Gary Cahill

Gary Cahill

Personal information
Full name	Gary James Cahill
Date of birth	19 December 1985 (1985-12-19)
Place of birth	Sheffield, England
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Playing position	Central defender
Club information
Current club	Chelsea
Number	24
Youth career
2000–2004	Aston Villa
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2004–2008	Aston Villa	28	(1)
2004–2005	→ Burnley (loan)	27	(1)
2007	→ Sheffield United (loan)	16	(2)
2008–2012	Bolton Wanderers	130	(13)
2012–	Chelsea	1	(0)
National team‡
2004–2005	England U20	3	(0)
2007	England U21	4	(0)
2010–	England	7	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 4 January 2012. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 24 November 2011

Gary James Cahill (born 19 December 1985) is an English footballer who plays as a central defender for Chelsea and the England national team. Although he usually plays centre back for both club and country, Cahill has been deployed as a right back, left back and defensive midfielder, because of his pace and technical ability.

Cahill began his career playing for the AFC Dronfield youth set-system in Derbyshire. In 2000, he joined the Aston Villa Academy and continued his development. In 2004 he joined Burnley on a season-long loan, where he performed well before returning to make his Aston Villa debut. Later, he signed for hometown club Sheffield United on a three-month loan deal. On 30 January 2008, he signed for Bolton Wanderers for approximately £5 million. Cahill performed well for Bolton though the years, cementing a place in the first-team and becoming vice-captain. He made 130 league appearances and scored 13 league goals for Bolton. In January 2012, Cahill signed for Chelsea for approximately £7 million.

Cahill is an English international. He was eligible to play for either England or the Republic of Ireland, but chose to play for England. On 6 February 2007, he made his under-21 debut for England, coming on as a substitute against Spain. On 4 June 2009, Cahill was called up to the England squad for the match against Kazakhstan. However, he only made his debut on 3 September 2010, coming on as a substitute against Bulgaria. On 29 March 2011, Cahill made his first start for the national team in the friendly against Ghana. He scored his first international goal against Bulgaria in a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifier.

Club career

Early career

Born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, Cahill began his career with AFC Dronfield, a Sunday League team in Derbyshire, where he played until he was 15. During his time there, he was scouted by a number of clubs, including Barnsley, Sheffield Wednesday, Derby County and Aston Villa – whom he signed for as a member of the club's Academy. "All my friends played for the local side, AFC Dronfield, so I went along and started playing centre half and in centre midfield for them," said Cahill in an interview with the Manchester Evening News.

Aston Villa

Cahill previously played for Burnley on loan and during his spell, which began in November 2004, he was handed the accolades of Burnley's Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year, and scored once in the league, against Stoke City.

He made his impressive Aston Villa debut as a substitute in the 5–0 defeat at Arsenal and impressed on his first start in the local derby game against West Bromwich Albion at Villa Park on 9 April 2006. Just a week later he scored his first goal, an overhead kick against rivals Birmingham City; Villa went on to win the match 3–1. Cahill started the following season injured, but took advantage of an injury to Martin Laursen later in the season to force his way into the first team. He made several appearances for Villa during the 2006–07 season.

On 19 September 2007, Cahill joined Sheffield United on a three month loan deal. He made his debut in a 3–2 away defeat at Crystal Palace a few days later. Cahill scored his first goal for Sheffield United in a 1–0 win at Stoke City on 10 November 2007. Under the terms of his loan agreement, Cahill returned to Villa Park in mid December 2007 having played sixteen games and scoring two goals.

Speculation surrounded Cahill's future in the January 2008 transfer window, with Birmingham City, Bolton Wanderers and Turkish club Beşiktaş J.K. all reportedly showing an interest.

Bolton Wanderers

Cahill warming up for Bolton Wanderers in August 2011

Bolton Wanderers scout Colin Harvey was impressed by Cahill and on 30 January 2008, Cahill joined Bolton Wanderers on a three-and-a-half year deal. On 2 February 2008 Cahill made his league debut for Bolton in their 2–0 victory over Reading. Cahill has since become a firm favourite at the Reebok Stadium and won the "Best Newcomer" award at the end of the season. In July 2008, he was handed the number 5 shirt by manager Gary Megson, which was previously worn by Abdoulaye Méïté. On 5 October 2008, Cahill scored his first Bolton goal in a 3–1 victory at West Ham United. In August 2009, 18 months after joining Bolton, Cahill signed a new three year contract with the club.

Cahill suffered a blood clot in his left arm after a training injury which forced him to pull out of the home game against Fulham on 6 February 2010; he spent the weekend in hospital. The treatment for the ailment meant that he could not play for a number of months. Cahill nonetheless cemented his place at the heart of the Bolton defence in the 2010–11 season, making 36 Premier League appearances and scoring three goals, all of which came at home.

2011-12 season

On 13 August 2011, he scored on the opening day of the 2011–12 season against Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road in a 4–0 victory from 25 yards out in the 45th minute.

During December 2011, before the January transfer window, Bolton manager Owen Coyle admitted that Cahill may be sold as his contract will expire at the end of the 2011-12 season. Coyle said: "If he [Cahill] does move, there is no doubt there will be top clubs clamouring for Gary." This led much speculation that Cahill could move to higher-placed clubs like Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United or Tottenham Hotspur, who all showed interest. On 23 December 2011, Coyle confirmed that they had started negotiations with Chelsea about a possible transfer: "Regarding Gary Cahill, there has been dialogue between ourselves and Chelsea". On 30 December 2011, Coyle revealed that they agreed a transfer fee for Cahill with Chelsea and that they could start negotiating personal terms. Coyle said: "We have given Gary's representatives permission to speak to Chelsea." Despite being on the brink of joining Chelsea, Cahill played against Wolves and scored Bolton's winner in the 2-1 win against Everton at Goodison Park. On 6 January 2012, Coyle said that Cahill was not going to play in their FA Cup clash as this would leave him cup-tied for Chelsea, as he said: "Gary Cahill will be one of those to miss out on the game."

Chelsea

On 16 January 2012, more than two weeks after the clubs had agreed a fee for him, believed to be in the region of £7 million, and the negotiating of personal terms, Cahill signed for Chelsea. He was pictured with number 24 shirt, he will wear for Chelsea. Cahill told the club's official website: "Chelsea is a massive club, it is a club that looks to win trophies season in season out and it is a big opportunity for me to be a part of that. Opportunities like this you can't turn down." He thanked his former club and their fans saying "This is the right move for me at the right time and I would like to thank everyone at Bolton because I've had a great four years at the football club. My spell with Wanderers has enabled me to break into the England squad, and I would particularly like to thank the fans for their support along the way. I always appreciated their backing."

On 28 January 2012, Cahill was one of Chelsea's unused substitutes in their 1–0 victory in the FA Cup against Queens Park Rangers On 5 February 2012, Cahill made his debut for Chelsea in the 3-3 draw against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge. On 21 February 2012, Cahill made his first appearance at the Champions League, in the leg of the Round of 16 match against Napoli which ended a 3-1 loss in Naples.

International career

Cahill was one of a number of uncapped players in Stuart Pearce's first squad as England U21 coach. He was not chosen to start the match, on 6 February 2007, against Spain. His first under-21 cap for England was the first game at the new Wembley Stadium, where he partnered Anton Ferdinand at the centre of the England defence. His final of four caps came in the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, where he made one appearance. Cahill was called up to the England squad for the match against Kazakhstan on 4 June 2009 following the withdrawal of Rio Ferdinand, but had to wait over a year for his first cap, until he came on as a second half substitute for Michael Dawson on 3 September 2010 against Bulgaria, in a 4–0 win, at Wembley Stadium. In doing so, he became the first Bolton Wanderers player to play for England since Michael Ricketts in 2002. On 29 March 2011, Cahill made his first start for the national team against Ghana in a friendly that ended 1–1.

Until he played for England he was also eligible to play for the Republic of Ireland through an Irish grandparent. However, his manager at Bolton and former Ireland international, Owen Coyle has said that Cahill only wanted to represent England.

On 2 September 2011, in his first competitive start, Cahill scored his first international goal for England against Bulgaria in the qualifying rounds of UEFA Euro 2012 in the 13th minute. In netting the opening goal, Cahill became the first Bolton Wanderers player to score for England since Ray Parry against Northern Ireland in 1959.

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	2 September 2011	Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria	Bulgaria	0–1	0–3	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying

Style of play

Cahill is known for his technical ability, powerful heading in defence and attack, volleying, pace and good tackling. Chelsea manager André Villas-Boas said of Cahill: "I think his technical attributes are immense and his pace is fantastic as well,".

Career statistics

Club

Club	Season	League			Cup1			Europe			Total
		Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists
Burnley (loan)	2004–05	27	1	0	5	0	0	0	0	0	32	1	0
Total		27	1	0	5	0	0	0	0	0	32	1	0
Aston Villa
	2005–06	7	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	8	1	1
	2006–07	20	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	21	0	1
	2007–08	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
Total		28	1	1	2	0	1	0	0	0	30	1	2
Sheffield United (loan)	2007–08	16	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	16	2	0
Total		16	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	16	2	0
Bolton Wanderers
	2007–08	13	0	1	0	0	0	4	0	0	17	0	1
	2008–09	33	3	4	1	0	0	0	0	0	34	3	4
	2009–10	29	5	2	5	2	0	0	0	0	34	7	2
	2010–11	36	3	0	5	0	0	0	0	0	41	3	0
	2011–12	19	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	21	2	0
Total		130	13	7	13	2	0	4	0	0	147	15	7
Chelsea
	2011–12	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
Total		1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
Career total		202	17	8	21	2	1	4	0	0	227	19	9

4 January 2012

¹Includes FA Cup and League Cup.

International

England national team
Year	Apps	Goals
2010	1	0
2011	6	1
Total	7	1

Statistics accurate as of 22:15, 15 November 2011 (UTC)

Honours

Aston Villa

• Goal of the Season Winner: 2005–06

Burnley

• Player of the Year Winner: 2004–05
• Young Player of the Year Winner: 2004–05

Bolton Wanderers

• Players' Player of the Year: 2008–09

External links

• Gary Cahill England profile at Englandstats
• Gary Cahill career stats at Soccerbase