Sol Campbell

Sulzeer Jeremiah "Sol" Campbell (born 18 September 1974) is an English professional football manager and former player. Widely regarded as one of the best centre-backs of his generation, he spent 20 years playing in the Premier League and had an 11-year international career with the England national team. Born in East London to Jamaican parents, Campbell began his career with Tottenham Hotspur in December 1992. He spent nine years at Spurs, scoring 15 goals in 315 appearances, and was appointed club captain in 1997, leading the team to victory in the 1999 Football League Cup final against Leicester City. In 2001, he joined Tottenham's North London rivals Arsenal on a free transfer, and as a result has remained a deeply unpopular figure amongst Spurs supporters. In his five years and 195 appearances at Arsenal, he won two Premier League winners medals and three FA Cup winners medals, encompassing the 2001–02 league and FA Cup double, and being part of the team that became known as The Invincibles for their undefeated 2003–04 Premier League campaign. He scored Arsenal's only goal in their 2–1 defeat to Barcelona in the 2006 UEFA Champions League final. In August 2006, he joined Portsmouth on a free transfer. His three years with the club included captaining them to victory in the 2008 FA Cup final. After a surprising stint at League Two side Notts County, he returned to train with Arsenal and re-signed with the club on a short-term contract. He then spent a season with Newcastle United, before announcing his retirement a year later. Following a brief foray into politics in which he failed to be shortlisted for the 2016 London mayoral election, Campbell moved into coaching and was later named as the assistant manager of the Trinidad and Tobago national team. He became the new manager of Macclesfield Town, eventually saving the club from relegation to the National League. After leaving the club in the summer, he joined Southend United, who were in a similar relegation battle. However, the season was ended early due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which culminated in Southend's relegation and Campbell leaving the club by mutual consent. Campbell gained his first of 73 full caps for England aged 21. In May 1998, Campbell became what was then England's second-youngest captain, after Bobby Moore, aged 23 years 248 days. In 2006, he became the only player to have represented England in six consecutive major tournaments, playing in the 1996, 2000 and 2004 UEFA European Championships; and the 1998, 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups. He was named in the Team of the Tournament for the 2002 World Cup. He was in the PFA Team of the Year three times, in 1999, 2003 and 2004.