Lawrence Philip Sanchez (born 22 October 1959) is a Northern Irish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

manager and former international

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugb ...

. The defining moment of his playing career came in the 1988 FA Cup Final, when he scored the winning goal for Wimbledon against

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

, producing one of the biggest upsets in the competition's long history. Career highlights as a manager include taking

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play their home ...

on a memorable F.A. Cup run that climaxed in a semi-final against

and driving

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

from a FIFA ranking of 124th to 27th; a period during which he notched up notable results against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

Personal life

Sanchez was born in London, the son of an

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

ian father and an Irish mother. He was educated at Presentation College, an

independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British En ...

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spell ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Ber ...

, and went on to take a BSc degree in

management science Management science (or managerial science) is a wide and interdisciplinary study of solving complex problems and making strategic decisions as it pertains to institutions, corporations, governments and other types of organizational entities. It is ...

Loughborough University Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for post-nominals) is a public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university since 1966, but it dates back to 1909, when ...

while a Reading F.C. player. He was married to Heather, who died of cancer in 1998; the couple had a son, Jack. In 2004, Sanchez became patron of a Northern Ireland-based cancer charity.

Playing career

Club career

Sanchez began his playing career as a midfielder at

in 1977 and remained there until 1984 before being bought by Wimbledon for £30,000, where he became a regular in a successful side. He scored the goal to secure the victory which got the Dons promoted to the First Division against

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...

in May 1986. His most famous moment as a player came in 1988, when he scored with a header the goal that won Wimbledon the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

against

. It was not an easy game, as

Peter Beardsley Peter Andrew Beardsley MBE (born 18 January 1961) is an English football coach and former footballer who played as a forward or midfielder between 1979 and 1999. In 1987, he set a record transfer fee in the English game and represented his co ...

had found the net 10 minutes before Sanchez scored, only to have his goal disallowed. Liverpool came close to jeopardising Wimbledon's dream again in the second half when they were awarded a penalty, only for John Aldridge's shot to be saved by Dons goalkeeper Dave Beasant. During the 1993–94 season Sanchez left Wimbledon for newly promoted

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...

, who ended the season relegated with a mere five wins from 42 games and conceding 100 goals. He played just eight league games for the

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

club and left them after only a few months to manage Sligo Rovers in Ireland. He is believed to be the first player to be

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

for a

professional foul In various sports, a professional foul is a deliberate act of foul play intended to bring about an advantage for the perpetrator's team. Professional fouls are usually committed to prevent an opponent from scoring. Various sports contain provisi ...

, after committing a deliberate handball in a

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL ...

match against

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and th ...

in 1982.

International career

In 1977, he represented England Schoolboys in a match against Scotland. Sanchez won three full international caps for Northern Ireland, qualifying by virtue of his Northern Irish mother. Prior to having played for Northern Ireland he was also qualified to play for

due to having an Ecuadorian father, but declined the opportunity on the grounds of distance.

Managerial and coaching career

Sligo Rovers

He became player-manager of

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally use ...

club

Sligo Rovers Sligo Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí Shligigh) is an Irish professional football club playing in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. The club is based in Sligo in the west of Ireland. The club was founded in 19 ...

in 1994, and in his first season led them to the semi-final of the 1995

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Extra.ie FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as Derry ...

. He also managed them in the Cup Winners' Cup against

Club Brugge (), known simply as Club Brugge (in English also: ''Club Bruges''), is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges, Belgium. It was founded in 1891 and its home ground is the Jan Breydel Stadium, which has a capacity of 29,062.

Wimbledon

In 1995, he returned to Wimbledon and became the reserve team manager, winning the

Football Combination The Football Combination was a football competition for the reserve teams of English Football League clubs from Southern England, the Midlands and Wales; other clubs from the Midlands and those from the North playing in the Central League (it is n ...

in his first season in charge. After two years in charge of the reserves, he stepped up to be first team coach under

Joe Kinnear Joseph Patrick Kinnear (born 27 December 1946) is an Irish former football manager and player. Kinnear played as a defender, spending the majority of his career—ten seasons—with Tottenham Hotspur. With Tottenham he won the FA Cup, the EFL ...

Wycombe Wanderers

He became manager at

in February 1999, and with only 18 games left he rescued the team from imminent relegation. In 2001, he guided the club (then in the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

) to its greatest moment, reaching the FA Cup semi-finals, where they played Liverpool; Wycombe lost 2–1, having held Liverpool to 0–0 for most of the match. After finishing 12th in 2002 and 11th in 2003, the upward progress came to an end with the collapse of the OnDigital TV deal and the subsequent loss of both revenue and players. After a poor start to the 2003–04 season, Sanchez was sacked by the club on 30 September 2003.

Northern Ireland national team

Sanchez was appointed manager of

in January 2004. At that point the side was ranked 124th in the world, had a 1,298-minute-long goal drought, and had not won a game for nearly three years. Northern Ireland improved markedly under Sanchez. By the time he left, Northern Ireland were top of their Euro 2008 qualification group and reached an all-time high position of 27th in the world. Notable results during his tenure included a 1–0 victory against

in a

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

qualifying match, a 1–1 draw against

, who went on to reach the

2006 World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

semi-finals, a 2–1 win over

, and a 3–2 win against eventual Euro 2008 winners

in a Euro 2008 qualifying match, with striker David Healy scoring a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three w ...

. A book about his achievements with Northern Ireland was published in November 2007.

Fulham

While still manager of Northern Ireland, Sanchez was named as caretaker manager of

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandswor ...

following the sacking of Chris Coleman in April 2007. Having achieved his 32-day task of maintaining Fulham's Premier League position, with a record of one win, one draw and three defeats, he was given the manager's job on a longer contract, having first to resign from his position with Northern Ireland. Sanchez signed four Northern Ireland players, David Healy from

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

, Steven Davis and

Aaron Hughes Aaron William Hughes (born 8 November 1979) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who played as a defender. Hughes played mainly at centre back, but was also used at right back or left back, as well as anywhere in midfield. He i ...

, both from

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park, ...

, and

Chris Baird Christopher Patrick Baird (born 25 February 1982) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who last played for Derby County and represented the Northern Ireland national football team from 2003 to 2016. His preferred position was righ ...

from

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. He was sacked in December 2007, after a home defeat to Newcastle. This defeat pushed Fulham into the relegation places.

Barnet

With four matches of the 2010–11 season remaining, Sanchez joined Barnet as football consultant, to assist caretaker-manager

Giuliano Grazioli Giuliano Stefano Luigi Grazioli (born 23 March 1975, in Marylebone) is an English former footballer who played as a striker from 1995 until 2009, notably for Barnet. As a footballer he also played for Wembley, Yeovil Town, Peterborough Unit ...

, in their ultimately successful battle against relegation from the Football League. On 13 May 2011, Barnet appointed Sanchez as manager of the club, with Grazioli as his assistant. In the 2011–12 season, the club struggled to stay in the League despite reaching the Area Final of the Johnstone Paint Trophy before losing to Swindon Town. Sanchez was sacked by Barnet on 16 April 2012 with 3 games of the season to go and was replaced by

Martin Allen Martin James Allen (born 14 August 1965) is an English football manager and former player. He played more than 100 games as a midfielder for both Queens Park Rangers and West Ham United before finishing his playing career with Portsmouth and ...

Apollon Smyrnis

On 17 November 2013, Sanchez was appointed head coach of Superleague Greece side

Apollon Smyrni Apollon Smyrnis Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ Απόλλων Σμύρνης), or in its full name Gymnasticos Syllogos Apollon Smyrnis ( el, links=no, Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Απόλλων Σμύρνης, ''Gymnastics Club Apollon o ...

. He met the players for the first time on 18 November 2013 whilst also giving the club's official website his first interview as Apollon Smyrni head coach. During his time at Apollon, Sanchez has raised his doubts over the integrity of the Superleague Greece. On 30 March, he voiced his discontent on live television during the club's 3–2 win away to

Panthrakikos Panthrakikos Football Club ( el, Α.Π.Σ. Πανθρακικός) is a Greek football club based in Komotini, Thrace in North Eastern Greece founded in 1963. The club competed in Super League Greece during the 2008–09 season for the first time. ...

. On 13 April 2014, Sanchez and Apollon were relegated from the Superleague Greece into the

Greek Football League The Football League ( el, Φούτμπολ Λιγκ) was the second highest professional football league in Greece since its inception in 1962 as ''Beta Ethniki'' and until 2019. It then served as a third tier after the creation of the Super L ...

following a 1–0 defeat away to champions

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a numbe ...

. Apollon finished seventeenth with 36 points, two points off safety in fifteenth. Sanchez declined to sign a new contract for Apollon and left the club. This departure was much to the chagrin of the Apollon fans to whom he, in typical Sanchez fashion, had become a much loved cult figure and leader. Sanchez wrote a parting letter to the Apollon fans explaining his thoughts and made it clear that he was very unhappy with the legitimacy of the Superleague Greece, his parting words were: "In the Magic Kingdom that is SuperLeague even a Magician can only have so many powers".

Honours

;Wimbledon *

: 1987–88 *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third t ...

promotion: 1986–87 ;Reading *

Football League Fourth Division The Football League Fourth Division 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. Whilst the division disappeared in name ...

: 1978–79 *Football League Fourth Division promotion: 1983–84

Managerial statistics

References

"Sanchez to stay in N Ireland job"
BBC News Online 9 September 2006, retrieved 9 September 2006.

Teamtalk.com 9 September 2006
"Statement From Lawrie Sanchez"
Irishfa.com 9 September 2006

Notes

External links

*
Lawrie Sanchez Biography
on the

Irish Football Association The Irish Football Association (IFA) is the governing body for association football in Northern Ireland. It organised the Ireland national football team from 1880 to 1950, which after 1954, became the Northern Ireland national football team. ...

website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanchez, Lawrie 1959 births Living people Footballers from Lambeth Association footballers from Northern Ireland Football managers from Northern Ireland Northern Ireland international footballers Northern Ireland national football team managers English footballers English football managers People from Northern Ireland of Ecuadorian descent Sportspeople of Ecuadorian descent People from Northern Ireland of English descent English people of Ecuadorian descent English people of Northern Ireland descent Alumni of Loughborough University English expatriate footballers English expatriate sportspeople in Ireland Expatriate association footballers in the Republic of Ireland League of Ireland managers League of Ireland players Association football midfielders Fulham F.C. managers Premier League managers Premier League players Reading F.C. players Sligo Rovers F.C. managers Sligo Rovers F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players Thatcham Town F.C. players Wimbledon F.C. players Wycombe Wanderers F.C. managers English Football League managers People educated at Elvian School Association football coaches FA Cup Final players