Eric Black
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 1 October 1963 | ||
| Place of birth | Bellshill, Scotland | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Club information | |||
|
Current team
|
Southampton (assistant manager) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1981–1986 | Aberdeen | 180 | (70) |
| 1986–1991 | Metz | 85 | (26) |
| Total | 265 | (96) | |
| National team | |||
| 1982–1985 | Scotland U21 | 8 | (2) |
| 1987 | Scotland | 2 | (0) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2001–2002 | Motherwell | ||
| 2003–2004 | Coventry City | ||
| 2007 | Birmingham City (caretaker) | ||
| 2011 | Sunderland (caretaker) | ||
| 2012 | Blackburn Rovers (caretaker) | ||
| 2015 | Rotherham United (caretaker) | ||
| 2016 | Aston Villa (caretaker) | ||
| 2016- | Southampton (assistant) | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
|||
Eric Black (born 1 October 1963 in Bellshill, Lanarkshire) is a Scottish professional former footballer who played as a striker for Aberdeen and Metz. Black earned two international caps for the Scotland national team. He is currently working as an assistant manager under Southampton manager Claude Puel.
Black was involved in possibly the best era ever for Aberdeen who, under the management of Sir Alex Ferguson, won the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1983 with a 2–1 win over Real Madrid in which the then 19-year-old Black scored the first goal. Black's main asset was his balletic heading ability and scoring goals. In February 1983, Black scored a hat-trick in a 3–1 win against Celtic. He made 180 league appearances (30 as substitute) and scored 70 goals for Aberdeen between 1981 and 1986.
That same year, Black joined Metz in France. After five seasons (1986–1991) with Metz, during which he won the 1988 French Cup and had two children, Black was forced to retire prematurely from the game due to a chronic back problem. Alex Ferguson later admitted that injury problems suffered by Black and other young players he had managed at Aberdeen were due to them playing an excessive number of games at a young age. In all, Black made 85 appearances for Metz, scoring 26 goals.
Black was a coach and assistant manager at Celtic, leaving the club when head coach John Barnes was sacked in February 2000. Black was appointed manager of Motherwell in October 2001. He was appointed Coventry City manager in January 2004, following the resignation of Gary McAllister. Black was sacked by Coventry for "being inconsistent", despite a 5–2 win against Gillingham. This angered many fans who believed that Black had brought an attractive and highly effective style of football back to the club and was merely being moved on for a bigger name (he was succeeded by Peter Reid, who proved to be a major disappointment).
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