Hodgson is the very definition of 'seen it all before' and has English top flight experience with Blackburn, Fulham, Liverpool and West Brom. Indeed, after a career trailing around Europe, the England boss cuts a convincing figure as the stereotypical cultured, cosmopolitan European coach.

Hodgson was a moderately successful player with Crystal Palace before spending several seasons in non-league football. He made his name in coaching with Swedish club Halmstads BK - where he spent five years from 1976, winning the championship twice - and then with Bristol City and Sweden's Orebro SK.

Stints with Malmo FF - where five consecutive Allsvenskan league championships, two Swedish championships and two Swedish Cups were placed in the trophy cabinet during his tenure - and Neuchatel Xamax followed before Hodgson truly made his mark with the Switzerland national side.

A country that had not qualified for a major tournament since the 60s, Switzerland soon became used to the thrill of big competitions by reaching the second round of the 1994 World Cup under Hodgson and they then qualified for Euro '96 after he had left.

Lured back into club football, Hodgson had joined Serie A giants Inter Milan and reached the UEFA Cup final in the 1996-97 season, but didn't last much longer than that. Choosing to return to England, Hodgson then joined Blackburn (amid a number of Premier League clubs clamouring for his signature) and he guided Rovers into Europe at the first attempt.

However, after spending £20 million on strengthening the side, Rovers struggled and Hodgson's reign was cut short after a poor start to his second campaign. He was apparently so distraught at being sacked, that he was unable to drive away from Ewood Park himself and needed a chauffeur.

Short stints with Inter, Grasshoppers, FC Copenhagen, Udinese, and Norwegian outfit Viking FK saw him fail to settle until he chose to return to national team management with Finland.

Once again, he did what he does best - creating a team that was remarkably hard to beat, but the Finns missed out on the European Championship finals by only three points, losing out to Portugal and Poland.

Having come so close to creating Finnish history, the journeyman boss opted for a new challenge at Fulham's Craven Cottage in the Premier League. He worked miracles to keep the club in the top flight in his first season, but his second was even more impressive as he led the club up the league to seal a Europa League spot (7th) at the end of the season.

The feats were superseded in his final season in South West London though as he led the side all the way to the inaugural Europa League final against Atletico Madrid - a 2-1 defeat - sealing his place in Fulham folklore and cementing his place among the most respected managers in the game, before choosing a new challenge with Liverpool.

However, he lasted just six months in charge, as Liverpool's slump saw him replaced by Kenny Dalglish in early January 2011. He did not waste time returning to the game though, as he was announced as West Brom manager (after the sacking of Roberto Di Matteo) a month later and kept his side in the top flight.

Two games before the end of the season, though, England came calling and he accepted the chance to take on a job he had previously said he would be "delighted" to do. Leading them into Euro 2012, he impressed in sealing progress from the group stage but an all-too-familiar exit to Italy on penalties in the quarter-finals proved that not everything had changed.

Strengths: Having experience from a wide variety of football, his man-management skills have been his main strength. His tactical nous has been the subject of DVDs and he knows the game inside and out.

Weaknesses: Big jobs at Inter Milan and Liverpool have both fallen short of expectations and he could be criticised for not building a dynasty at any of his clubs before moving on. His media skills aren't the best either.

Career high: Taking unfancied Fulham to the Europa League final of 2009-10.

Career low: Sacked by Liverpool in January 2011 after a reign wracked by unpopularity and poor results.

Tactics: Extremely maleable, Hodgson changes his formations to suit his players. Over the years he has used every one in the book, and even created a few of his own, but 4-4-2 seems to be the order of the day.

Quotes: ''Allow me to grieve for the result in a dignified way and get out of here before I say something that makes me look like an idiot.'' Roy Hodgson.

Trivia: He speaks fluent Norwegian, Swedish and Italian as well as good German, Danish, French and Finnish.