Brian Clough

Considered by many to be the best manager the England national team never had, Brian Clough's professional football career began when aged 16 he signed for hometown club, Middlesbrough F.C.. Working his way up through the ranks, he made his full first-team debut in a league match against Barnsley in September 1955. Over the following six seasons he scored 197 goals in 213 league appearances, a fantastic record by modern standards. It was during this period that he earned his two England caps, both in 1959 against Wales and Sweden. In 1961 he moved to Sunderland where he continued his prolific strike-rate, scoring 54 times in 61 games. At the age of 30 though, a clash with the Bury goalkeeper resulted in an injury which forced him to retire. Looking for new challenges, Brian decided to go into management, gaining experience at Hartlepool for two seasons before taking the job at Derby County, where he led them to the league championship in 1972 and the European Cup semi-finals a year l