32 Facts About Viv Anderson

Vivian Alexander Anderson was born on 29 July 1956 and is an English former professional footballer who played as a right-back.

Viv Anderson is best known for his ten-year stint with Nottingham Forest, with whom he won the First Division title in 1978, as well as the European Cup in 1979 and 1980.

Viv Anderson had a short-lived managerial career with Barnsley, before joining Middlesbrough as assistant manager to Bryan Robson, where he remained until 2001.

Viv Anderson spent a year as a schoolboy with Manchester United before being released.

Viv Anderson returned to Nottingham where at school he sat and passed three CSEs.

Viv Anderson then worked for three weeks as a silkscreen printer that he described as.

Viv Anderson had broken into the Nottingham Forest team during 1974 and became a regular after the arrival of Brian Clough as manager of the East Midlands club, then in the Second Division, in January 1975.

Viv Anderson was part of the side that won promotion to the First Division in 1977, winning the title, along with the League Cup, a year later.

Viv Anderson was one of the first black players to represent top English clubs at the time, and regularly suffered racial abuse from fans of rival teams.

Viv Anderson was regularly pelted with bananas and targeted with racist chants.

Viv Anderson was part of the Forest team that retained the League Cup and then clinched the European Cup in 1979 with victory over Malmo.

Viv Anderson picked up his second European Cup winners' medal when they retained the trophy with victory over Hamburger SV in Madrid.

Viv Anderson scored a vital goal against rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the second leg of the semi-final.

Viv Anderson scored 15 goals in his three seasons at Highbury, a spell that saw him make 150 appearances for the club.

The 30-year-old Viv Anderson was rewarded with a three-year contract offer from Arsenal at the end of the 1987 season.

Arsenal expected Viv Anderson to agree to the new deal but he instead signed with Manchester United, the same club who had released him as a teenager.

At Old Trafford, Viv Anderson was a significant part of Ferguson's rebuilding plans as he attempted to create a title-winning side to end the wait that had started at the club in 1967.

Viv Anderson joined Sheffield Wednesday on a free transfer in January 1991, helping them to promotion from the Second Division, although he missed the League Cup final triumph over Manchester United as he had played for his old club earlier in the competition.

Viv Anderson helped Wednesday reach the FA Cup and League Cup final in 1993, but they were on the losing side to Arsenal in both finals.

Viv Anderson made his debut for England in November 1978, for a friendly against Czechoslovakia.

Viv Anderson became the third non-white footballer to represent the men's senior England team after Paul Reaney and Frank Soo.

England had duly got through to the European Championship finals in Italy and Viv Anderson was named in Greenwood's squad, playing in the final group game against Spain as a replacement for Phil Neal.

Viv Anderson finally won an 11th cap, in April 1984, almost two years after his tenth.

Viv Anderson won three caps at the end of 1986 as England began their quest to qualify for the 1988 European Championships in Germany.

In one of the qualifiers against Yugoslavia, Viv Anderson scored his second and final international goal.

Meanwhile, Stevens had forced his way back in as England qualified for the European Championships and Viv Anderson won his 30th and final cap in a Rous Cup game against Colombia though was again in reserve when the squad went to Germany for the finals.

In June 1993, Viv Anderson left Hillsborough to be appointed player-manager of Barnsley, following the departure of Mel Machin.

Robson and Anderson left Middlesbrough in June 2001, after surviving a further relegation scare.

Viv Anderson has not been employed in football since leaving the assistant manager's job at Middlesbrough.

Viv Anderson was awarded an MBE in January 2000, and was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2004 in recognition of his impact on the English league.

Viv Anderson appears as an occasional guest pundit on MUTV, Manchester United's official TV station.

Viv Anderson is set to auction off more than 100 shirts, as well as his medals, in October 2024.