Former defender for Leicester and Southampton passes away as his football legacy is recognized and celebrated.
Tony Knapp, who was 86 years old, has gone away. With a lengthy playing career and an even longer career as a coach and manager, he did football justice. From 1955 until 1961, he was a member of Leicester, where his football career began. He participated in 86 league games before to joining Southampton.
In August 1961, when he transferred to Southampton, a transfer price of £27,500 was paid, setting a new record. He was selected for England at the time and was in the first 40-man World Cup team in 1962, but he was left off the final roster.
His finest playing years were spent with Southampton, where he played for eight seasons at The Dell under Ted Bates’ direction. He shared the field with Terry Paine of England and Ian White, a former teammate at Leicester.
After his time at Southampton, he returned to the Midlands and joined with Coventry City. However, he left the country after 11 league matches to join Los Angeles Wolves. Later, he moved to Tranmere Rovers and Poole Town, where he played and coached simultaneously at both clubs.
As Ron Saunders’ assistant at Norwich, he gained his first league coaching experience. He was in command of the Icelandic national team from 1974 to 1977. From then, he got involved in Norwegian club football, coaching Viking and Fredrikstad before coming back to lead Iceland once more.
He was immensely successful during his time at Viking, leading the Stavanger club to The Double in 1979. Tony Knapp was one of several British coaches who migrated to Norway to lead clubs, and he was also one of the most successful.
He later made his home in the Jorpeland region of Rogaland, Norway. His final position as a football instructor was with Lillesand IL in 2008.
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