Chris Nicholl, the former Northern Ireland, Southampton, and Aston Villa defender, has passed away at the age of 77. Nicholl was born in England and began his career with Burnley. However, he is most well-known for his time at Aston Villa and Southampton, both as a player and later as a manager. He won two League Cups while at Aston Villa and played 228 times for Southampton.
Nicholl won 51 caps for Northern Ireland and was part of the team that reached the World Cup finals in 1982. He made his international debut in 1974 and played professionally for 19 years, also representing Halifax Town, Luton Town, and Grimsby Town.
After retiring from playing, Nicholl managed Southampton from 1985 to 1991 before taking over as boss of Walsall from 1994 to 1997. He also served as assistant manager to the Northern Ireland team from 1998 to 2000.
In a 2017 BBC documentary titled Dementia, Football and Me, Nicholl told former player and pundit Alan Shearer that he believed he was “brain-damaged from heading balls.” He said that his memory was in trouble and had been experiencing difficulties for the last four to five years.
Nicholl’s former Northern Ireland teammate, John O’Neill, said he was “very saddened” by the news of Nicholl’s passing. O’Neill described Nicholl as a “hell of a player” and a “really tough, old school competitor,” adding that he was “one of the good guys” and would be greatly missed
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