Ask anyone who witnessed Glenn Hoddle in his mercurial pomp and they'll tell you the same thing: the man was a genius.
The former Tottenham Hotspur, Monaco and England midfielder was as graceful and visionary as any player in world footballer on his day, just ask former team-mate Micky Hazard, who came through the ranks at Spurs when Hoddle was wowing crowds across the country.
"As an apprentice at Spurs, I watched the first team train and thought he was just the best player in the world," Hazard tells FourFourTwo now. "Glenn Hoddle was simply brilliant. I don’t think you can paint a picture of Glenn that does him justice. He epitomises the footballer who was born to play football – he was a complete master of the ball, with either foot or any part of his body. That never changed, even when I played alongside him. It was a privilege to watch him at work."
Hazard departed for Chelsea in 1985 but he was reunited with Hoddle at Swindon Town when Hoddle joined from Monaco as player-coach in 1991. As player-coach, Hoddle inspired the Robins to the Premier League in the 1993-94 season, before leaving to manager Chelsea. Hoddle's Robins were
Very. Suddenly I’m being managed by my schoolboy hero. I knew when Glenn came in that I could play to my strengths; I played nice football and it was a joy to be a part
of that team. That Swindon side was really good, with an attacking philosophy. Being promoted through the play-offs, in Glenn’s second season, was a brilliant achievement for a club like Swindon. People used to laugh at us and say it was embarrassing that our player-coach was our best player, but he was just that good. He would have been the best player at any club. It wasn’t our fault.
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