Teddy Sheringham

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Sheringham began his journey at Millwall in 1982, impressing a scout while playing for Leytonstone & Ilford. By the late 1980s, he formed a formidable partnership with Tony Cascarino, scoring 37 goals in the 1990–91 season to become the league's top scorer, including four hat-tricks. His 111 career goals for Millwall made him their all-time leading scorer until 2009. In July 1991, he joined Nottingham Forest for £2 million, scoring their first-ever Premier League goal against Liverpool in August 1992—a moment also broadcast live on Sky Sports for the first time. Just a week later, he moved to Tottenham Hotspur for £2.1 million, where he became the inaugural Premier League season's top scorer with 22 goals. Despite his success, pundits doubted him at age 31, yet he joined Manchester United in June 1997 for £3.5 million to fill the void left by Eric Cantona.

In Their Own Story

The defining moment of Sheringham's career arrived in May 1999 during the UEFA Champions League final against Bayern Munich. Having come on as a substitute, he scored the dramatic stoppage-time equaliser before providing the headed flick-on for Ole Gunnar Solskjær to score the winning goal seconds later, completing a treble of the Premier League, FA Cup, and European Cup. This achievement ended a 15-year wait for his first major honour. During the 1997–98 season, however, tension flared with strike partner Andy Cole; after Sheringham blamed Cole for conceding at Bolton, their relationship broke down permanently, reportedly never to be resolved again. Despite limited first-team chances in subsequent seasons, Sheringham remained vital, winning three more Premier League titles and the FA Charity Shield. In 2001, his performances earned him both the PFA Players' Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year awards.

Reader's Guide

Sheringham's career path offers a masterclass in longevity and adaptation. After leaving Manchester United in 2001, he returned to Tottenham Hotspur, where he was a losing finalist in the 2001–02 Football League Cup. He then moved to Portsmouth for one season, scoring their first Premier League goal, before joining West Ham United. There, he helped secure promotion from the 2004–05 Championship and became the third-oldest player to appear in an FA Cup final in 2006. His records include being the oldest outfield player (40 years, 272 days) and the oldest scorer (40 years, 268 days) in Premier League history. He finished his playing career with Colchester United at age 42 in the 2007–08 season, having made 34th-most appearances in the league's history. Internationally, he earned 51 caps for England, scoring 11 goals across three major tournaments: Euro 1996 and the World Cups of 1998 and 2002.

Did You Know?

• Sheringham scored Forest's first-ever Premier League goal against Liverpool in August 1992, which was also the first live goal shown on Sky Sports.
• He finished as the league's highest scorer in 1990–91 with 37 goals for Millwall, a tally that included four hat-tricks.
• In the 1999 Champions League final, he scored an injury-time equaliser and assisted the winning goal within seconds of each other.
• He holds the record for being the oldest player to score in a Premier League match at 40 years and 268 days old.
• Sheringham was named both PFA Players' Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year in April 2001.