It is often said that one should not revisit the past. However, in the case of seasoned football manager Roy Hodgson, this is not entirely true… especially after a gap of nearly 50 years, as it was announced on Friday that he would be returning to manage Bristol City, a team he last led 44 years ago.
Hodgson’s managerial career has included numerous coaching positions—21 head coach roles over a span of 50 years, featuring tenures at clubs such as Inter Milan, Liverpool, and the England national team. His most recent role was with Premier League club Crystal Palace, which concluded in February 2024. It seemed that his coaching days were behind him. In a previous interview with Sky Sports, he remarked: “I don’t want to be Frank Sinatra and keep retiring.”
Then came the announcement on Friday: Hodgson, now 78 years old, will step back onto the touchline to oversee Bristol City’s last seven matches of the 2025-26 English Football Championship season. The setting may seem somewhat familiar, as Bristol City was the second club he managed in his career.
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His initial experience at Bristol City was not particularly successful. After a four-year period at Swedish club Halmstad, where he secured two unexpected league titles, Hodgson joined Bristol City in 1980 as Bob Houghton’s assistant before taking over as caretaker manager in January 1982. His tenure lasted only 21 matches. At that time, Bristol City was facing financial difficulties, and Hodgson’s role was primarily to help the club complete the season.
“Bristol City was nothing short of a disaster,” he stated in a 2012 interview with the BBC. “We had only been there for a matter of weeks before the banks started to pull the rug from underneath the club.
“My responsibility when I eventually took over as caretaker manager was simply to continue in the wake of all the players leaving the club and to fulfill the fixtures.”
Statistically, Hodgson’s return in 2026 is remarkable. Since his departure in April 1982, Bristol City has undergone 24 managerial changes. The most striking statistic is the duration between his tenures: with 44 years separating coaching spells, Hodgson stands alone in this regard. There is no comparable instance in any sport.
Other significant gaps in soccer
Vanderlei Luxemburgo (Vasco de Gama), 37 years: The closest anyone comes to Hodgson’s new record is Brazilian manager Vanderlei Luxemburgo. Over his 40-year managerial career, he has led more than 30 teams, including Real Madrid (2004-05) and the Brazil national team (1998-00). His return to Brazilian club Vasco de Gama in 2019 marked a long-awaited comeback after having coached there 37 years earlier in 1982. However, this does not fully count, as he was an assistant manager during his first term.
As if one return wasn’t sufficient, he went back again as manager in 2020.
Ronnie McFall (Glentoran), 34 years: The closest parallel in football is the story of Ronnie McFall. Glentoran has secured 23 Northern Irish league titles throughout its history, one of which came under McFall in 1981. He had a five-year tenure at the Belfast club from 1979 to 1984, before returning in 2018.
Hodgson will hope this is not a bad omen, as McFall resigned just shy of a year later amid the club’s worst run of form in over a century.
Does anyone in a major U.S. men’s sport come close?
MLB: Tony La Russa (Chicago White Sox), 35 years — Tony LaRussa’s initial managerial role in Major League Baseball was with the Chicago White Sox from 1979 to 1986. At 34, he was the youngest manager in the league, yet he still won Manager of the Year in 1983 after the White Sox clinched the American League West. He returned 35 years and three World Series championships later to manage the team from 2021 to 2022, becoming the oldest manager in the league.
NBA: Rick Carlisle (Indiana Pacers), 14 years — Rick Carlisle’s two terms as head coach of the Indiana Pacers represent the NBA’s largest gap, although it is not particularly notable. He had previously been an assistant coach in Indiana before his first head coaching role there, which lasted from 2003 to 2007, before he returned in 2021. He has yet to lead the Pacers to the NBA Finals, but he will have the opportunity to do so after signing a multi-year extension for the upcoming season.
NFL: Jon Gruden (Oakland Raiders), 17 years — Jon Gruden guided the Raiders to consecutive playoff appearances during his first tenure from 1998 to 2001 before being traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for multiple first-round draft picks, leading Tampa to win the Super Bowl the following year against his former team. He returned in 2018 for another four years with the Raiders, during which time the team relocated from Oakland to Las Vegas, but did not reach the playoffs.
