Steve Hitchen
{{short description|English footballer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2014}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Steve Hitchen
| fullname = Steven James Hitchen
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1976|11|28|df=y}}
| birth_place = Salford, England
| position = Defender
| height = 5 ft 7+1/2 in
| years1 = 1995–1997 | clubs1 = Blackburn Rovers | caps1 = 0 | goals1 = 0
| years2 = 1997–2004 | clubs2 = Macclesfield Town | caps2 = 151 | goals2 = 1
| years3 = 2004 | clubs3 = Bangor City | caps3 = 11 | goals3 = 0
| totalcaps = 162
| totalgoals = 1
}}
Steven James Hitchen (born 28 November 1976) is an English retired professional footballer who played as a defender for Blackburn Rovers and Macclesfield Town in the Football League. He is the director of football at Unique Sports Group and former Director of Technical Performance for Tottenham Hotspur.
Career
Hitchen was born in Salford, England. A defender, he played for Blackburn Rovers and Macclesfield Town in the Football League and Bangor City.
After his playing career ended, he worked as a football talent scout . He started at Tottenham Hotspur in the mid-2000s as a part-time European scout, and played a part in the signings of Luka Modrić and Benoît Assou-Ekotto. He moved to Liverpool in 2010 to join Damien Comolli who was once his superior as the director of football at Tottenham. He helped sign Luis Suárez to Liverpool in 2011.{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/tottenham-steve-hitchen-chief-scout-who-liverpool-to-sign-luis-suarez-a7572371.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220525/https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/tottenham-steve-hitchen-chief-scout-who-liverpool-to-sign-luis-suarez-a7572371.html |archive-date=25 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Tottenham's new chief scout Steve Hitchen helped Liverpool sign Luis Suarez to continue Spurs reconstruction |first=Jack |last=Pitt-Brooke |date= 9 February 2017 |work=The Independent }} He then became head of European scouting for Queens Park Rangers, and in 2016 joint director of recruitment at Derby County. He was appointed the chief scout for Tottenham Hotspur in February 2017 as a replacement for Paul Mitchell{{cite news |url=http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11675/10757872/scout-steve-hitchen-set-to-return-for-second-spell-at-tottenham |title=Tottenham to appoint Steve Hitchen as chief scout - Sky sources |first= Lyall |last=Thomas|date= 6 February 2017 |work=Sky Sports}} and left the club in February 2022.{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/feb/02/steve-hitchen-quits-spurs-recruitment-role-amid-everton-interest| title=Steve Hitchen quits Spurs recruitment role amid Everton interest| work=The Guardian| date=2 February 2022| access-date=11 May 2022}} On 26 October 2023, Hitchen became director of football at sporting agency Unique Sports Group.{{cite news| url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/steve-hitchen-tottenham-unique-sports-group-b2436642.html| title=Former Tottenham performance director joins top sports agency| publisher=Independent| date=26 October 2023| access-date=13 January 2025}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Soccerbase}}
{{Macclesfield Town F.C. Player of the Year}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hitchen, Steve}}
Category:Footballers from Salford
Category:English men's footballers
Category:Men's association football defenders
Category:Blackburn Rovers F.C. players
Category:Macclesfield Town F.C. players
Category:Bangor City F.C. players
Category:English Football League players