Barry Hughes (31 December 1937 – 2 June 2019) was a Welsh professional

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 c ...

player and manager, active primarily in the Netherlands. He played as a defender.

Early and personal life

Hughes was born in

Caernarfon Caernarfon (; ) is a royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the eastern shore of the Menai Strait, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is ...

. He attended Glyndwr Secondary Modern school. In 1965 he married Elles Berger, a Dutch TV personality. The couple had three daughters and six grandchildren.

Playing career

Hughes began his career with the youth team of English team

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

, but left after six years, without making a first-team appearance in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

. He played in the Netherlands for Blauw-Wit, from 1960 to 1963, and for Alkmaar'54 from 1963 to 1965. He was captain of Alkmaar.

Coaching career

After retiring as a player, Hughes began his coaching career in 1965 with Alkmaar'54. He later managed a variety of Dutch club sides including

HFC Haarlem HFC Haarlem was a Dutch football club from the city of Haarlem, established in 1889 and dissolved in 2010. The club won the Eredivisie in 1946 and reached five Cup finals, winning in 1902 and 1912. Haarlem reached the second round of the 1982 ...

Go Ahead Eagles Go Ahead Eagles () are a Dutch professional football club from the city of Deventer. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, having achieved promotion from the second tier Eerste Divisie in the 2020-21 season. The club's h ...

Sparta Rotterdam Sparta Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club based in Rotterdam. Established on 1 April 1888, Sparta Rotterdam is the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands. Sparta currently compete in the Eredivisie, the top flight ...

FC Utrecht Football Club Utrecht () is a Dutch professional football club based in Utrecht. The club competes in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, and plays its home matches at the Stadion Galgenwaard. The club was formed in 1970 as a merge ...

MVV Maatschappelijke Voetbal Vereniging Maastricht (), commonly known as MVV Maastricht (, ) or simply as MVV, is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Maastricht. Founded on 2 April 1902, MVV Maastricht currently compete in the Eers ...

and

FC Volendam Football Club Volendam () is a professional Association football, football club based in Volendam, Netherlands. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football league system, Dutch football from the 2022–23 season following promotion ...

. While managing Haarlem in 1978, Hughes signed young player

Ruud Gullit Ruud Gullit (; born Rudi Dil; 1 September 1962) is a Dutch footballer and subsequent manager who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s as a defender, midfielder or forward. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all t ...

to his first ever professional football contract. He also managed Belgian club

Beerschot Koninklijke Beerschot Voetbalclub Antwerpen, or simply Beerschot, is a Belgian professional football club located in Antwerp, that competes in the second-tier First Division B after relegating from the top tier in the 2021–22 season. In 201 ...

Music career

Hughes released a 7" music single in 1978 called "''Voetbal is Koning''" (Football is king). In 1981, he released another single together with "''De Kwaffeurs''". The song is called "''Ik wil op mijn kop een kamerbreed tapijt''" ("I want on my head a wall to wall carpet"), a carnival song referencing his baldness. It was in the Dutch top 40 for eight weeks, where it reached place 7 between week 7 and 8 in 1981.

Death

Hughes died in Amsterdam on 2 June 2019, aged 81.

References

1937 births 2019 deaths People from Caernarfon Welsh footballers Association football defenders West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Blauw-Wit Amsterdam players AZ Alkmaar players Welsh football managers AZ Alkmaar managers HFC Haarlem managers Go Ahead Eagles managers Sparta Rotterdam managers FC Utrecht managers MVV Maastricht managers FC Volendam managers Beerschot A.C. managers Welsh male singers Welsh expatriate footballers Welsh expatriate football managers Welsh expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Expatriate football managers in the Netherlands Welsh expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Expatriate football managers in Belgium {{Wales-footy-bio-stub