Having restored his reputation in England as a manager of the highest quality, the well-respected and much-traveled Roy Hodgson has landed what he has dubbed ``the biggest job in club football.''
Hodgson, who on Thursday was announced as the new manager of Liverpool, has previously taken charge of three national sides and managerial roles with clubs in six different countries.
The Liverpool fans who initially demanded a high-profile manager to replace Rafa Benitez appear ready to welcome the erudite Hodgson with open arms, hopeful he can usher in a new era of success at the club.
The 62-year-old Hodgson had been seen as a potential replacement to England manager Fabio Capello following the national team's dismal showing at the World Cup - but he hasn't always been so in-demand in his native country.
Hodgson arrived at Fulham in 2007 with a point to prove after an up-and-down spell with Blackburn in 1997-98. After a clutch of poor buys and with rumors of dressing room unrest, he was let go midway through his second season in charge at Ewood Park - with Blackburn ultimately relegated.
It is sometimes forgotten that he guided Rovers into the UEFA Cup at the end of his first season and oversaw a major improvement from the previous year. But his achievements at Fulham made England - and Liverpool, in particular - sit up and take notice.
He saved Fulham from relegation on the final day of the 2007-08 season. The following year it finished seventh in the Premier League, the highest final placing in its history. Last season, Hodgson's Cottagers beat some of Europe's biggest teams, including Italian giant Juventus, on its way to the Europa League final.
Fulham lost 2-1 to Atletico Madrid but Hodgson's reputation domestically was back to the level it had assumed abroad. In Europe, the multilingual Hodgson is respected and admired, with an impressive CV to boot.
He started his career in Sweden with Halmstads, where he won the league championship twice. He later won five successive titles and two Swedish Cups with Malmo.
He moved to Switzerland, where, after managing Neuchatel Xamax, he took over as coach of the national team, which he led to the 1994 World Cup in the United States.
Since then, Hodgson has had two spells at Inter Milan, stints at Swiss side Grasshopper, Danish club FC Copenhagen - where he won the Superliga title - and Italy's Udinese, as well as taking charge of the national teams of United Arab Emirates (2002-04) and Finland (2006-07).
He rounded off his successful spell at Fulham by being named the League Managers' Association's manager of the year. He showed he could succeed with a limited transfer budget, something he is likely to have at Liverpool as the club battles ownership issues and its failure to qualify for next season's Champions League.
Arguably Hodgson's greatest attribute has been his ability to get the best out of players who are not household names. With players such as Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres and Javier Mascherano at Anfield, he will now have to prove he can manage world-class stars who are rumored to be unhappy with a lack of success.
But given Liverpool's current financial situation, Hodgson may yet prove the shrewdest signing it could have made.
