Gary Lineker will bring to an end 26 years as the presenter of Match of the Day in May, and he’s got plenty to be proud of.
Lineker had already been a highly successful England international, winning the World Cup golden boot in 1986, when he switched careers at the end of his playing days.
First working as an understudy to Des Lynam, he replaced the legendary presenter as the host of Match of the Day when Lynam moved to ITV in 1999.
Gary Lineker discusses his career exclusively with FFT
In an exclusive interview with FourFourTwo, Lineker was asked whether he’s most proud of his playing career or his presenting career. His answer might come as a surprise.
“In a way my presenting career, because I think I was born to be in the box, not on the box,” he explains. “Football came naturally to me, though I thought about it a lot as well.
“I really had to battle with television for a long time. When I started, I wasn’t great, but I wasn’t quite awful enough for them to give up on me.
“My first regular gigs were on Football Focus, which I did for three years. For the first year or two, I’d be driving home thinking, ‘I’m never going to be able to do this’.
“There were so many different things to learn. Things like talking while listening, going from a link to a chat, going from a chat to a link and having to ad lib to fill time.
“Eventually it comes naturally – I don’t have to think about it now, because I’ve done it for so bloody long.”
Lineker’s profile as a legendary footballer meant his TV performances were scrutinised from the very beginning.
“I started playing football for school at nine, 10 and 11 – you keep learning and by the time you’re doing it professionally, you’ve done it for 10 years,” he says.
“Normally in television, people start by doing a bit of radio, a bit of reporting, they might go to a local or small satellite channel where nobody sees you learning. I learned on BBC One!
“My first live show on BBC One was highlights of England vs Scotland at Euro 96. Eleven million viewers, that was – 11 million! I was s**tting myself. That was the only time I got nervous, ever.”
