| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1963-07-22)22 July 1963 (age 62) | ||
| Place of birth | Thorne, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 0 in (1.52 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Sweeper,midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1976–1982 | Doncaster Rovers Belles | ||
| 1982–1986 | Rowntree W.F.C. | ||
| 1986–2001 | Doncaster Rovers Belles | ||
| International career‡ | |||
| 1981–2000 | England | 125 | (19) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 13 October 2010 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 13 October 2010 | |||
Gillian CoultardMBE (born 22 July 1963) is an English formerfootball player, and former England captain. She is one ofEngland Women's mostcapped internationals, with 125 appearances, and was the highest capped outfield England international for a number of years. At one stage she was one of only five footballers (Bobby Moore,Billy Wright,Bobby Charlton andPeter Shilton were the others) to have reached over 100caps for England, and she was the first woman and amateur player to have done so.
At club level, Coultard won two National League titles and sixFA Women's Cup finals during 24 years withDoncaster Belles.[1] Joining as a 13-year-old schoolgirl, she eventually made over 300 appearances and became a key player in the side.[2] She retired from club football at the end of the 2000–01 season, making an emotional farewell appearance for the Belles againstCharlton Athletic in May 2001.[3]
Coultard fitted in four training sessions and a match every week,[4] despite her full–time job on the production line at aPioneer factory inCastleford.[5] She used her annual leave from work to play for England and rejected several offers to join semi-professional clubs inBelgium,Italy,Sweden[4] andFinland.[5]
Coultard, amidfielder initially, though moving back tosweeper towards the end of her career, made her international debut in a 3–1 win over theRepublic of Ireland in 1981, at the age of 18.[6] She went on to score 19 goals at international level including a pair in England's first everWorld Cup finals match, a 3–2 win overCanada inSweden, in 1995.[7] England were knocked out at the quarter-final stage by eventualtournament runners-up,Germany.[8] Coultard had also been part of the England squad which finished runners-up toSweden in thefirst UEFA final in 1984, losing the final onpenalties.[9] Coultard was appointed England captain in 1991 when the previous captainDebbie Bampton was injured. Bampton was restored as captain in 1995,[10] but Coultard regained the captaincy in 1997 when Bampton retired from international football.
Coultard won her 100th England cap in a 4–0 win overScotland atAlmondvale Stadium in August 1997.[11] That October, before a1999 World Cup qualifier againstHolland atUpton Park, she was presented with a silver cap bySir Geoff Hurst in recognition of the achievement.[12]
In the early stages of England's successful2001 UEFA Women's Championship qualification campaign Coultard remained captain of the side.[9] Coultard's 125th and final cap came in a 1–0 win overSwitzerland in May 2000.[6] She was later a non-playing member of the England side which suffered their record defeat – an 8–0 loss away toNorway in June 2000.[13] In October 2000, 37-year-old Coultard announced her international retirement in order to concentrate on a coaching role in the National Women's Football Academy inDurham.[1]
She was allotted 56 when the FA announced their legacy numbers scheme to honour the 50th anniversary of England’s inaugural international.[14][15]
"Gillian was a genuinely world class player."
In May 2005 Coultard was diagnosed with breast cancer, which was successfully treated with surgery,chemotherapy andradium therapy.[17] On 19 October 2006, she was inducted into theEnglish Football Hall of Fame.[16] Coultard managed the new Hartlepool United Ladies team in 2008–09.[2] In 2009, she was offered a role as coach of theEstonia women's national football team, but turned down the offer for personal reasons.[18] After her footballing career, she has served as a warehouse operative atTeva Pharmaceuticals.[19]
Coultard was appointedMember of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the2021 New Year Honours for services to football.[20]
Doncaster Rovers Belles
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