Psycho. England's iron hearted left back and one of football's great captains
FootballThey called him Psycho. Stuart Pearce never minded. It told you everything you needed to know about the way he played, and nothing about the man behind it.
Pearce captained Nottingham Forest, Newcastle, West Ham, and his country. He won 78 England caps, played in two World Cups and two European Championships, and is forever remembered for one of the great redemption moments in English sporting history. The missed penalty in the 1990 World Cup semi final in Turin. The roar, the clenched fists, the defiant stare into the crowd, after burying one six years later against Spain at Euro 96. In an era when English football was rediscovering its belief, Pearce was the player who symbolised it.
On the pitch he tackled like a man possessed, took free kicks like an artillery officer, and led from the back with a voice that carried across any stadium. Brian Clough, never a man to hand out praise for free, said Pearce was the player every manager in the country wanted in the trenches. He played top flight football into his forties, then stepped straight into coaching with England Under 21s and Manchester City.
These days Pearce is a regular television pundit, a punk rock enthusiast with better taste in music than most, and a speaker whose passion for the English game has not dimmed. Events featuring Pearce sell out quickly, and for good reason.
Two decades of world class speakers in the basement at EC3. Want to book Stuart Pearce or someone like them? Tell us what you need and we will come back with a plan.
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