When Des Lynam hung up his moustache and walked away from the Match of the Day presenting gig in 1999, BBC bosses were faced with a conundrum. Lynam was popular with viewers and a sporting polymath but had jumped ship for ITV after they doubled his pay. Who could fill his boots on such a shoestring budget?
The answer was Gary Lineker. Described by the BBC, at the time, as having a “relaxed style”, Lineker was already familiar to viewers thanks not only to a stellar on-pitch career, but various presenting jobs across the corporation. He had appeared on Radio 5 Live and Grandstand, as well as a stint as a captain on They Think It’s All Over, a comedy panel show. And as the lights came up on the 1999/2000 Premier League season, he found himself in one of the biggest jobs in football media, presiding over the flagship highlights package of a season that featured 23 goals from his future sofa-mate, Alan Shearer. It was the start of a glittering 25-year tenure in the role – which the BBC has confirmed will conclude next May – that would turn him from a predatory striker to one of the nation’s top broadcasters, and then into a powerful, and often controversial, media mogul.
Lineker was born in 1960 in Leicester – a city famous in the Sixties for the creatives, like Joe Orton and Graham Chapman, who had run away from it – and there was little in his childhood to point to future footballing stardom. As a teenager he captained the Leicestershire Schools cricket team – yes, cricket – for five years, believing he’d have “more chance afterwards in cricket than football”.
この記事は The Independent の November 13, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は The Independent の November 13, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Hamilton is the big draw for a London spin on F1 show
Prior to the Drive to Survive era that triggered the sport’s unprecedented boom, one of Liberty Media’s first ventures as Formula One’s bright-eyed American owners came in the summer of 2017.
'In France, I lead a much easier, much simpler life'
Former Premier League star Andy Carroll speaks to Dani Gil about his topsy-turvy career, and his new start at Bordeaux
Breaking point: a title era is ending before our very eyes
Blame Antonio Conte, perhaps. The former Chelsea manager was not the pioneer but he was a trailblazer.
Withdrawals force Carsley to blood youth in Greece tie
It is an England football team, if not the England team that will take the field in Athens on Thursday night. Aaron Ramsdale, Trent Alexander-Arnold, John Stones, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Declan Rice, Kobbie Mainoo, Bukayo Saka, Cole Palmer, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish is a line-up that would require a false nine.
Is this a megajob too much for even Musk to handle?
Just when you thought Elon Musk’s involvement in politics was over after he helped to secure the election of his new BFF, Donald Trump, it was announced that he is going to be a key figure in the running of the US for the foreseeable future.
Fuller's boss warns of price rises after Budget tax hike
A major pub chain has joined the growing list of hospitality businesses warning of price rises due to Labour’s Budget.
Post Office shake-up puts 115 branches under threat
Move affecting 1,000 workers is tone deaf’ says union boss
High alert as Costa del Sol residents flee fresh storms
Fresh storms in Spain have left streets deluged and forced schools to close, two weeks after the worst floods in the country’s modern history, which killed more than 220 people and destroyed thousands of homes.
Senior Russian naval officer dies in Crimea car bombing
A senior Russian naval officer has been killed in a car bombing in occupied Crimea the latest in a series of targeted attacks on Russian military personnel.
Europe faces a bigger threat level if US warms to Putin
According to anonymous sources quoted in The Washington Post, one of Donald Trump’s first actions on being re-elected was to call Vladimir Putin. That call was immediately denied by the Kremlin.
