baxter then moved to Japan. He coached Sanfrecce Hiroshima from 1992 to 1994, and then Vissel Kobe in 1997. He became manager of Kobe just days after a big earthquake hit the city. He even lived in a temporary caravan at the club for two weeks.
Coaching AIK and European Football
In 1998, Baxter returned to Sweden to manage AIK. He led them to win the Swedish championship. Because they won, AIK qualified for the UEFA Champions League, which is a big European club competition.
Baxter guided AIK into the group stages of the Champions League. There, they played against famous teams like Barcelona, Arsenal, and Fiorentina. AIK finished at the bottom of their group. After two years with AIK, he moved to the Norwegian team Lyn.
Coaching England U-19, South Africa, and More
In 2002, the Football Association hired Baxter to coach the England Under-19 team. After two years, he became the manager of the South Africa senior team.
In 2005, he led South Africa to the Quarter Finals of the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup. They were knocked out by Panama after a penalty shootout. He left this role in late 2005 because the team did not qualify for the 2006 World Cup.
He then had another short time coaching Vissel Kobe in Japan. After that, he moved back to Helsingborgs IF in Sweden as their manager in 2006. He helped the Swedish team get past the group stages of the UEFA Cup in 2007. He resigned from Helsingborg at the end of that year.
Managing Finland's National Team
In early 2008, Baxter became the manager of the Finland national team. He signed a contract to lead them through the 2012 European Championships campaign.
In 2010, the Finland team lost important matches. This led to many people, including fans and media, wanting Baxter to resign. It was also reported that Baxter had trouble communicating with some key players. However, Baxter refused to resign.
In November 2010, the Football Association of Finland announced that Baxter would no longer be the national team manager. Under his leadership, Finland's position in the FIFA World Rankings dropped significantly.
Success with Kaizer Chiefs
On 7 May 2012, Stuart Baxter was announced as the new manager of the South African club, Kaizer Chiefs. He started his job in June 2012. In his first season, his team, known as the Amakhosi, won two major titles. They finished first in the 2012–13 Premier Soccer League and won the Nedbank Cup.
The 2013–14 South African Premier Division season was a bit disappointing, as they didn't win a trophy despite being at the top of the league for most of the season.
However, the 2014–15 South African Premier Division season started very well. Baxter led Kaizer Chiefs to win the MTN 8 cup on 20 September 2014. They beat their rivals Orlando Pirates in the final. This was Baxter's third trophy with the club in just his third season.
Baxter completed his second league and cup double with Kaizer Chiefs that season, winning the PSL league title again. He left Kaizer Chiefs on 2 June 2015.
Other Coaching Roles
On 9 June 2015, Baxter joined the Turkish club Gençlerbirliği. However, his contract ended on 24 August 2015 after the team lost their first two games of the 2015–16 season.
On 27 January 2016, Baxter was hired by SuperSport United in South Africa. He led them to win the Nedbank Cup that season. The next season (2016/2017), SuperSport United won the Nedbank Cup again, beating Orlando Pirates in the final.
Return to South Africa National Team
On 4 May 2017, Baxter was named the coach of the South Africa for a second time. Under his guidance, the team qualified for the 2019 AFCON tournament. They even beat the host nation, Egypt, in the round of 16, before being knocked out by Nigeria. He resigned in August 2019.
Coaching in India and Another Return to Kaizer Chiefs
On 19 June 2020, Baxter became the head coach of Indian Super League club Odisha. He was sacked in February 2021 after making strong comments about the refereeing in a post-match interview.
In June 2021, Baxter rejoined Kaizer Chiefs for his second time as head coach. On 17 July 2021, he coached Kaizer Chiefs in their first ever Champions League Final. They lost the match 3–0 against Al Ahly.
Current Role at Boavista
Stuart Baxter was appointed by the Portuguese team Boavista on 16 April 2025. He signed a deal to stay with the club until June 2026. He joined the club with five games left in the 2024/25 season.
Managerial Statistics
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Halmstads BK |  |
1 January 1988 | 31 December 1991 | 102 | 42 | 24 | 36 | 41.18 |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima |  |
1 July 1992 | 31 January 1995 | 98 | 51 | 0 | 47 | 52.04 |
| Vissel Kobe | |
1 February 1995 | 31 January 1998 | 106 | 55 | 7 | 44 | 51.89 |
| AIK | |
1 February 1998 | 31 December 1999 | 61 | 30 | 20 | 11 | 49.18 |
| Lyn |  |
6 June 2001 | 31 December 2001 | 17 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 29.41 |
| England U19 |  |
1 January 2002 | 1 January 2004 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 40.00 |
| South Africa |  |
24 March 2004 | 25 November 2005 | 17 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 41.18 |
| Vissel Kobe | |
1 February 2006 | 4 September 2006 | 34 | 20 | 6 | 8 | 58.82 |
| Helsingborgs IF | |
1 June 2006 | 7 December 2007 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 66.67 |
| Finland |  |
28 January 2008 | 9 November 2010 | 29 | 8 | 5 | 16 | 27.59 |
| Kaizer Chiefs | |
1 July 2012 | 2 June 2015 | 111 | 66 | 25 | 20 | 59.46 |
| Gençlerbirliği |  |
9 June 2015 | 24 August 2015 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.00 |
| SuperSport United | |
27 January 2016 | 30 June 2017 | 68 | 34 | 21 | 13 | 50.00 |
| South Africa | |
4 May 2017 | 2 August 2019 | 20 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 40.00 |
| Odisha |  |
1 August 2020 | 2 February 2021 | 14 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 7.14 |
| Kaizer Chiefs | |
9 June 2021 | 21 April 2022 | 26 | 11 | 6 | 9 | 42.31 |
| Helsingborgs IF | |
19 April 2023 | 31 December 2023 | 28 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 32.14 |
| Boavista |  |
16 April 2025 | present | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 40.00 |
| Total | 758 | 361 | 145 | 252 | 47.63 | |||
Stuart Baxter's Family Life
Stuart Baxter's father, Bill, was also a professional football player. Stuart also has a son named Lee. Lee was a professional football player too, and now he works as a goalkeeping coach.
Awards and Achievements
As a Manager
Halmstads
- Division 1 Södra: 1988 (Promotion to top league)
Sanfrecce Hiroshima
- J1 League 1st Stage Champions: 1994
AIK
- Allsvenskan: 1998 (Swedish Championship)
- Svenska Cupen: 1998–99 (Swedish Cup)
Vissel Kobe
- JFL / J2 League promotion: 1996, 2006 (Helped team get promoted)
Helsingborg
- Svenska Cupen: 2006 (Swedish Cup)
Kaizer Chiefs
- Premier Soccer League: 2012–13, 2014–15 (South African League Champions)
- Nedbank Cup: 2012–13 (South African Cup)
- MTN 8: 2014 (South African Cup)
SuperSport United
- Nedbank Cup: 2015–16, 2016–17 (South African Cup)
South Africa
- COSAFA Cup Plate: 2017, 2018, 2019
- Four Nations Cup: 2018
Individual Awards
- PSL Coach of the Season: 2012–13, 2014–15 (Best Coach in the South African League)
See also
In Spanish: Stuart Baxter para niños
