page_title: Alan Hansen
section_title: Media career
hierarchical_section_title: Alan Hansen / Media career
caption_attribution_description: World's most boring man presenting the awards
context_page_description: Alan David Hansen is a Scottish former football player and BBC television football pundit. He played as a central defender for Partick Thistle, for the successful Liverpool team of the late '70s and '80s, and for Scotland. As a football pundit, Hansen is known for his outspoken views, particularly on teams' defensive performances, frequently criticising what he believed was "diabolical" or "shocking" defending. He made his name as a pundit on Match of the Day from 1992 to 2014.
context_section_description: After rejecting the idea of management, when he retired from football in 1991 he planned to take three months off. After his wife pointed out that nobody had contacted them during his rest period, he started calling the networks. Sky Television employed Hansen as a pundit and summariser almost as soon as he ceased playing, and soon he had established enough of a reputation as a considered observer and thinker within the game for the BBC to approach him. He began working for BBC Radio 5 Live, before moving on to Match of the Day. Hansen was employed for 22 years as the main pundit for the BBC's football coverage (rights to show matches or highlights permitting) and was known as a calm, authoritative, and rational analyst of the game who is particularly keen on highlighting the triumphs and "shocking", "poor" or "diabolical" mistakes of defenders and commenting on "mediocre" performances. He is a columnist for the Daily Telegraph, Telegraph.co.uk and the BBC website on football issues and has also worked as a motivational speaker.
  Hansen is known for coining the phrase "you can't win anything with kids", having made the remark following Manchester United's 3–1 defeat to Aston Villa on the opening day of the 1995–96 FA Premier League season. After selling three high-profile players (Paul Ince, Mark Hughes, and Andrei Kanchelskis) in the summer of 1995, United had introduced youth team players Paul Scholes, David Beckham, Nicky Butt and Gary Neville into the first team. United proved Hansen wrong by winning a league and cup double that season. Hansen still continues to this day to repeat these facts, for humorous effect. He later said that the phrase "made him" as a pundit, as people would shout it at him in public places.
  Commentating on the Argentina–Romania match in the 1994 FIFA World Cup, Hansen said that "the Argentine defender warrants shooting for a mistake like that". The previous day, Colombian defender Andrés Escobar had been shot dead, a killing widely attributed to punishment for an own goal Escobar scored in Colombia's 2–1 loss to the United States earlier in the same tournament. The BBC issued a public apology for Hansen's poor choice of words.
  During an appearance on Match of the Day on 21 December 2011, while discussing the prominence of racism in English football following allegations against Premier League players Luis Suárez and John Terry, Hansen caused controversy after twice using the word "coloured" in reference to black footballers. The BBC received 82 complaints by the following morning while some, including Shamrock Rovers player Rohan Ricketts, criticised Hansen's choice of words on social network Twitter. Ricketts tweeted: "He is part of the problem when using that word. We are BLACK Alan!". Others defended his use of words. Daily Telegraph blogger and commentator Toby Young wrote: "In his defence, Hansen could cite the fact that America's foremost civil rights group is the NAACP which stands for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. If it's acceptable for the NAACP to use the word "coloured", why isn't it acceptable for him?" Hansen issued an apology the following day, saying "'I unreservedly apologise for any offence caused – this was never my intention and I deeply regret the use of the word."
  In May 2013, it was reported that Hansen's BBC contract was due to expire after the 2014 FIFA World Cup. On 5 September 2013, Hansen announced he would retire as a Match of the Day pundit following the 2014 World Cup. His last appearance on Match of the Day during the 2013–14 season came on 11 May 2014.
caption: Alan Hansen presenting an award in 2006
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