Scott Minto

Scott Minto
Personal information
Full name	Scott Christopher Minto
Date of birth	6 August 1971 (age 53)
Place of birth	Bromborough, England
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Position(s)	Left back
Senior career*
Years	Team
1989–1994	Charlton Athletic
1994–1997	Chelsea
1997–1999	Benfica
1999–2003	West Ham United
2003–2006	Rotherham United
Total
International career
1990–1993	England U21
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Scott Christopher Minto^[1] (born 6 August 1971 in Bromborough) is an English former footballer who played as a left back in the Football League and the Premier League for Charlton Athletic, Chelsea, West Ham United and Rotherham United, and for Benfica in Portugal.^[2] He now works for Sky Sports as the anchor for their La Liga coverage and as one of the presenters of their Football League Coverage.

Career

Minto started his career with Charlton Athletic and made his debut as a 17-year-old in 1988. After over 220 appearances for the Addicks, he moved across London to sign for Chelsea in July 1994 for £875,000.

Chelsea

Minto made his debut for Chelsea in a 6-2 Cup Winners' Cup win against Czech side FK Viktoria Žižkov, and played in every round of the side's run to the semi-finals. His time at Chelsea was plagued by injuries, but he was nevertheless a regular member of the Chelsea defence when fit. In 1996–97, he was an important part of the side's run to the 1997 FA Cup Final, which they won, defeating Middlesbrough 2-0 in what proved to be his last game for the club. He scored five goals in 72 appearances for Chelsea, all of which came in his final season.

Benfica, West Ham and Rotherham

In June 1997, shortly after Chelsea's FA Cup win, Minto joined Benfica of Portugal on a free transfer. He remained in Lisbon for 18 months, making 31 appearances, before returning to England with West Ham United for £1,000,000 in January 1999.

His West Ham career got off to a poor start, losing 4-0 at home to Sheffield Wednesday,^[3] but he quickly established himself in the side, as the club secured 5th place in the league - their highest ever Premier League finish. However, his time there was again plagued by injury problems and he was released by the club upon the expiry of his contract in June 2003. He played in 51 league games for West Ham, without scoring.

Minto then joined League One side Rotherham United, but once again injuries hindered his progress and he made just seven league appearances during the 2005–06 season. He announced his retirement from the game in July 2006.

Media career

Minto presented Revista de la Liga and live coverage of Spanish football on Sky Sports. He also occasionally makes appearances commenting on games from the studio for Soccer Saturday. He occasionally appears on talkSPORT's Evening Kick-off show as a co-presenter. His previous work as a pundit has included BBC London 94.9's live football commentaries.

Personal life

In 2008, Minto graduated from Staffordshire University with a degree in Professional Sports Writing and Broadcasting.^[4]

References

^ Hugman, Barry, ed. (2005). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2005/2006. Queen Anne Press. p. 283. ISBN 978-1-85291-662-6.
^ "Scott Minto". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 January 2010.
^ Welcome to the Wonderful World of West Ham United Statistics Scott Minto
^ http://www.givemefootball.com/pfa/pfa-news/hats-off-to-our-super-students

External links

Scott Minto at Soccerbase

[1] Hugman, Barry, ed. (2005). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2005/2006. Queen Anne Press. p. 283. ISBN 978-1-85291-662-6.

[SB-2] "Scott Minto". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 January 2010.

[3] Welcome to the Wonderful World of West Ham United Statistics Scott Minto

[4] ttp://www.givemefootball.com/pfa/pfa-news/hats-off-to-our-super-students

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