Fulham reached the final of the 2010 Europa League under the guidance of Roy Hodgson. Fulham supporters have enjoyed a memorable campaign with wins over holders Shaktar Donetsk and Juventus.
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As a player, Hodgson was on the books at Crystal Palace but never made a first team appearance. It was when he moved into management that Hodgson started to make name for himself. His early career in Sweden saw him win the Swedish title twice with Halmstads in 1976 and 1979.
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From there, Hodgson moved to Switzerland with Neuchatel Xamax before taking over the Swiss national team who he guided to the 1994 World Cup Finals and the 1996 Euro Finals. Hodgson’s next job was as manager of Inter Milan. In his final season as manager of Inter, they reached the 1997 UEFA Cup final before he headed to Blackburn Rovers. The move wasn’t a success and Hodgson was sacked after 18 months.
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For the next few years, Hodgson held a number of managerial positions but never really settled anywhere for long and in 2005, he took over the Finnish national team and took them tantalisingly close to the Euro 2008 finals.
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At the end of 2007, Fulham offer Hodgson the managers job as at the time, they were struggling in the Premier League and needed a change of direction. Hodgson worked his magic as Fulham stayed up and the following season qualified for the UEFA Europa League by finishing 7th.
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Fulham’s first season in Europe has been nothing short of spectacular. Fulham have met some tough opposition including Juventus and the German champions. Now all that stands in their way of glory is Athletico Madrid.
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But what next for Roy Hodgson? Hodgsons influence on Fulham will not have gone unnoticed. The England job has been mentioned but at present, Fabio Capello is doing an excellent job and will be in charge for some time. Perhaps it is a bit more realistic to think that Hodgson could well take over the English national team after the Euro 2012 finals.
