Mark Hughes

Leslie Mark Hughes (born November 1, 1963 in Ruabon, Wrexham, Wales), nicknamed Sparky, is a Welsh football player and manager. As a Welsh international footballer, he made 72 appearances and scored 16 goals.

Hughes joined Manchester United on leaving school in the summer of 1980 but did not make his first team debut for three years, in the 1983–84 season. He quickly established himself as a regular first team player and was a key player in their run to the 1985 FA Cup final which resulted in a 1–0 win over Everton. The following summer, Hughes was surprisingly sold to Barcelona for £2million as manager Terry Venables was hoping for him to be a successful striker partner for Gary Lineker. But Hughes was a huge disappointment in his only season at Barcelona and was subsequently loaned out to Bayern Munich of West Germany for the 1987–88 season where he regained his form.

In May 1988, Hughes returned to Manchester United, now managed by Alex Ferguson, for a then club record of £1.8million. Like he had done in his first spell at Old Trafford, Hughes proved to be a dynamic goalscorer and was a key player for the club in winning two League championships, two F.A Cups, one League Cup and one Cup Winners' Cup.

He left Old Trafford for the second and final time in June 1995 when he was controversially sold to Chelsea for £1.5million. Many United supporters were furious at the sale of Hughes because they felt he had at least a couple of years left at the highest level and that Andy Cole would not be suitable as his replacement. But United still managed to achieve more success even without Hughes.

Meanwhile, Hughes was a key player in Chelsea's resurgence as a top club. He helped them win the F.A Cup and Cup Winners' Cup before he was transferred to Southampton in July 1998. By now, Hughes was winding down his career as a player and in August 1999 was appointed national coach of the Welsh football team, although he moved outside of the top division for the first time in his playing career in 2000–01 to play a key role in getting Blackburn Rovers promoted from Division One. He also lifted the League Cup with Blackburn in February 2002 before finally hanging up his boots a few months short of his 39th birthday.

When Mark Hughes was appointed national coach, Wales were one of the weaker national sides in the world. But in the five years with Hughes in charge, Wales came close to qualifying for Euro 2004 and in their qualifying group beat Italy – they were only denied a place in the competition after losing to Russia in the playoffs.

Hughes quit the Welsh national side in September 2004 to take charge of Blackburn Rovers, the last club he had ever played for. His key aim was to keep Blackburn clear of relegation and he succeeded, also taking the club to an F.A Cup semi final appearance for the first time in over 40 years.