Robert Pirès Villarreal What is Villarreal? In May 2006, Pires agreed to join Spanish side Villarreal. How long did he stay there? Pires was told in May 2010 that his contract would not be extended
Did he retire after that?
Did Robert Pires retire after his contract ended in May 2010?
In May 2006, Pires agreed to join Spanish side Villarreal. He joined on a free transfer, subject to passing a medical, bringing to an end his six-year career as an Arsenal player. After Villarreal were eliminated in the semi-finals of the 2006 Champions League by Arsenal, Villarrael coach Manuel Pellegrini had wanted to sign Arsenal's Pires or Thierry Henry.  Pires was officially unveiled as a Villarreal player on 3 July 2006. He scored his first goal for the club in 3-3 pre-season draw with Newcastle United on 5 August 2006. However, on 18 August 2006, Pires damaged the cruciate ligament in his left knee in a friendly match against Cadiz and required corrective surgery to alleviate the problem, which kept him out of action for seven months in his new club in Spanish top flight. Pires finally recovered from knee injury and made his first league appearance for Villarreal as a second-half substitute when he was named in Villarreal's squad to face Real Sociedad on 17 March 2007. Pires scored his first league goal on his return from injury in a 3-3 draw away to Real Betis on 31 March 2007. After three appearances as a substitute, Pires made his first start for Villarreal on 22 April 2007 against Barcelona. He opened the scoring for his team to defeat league leaders Barcelona 2-0, avenging his premature departure against Barcelona in the Champions League Final the previous May. On 13 May 2007, in a thumping 4-1 win at Osasuna, the former France international midfielder gave the visitors the perfect start with a seventh-minute opener as Villarreal continued their late-season push for a European spot. The run took "The Yellow Submarine", sinking at 11th spot without him in the side, to the brink of a UEFA Cup place in barely six weeks. Villarreal ended the season in 5th spot wherein Pires played crucial roles in helping Villarreal with the late charge up winning each of their final eight games and an entry into the UEFA Cup.  The 2007-08 season was marked by the ongoing saga between Juan Roman Riquelme and the board of Villarreal. Despite this distraction, Pires' leadership qualities helped Villarreal to win six of their opening eight games. Against Barcelona at El Madrigal, Pires technique earned the Yellow Submarine two penalties which were duly converted by captain Marcos Senna. By contrast, Pires' former national and Arsenal teammate Thierry Henry struggled at Barcelona.[2] Villarreal ended up finishing second in La Liga behind Real Madrid, which was their best league finish in history, beating Barcelona into third place.  In 2009, Pires faced former club Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League, coming on as a 70th-minute substitute in the first leg and playing the full 90 minutes at the Emirates Stadium. Villarreal were defeated 4-1 on aggregate, but Pires received a warm return from the Arsenal supporters, who sang his name throughout both legs.  Pires was told in May 2010 that his contract would not be extended and he would have to look for a new club during the summer as Villarreal will be "changing their philosophy". CANNOTANSWER
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Øyvind Gjerde (born 18 March 1977) is a Norwegian former footballer who played for Molde.  He has previously played for the clubs Åndalsnes, Lillestrøm and Aalesund.

After the 2010 season, when he did not get a new contract with Molde after 7 years in the club, Gjerde announced that he would most likely retire.

References 

1977 births
Living people
People from Møre og Romsdal
Norwegian footballers
Eliteserien players
Norwegian First Division players
Aalesunds FK players
Lillestrøm SK players
Molde FK players

Association football defenders Robert Fiske "Bob" Spalding (18 April 1941 – 8 December 1997) was a British powerboat racer. He was born in Argentina to British parents and was a former F1 Powerboat World Champion and 4 times winner of the Paris six-hour.

Spalding began his boating career in 1961. In 1985, he won the F1 Powerboat World Championship, but did not defend his title the next season after having to retire following head injuries as a result of crashing in the Seville Grand Prix.

References

1941 births
1997 deaths
British motorboat racers
Formula 1 Powerboat drivers Leslie Hodgson (29 August 1914 – 17 January 1979) was a British trade unionist.

Born in Driffield, Hodgson came into contact with the trade union movement by playing cricket alongside coal miners.  He trained as a carding machine operator in the woollen industry, and joined the Card Setting Machine Tenters' Society (CSMTS) in 1933.  In 1951, he was elected as the union's General President.

The CSMTS was one of the smallest unions affiliated to the General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU), and in 1952, Hodgson was elected as the GFTU's assistant general secretary, standing down from his post in the CSMTS.  The GFTU's general secretary, George Bell, was in poor health, and the association had been struggling to recruit a suitable replacement.  The union's management committee agreed with Hodgson that, if his work was satisfactory, he would be promoted within two years.  However, when he arrived, Bell announced that he did not wish to retire and did not want an assistant.

Hodgson devoted his time as assistant general secretary to external training and learning the culture of the organisation.  Early in 1953, the management committee convinced Bell to take a six-month leave of absence.  At the end of this period, Bell finally decided to retire, and Hodgson was appointed as his replacement.

Alice Prochaska, who wrote the official history of the GFTU, describes the modern organisation as "substantially Leslie Hodgson's creation", although noting that he ensured all his innovations were proposed as the idea of a member union or one of its representatives, and had a low profile in the national union movement.  Under Hodgson's leadership, the GFTU gained a significant number of new members, including some larger unions, and for the first time set up a research service.

Hodgson announced in 1976 that he wished to retire, but the Management Committee decided that none of the first set of candidates to replace him were suitable, so he served until December 1977, spending the last three months alongside his successor, Peter Potts.  A few days after retiring, Hodgson was diagnosed with cancer, and he died in the middle of January 1979.

References

1914 births
1979 deaths
General Secretaries of the General Federation of Trade Unions (UK)
Trade unionists from Yorkshire
People from Driffield