Against the odds, Roy Hodgson guided Fulham to the final of the 2010 Europa League. Italian giants Juventus and holders Shaktar Donetsk were just two of the teams Fulham beat during a memorable campaign.
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As a player, Hodgson was on the books at Crystal Palace but never made a first team appearance. Hodgson started to make a name for himself when he moved into management. The early part of his career was in Sweden with Halmstads, Orebro and Malmo where he won the Swedish league against the odds with Halmstads in 1976 and 1979.
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From there, Hodgson moved to Switzerland with Neuchatel Xamax before taking over the Swiss national team who he guided to the 1994 World Cup Finals and the 1996 Euro Finals. For the next 2 season, Hodgson was the manager of the Italian giants Internazionale. In his final season as manager of Inter, they reached the 1997 UEFA Cup final before he headed to Blackburn Rovers. The move didn’t work out and he was sacked after 18 months.
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For the next few years, Hodgson held a number of managerial positions but never really settled anywhere for long and in 2005, he took over the Finnish national team and took them tantalisingly close to the Euro 2008 finals.
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At the end of 2007, Fulham offer Hodgson the managers job as at the time, they were struggling in the Premier League and needed a change of direction. Hodgson worked his magic as Fulham stayed up and the following season qualified for the UEFA Europa League by finishing 7th.
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Fulham’s first season in Europe has been nothing short of spectacular. Fulham have met some tough opposition including Juventus and the German champions. Now all that stands in their way of glory is Athletico Madrid.
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But what next for Roy Hodgson? Bigger clubs will have been altered to his influence on Fulham. The England job has been mentioned but at present, Fabio Capello is doing an excellent job and will be in charge for some time. Perhaps it is a bit more realistic to think that Hodgson could well take over the English national team after the Euro 2012 finals.
