Jeffrey "Jeff" Hopkins (born 14 April 1964) is a former Welsh

Wales national football team

The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...

 international football defender

Defender (association football)

Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....

, who most notably played club football for Fulham

Fulham F.C.

Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...

 and Reading

Reading F.C.

Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship...

 in the Football League.

Club career

Hopkins started his career as a trainee with Fulham, going on to make over 200 first team appearances for the club. This was followed by a four year spell at Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace F.C.

Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...

, including a loan to Plymouth Argyle

Plymouth Argyle F.C.

Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Plymouth, Devon, that plays in Football League Two.Since becoming professional in 1903, the club has won five Football League titles, five Southern League titles and one Western League title. The 2009–10 season was the...

 in 1991–92. He spent a few months at Bristol Rovers

Bristol Rovers F.C.

Bristol Rovers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Bristol, that competes in Football League Two. The team plays its home matches at the Memorial Stadium, in the Horfield area of the city....

 in 1992, before spending the remaining five years of his Football League career with Reading.

While at Reading, he was part of the team that narrowly missed out on promotion to the Premier League in the 1994-95

1994-95 in English football

-Premiership:Blackburn Rovers ended their 81-year wait for the league title thanks to the strike partnership of Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton which scored a total of more than 50 league goals. Manchester United would have made it three league titles in a row if they had been able to turn a 1-1 draw...

 season, losing 4-3 after extra time in the playoff final against Bolton Wanderers

Bolton Wanderers F.C.

Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....

.

After a move to Malaysian football with Selangor

Selangor FA

The Football Association of Selangor , commonly referred to as FAS or simply Selangor, competes in Malaysian football competitions representing the state of Selangor Darul Ehsan. The team is based in Shah Alam city. They are currently playing in Malaysian Super League, the top-flight of Malaysian...

 where he was made captain, Hopkins moved to Australia in October 1999 as a player-coach with Gippsland Falcons

Gippsland Falcons

Gippsland Falcons SC were an Australian association football team based in Morwell, Australia. It was the sole rural Victorian entrant in the forerunner to the A-League, the National Soccer League...

 in the National Soccer League

National Soccer League

The National Soccer League is the former national association football competition in Australasia, overseen by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977, until its demise in 2004...

.

International career

Hopkins made his debut for the Wales national under-21 football team

Wales national under-21 football team

The Wales national under-21 football team, also known as the Wales U21s, is the national under-21 football team of Wales and is controlled by the Football Association of Wales. The team competes in the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years...

 during the 1981/82 season against France

France national under-21 football team

The France national under-21 football team , known in France as Les Espoirs , is the national under-21 football team of France and is controlled by the French Football Federation. The team competes in the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years...

. He made a total of 5 under-21 appearances during that season and the next.

He made his debut for the senior Welsh team

Wales national football team

The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...

 on 31 May 1983 against Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland national football team

The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international association football. Before 1921 all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...

, and he made 16 appearances for Wales over the next seven years, with his final game coming against Costa Rica

Costa Rica national football team

The Costa Rica national football team, nicknamed La Sele, is the national team of Costa Rica and is controlled by the Federación Costarricense de Fútbol. Costa Rica is the third most successful team in CONCACAF after Mexico and the United States...

on 20 May 1990.