MEET GORDON HILL

Gordon Hill is well known to soccer fans as ‘Merlin’ because of his jaw-dropping goal-scoring abilities. He cast a spell on fans at Old Trafford scoring 39 goals in 101 appearances for Manchester United between 1975 and 1978. He also represented England’s senior national team six times, playing for the Three Lions at every level including amateur, youth and U-23. Hill played for a total of 14 clubs during his 18-year professional career that also included his days in the old North American Soccer League with the Chicago Sting and the Montreal Manic where he was one of the league’s premier strikers. After his playing days, Hill coached at the professional level with England’s Chester City in 2001 and also with the Nova Scotia Clippers of the Canadian Soccer League. He currently operates The Gordon Hill International Football Academy and is involved in clinics and camps across the United States. Hill recently chronicled an incredible career in his self-titled book Merlin but remains a humble student of the game. “I’m not a legend, I did what I did, I played the game the way I thought it should be played and loved it,” Hill said. “I’m now looking to the next generations and want to give them the skills and equipment to succeed.”