Bobby Houghton is an English football (soccer) manager and former player.

During his playing career, Houghton was a midfielder for Fulham F.C. and Brighton and Hove Albion. Houghton became the manager of Swedish side Malmö FF in 1974, and in 1979 guided the team to the European Cup final against Nottingham Forest F.C., losing 1-0.

Houghton was the first and head coach of the Colorado Rapids in 1996. He was fired after one season, and became the Chinese national team's first foreign head coach in over four years, replacing Qi Wusheng , who failed to lead China to qualify for France 98.

Within weeks, Houghton was able to memorise the names of his players, a rare feat in foreign coaches that helped build the team's confidence in their new coach. China placed second in the Dynasty Cup very shortly after Houghton took over, and he developed a reputation for being able to implement an effective football program for struggling teams. After failing to qualify for the Olympic football tournament, Houghton was replaced as manager of the Chinese national team in 2000.

Houghton has also managed at Bristol Rovers F.C., Al Ittihad in Saudi Arabia, Toronto Blizzard in the North American Soccer League, IFK Göteborg and FC Zurich.

External links

FIFA article on Bobby Houghton's assignment to the Chinese Football Association