Phil Neal

For the American legal scholar and university administrator, see Phil C. Neal. For the midfielder and cricketer, see Phil Neale.

Phil Neal
Neal in 2012
Personal information
Full name Philip George Neal[1]
Date of birth (1951-02-20) 20 February 1951 (age 73)[1]
Place of birth Irchester, Northamptonshire, England[1]
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2]
Position(s) Full-back[1]
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1968–1974 Northampton Town 187 (28)
1974–1985 Liverpool 455 (41)
1985–1989 Bolton Wanderers 64 (3)
Total 706 (72)
International career
1976–1983 England 50 (5)
Managerial career
1985–1992 Bolton Wanderers
1993–1995 Coventry City
1996 Cardiff City
1996 Manchester City (caretaker)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Philip George Neal (born 20 February 1951) is an English retired footballer who played for Northampton Town, Liverpool and Bolton Wanderers as a full-back. He is regarded as one of the most successful English players of all time,[3] having won eight First Division titles, four League Cups, five FA Charity Shields, four European Cups, one UEFA Cup and one UEFA Super Cup during his eleven years at Liverpool. He later returned to Bolton Wanderers as manager, leading them to victory in the Football League Trophy before spells managing Coventry City, Cardiff City and Manchester City.

Neal also had a long career with the England national team, winning 50 caps and playing in the 1982 World Cup. He would go on to be England's assistant manager under Graham Taylor.[4]

Neal's nickname whilst at Liverpool was Zico – a reference to the Brazilian play maker and a compliment to Neal, who was known for scoring important goals throughout the club's history. His son, Ashley Neal, also became a footballer.

  1. ^ a b c d "Phil Neal". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  2. ^ "Phil Neal".
  3. ^ "Phil Neal - Liverpool FC". Archived from the original on 7 September 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  4. ^ "Do I not like that: 20 years since Graham Taylor's World Cup failure". BBC Sport. 8 October 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2019.