View source for Trevor Steven

{{short description|English association football player}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{BLP sources|date=June 2010}}
{{Tone|date=September 2016}}
}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Trevor Steven
| image = 
| fullname = Trevor McGregor Steven
| height = 
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1963|9|21|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Berwick-upon-Tweed]], England
| clubnumber = 
| position = {{ublist|[[Midfielder|Right midfielder]]|[[Winger (association football)|Winger]]}}
| years1 = 1980–1983
| clubs1 = [[Burnley F.C.|Burnley]]
| caps1 = 74
| goals1 = 11
| years2 = 1983–1989
| clubs2 = [[Everton F.C.|Everton]]
| caps2 = 210
| goals2 = 48
| years3 = 1989–1991
| clubs3 = [[Rangers F.C.|Rangers]]
| caps3 = 55
| goals3 = 6
| years4 = 1991–1992
| clubs4 = [[Olympique de Marseille|Marseille]]
| caps4 = 28
| goals4 = 3
| years5 = 1992–1997
| clubs5 = [[Rangers F.C.|Rangers]]
| caps5 = 77
| goals5 = 10
| totalcaps = 444
| totalgoals = 78
| nationalyears1 = 1982      | nationalteam1 = [[England national under-18 football team|England Youth]]    | nationalcaps1 = 1  | nationalgoals1 = 0
| nationalyears2 = 1984
| nationalteam2 = [[England national under-21 football team|England U21]]
| nationalcaps2 = 2
| nationalgoals2 = 0
| nationalyears3 = 1985–1992<ref>{{Cite news|title=Trevor McGregor Steven - International Appearances|publisher=The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation|url=https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/trsteven-intl.html}}</ref>
| nationalteam3 = [[England national football team|England]]
| nationalcaps3 = 36
| nationalgoals3 = 4
}}
'''Trevor McGregor Steven''' (born 21 September 1963) is an English former professional [[association football|footballer]] who played as a right-sided [[midfielder]]. He progressed through the ranks at [[Burnley F.C.|Burnley]], making his debut in 1981 regularly scoring over the next two seasons. [[Everton F.C.|Everton]] boss [[Howard Kendall]], who was building a new team based on youth, decided to make a bid for him. He became known as a member of the successful Everton side of the 1980s and went on to be part of the [[Rangers F.C.|Rangers]] '[[Nine in a row|9-in-a-row]]' team. Steven was also successful with France's [[Olympique de Marseille|Marseille]] and gained 36 international caps for [[England national football team|England]]. He works as a presenter for [[RTÉ Sport]] in Ireland.

==Club career==
===Burnley===
Steven began his career with [[Burnley F.C.|Burnley]] upon leaving school in the summer of 1980, and broke into the first team on 14 April 1981 when he made his debut as substitute in a 4–2 win over [[Huddersfield Town]] at [[Turf Moor]]. During the [[1981–82 in English football|1981–82]] season, whilst still a teenager, his first appearance in the starting XI came at [[Bristol Rovers]] in September. Steven then went on to score three goals in 36 league games to help Burnley win promotion to the [[Football League Second Division|Second Division]] as Third Division champions. He managed eight goals in the [[1982–83 in English football|1982–83 season]], but was unable to prevent Burnley from going straight back down to the Third Division.<ref name="sporting-heroes1">{{cite web|url=http://www.sporting-heroes.net/football-heroes/displayhero_club.asp?HeroID=43826|title=Trevor Steven profile at|publisher=Sporting-heroes.net|access-date=26 February 2010}}</ref>

===Everton===
{{BLP one source|date=June 2023}}

Burnley accepted £300,000 for the 19-year-old Steven who joined [[Everton F.C.|Everton]] in the summer of 1983.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Trevor Steven {{!}} Everton Player Profile |url=https://www.toffeeweb.com/players/profiles/StevenT.php |access-date=2024-07-10 |website=www.toffeeweb.com}}</ref> He made his debut at the beginning of the following season, which proved a [[wikt:watershed|watershed]] campaign for Kendall's men. Despite finishing in 7th position in the [[Football League championship|Football League Championship]], the season – and Kendall's job – was saved by two excellent cup runs. Steven was not selected by Kendall for the [[1984 Football League Cup Final]] (a defeat to local rivals [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]] after a replay), but by the time Everton lined back up at [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley]] for the [[1984 FA Cup Final]] two months later, he was in the team. [[Watford F.C.|Watford]] were the opponents, and Steven played his part in the second goal of Everton's 2–0 success. As he ventured down the flank, Steven sent in an early, high and very awkward ball towards the Watford penalty area, which Everton [[centre forward]] [[Andy Gray (footballer, born 1955)|Andy Gray]] and Watford [[goalkeeper (association football)|goalkeeper]] [[Steve Sherwood]] challenged for together. Though Sherwood seemed to get two hands on the ball, Gray's challenge certainly involved contact with his head and the goal was given. Steven had played his part and an [[FA Cup]] medal was his.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Community |first=Everton in the |title=Everton in the Community - About us |url=http://www.evertoninthecommunity.org/about-us |access-date=2023-06-21 |website=Everton in the Community}}</ref>

The following season, Steven further established his right-flank partnership with full back [[Gary Stevens (footballer, born 1963)|Gary Stevens]], which was a strong and creative link-up. Kendall had completed his team-building process and Everton went from strength to strength, winning the First Division title for the first time in 15 years and reaching the FA Cup final again. Steven established himself as one of the best midfield players in Europe with his ability to take players on with his attacking skills combined with defensive duties when needed. The domestic [[Double (association football)|"double"]] chances evaporated when [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]], despite being down to ten men, [[1985 FA Cup Final|won at Wembley in extra time]], but there was consolation for Everton when they defeated [[SK Rapid Wien|Rapid Vienna]] 3–1 in the final of the [[European Cup Winners' Cup]] in [[Rotterdam]]. Steven scored the second goal with a close-range volley after Rapid failed to clear a corner. He had also scored a crucial goal in the semi-final against [[Bayern Munich]]. In the league, he managed 12 goals from 40 games and was among their top scorers.<ref name="sporting-heroes1"/>

Next season, Everton again challenged for First Division and FA Cup honours but were unable to compete in Europe due to the post-[[Heysel Stadium disaster]] ban on English clubs. Everton ended the season without a trophy – they lost the League title to Liverpool on the last day of the season, and then Steven suffered FA Cup heartbreak for a consecutive season when Liverpool [[1986 FA Cup Final|beat Everton 3–1 at Wembley]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Community |first=Everton in the |title=Everton in the Community - About us |url=http://www.evertoninthecommunity.org/about-us |access-date=2023-06-21 |website=Everton in the Community}}</ref>

A year later he enjoyed another title triumph as Everton [[1986–87 Football League|finished as champions]] with Steven scoring 14 goals – the most league goals he scored in a season for the club. In 1988 his right flank partner Stevens left Everton to join [[Rangers F.C.|Rangers]] in Scotland and Steven struggled to form a similar [[telepathy]] with replacement [[Neil McDonald (footballer)|Neil McDonald]]. Everton ended the season without a trophy – losing the [[1989 FA Cup Final]] to Liverpool.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Community |first=Everton in the |title=Everton in the Community - About us |url=http://www.evertoninthecommunity.org/about-us |access-date=2023-06-21 |website=Everton in the Community}}</ref>

===Rangers===
{{BLP unreferenced section|date=September 2016}}
[[Graeme Souness]], then manager of Rangers, offered Steven the chance to pair up with his friend Gary Stevens and reform their partnership down the right. Offers came in from other big clubs, including [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]], where [[Alex Ferguson]] was rebuilding his midfield around [[Bryan Robson]], but Steven chose [[Ibrox Stadium|Ibrox]] when he exited [[Goodison Park]] in the 1989 close season. His main reason for doing so seemed to be the attraction of European football, as the ban on English clubs was ongoing and Steven had been denied the chance to play in the [[UEFA Champions League|European Cup]] with Everton as a consequence. So, after 299 appearances and 60 goals, he left Everton in a £1.5 million deal and went to [[Glasgow]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home |url=https://www.rangers.co.uk/ |access-date=2023-06-21 |website=www.rangers.co.uk |language=en-gb}}</ref>

Despite being the latest in a sequence of high-profile England internationals signed by Souness, Steven's arrival at Ibrox was relatively low-key, principally because it coincided with the controversial signing of [[Mo Johnston]] – the [[Rangers F.C. signing policy|first high-profile, established Roman Catholic player to be signed by Rangers]] in the post-war period. Steven rapidly became a solid member of the Rangers squad, securing a league championship in his first season, and another title plus the [[Scottish League Cup]] in the second.<ref name="FSRFC">[https://www.fitbastats.com/rangers/player.php?playerid=1313 (Rangers player) Steven, Trevor], FitbaStats</ref>

===Marseille and return to Rangers===
In August 1991, Steven moved for £5.5 million<ref>{{ cite news | url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/15420855.old-foes-marseille-bring-home-trevor-steven-far-rangers-slumped/  | title=Old foes Marseille bring home to Trevor Steven how far Rangers have slumped  | publisher=The Herald | date=19 July 2017 | first=Lindsay | last=Herron  }}</ref> – the joint-highest fee involving a British player at the time, shared with [[David Platt (footballer)|David Platt]] of [[Aston Villa]], who had been transferred to Italian club [[Bari]] for the same amount a month earlier – to [[Olympique Marseille]] where he stayed for one season, winning the French league title.

However, his future in the south of France had looked uncertain within months of his arrival. In December 1991, it was reported that the financially troubled club were prepared to sell Steven back to Rangers to cut their heavy losses.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=z5VUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=R5ADAAAAIBAJ&pg=3287,2736837&dq=trevor-steven&hl=en|title = New Straits Times - Google News Archive Search}}</ref> However, he stayed with the club until the end of the season. Despite reports on 22 July 1992 that Steven had agreed to sign for English league champions [[Leeds United F.C.|Leeds United]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=CNxaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=SZADAAAAIBAJ&pg=1620,1067410&dq=trevor-steven&hl=en|title = New Straits Times - Google News Archive Search}}</ref> he returned to Rangers four days later for a fee of £2.2million.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football-shearer-set-to-sign-for-blackburn-1535887.html|location=London, UK|work=The Independent|first=Henry|last=Winter|date=27 July 1992|title=Football: Shearer set to sign for Blackburn}}</ref>

Steven's second period at Ibrox was undermined by a succession of minor injuries, although they were league champions in each of the next five seasons (one of them as [[Treble (association football)|treble]] winners and two as double winners) before Steven retired from playing in 1997. He was a regular player in the first of his seasons back at Ibrox, but managed just 11 appearances in the [[1994–95 in Scottish football|1994–95 season]] (when Rangers won their seventh successive title and their fifth that Steven had been involved in) and with the arrival of [[Paul Gascoigne]] he managed only six league appearances.<ref name="FSRFC"/> His final season, [[1996–97 in Scottish football|1996–97]], brought eight league appearances and one goal as Rangers matched Celtic's record of [[Nine in a row|nine successive Scottish league titles]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sporting-heroes.net/football-heroes/displayhero_club.asp?HeroID=43828|title=Trevor Steven profile|publisher=Sporting-heroes.net|access-date=26 February 2010}}</ref>

==International career==
A very successful season at club level for Steven was completed when, in February 1985, he was called up by England coach [[Bobby Robson]] to make his debut in a qualifier for the [[FIFA World Cup 1986|1986 World Cup]] against [[Northern Ireland national football team|Northern Ireland]]. He stayed in the side for the next three games, scoring his first goal in a friendly win over the [[Republic of Ireland national football team|Republic of Ireland]] and contributing to a brace of drawn qualifiers versus [[Romania national football team|Romania]] and [[Finland national football team|Finland]].

When he was awarded his fifth cap against [[Italy national football team|Italy]] at the beginning of a summer mini-tournament in North America, he was joined behind him by his Everton teammate Gary Stevens, therefore transferring an effective partnership to the international stage. However, Steven soon had a rival for the right flank as Robson began to explore various combinations for his wide men. [[Chris Waddle]] was a more flamboyant and explosive player than Steven, but Robson often preferred the consistency and team play of Steven on the right wing and he became a frequent choice as a result.

Steven scored his second England goal in a 5–0 thumping of the [[United States men's national soccer team|USA]] in Los Angeles at the conclusion of the summer tour. In January 1986 he scored the opening goal in a 4–0 win over [[Egypt national football team|Egypt]] in [[Cairo]] and continued to be selected as the World Cup neared, and was selected by Robson for the squad which would represent England in [[Mexico]] at the World Cup.

Robson preferred Waddle as his one orthodox wide man for the opening game against [[Portugal national football team|Portugal]], but England played poorly and lost 1–0. No changes were made, despite this defeat, and England suffered a nervy and embarrassing goalless draw against [[Morocco national football team|Morocco]], meaning they had to win their final group game or they were out. As a consequence, Steven got his World Cup chance as Robson ditched Waddle and went for the creative but disciplined pairing of Steven on the right and [[Steve Hodge]] on the left. It paid dividends, as Steven combined down his flank with Stevens to set up an opening goal for [[Gary Lineker]]; Hodge then set up Lineker's second, and Steven delivered a corner which went uncleared, allowing Lineker to complete his hat-trick. Steven played as England thrust aside [[Paraguay national football team|Paraguay]] in the second round but in the quarter-final, with England 2–0 down against [[Argentina national football team|Argentina]], he was sacrificed midway through the second half by Robson to give [[John Barnes]] his first run-out. Barnes single-handedly destroyed the Argentine defence but could only set up one goal and England were eliminated.

The next year he played a full part in a robust qualification campaign for the [[1988 European Football Championship|1988 European Championships]]. By the time the tournament came around in the summer of 1988, Steven had a healthy 22 caps. The competition was a major disappointment, as England succumbed to tiredness to lose all three of their group games. Steven missed the opening defeat to the Republic of Ireland, but played in the 3–1 defeat by the [[Netherlands national football team|Netherlands]] when Dutch centre forward [[Marco van Basten]] scored a memorable hat-trick. Steven stayed in the team for the final group game in the 3–1 defeat against [[USSR national football team|USSR]], although he was unlucky not to give England the lead when his header hit the underside of the crossbar when the score was still 1–1.

His form at Rangers persuaded Bobby Robson to retain him in the England squad. After playing in the end-of-season [[Rous Cup]] against Scotland, which England won, Steven made the final cut of 22 players for the [[1990 FIFA World Cup]] tournament in Italy when Robson announced it, edging out [[David Rocastle]]. He did not feature in the tournament until the quarter-final against [[Cameroon national football team|Cameroon]] when he came on as a [[substitute (soccer)|substitute]] as England found themselves behind in the second half. He did the same thing again in the semi-final – again replacing his Rangers teammate [[Terry Butcher]] – as England chased the game against [[Germany national football team|West Germany]], ultimately forcing a draw and a [[kicks from the penalty mark|penalty shootout]]. Steven did not take a penalty and England went out. He finally started a game when Robson put him in the team for the showpiece third-place play-off against Italy, which England lost 2–1.

Robson's successor [[Graham Taylor (football manager)|Graham Taylor]] selected Steven for a number of friendly internationals but he did not play in any of the qualifying games for the [[1992 European Football Championship|1992 European Championships]]. England later suffered a major injury crisis prior to the tournament in Sweden and Taylor put Steven in his squad, selecting him on the right flank in an England side which looked unrecognisable from the one which had reached the World Cup semi-final two summers earlier. Steven played in the group games against [[Denmark national football team|Denmark]] and [[France national football team|France]], both of which ended goalless, but was dropped for the final game against the hosts on 14 June 1992, in which England lost 2–1, ensuring their elimination. Steven's England career ended there, with 36 caps at senior level and four goals.<ref>[http://www.sporting-heroes.net/football/england/trevor-steven-10966/biography-part-3-july-1988-92_a12283 Trevor Steven profile], sporting-heroes.net; accessed 17 September 2016.</ref>

==Media work==
Since he retired, Steven has worked in the media. In his early career, he worked as a co-commentator for the [[BBC]] during their coverage of the [[2002 FIFA World Cup]].

Steven now acts as a pundit for [[RTÉ Sport]] in Ireland, having covered the [[2006 FIFA World Cup]] in Germany for the broadcaster. He is also a regular contributor to RTÉ's coverage of the [[Premier League]] and [[UEFA Champions League]], acting both as analyst and co-commentator. He contributed to RTÉ Sport's coverage of the [[2010 FIFA World Cup]] and the [[2014 FIFA World Cup]].<ref>{{cite news| author=Black, Fergus|url=http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/tv-radio/rte-hopes-ossie-and-squad-will-spur-fans-to-back-home-team-2203365.html|work=[[Irish Independent]]|title=RTÉ hopes Ossie and squad will spur fans to back home team|date=2 June 2010|access-date=2 June 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=O'Malley, Carl|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2010/0602/1224271676683.html|newspaper=[[The Irish Times]]|title=RTÉ roll out big guns for their 56 live games|date=2 June 2010|access-date=2 June 2010}}</ref>

==Charity work==
Backed by local sports stars, Trevor Steven is spearheading a new charity encouraging construction workers to talk about mental health.<ref>{{cite news |title=Football legends speak up for mental health in construction |url=https://buildindigital.com/football-legends-speak-up-for-mental-health-in-construction/ |access-date=4 April 2025 |publisher=Build in Digital |date=27 March 2025}}</ref> The Mindflow initiative has been endorsed by football legends [[Gary Lineker]], [[Robbie Fowler]], [[Stuart Pearce]], [[Ally McCoist]], [[Peter Reid]] and [[Viv Anderson]].

The initiative was launched at the National Football Museum in Manchester earlier this month, and attended by Mindflow Ambassadors: Manchester City’s David White, Paul Dickov and Paul Lake, Tottenham Hotspur’s Paul Stewart, and Sheffield United’s Curtis Woodhouse. Through Mindflow’s ‘Talk Football Talk Mental Health’ programme, current and ex-football players will visit construction sites to deliver mental health awareness sessions, encourage conversation, and recruit volunteers from each session to train as mental health first aiders. The Ambassadors have all publicly shared their challenges around mental health and have firsthand experience to support the construction industry.

==Career statistics==
===International goals===
:''Scores and results list England's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Steven goal.''

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ List of international goals scored by Trevor Steven<ref>[http://eu-football.info/_player.php?id=20102 Football PLAYER: Trevor Steven]</ref>
|-
!scope="col"|No.
!scope="col"|Date
!scope="col"|Venue
!scope="col"|Opponent
!scope="col"|Score
!scope="col"|Result
!scope="col"|Competition
|-
| align="center"|1 || 26 March 1985 || [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley Stadium]], London, England || {{fb|IRL}} || || align="center"|2–1 || [[Friendly (association football)|Friendly]]
|-
| align="center"|2 || 16 June 1985 || [[Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum|Memorial Coliseum]], Los Angeles, US || {{fb|USA}} || || align="center"|5–0 || Friendly
|-
| align="center"|3 || 29 January 1986 || [[Cairo International Stadium|International Stadium]], [[Cairo]], Egypt || {{fb|EGY}} || || align="center"|4–0 || Friendly
|-
| align="center"|4 || 29 April 1992 || [[Luzhniki Stadium|Lenin Central Stadium]], Moscow, [[Commonwealth of Independent States|CIS]] || {{fb|CIS|1992}} || || align="center"|2–2 || Friendly
|}

==Honours==
<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.eurosport.com/football/trevor-steven_prs190535/person.shtml|title = Trevor Steven - Player Profile - Football}}</ref>

'''Burnley'''
*[[Football League Third Division]]: [[1981–82 Football League#Third Division|1981–82]]

'''Everton'''
* [[Football League First Division]]: [[1984–85 Football League|1984–85]], [[1986–87 Football League|1986–87]]
* [[FA Cup]]: [[1984 FA Cup Final|1983–84]]; runner-up: [[1985 FA Cup Final|1984–85]], [[1986 FA Cup Final|1985–86]], [[1989 FA Cup Final|1988–89]]
* [[FA Charity Shield]]: [[1984 FA Charity Shield|1984]], [[1985 FA Charity Shield|1985]], [[1986 FA Charity Shield|1986]] (shared), [[1987 FA Charity Shield|1987]]
* [[UEFA Cup Winners' Cup]]: [[1985 European Cup Winners' Cup Final|1984–85]]

'''Rangers'''<ref name="FSRFC"/>
* [[List of Scottish football champions|Scottish Premier Division]]: [[1989–90 Scottish Premier Division|1989–90]], [[1990–91 Scottish Premier Division|1990–91]], [[1992–93 Scottish Premier Division|1992–93]], [[1993–94 Scottish Premier Division|1993–94]], [[1994–95 Scottish Premier Division|1994–95]], [[1995–96 Scottish Premier Division|1995–96]], [[1996–97 Scottish Premier Division|1996–97]]{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}
* [[Scottish League Cup]]: [[1990–91 Scottish League Cup|1990–91]], [[1992–93 Scottish League Cup|1992–93]], [[1993–94 Scottish League Cup|1993–94]]; runner-up: [[1989–90 Scottish League Cup|1989–90]]

'''Marseille'''
* [[Ligue 1]]: [[1991–92 French Division 1|1991–92]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Soccerbase|7600}}
*{{FIFA|44662}}

{{Navboxes
| title = England squads
| bg = white
| fg = #0B0B3F
| bordercolor = #0B0B3F
| list1 = 
{{England squad 1986 FIFA World Cup}}
{{England squad UEFA Euro 1988}}
{{England squad 1990 FIFA World Cup}}
{{England squad UEFA Euro 1992}}
}}
{{Gwladys Street's Hall of Fame}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steven, Trevor}}
[[Category:1963 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Footballers from Berwick-upon-Tweed]]
[[Category:Men's association football midfielders]]
[[Category:English men's footballers]]
[[Category:England men's international footballers]]
[[Category:England men's under-21 international footballers]]
[[Category:English expatriate men's footballers]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in France]]
[[Category:English expatriate sportspeople in France]]
[[Category:Burnley F.C. players]]
[[Category:Everton F.C. players]]
[[Category:Rangers F.C. players]]
[[Category:Olympique de Marseille players]]
[[Category:Ligue 1 players]]
[[Category:Scottish Football League players]]
[[Category:English Football League players]]
[[Category:1986 FIFA World Cup players]]
[[Category:UEFA Euro 1988 players]]
[[Category:1990 FIFA World Cup players]]
[[Category:UEFA Euro 1992 players]]