Having been a central character of the UK’s football coverage since 1992, Alan Hansen hangs up his mic after the World Cup in Brazil and in a rare interview, the self-effacing Scotsman opens up to friend and colleague Gary Lineker for a special BBC tribute programme.
Alan Hansen: Player and Pundit, airing on Friday, June 11, at 10.35pm on BBC One, looks back at his life and career in football and marks his retirement from the Match of the Day punditry chair.
The programme airs two days prior to the former Scotland and Liverpool captain’s final appearance as a pundit for the BBC, when he will be working alongside Lineker on BBC One’s coverage of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Final.
A central character in the BBC’s football coverage since the early 1990’s, Hansen confirmed at the beginning of last season that he would be bowing out of his punditry role with the BBC after the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil.
Diminished by injuries at the age of 36 after an illustrious career as a player, the former Scotland and Liverpool captain left with a legacy that would stand up to the fiercest scrutiny, and the same will be said of him as a pundit when he departs this summer.
Hansen arrived on the punditry scene in 1992 and made a strong impact, unafraid to criticise footballers or the establishment with a style that was passionate and forthright, a marked contrast to the normal expectations of television football punditry at the time.
This very private man opens up about his Scotland and Liverpool career, his friendship with Kenny Dalglish, his passion for golf, Hillsborough, his highs and lows as a player and pundit, why he never became a manager and why he likes analysis so much.
Alongside his weekly Match of the Day commitments, Hansen has been a key part of the BBC’s coverage of major football tournaments, including the World Cup and European Championships, working on all of them with Gary Lineker.
The former England striker turned Match of the Day host presents the BBC’s personal and revealing tribute to Hansen as he joins friends, family and colleagues to look back at the Scotsman’s illustrious career as a player and a pundit.
This very private, self-effacing family man opens up about his playing career with Scotland and Liverpool during the one-hour documentary, and talks about the close relationships forged over the years with the likes of Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness and Mark Lawrenson.
As club captain of Liverpool during the 1989 Hillsborough tragedy, Hansen talks emotionally about the events of that day and how they’ve had a profound personal effect on him, and everyone else associated with Liverpool Football Club, over the subsequent 25 years.
He also discusses the Heysel Disaster four years earlier and reveals his disappointment at missing out on the 1986 World Cup for Scotland.
The programme also finds out why Hansen turned his back on football management in favour of a career in the media, while Lineker also looks at the massive effect his friend and colleague Hansen has had on sports broadcasting.
Named by many as the ‘King of Pundits’, he is credited with revolutionising the role of the TV football analyst, along with former Sky Sports pundit Andy Gray, with both being responsible for transforming attitudes towards football punditry in the early 1990’s.
Hansen was unafraid to criticise footballers or the establishment with his passionate, forthright and intelligent views, though many haven’t forgetten the infamous quote – ‘You never win anything with kids’ – which he made on Match of the Day at the beginning of the 1995/96 when commenting about the Manchester United which went on to win the Premiership and FA Cup double later that season.
Hansen’s appeal was so widespread that he even appeared in polls commissioned to find a new James Bond, became a housewife’s favourite and brought female viewers to Match of the Day in the process.
Contributions throughout this special programme come from Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness, Des Lynam, Jamie and Harry Redknapp, Jose Mourinho, Brendan Rodgers, Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Mark Lawrenson and Alan’s wife Janet and children Lucy and Adam.
Alan Hansen: Player and Pundit airs on BBC One and BBC One HD on Friday, June 11 at 10.35pm, repeated on Sunday, June 13 at 1.15pm and it will also be made available on-demand via BBC iPlayer for up to seven days after transmission.
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Friday 11th June
Alan Hansen: Player and Pundit
10.35pm-11.35pm BBC One / 11.05pm-12.05am BBC One Scotland
(repeated Sunday, June 11 – 1.15pm, BBC One)
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Good God! I just saw the tribute programme to Alan Hansen on the Sky TV list and I thought he was dead?!?!? Phew so glad to see he isn’t :). I will be watching this as he was brilliant and of course very handsome still after all these years defending England in the World Cup ;). Congratulations on a great career Alan ~ you will be missed. Karen XxXxX.