Sol Campbell
Sulzeer Jeremiah '"Sol" Campbell' is an English professional football manager and former player. Widely regarded as one of the best centre-backs of his generation, he spent 20 years playing in the Premier League and had an 11-year international career with the England national team.
Born in East London to Jamaican parents, Campbell began his career with Tottenham Hotspur in December 1992. He spent nine years at Spurs, scoring 15 goals in 315 appearances, and was appointed club captain in 1997, leading the team to victory in the 1999 Football League Cup final against Leicester City. In 2001, he joined Tottenham's North London rivals Arsenal on a free transfer, and as a result has remained a deeply unpopular figure amongst Spurs supporters. In his five years and 195 appearances at Arsenal, he won two Premier League winners medals and three FA Cup winners medals, encompassing the 2001–02 league and FA Cup double, and being part of the team that became known as The Invincibles for their undefeated 2003–04 Premier League campaign. He scored Arsenal's only goal in their 2–1 defeat to Barcelona in the 2006 UEFA Champions League final.
In August 2006, he joined Portsmouth on a free transfer. His three years with the club included captaining them to victory in the 2008 FA Cup final. After a surprising stint at League Two side Notts County, he returned to train with Arsenal and re-signed with the club on a short-term contract. He then spent a season with Newcastle United, before announcing his retirement a year later. Following a brief foray into politics in which he failed to be shortlisted for the 2016 London mayoral election, Campbell moved into coaching and was later named as the assistant manager of the Trinidad and Tobago national team. He became the new manager of Macclesfield Town, eventually saving the club from relegation to the National League. After leaving the club in the summer, he joined Southend United, who were in a similar relegation battle. However, the season was ended early due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which culminated in Southend's relegation and Campbell leaving the club by mutual consent.
Campbell gained his first of 73 full caps for England aged 21. In May 1998, Campbell became what was then England's second-youngest captain, after Bobby Moore, aged 23 years 248 days. In 2006, he became the only player to have represented England in six consecutive major tournaments, playing in the 1996, 2000 and 2004 UEFA European Championships; and the 1998, 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups. He was named in the Team of the Tournament for the 2002 World Cup. He was in the PFA Team of the Year three times, in 1999, 2003 and 2004.
Early life
Campbell was born in Plaistow, London, to Jamaican parents Sewell and Wihelmina. He was the youngest of twelve children, nine of whom were boys. His father was a railway worker and his mother, Wihelmina, was a Ford factory worker. Despite growing up in a rough neighbourhood in a family with very little money, Campbell veered away from a life of crime due to his strict parents.Campbell attended the Portway Primary School and had secondary education at Lister Community School, both in Plaistow. He was a prodigious schoolboy talent and was part-educated at the FA's School of Excellence at Lilleshall, where he met table tennis player and later football agent Sky Andrew. Campbell had a short spell at West Ham United, beginning his career as a striker. He left the Youth programme at Upton Park after a coach joked to him that Campbell would be pleased to hear that the West Indies were beating England at cricket; Campbell took this to be offensive.
Club career
Tottenham Hotspur
Following his experience at West Ham United, Campbell was reluctant to join another professional club's youth programme, but after two months of persistence from Tottenham Hotspur's chief scout Len Cheesewright, he eventually joined the Tottenham Youth team. Youth team manager Keith Waldon later recalled that it was his physicality rather than his technical ability which made him stand out as a good prospect for the future. At age 14, he was one of only 16 young footballers accepted onto a training programme at Lilleshall Hall. Waldon offered to make him captain of the youth team, but Campbell declined the offer as he wanted to concentrate on his own game.Campbell made his first team debut for Spurs on 5 December 1992 against Chelsea at White Hart Lane, scoring the goal in a 2–1 defeat after coming on as a substitute for Nick Barmby. Despite this start to his career, he was not picked by manager Terry Venables again throughout the remainder of the 1992–93 season.
New boss Osvaldo Ardiles played him at left back at the start of the 1993–94 season in place of the injured Justin Edinburgh, before he was switched to right back in place of Dean Austin. At the end of the season, he signed a four-year contract with the club.
New manager Gerry Francis led the club to the semi-finals of the FA Cup in the 1994–95 campaign, but Campbell missed the match due to injury and Spurs were beaten by Everton. Campbell continued to progress in his performances, but Spurs struggled to mid-table league finishes in the 1995–96 and 1996–97 seasons. Francis appointed Campbell as club captain, taking over the role from the out of favour David Howells. He had a strained relationship with short-lived manager Christian Gross during the 1997–98 season as Spurs again struggled. Gross's replacement, George Graham, also had a difficult relationship with Campbell.
Campbell successfully captained his side to a League Cup final win over Leicester City in the 1998–99 season. This made him the first black captain to lift a major trophy at Wembley Stadium. He was also named on the PFA Team of the Year, as was teammate David Ginola.
The League Cup success qualified Spurs to compete in the UEFA Cup during the 1999–2000 campaign, but they only made it into the Second Round before they were beaten by German side 1. FC Kaiserslautern. During this time, he was falsely accused of breaking a stewards arm during a scuffle in a game at Derby County, and refused Tottenham's lawyer's advice to have the case Bound over, and was subsequently told by the club to field his own legal defence for the case. The case was later dismissed. The club's lack of progress in the league, his poor relationship with recent managers and the club's lack of support during the assault case left Campbell feeling disillusioned with Spurs.
Campbell missed three months of the 2000–01 campaign after dislocating his shoulder in a 0–0 League Cup draw with Brentford at Griffin Park. He made his final appearance for the club in the FA Cup semi-final defeat to Arsenal at Old Trafford. Manager Glenn Hoddle admitted it was a risk to play Campbell as the defender was not at full fitness, and he injured his ankle fouling Ray Parlour before he was eventually replaced by Ledley King. However, before the substitution could be made, Patrick Vieira scored a header for Arsenal while Campbell was off the pitch receiving treatment.
In the summer of 2001, Campbell's contract expired. Mindful of the Bosman ruling and what happened with Steve McManaman, Tottenham offered him a contract which would have made him the club's highest-ever paid player, but after months of negotiations and several public assurances he would stay at Spurs, Campbell stated his need to leave the club in order to play UEFA Champions League football, with the likes of England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson advising him of such a course. Several top continental clubs expressed interest in signing him, but he joined Arsenal – Tottenham's biggest rivals – on a free transfer. Campbell had previously stated in an interview with Spurs Monthly magazine that he would never play for Arsenal. The move was also unusual as no rumours of a move to Arsenal had been leaked or speculated upon in the media before the press conference revealing his decision, and many journalists in attendance had been led to believe they were there to witness the unveiling of goalkeeper Richard Wright, which would have been a routine sports news story.
Campbell has been labelled "Judas" by some Spurs supporters. Years later, the anger from Spurs supporters remained. In January 2009, four Tottenham fans were banned from every football ground in England and Wales for three years after being found guilty of chanting an offensive song containing indecent language aimed at Campbell. In Campbell's words:
Arsenal
later said he signed Campbell as he found that when playing against him, his attackers could not pass him like they could other players and that "it was as if he was indestructible, such a power spread from him". He made his debut for the Gunners on 18 August – the opening day of the 2001–02 Premier League season, in a 4–0 win over Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium. During the season, Campbell was partnered at the back by either Tony Adams or Martin Keown. He made a return to White Hart Lane during a 1–1 draw on 17 November, and though he played well, he was shocked to see his older brother Tony in the crowd supporting Spurs as the fans shouted insults out to Campbell on the pitch. Campbell enjoyed immediate success with Arsenal, as he won both Premier League and FA Cup winners' medals as Arsenal won the Double in his first season at Highbury. In the FA Cup final at the Millennium Stadium on 4 May, he played alongside Adams as the team kept a clean sheet in a 2–0 victory over Chelsea. Four days later, they secured the league title with a 1–0 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford.The 2002–03 season saw Arsenal exit the Champions League at the group stage, but remained on course for a retention of the Double as they reached the final of the FA Cup. However, he missed the end-of-season run-in due to suspension after referee Mark Halsey gave him a straight red card for an alleged elbow on Manchester United's Ole Gunnar Solskjær. The club appealed the suspension but were unsuccessful, and he was forced to miss the cup final as Arsenal defeated Southampton to retain the trophy, though they ended the league campaign in second place. His performances were recognised with a place on the PFA Team of the Year, alongside teammates Lauren, Ashley Cole, Patrick Vieira, Robert Pires and Thierry Henry.
The following season, 2003–04, would be known as "The Invincibles season" as Campbell formed a new partnership with Kolo Touré, with the pair instrumental in helping Arsenal regain the Premier League title without losing a single match. The title was secured with a 2–2 draw with Spurs at White Hart Lane on 25 April. He was named on the PFA Team of the Year for the third time in his career, alongside teammates Lauren, Cole, Vieira, Pires and Henry.
Campbell missed the start of the 2004–05 season with a knee injury, and so missed the 2004 FA Community Shield victory over Manchester United. The unbeaten run continued to a record 49 matches before Manchester United defeated them 2–0 at Old Trafford on 24 October in a match that would become known as the "Battle of the Buffet". Referee Mike Riley gave a penalty after Campbell challenged Wayne Rooney, though Campbell would maintain that the young striker had taken a dive. Towards the end of the campaign, Wenger began playing Kolo Touré and one of Pascal Cygan and Philippe Senderos in central defence, and Campbell was benched, leaving him to complain to the manager that Senderos was a "lucky player" who should not be considered good enough to play at Campbell's expense. Arsenal again finished second in the league and won the FA Cup final at Manchester United's expense, though Campbell was an unused substitute in the match.
In the 2005–06 season, Campbell was blighted both with injuries and a loss of form. In Arsenal's 3–2 home loss to West Ham United on 1 February, Campbell was largely responsible for West Ham's first two goals before being substituted at half-time at his own request. Unusually, he then left the stadium, not staying to watch the second half. His teammate Robert Pires commented that Campbell was facing a "big worry" in relation to his private life, and Campbell did not make any contact with the club for several days. He left the country and spent a week with a friend in Brussels as he reflected on his life. He resumed training with his teammates on 6 February.
Campbell was back playing on 25 April in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final against Villarreal in Spain, where a 0–0 draw on the night put the Gunners into the final. In the final against Barcelona at the Stade de France, Paris, Campbell scored the opening goal, a header from a free-kick taken from Henry after a foul on Emmanuel Eboué. However, ten-man Arsenal went on to lose 2–1, although Campbell was at least involved in the best defensive run of any team in the history of the competition, with opponents failing to score against Arsenal in ten consecutive matches and a total of 995 minutes. Campbell also holds the distinction, alongside Teddy Sheringham, Steve McManaman, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney, as one of six Englishmen to have scored in a Champions League final. In July 2006, Campbell left Arsenal by mutual consent in order to seek "a fresh challenge".