Born: Tunbridge Wells, 19 September 1962
Position: Central midfield; attacking midfielder; centre forward
Signed: 6 September 1990 from Newcastle United (£110,000)
Fulham debut: Shrewsbury Town 2-2 Fulham, 8 September 1990
Fulham appearances: 254
Fulham goals: 60
Sold: 8 August 1996 to Cambridge United (free)
Former Sheffield United and Preston North End forward was Fulham’s big-money signing from Newcastle United in September 1990. He had a tough first campaign at Craven Cottage scoring only five times, but hit fourteen goals in the following season when he was an ever-present. He hit fourteen again in 1993/94 but couldn’t save Fulham from relegation. A highly gifted technician, Brazil didn’t have many creative players on his wavelength in the latter stages of his Cottagers career, when he sacrificed his goalscoring to feature in midfield. He became Fulham’s youth-team coach in January 1996 and joined Cambridge United on a free transfer the following summer.
Brazil coached under Sam Allardyce at Notts County, where he spent two spells as manager, before returning to Fulham as the club’s under 18 coach before taking a key role in the club’s academy. Brazil, who also served as part of Roy Hodgson’s coaching staff, began Fulham’s path to the establishment of a category one youth set-up before becoming academy director at Nottingham Forest.
