Just a few months ago, he was fighting for his life in hospital.
But former Scotland footballer Alan Hansen was amongst those to be honoured at an investiture at Windsor Castle yesterday.
Mr Hansen, the former Liverpool defender and long-time Match of the Day pundit, was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to football and broadcasting.
He joined Liverpool from Partick Thistle in 1977 and won three European Cups, eight league titles, two FA Cups and three League Cups in 620 appearances for the Anfield side.
Mr Hansen, 69, was discharged from hospital last June after Liverpool said he was ‘seriously ill’.
Hansen, nicknamed Jocky, won a long list of honours: Eight First Division league titles, three European Cups and two FA cups.
He also won 26 caps for Scotland and played for his country at the 1982 World Cup in Spain.
Alan Hansen was amongst those to be honoured at an investiture at Windsor Castle
Mr Hansen made more than 600 appearances for Liverpool
After retirement, Hansen spent another 20 years as a pundit for the BBC. Memorable moments included his infamous 1995 comment on Match of the Day that ‘You can’t win anything with kids’ about Liverpool’s big rivals Manchester United’s ‘Class of ‘92’.
The players on the receiving end, including Paul Scholes and David Beckham, then unknown and newly promoted to the first team, went on to prove him wrong by winning the title that season.
Retiring from television in 2014, Hansen declared: ‘I’ve been in football for 41 years and I’m going out right at the top, just as I did at Liverpool.’
Others honoured at the ceremony included DJ Steve Lamacq, who has hosted a number of awards ceremonies and won accolades including the special recognition gongs at the AIM Independent Music Awards and the Sony Radio Academy Awards, both in 2013.
Two-time Olympic champion rower Helen Glover was also made an OBE at the Windsor Castle ceremony.
At the 2012 Olympics, in partnership with Heather Stanning, Glover won the gold medal in the women’s coxless pairs, which was the inaugural gold medal won by Team GB.
Ms Glover, 38, was coaxed back for the Paris Olympics after giving birth to twins in January 2020.
After learning of the honour, Ms Glover said: ‘I was determined that this Olympic journey would lead to winning a medal in front of three children and I felt supported by the parenting community.
‘It makes me very proud to be recognised for trying to make a difference within this space.’
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