New challenge for EURO record holder Healy
Friday, October 16, 2015
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A record setter with his 13 goals in a single UEFA European Championship qualifying campaign, former Northern Ireland striker David Healy is the new coach of Linfield.
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Poland's Robert Lewandowski last week matched David Healy's record of 13 goals in a single UEFA European Championship qualifying campaign, but the former Northern Ireland striker now has bigger things to worry about after taking his first coaching job.
Healy – who scored 36 goals in 95 Northern Ireland appearances – agreed a two-and-half-year deal with Belfast outfit Linfield on Wednesday evening, and said: "To be manager of a team I came and watched when I was a young boy with my dad is an honour and a privilege.
"To say I'm excited is an understatement," added the one-time Manchester United trainee, who spent the bulk of his career in the lower leagues in England. "I am passionate about this club and I can't wait to get started. I'm grateful to the club for showing a lot of faith in me and I'll be working 24/7 to improve the team."
The appoinment means Healy will be spending his working days at Windsor Park, Linfield's home also the scene of some of his biggest achievements with Northern Ireland. He scored the only goal in a celebrated 1-0 win against England at the venue and then registered a hat-trick in a 3-2 triumph over Spain in UEFA EURO 2008 qualifying.
It was in that campaign that Healy scored his record 13 goals, his achievement earning him a special award from UEFA President Michel Platini.
"Windsor Park is a famous ground and very special to me," said Healy. "To English players, Wembley is magnificent, but for me Windsor is my Wembley. To come back here as a manager and oversee what has already been put in place fills me with real enthusiasm."
Eleven games into the 2015/16 Northern Irish Premiership, Linfield lie second, level on points with Crusaders. Healy said: "Sometimes when a new manager comes in, there is doom and gloom and the team is maybe struggling for results and form, but this is a completely different scenario. I'm coming in to manage a team that's second in the league on goal difference."