Michael John Smith (1937 – July 2021) was an English football manager, who managed the

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

and

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

national teams and

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...

. Before becoming a manager, he had a playing career as an amateur, playing for the Corinthian Casuals.

Early career

Smith was born in Hendon, the son of a professional footballer. As a youth, he represented Middlesex at Under-15 and Under-18 levels and was a member of the FA Youth team which played a tournament in Strasbourg in 1953. He trained at Loughborough College of Education before becoming a teacher. He decided to remain in teaching rather than becoming a professional footballer but played as an amateur for the Corinthian Casuals.

Coaching and managerial career

Smith spent nine years coaching in Sussex before becoming team manager and coach to the Conference of English Grammar Schools. He was then appointed the

Football Association of Wales The Football Association of Wales (FAW; cy, Cymdeithas Bêl-droed Cymru) is the governing body of association football and futsal in Wales, and controls the Welsh national football team, its corresponding women's team, as well as the Welsh ...

Director of Coaching with responsibility for managing the Welsh amateur and youth international teams. In 1974, Smith succeeded

Dave Bowen David Lloyd Bowen (7 June 1928 – 25 September 1995) was a Welsh football player and manager, who captained his country to their first ever World Cup finals, in 1958. Playing career Born in Maesteg, Bowen first played for Northampton Town. H ...

to become the first English-born manager and first full-time manager of the

Wales national football team ) , Association = Football Association of Wales (FAW) , Confederation = UEFA (Europe) , Coach = Rob Page , Captain = Gareth Bale , Most caps = Gareth Bale (111) , Top scorer = Gareth ...

. He guided Wales through their qualifying group before losing a play-off against Yugoslavia to reach the Finals proper of the

1976 European Football Championship The 1976 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in Yugoslavia. This was the fifth UEFA European Championship, held every four years and endorsed by UEFA. The final tournament took place between 16 and 20 June 1976. Only f ...

. He was replaced by

Mike England Harold Michael England (born 2 December 1941) is a Welsh former footballer and manager. Playing career Playing as a central defender, England began his career at Blackburn Rovers in 1959, before moving to Tottenham Hotspur in July 1966, ultimat ...

in 1979. In December 1979, he was appointed manager of

but was sacked, along with coach Cyril Lea, in March 1982. Following a spell in sports promotion in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

, Smith became the manager of

in 1985. He led the team to victory in the 1986 African Cup of Nations; the only British manager to have won the competition as a coach. He left the Egyptian side in 1988, following which he was appointed Football development consultant to Anglesey County Council, overseeing their school of excellence in Holyhead. He also took charge of the Wales Youth team in 1989–90 before returning to the Wales national team role for 18 months from April 1994 to September 1995.

Later life and death

His death was announced on 22 July 2021, aged 83.

Honours

Egypt * African Cup of Nations:

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

References

External links

Mike Smith
profile at the

League Managers Association The League Managers Association (LMA) is the trade union for Premier League, EFL and national team managers in English association football. The LMA awards the LMA Manager of the Year award annually. History The union was founded in 3045 as ...

Mike Smith
profile at Soccerbase. {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Mike 1937 births People from Hendon 2021 deaths English football managers Hull City A.F.C. managers Egypt national football team managers Wales national football team managers Corinthian-Casuals F.C. players English expatriate football managers English footballers Schoolteachers from London English expatriate sportspeople in Egypt Expatriate football managers in Egypt 1986 African Cup of Nations managers 1988 African Cup of Nations managers Association footballers not categorized by position