Ricky Sbragia
Encyclopedia
Richard "Ricky" Sbragia (born 26 May 1956) is a Scottish
former footballer and manager
. As a coach, he spent time at Manchester United
and Bolton
, before joining Roy Keane's
backroom staff at Sunderland
. Sbragia became manager of Sunderland following Keane's departure, although he himself resigned in 2009 after guiding them to safety in the Premier League. Sbragia spent the next two years as a scout at Sunderland, before leaving in 2011.
, East Dunbartonshire
and is of Italian
descent. He started his footballing career with Birmingham City
as an apprentice
in June 1972. He signed as a professional at the club in May 1974 and made his debut during the 1974–75 season. He joined Morton on loan in the Scottish Football League
during the 1975–76 season and made four appearances. He was unable to establish himself in the first team at Birmingham and after making 15 appearances and scoring one goal, he joined Walsall
in October 1978 for a fee
of £15,000. He won promotion with Walsall in the 1979–80 season after the team finished second in the Fourth Division
, before making a move to Second Division
side Blackpool
for £35,000 in July 1980. After making 26 appearances and scoring one goal during two seasons at Blackpool, he was signed up by Denis Smith at York City
in August 1982. His debut came on the opening day of the 1982–83 season on 28 August 1982 in a 1–1 with Torquay United
at Bootham Crescent. He finished the season as an ever-present with 52 appearances in all competitions and scored a goal in a 2–2 draw against Halifax Town. He struck up a partnership with John MacPhail in defence during the 1983–84 season, when York won the Fourth Division with 101 points. He scored York's equaliser against Liverpool
in the FA Cup
fifth round on 20 February 1985, which set up a lucrative replay at Anfield
. Sbragia suffered from a back injury during this match and had surgery
on a spinal disc herniation
. He joined Darlington
on loan in August 1985 and made six appearances for the team. At the end of his playing career, he played one game for Belfast side Linfield in an exhibition match against Glentoran, where he went on to score two goals.
career with York as youth-team coach and obtained his Football Association
coaching badge in May 1990. He led the youth team to the quarter-finals of the FA Youth Cup
for the first time in the 1992–93 season. He took over as youth-team coach at Sunderland
in 1994 and was later promoted to reserve team coach. He moved to Manchester United
as reserve team
coach on 20 November 2002, where he built up a successful reserve side, nurturing the fledgling talents of Kieran Richardson
and Darren Fletcher
, amongst others. He was appointed as first-team coach of Bolton Wanderers
on 10 October 2005. After the departure of Sam Allardyce
from Bolton on 29 April 2007, Sammy Lee
was appointed as manager of Bolton, with Sbragia retaining his position as first-team coach alongside Jimmy Phillips and Gary Speed
.
Sbragia rejoined Sunderland's coaching staff in November 2007, and was appointed as caretaker manager
following the departure of Roy Keane
on 4 December 2008. He took charge of the team for their match against Manchester United, which was lost 1–0. This was followed up with a 4–0 victory over West Bromwich Albion
and a 4–1 win at Hull City
, although Sbragia remained coy over the possibility of taking over permanently. He was appointed as manager on a permanent basis on 27 December on an 18 month contract. On 24 May 2009, after guiding Sunderland to Premier League survival on the final day of the season, Sbragia resigned as manager of the club. He remained at Sunderland as chief scout, a post which he held until April 2011.
Sbragia was appointed head coach
of the Scotland national under-17 football team
in August 2011.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
former footballer and manager
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
. As a coach, he spent time at Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
and Bolton
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....
, before joining Roy Keane's
Roy Keane
Roy Maurice Keane is an Irish former footballer and manager. In his 18-year playing career, he played for Cobh Ramblers in the League of Ireland, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United, before ending his career at Celtic in Scotland....
backroom staff at Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
. Sbragia became manager of Sunderland following Keane's departure, although he himself resigned in 2009 after guiding them to safety in the Premier League. Sbragia spent the next two years as a scout at Sunderland, before leaving in 2011.
Playing career
Sbragia was born in LennoxtownLennoxtown
Lennoxtown is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland at the foot of the Campsie Fells, which are just to the north.It is now part of the East Dunbartonshire council area but prior to 1975 was in the county of Stirling....
, East Dunbartonshire
East Dunbartonshire
This article is about the East Dunbartonshire council area of Scotland. See also East Dunbartonshire .East Dunbartonshire is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders onto the north-west of the City of Glasgow. It contains many of the suburbs of Glasgow as well as containing many of...
and is of Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
descent. He started his footballing career with Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
as an apprentice
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
in June 1972. He signed as a professional at the club in May 1974 and made his debut during the 1974–75 season. He joined Morton on loan in the Scottish Football League
Scottish Football League
The Scottish Football League is a league of football teams in Scotland, comprising theScottish First Division, Scottish Second Division and Scottish Third Division. From the league's foundation in 1890 until the breakaway Scottish Premier League was formed in 1998, the Scottish Football League...
during the 1975–76 season and made four appearances. He was unable to establish himself in the first team at Birmingham and after making 15 appearances and scoring one goal, he joined Walsall
Walsall F.C.
Walsall Football Club are an English association football club based in Walsall, West Midlands. They currently play in League One. The club was founded in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, an amalgamation of Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. The club was one of the founder members of the Second...
in October 1978 for a fee
Fee
A fee is the price one pays as remuneration for services. Fees usually allow for overhead, wages, costs, and markup.Traditionally, professionals in Great Britain received a fee in contradistinction to a payment, salary, or wage, and would often use guineas rather than pounds as units of account...
of £15,000. He won promotion with Walsall in the 1979–80 season after the team finished second in the Fourth Division
Football League Fourth Division
The Fourth Division of The Football League was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season...
, before making a move to Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
side Blackpool
Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...
for £35,000 in July 1980. After making 26 appearances and scoring one goal during two seasons at Blackpool, he was signed up by Denis Smith at York City
York City F.C.
York City Football Club is an English football club based in York, North Yorkshire. The club participates in the Conference National, the fifth tier of English football. Founded in 1922, they joined the Football League in 1929, and have spent most of their history in the lower divisions...
in August 1982. His debut came on the opening day of the 1982–83 season on 28 August 1982 in a 1–1 with Torquay United
Torquay United F.C.
Torquay United Football Club, nicknamed the Gulls, are an English association football club based in the tourist resort town of Torquay, Devon. They played in the Conference National in 2008–09, but were promoted to Football League Two after a 2–0 win over Cambridge United on 17 May 2009 at Wembley...
at Bootham Crescent. He finished the season as an ever-present with 52 appearances in all competitions and scored a goal in a 2–2 draw against Halifax Town. He struck up a partnership with John MacPhail in defence during the 1983–84 season, when York won the Fourth Division with 101 points. He scored York's equaliser against Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
in the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
fifth round on 20 February 1985, which set up a lucrative replay at Anfield
Anfield
Anfield is an association football stadium in the district of Anfield, Liverpool, England, with a seating capacity of 45,522. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892 and was originally the home of Everton F.C. from 1884 to 1892, before they moved to Goodison Park...
. Sbragia suffered from a back injury during this match and had surgery
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
on a spinal disc herniation
Spinal disc herniation
A spinal disc herniation , informally and misleadingly called a "slipped disc", is a medical condition affecting the spine due to trauma, lifting injuries, or idiopathic, in which a tear in the outer, fibrous ring of an intervertebral disc allows the soft, central portion A spinal disc herniation...
. He joined Darlington
Darlington F.C.
Darlington Football Club is a professional association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, currently playing in the Conference National. The club was founded in 1883, and originally played its games at Feethams, before moving to the Darlington Arena in 2003...
on loan in August 1985 and made six appearances for the team. At the end of his playing career, he played one game for Belfast side Linfield in an exhibition match against Glentoran, where he went on to score two goals.
Coaching and managerial career
He retired from playing in 1987 and commenced his coachingCoach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
career with York as youth-team coach and obtained his Football Association
The Football Association
The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
coaching badge in May 1990. He led the youth team to the quarter-finals of the FA Youth Cup
FA Youth Cup
The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under–18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part...
for the first time in the 1992–93 season. He took over as youth-team coach at Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
in 1994 and was later promoted to reserve team coach. He moved to Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
as reserve team
Manchester United F.C. Reserves and Academy
Manchester United Football Club Reserves are the reserve team of Manchester United F.C. They play in the North section of the Premier Reserve League. They have been champions four times since the league's inauguration in 1999; in 2002, 2005, 2006 and 2010...
coach on 20 November 2002, where he built up a successful reserve side, nurturing the fledgling talents of Kieran Richardson
Kieran Richardson
Kieran Edward Richardson is an English footballer currently playing for Sunderland. He is naturally a left winger, but has proven to a extremely versatile; having also played as a left back, right winger, central midfielder and recently as a support striker...
and Darren Fletcher
Darren Fletcher
Darren Barr Fletcher is a Scottish footballer who plays as a central midfielder for English Premier League club Manchester United. He is the current captain of Scottish national team...
, amongst others. He was appointed as first-team coach of 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....
on 10 October 2005. After the departure of Sam Allardyce
Sam Allardyce
Samuel "Sam" Allardyce , nicknamed "Big Sam", is an English football manager and former professional player. In June 2011 he was appointed as manager of West Ham United....
from Bolton on 29 April 2007, Sammy Lee
Sammy Lee (footballer)
Samuel "Sammy" Lee is an English football coach and former player. He played most of his career for hometown club Liverpool during the 1970s and 1980s as a midfielder, and also represented England fourteen times....
was appointed as manager of Bolton, with Sbragia retaining his position as first-team coach alongside Jimmy Phillips and Gary Speed
Gary Speed
Gary Andrew Speed, MBE was a Welsh football player and manager. He was captain of the Wales national football team until he retired from international football in 2004 and he remains the most capped outfield player for Wales and the second overall, having appeared 85 times at senior level between...
.
Sbragia rejoined Sunderland's coaching staff in November 2007, and was appointed as caretaker manager
Caretaker manager
In association football, a caretaker manager is someone who takes temporary charge of the management of a football club, usually when the regular manager is dismissed or leaves for a different club. However, a caretaker may also be appointed if the regular manager is ill or unable to attend to his...
following the departure of Roy Keane
Roy Keane
Roy Maurice Keane is an Irish former footballer and manager. In his 18-year playing career, he played for Cobh Ramblers in the League of Ireland, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United, before ending his career at Celtic in Scotland....
on 4 December 2008. He took charge of the team for their match against Manchester United, which was lost 1–0. This was followed up with a 4–0 victory over West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion F.C.
West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...
and a 4–1 win at Hull City
Hull City A.F.C.
Hull City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, founded in 1904. The club participates in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football...
, although Sbragia remained coy over the possibility of taking over permanently. He was appointed as manager on a permanent basis on 27 December on an 18 month contract. On 24 May 2009, after guiding Sunderland to Premier League survival on the final day of the season, Sbragia resigned as manager of the club. He remained at Sunderland as chief scout, a post which he held until April 2011.
Sbragia was appointed head coach
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
of the Scotland national under-17 football team
Scotland national under-17 football team
The Scotland national under-17 football team, controlled by the Scottish Football Association, is Scotland's national under 17 football team and is considered to be a feeder team for the Scotland national football team. The team represents Scotland in international Under 17 competitions such as the...
in August 2011.
Manager
| Team | Nation | From | Sunderland Sunderland A.F.C. Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League... | 4 December 2008 | 24 May 2009 |
|---|
External links
- League career stats at Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Database