Sue Lopez
MBE
Personal information
Date of birth (1945-09-01) 1 September 1945
Place of birth Southampton, England
Position(s) Left winger / Forward
Youth career
Royex
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1966–1971 Southampton W.F.C.
1971 CF Roma
1971–1985 Southampton W.F.C.
International career
1969–1979 England 22 (6)
Managerial career
1995–1996 Wales
2003–2005 Southampton Saints
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11:26, 18 February 2012 (UTC)

Susan Melody Lopez MBE (born 1 September 1945)[1] is an English former international footballer. She spent her entire club career with Southampton, except for a season in Italy's Serie A with CF Roma in 1971. A leading advocate of the women's game in England, Lopez has also worked as a coach, administrator and writer since her retirement from playing.

Playing career

At the age of 21, in 1966, Lopez made her debut for Southampton WFC. She was a regular in the side for almost twenty years until her retirement from playing in 1985. It was in the 1970s, when women's football was in its infancy, that Lopez and her Southampton dominated the Women's FA Cup.

Southampton, with Lopez's efforts, won the cup eight times between 1971 and 1983, appearing in eleven consecutive finals in that period. Lopez also won 22 caps as an England international, between 1973 and 1979.

She was allotted 18 when the FA announced their legacy numbers scheme to honour the 50th anniversary of England’s inaugural international.[2][3]

Coaching

On retirement, in 1986, Lopez used her experience and knowledge of the game to coach women's football. This led to Lopez gaining the FA Advance Licence in 1991. In 1996 she gained the UEFA 'A' Licence conversion. Lopez was part-time manager of the Welsh national women's team in 1995–96. From then, until 2000 Lopez served as the Hampshire Football Association's Coaching and Development Officer.

Lopez was appointed director of women's football at Southampton FC in 2001. She took over managing the Southampton Saints first team as part of the role in 2003.[4] In 2005 the Southampton male club were relegated and scrapped their women's setup to save money, making Lopez redundant in the process.[5]

Honours

Club

Southampton W.F.C.

National team

England
Individual

Recognition

Lopez was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to women's football in the 2000 Birthday Honours.[9]

In 2001, she became The Sunday Times Sportswomen of the Year Coach of the Year. In 2004 Lopez was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame. She remains dedicated to improving the profile of the women' game in England.

Publications

In 1997, Lopez published Women on the Ball, a women's football handbook tracing the history and development of the game in England and abroad.

References

  1. ↑ Sappino, Marco (2000). Dizionario Del Calcio Italiano (in Italian). Baldini&Castoldi. p. 680. ISBN 978-88-8089-862-7. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  2. ↑ "England squad named for World Cup". The Football Association. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  3. ↑ Lacey-Hatton, Jack (18 November 2022). "Lionesses introduce 'legacy numbers' for players past and present". mirror. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  4. ↑ "Saints Alive And Kicking Once Again!". Women's Soccer Scene. 8 August 2003. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  5. ↑ Leighton, Tony (8 May 2006). "Jilted Saints are spared the drop". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 31 December 2010.
  6. ↑ World cup 1970
  7. ↑ World cup 1971
  8. ↑ Top Scorer 1969
  9. ↑ United Kingdom: "No. 55879". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 19 June 2000. p. 19.

Further reading

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