Steve Bruce is a football manger, born to Joe and Sheenagh Bruce on December 31, 1960 in Corbridge, Northumberland, England. He is married to Janet and has two children, a son, Alex and a daughter, Amy. His son Alex is a professional football player and he plays for Ipswich Town as of 2008.
In 1979, Steve Bruce got an opportunity to play for the England Youth side and has won a total of eight international caps for this side. Seven years later, he was selected for the England 'B' reserve side and made one appearance for this team. In his professional football career from 1977 to 1999, Steve Bruce has played for various football clubs that include Gillingham (1977–1984), Norwich City (1984–1987), Manchester United (1987–1996), Birmingham City (1996–1998) and Sheffield United (1998–1999). Steve Bruce has played a total of 737 matches and has scored 81 goals.
During the 1998-99 season, Steve Bruce began his managerial career with the Sheffield United football club. He guided his side to its eighth-place finish in the First Division during his season-long tenure at the club. In the following season, Steve Bruce signed with Huddersfield as the club’s new manager. He began on a promising note by guiding the team to six consecutive victories, which helped the club to elevate its position in the points table.
In April 2001, Steve Bruce was appointed as the manager of Wigan Atheltic and managed his team in an impressive manner, which helped the side qualify for the Second Division playoffs. During the 2001-02 season, he signed with Crystal Palace as the club’s new coach. His effective training helped the club finish as table toppers and also helped them to regain a position in the Premier League table, which was last held by the club during the 1997–98 season.
Just before Steve Bruce joined the Birmingham City football club (Blues), the team was in the middle of the Division One points table. But soon with his arrival, the team pulled-off a lengthy unbeaten run and eventually got qualified for the playoffs. The Blues reached the final, and played against Norwich City, a club previously managed by Steve Bruce, and won in the penalty shootout to get promoted to the Premier League in 16 years. During the early part of the 2002-03 season, the team was struggling at the bottom of the table and Steve Bruce was quick to react, bringing in Christophe Dugarry, a French football player, and helped the team to recover and finish in the 13th place. The next season, the team climbed up and finished in the 10th place and following that in June 2004, Steve Bruce signed a new five year contract with the club.
At the end of the 2004-05 season, Birmingham finished in the 12th place and Steve Bruce played a vital role in the club’s impressive performance. He started the 2006-07 season with the largest transfer budget in the Football League Championship. Though the team initially struggled to keep up with its reputation, Steve Bruce turned the fortune and by late November, the team was jointly leading the points table. On April 29, 2007, with still one match in hand, Birmingham secured their promotion to the Premier League.
On November 23, 2007, Wigan Athletic officially announced its signing of Steve Bruce as the new manager of the club. His first game as a manager for this club was a 1-1 draw against Manchester City on December 1, 2007. For the remainder of the season, he helped his side secure Premier League survival by defeating Aston Villa in the penultimate game of the season.
Steve Bruce has written his autobiography titled Heading for Victory and has also authored three novels, Sweeper!, Defender! and Striker!.
