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Leslie Ferdinand
MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...
(born 8 December 1966) is an English football coach, former professional
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
and television pundit, who is currently the director of football at
Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...
. A striker, his playing career included notable spells in the
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
with
Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...
,
Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...
,
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
,
West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
,
Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
and
Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...
. He also played in
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
with
Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul, Turkey, located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and Şişli, on the west by Kağıthane and Şişli, on the south by Beyoğlu, and ...
and 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 ...
with
Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...
,
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
and
Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...
. Prior to becoming a professional player, Ferdinand had played non-league football with both
Southall Southall () is a large suburban county of West London, England, part of the London Borough of Ealing and is one of its seven major towns. It is situated west of Charing Cross and had a population of 69,857 as of 2011. It is generally divided ...
and
Hayes Hayes may refer to: * Hayes (surname), including a list of people with the name ** Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th president of the United States * Hayes (given name) Businesses * Hayes Brake, an American designer and manufacturer of disc brakes * Ha ...
. He was capped and 17
caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...
for
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and was part of the
Euro 96 The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...
and
World Cup 98 The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the football world championship for men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for the ...
squads. He is the eleventh-highest scorer in the history of the
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
, with 149 goals and he contributed a further 49 assists in the division. Since his retirement, Ferdinand has largely worked as a television pundit, but re-joined Tottenham Hotspur as strikers coach in 2008, he remained with Spurs until 2014 before returning to QPR as director of football. In 2015 he was named as caretaker manager for a short period.


Early and personal life

Ferdinand was born in
Acton Acton may refer to: Places Antarctica * Mount Acton Australia * Acton, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Acton, Tasmania, a suburb of Burnie * Acton Park, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania, formerly known as Acton Canada ...
, Greater London. He is the cousin of football-playing brothers
Rio Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...
and
Anton Ferdinand Anton Julian Ferdinand (born 18 February 1985) is an English former footballer who most recently played for St Mirren as a centre back. He was a product of the West Ham United academy and has also played for their senior team, Queens Park Ran ...
and
Maidenhead United Maidenhead United Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Maidenhead, Berkshire, England. They are currently members of and have played at York Road since 1871, making it the 'oldest senior football ground continuously ...
player
Kane Ferdinand Kane Ryan Ferdinand (born 7 October 1992) is a professional Association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for National League (division), National League club Maidenhead United F.C., Maidenhead United. Ferdinand has previously playe ...
. His autobiography, ''Sir Les'', was published in 1997. He was made an
MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...
in the
2005 Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours 2005 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 11 June 2005 to celebrate the Queen's Birthday of 2005. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and arranged first by the coun ...
. In an interview with the ''
Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...
'' in February 2020, Ferdinand stated that fans racially abused him during his stints as a player and director of football.


Club career


Early career

Ferdinand started his career in non-league football, first at Viking Sports before moving to
Southall Southall () is a large suburban county of West London, England, part of the London Borough of Ealing and is one of its seven major towns. It is situated west of Charing Cross and had a population of 69,857 as of 2011. It is generally divided ...
. He made his league debut for Southall in August 1984 against Chertsey Town, and was part of the team which reached the FA Vase final in 1986, losing 3–0 to
Halesowen Town Halesowen Town Football Club is a football club based in Halesowen, West Midlands, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Grove Recreation Ground. History The club was believed to have been established around 1873, but rece ...
. Following this, Ferdinand moved to
Hayes Hayes may refer to: * Hayes (surname), including a list of people with the name ** Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th president of the United States * Hayes (given name) Businesses * Hayes Brake, an American designer and manufacturer of disc brakes * Ha ...
, where he scored 20 goals in 42 appearances in all competitions (including friendlies). He was spotted by
Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...
and moved there for £50,000.


Queens Park Rangers

Ferdinand made his QPR debut on 20 April 1987, aged 20, as a substitute in the 4–0 league defeat by
Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...
at
Highfield Road Highfield Road was a football stadium in the city of Coventry, England. It was the home ground for Coventry City F.C. for 106 years. History It was built in 1899 in the Hillfields district, close to the city centre, and staged its final game o ...
– the first of two league appearances that season. He played a further league game in 1987–88, and was loaned for three games to
Third Division In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...
Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...
. In 1988, he was loaned to Turkish side
Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul, Turkey, located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and Şişli, on the west by Kağıthane and Şişli, on the south by Beyoğlu, and ...
for a season, and performed well with 14 goals in 24 league games and he also got his first taste of silverware, helping the club to a 3–1 aggregate victory over Fenerbahçe S.K. in the
Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup ( Turkish: ''Türkiye Kupası'') is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupası ...
. He returned to the QPR side for the 1989–90 season, and appeared in nine First Division matches as well as scoring his first two English league goals. He fared better in 1990–91, playing in 18 league games and scoring eight goals as QPR ended up in a mid-table position. His 10 goals from 23 games in 1991–92 helped ensure QPR's status as founder members of the new
FA Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
for the 1992–93 season, and it was during this campaign that he established himself as a top striker, scoring 20 goals in 37 games as QPR finished fifth — the highest placed of all the
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
sides. In his autobiography, ''Sir Les'', Ferdinand wrote of his pride at scoring a hat-trick in a 5–3 win against Everton at
Goodison Park Goodison Park is a football stadium in the Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area 2 miles (3 km) north of Liverpool ...
in April 1993, a place where he had previously received racist abuse: Ferdinand's fine form continued into 1993–94, during which his 16 goals from 36 games helped QPR finish ninth. Despite mounting speculation of a move to either
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
or
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
, he signed a two-year contract with QPR that summer. In 1994–95, he scored 24 times in the Premier League and speculation grew that he would soon be on his way to a bigger club. In nearly a decade at
Loftus Road Loftus Road is a football stadium in White City, London, England, which is home to Queens Park Rangers. In 1981, it became the first stadium in British professional football to have an artificial pitch of Omniturf installed. This remained in ...
, he played under four different managers – Jim Smith,
Trevor Francis Trevor John Francis (born 19 April 1954) is an English former footballer who played as a forward for a number of clubs in England, the United States, Italy, Scotland and Australia. In 1979 he became Britain's first £1 million player follo ...
,
Don Howe Donald Howe (12 October 1935 – 23 December 2015) was an English football player, coach, manager and pundit. As a right back Howe featured for clubs West Bromwich Albion and Arsenal together with the England national football team in his play ...
and
Gerry Francis Gerald Charles James Francis (born 6 December 1951) is an English former footballer and manager. Playing career Francis made his first team debut for Queens Park Rangers against Liverpool in March 1969. He was captain and central midfield play ...
.


Newcastle United

Ferdinand was sold to
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
in 1995 for £6 million, with Hayes receiving £600,000 due to a sell-on clause agreed following his move to QPR. With the money received,
Hayes Hayes may refer to: * Hayes (surname), including a list of people with the name ** Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th president of the United States * Hayes (given name) Businesses * Hayes Brake, an American designer and manufacturer of disc brakes * Ha ...
built a function suite and named it "The Ferdinand Suite" in his honour. His arrival at the club came nearly three years after the Magpies had offered QPR £3.3million for him during their Division One promotion season — but the offer had been turned down. The spell on
Tyneside Tyneside is a built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne in northern England. Residents of the area are commonly referred to as Geordies. The whole area is surrounded by the North East Green Belt. The population of Tyneside as published i ...
was arguably Ferdinand's most successful club tenure. He scored 29 goals in his first season with Newcastle, and significantly contributed to the side's getting within touching distance of the Premiership title in the 1995–96 season. Newcastle led the league by 12 points at one stage, but were overhauled by Manchester United in the final three months of the season. In both of his seasons on Tyneside, Ferdinand collected runners-up medals in the
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
. In the second season, they contested a four-horse race with
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
,
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
and
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
before Manchester United won the title. Midway through the 1996–97 season, however, came a change, as manager
Kevin Keegan Joseph Kevin Keegan (born 14 February 1951) is an English former footballer and manager. A forward, he played for several professional clubs from 1968 to 1984. Having begun his career at Scunthorpe United, he moved to Liverpool in 1971 and ...
surprisingly departed Newcastle and was replaced by
Kenny Dalglish Sir Kenneth Mathieson Dalglish (born 4 March 1951) is a Scottish former association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. During his career, he made 338 appearances for Celtic F.C., Celtic and 515 for Liverpoo ...
. Despite the Scot being regretful to lose such a talented striker, it quickly became apparent Ferdinand would be dispensed to free up funds for further signings. In an interview with
Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...
in 2019, Ferdinand admitted that he regretted leaving Newcastle and had hoped at the time to stay on Tyneside for the rest of his career. Ferdinand scored 50 goals in only 84 games at Newcastle, forming a successful strike partnership with
Alan Shearer Alan Shearer CBE DL (born 13 August 1970) is an English football pundit and retired football player and manager who played as a striker. Widely regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation and one of the greatest players in Premie ...
. He was very highly thought of by the Newcastle United supporters during his spell with the club and is known affectionately as 'Sir Les' on Tyneside. Ferdinand received a standing ovation when he returned to
St James' Park St James' Park is a football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Premier League club Newcastle United F.C. With a seating capacity of 52,305 seats, it is the eighth largest football stadium in England. St James' Park ...
as a Tottenham player, trying to put Shearer's number 9 shirt on to complete a lap of honour, he broke down in tears and could only manage to put the shirt on inside out and back to front before being helped from the field. Ferdinand returned again, when he also received a standing ovation, coming on as a substitute at Alan Shearer's
testimonial In promotion and advertising, a testimonial or show consists of a person's written or spoken statement extolling the virtue of a product. The term "testimonial" most commonly applies to the sales-pitches attributed to ordinary citizens, where ...
and subsequently scored. He was inducted into the Newcastle United Foundation Hall of Fame on 7 November 2017.


Tottenham Hotspur

In 1997 Ferdinand was bought by
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
, the club he supported as a boy, for £6 million. Injuries heavily disrupted his first season at the club, but towards the end of the campaign he formed a good partnership with
Jürgen Klinsmann Jürgen Klinsmann (, born 30 July 1964) is a German professional football manager and former player. Klinsmann played for several prominent clubs in Europe including VfB Stuttgart, Inter Milan, Monaco, Tottenham Hotspur, and Bayern Munich. He ...
, and the pair's goals saved Spurs from relegation from the Premiership. Ferdinand helped Spurs win the League Cup in 1999, defeating
Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
1–0 in the final at
Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...
, but injuries restricted him to just 12 goals in his first three seasons at the club. He improved his goal-scoring return over the next two seasons, contributing 10 goals in the 2000–01 season and a further 15 during the 2001–02 campaign. Ferdinand scored the 10,000th goal in Premiership history on 15 December 2001 in a 4–0 win against
Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...
. He played in a second League Cup final for the club against
Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...
in
2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
, but was thwarted by three saves by Rovers' goalkeeper
Brad Friedel Bradley Howard Friedel (born May 18, 1971) is an American professional soccer coach and former player who played as a goalkeeper. Friedel played 84 games for the United States national team between 1992 and 2005, and represented his country at ...
as Spurs lost 2–1.


Later career

After struggling to find a place in Spurs' first team season following
Glenn Hoddle Glenn Hoddle (born 27 October 1957) is an English former football player and manager. He currently works as a television pundit and commentator for ITV Sport and BT Sport. He played as a midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur, Monaco, Chelsea and Swi ...
's purchase of
Robbie Keane Robert David Keane (born 8 July 1980) is an Irish professional Association football, football coach and former Football player, player who played as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker. Keane served as Captain (association football ...
from
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
, he moved to
West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
on 21 January 2003 for an undisclosed fee. He scored his first goal for the club against former club Tottenham, but was unable to prevent the club's relegation from the
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
and opted to remain in the top flight by signing for newly promoted
Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
on a free transfer. While at Leicester Ferdinand scored 14 Premiership goals, despite being 37 years old. After the Foxes were relegated at the end of that season, he rejected a new contract and joined
Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...
. Ferdinand memorably scored for
Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...
against rivals Manchester United in the last minute, despite playing from a centre back position, which looked to have given the Wanderers the win, but a goal from
David Bellion David Bellion (born 27 November 1982) is a French former professional footballer who played as a striker. His previous clubs include Cannes, Sunderland, Manchester United, West Ham United, Nice, Bordeaux and Red Star. Club career Cannes Bellio ...
even deeper in injury time gave United a point. He found opportunities from the start limited, but proved useful for all his experience when coming off the substitutes' bench, and scored against former club Tottenham in the League Cup, with what proved to be a mere consolation goal in a 4–3 thriller which Bolton lost. He left them on 2 January 2005. Four days later, he signed with
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
. His contract at the club lasted until the end of the 2004–05 season. He scored one league goal in his time at Reading, in a 2–1 loss to
Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...
. Ferdinand committed to non-contract terms with
Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...
during the 2005–06, but did not play a competitive game for the club and left after their promotion to the
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
via the
Football League Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the En ...
playoffs. He retired from football a few months short of his 40th birthday.


International career

Ferdinand made his
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
debut in February 1993 against
San Marino San Marino (, ), officially the Republic of San Marino ( it, Repubblica di San Marino; ), also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino ( it, Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino, links=no), is the fifth-smallest country in the world an ...
, scoring the final goal in a 6–0 victory at
Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...
. Ferdinand was capped 17 times, scoring five goals. He was part of the
Euro 96 The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...
and
1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the football world championship for men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for the ...
squads.


Coaching career

On 5 November 2008 Ferdinand joined fellow ex-Tottenham player
Tim Sherwood Timothy Alan Sherwood (born 6 February 1969) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. As a player, he was a midfielder from 1987 until 2005, notably as captain of Blackburn Rovers' Premier League ...
on the coaching staff of Tottenham Hotspur, to work with the strikers. Ferdinand left the club on 19 June 2014. On 4 February 2015, Ferdinand became the director of football at
Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...
.


Career statistics


Honours

Beşiktaş *
Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup ( Turkish: ''Türkiye Kupası'') is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupası ...
: 1988–89 Tottenham Hotspur *
Football League Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...
: 1998–99 Individual *
PFA Players' Player of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Men's Players' Player of the Year (often called the PFA Men's Players' Player of the Year, the Players' Player of the Year, or simply the Player of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is ...
: 1995–96 *
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's English football; the Premie ...
: 1995–96 * North-East FWA Player of the Year: 1996 *Scorer of the 10,000th Premier League goal –
Premier League 10 Seasons Awards The Premier League 10 Seasons Awards were a set of English football awards which marked the first 10 years of competition in the Premier League, the top-level domestic league competition of professional football in England. The awards celebrated ...
(1992–93 – 2001–02) *Leicester City Player of the Year: 2003–04 *Newcastle United Hall of Fame Inductee


References


External links

*
Les Ferdinand info
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferdinand, Les 1966 births Living people Footballers from Acton, London English footballers England B international footballers England international footballers Association football forwards Southall F.C. players Hayes F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Beşiktaş J.K. footballers Newcastle United F.C. players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Leicester City F.C. players Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Reading F.C. players Watford F.C. players English Football League players Premier League players Süper Lig players UEFA Euro 1996 players 1998 FIFA World Cup players English expatriate footballers English expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate footballers in Turkey Queens Park Rangers F.C. directors and chairmen English football managers Queens Park Rangers F.C. managers Tottenham Hotspur F.C. non-playing staff People educated at Phoenix High School, London English autobiographers Members of the Order of the British Empire English people of Saint Lucian descent Black British sportspeople Association football coaches