Gillian Coultard is a retired English football player, and former England captain. She is one of England Women's most capped internationals, with 119 appearances, and was the highest capped outfield England international ever until Rachel Yankey reached 120 caps in 2012. At the time she was one of only five footballers to have reached over 100 caps for England, and she was the first woman and amateur player to have done so.
International career
Coultard, a midfielder initially, though moving back to sweeper towards the end of her career, made her international debut in a 3-1 win over the Republic of Ireland in 1981, at the age of 18. She went on to score 30 goals at international level, a rate of one every four games, including a pair in England's first ever World Cup finals match, a 3-2 win over Canada in Sweden, in 1995. England were knocked out at the quarter-final stage by eventual tournament runners-up, Germany. Coultard had also been part of the England squad which finished runners-up to Sweden in the first UEFA final in 1984, losing the final on penalties.. Coultard was appointed England captain in 1991 when the previous captain Debbie Bampton was injured. Bampton was restored as captain in 1995, but Coultard regained the captaincy in 1997 when Bampton retired from international football. Coultard won her 100th England cap in a 4-0 win over Scotland at Almondvale Stadium in August 1997. That October, before a 1999 World Cup qualifier against Holland at Upton Park, she was presented with a silver cap by Sir Geoff Hurst in recognition of the achievement. In the early stages of England's successful 2001 UEFA Women's Championship qualification campaign Coultard remained captain of the side. Coultard's 119th and final cap came in a 1-0 win over Switzerland in May 2000. She was later a non-playing member of the England side which suffered their record defeat - an 8-0 loss away to Norway in June 2000. In October 2000, 37-year-old Coultard announced her international retirement in order to concentrate on a coaching role in the National Women's Football Academy in Durham.
Club career
At club level, Coultard won two National League titles and six FA Women's Cup finals during 24 years with Doncaster Belles. Joining as a 13-year-old schoolgirl, she eventually made over 300 appearances and became a key player in the side which dominated women's football in England. She retired from club football at the end of the 2000-01 season, making an emotional farewell appearance for the Belles against Charlton Athletic in May 2001. Coultard fitted in four training sessions and a match every week, despite her full-time job on the production line at a Pioneer factory in Castleford. She used her annual leave from work to play for England and rejected several offers to join semi-professional clubs in Belgium, Italy, Sweden and Finland.
