West Ham FC (England),
Manchester United FC (England), Internazionale FC (England),
Liverpool FC (England), Middlesbrough FC (England),
Wolverhampton FC (England)
Honours
1991 Cup
Winners Cup winner (Manchester United) 1993 Premiership Champions (Manchester United) 1994 Premiership Champions (Manchester United)
Biography
Paul Ince (born October 21, 1967) is an English
football player currently playing for Wolverhampton Wanderers,
he is a midfielder famed for his tough-tackling. Ince was the
first black player to captain the England national football
team, he retired from international football following England's
exit from Euro 2000 having played 53 times for his country. In
the BBC's 2003 vote for the 100 great black Britons he finished in 95th place.
Ince was born in Ilford, London, and began his football career
by signing for his local team, West Ham United, as an apprentice
in July 1983. He made his professional debut with the club three
years later. During the four years that he played with the club,
Ince made 72 league appearances (scoring 7 goals), as well as
earning a place in both the England Youth and Under-21 sides.
In September 1989 Ince was sold to Manchester United for £1m,
then a fairly substantial amount. It was during his six years at
Old Trafford that he earned his nickname, the "Guvnor" (sic),
due to his powerful and dominating presence in the heart of the
United midfield alongside Bryan Robson, and later Roy Keane.
Ince enjoyed a very successful time at Manchester United:
winning the Premier League twice, the FA Cup twice, the Charity
Shield three times, and the European Cup Winners' Cup, the
League Cup, and the European Super Cup once each. He made 278
appearances, scoring 28 goals in total at United.
Whilst playing for Manchester United Ince made his England
debut, on September 9, 1992, against Spain, a game which England
lost 1-0. His first game as captain came on June 9, 1993, when
David Platt was injured, England lost the game 2-0 to the United
States. Ince went on to captain the side on a further six
occasions.
In the summer of 1995 Alex Ferguson sold Ince to Internazionale
for £7m, a record fee received by United, after reportedly
growing tired of Ince's inflated sense of self-worth. Ince's
departure, controversial at the time, paved the way for
youngsters such as David Beckham, Paul Scholes, and Nicky Butt
into the United midfield.
Unlike many English players who tried their luck in Italy's
Serie A, Ince had a very successful two year spell at the San
Siro. During his first season he played in all but four league
games and shone in an Inter side that finished in 7th place.
During his second season with Inter he again played well as the
nerazzuri finished third in the league and finished runners up
in the UEFA Cup.
Despite being offered a new contract by Inter, Ince was
home-sick and asked to be sold back to England. In the summer of
1997 he was sold to Liverpool for £6m, somewhat surprisingly
considering his previous attachment to Manchester United. Ince
captained Liverpool during his two years with the side, however,
he failed to carry the side to any major success. In 1998, he
played for England in the World Cup. In 1999 he was sold to
Middlesbrough for a fee of £1m after manager Gerard Houllier
decided that Ince no longer had a future with the club. Whilst
at Middlesbrough Ince was one of a number of talented older
players, alongside the likes of Paul Gascoigne and Paul Merson.
Ince stayed at Middlesbrough for three seasons, and became a
firm favourite with the Boro fans. However, following the
appointment of Steve McClaren as manager, it soon became clear
to Ince that his time on Teesside was coming to an end, and he
was allowed to leave on a free transfer to Wolverhampton
Wanderers. He joined the club at the same time as former
Manchester United teammate Denis Irwin, manager Dave Jones
hoping that the two players' massive wealth of experience would
aid the team's push for promotion to the Premier League. Jones's
decision was a good one as Ince captained Wolves to success in
the play-off final, and promotion to the Premier League. Ince
decided to re-sign with Wolves to help them in their bid to stay
in the Premiership. However, Wolves were relegated after their
first season back in the top flight for 19 years, finishing
bottom of the league.
Despite Wolves's failure to remain in the Premier League, Ince
decided to spend yet another season with the club in the summer
of 2004 as they look to gain promotion to the Premiership for a
second time.
