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Owen Hargreaves

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Owen Hargreaves
File:OH.jpg
Personal information
Full name Owen Lee Hargreaves
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Manchester United
Number TBA
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:18, 28 March 2007 (UTC)

Owen Lee Hargreaves (born 20 January 1981 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada) is a professional football midfielder. He plays for Manchester United in the Premier League and at international level for England.

Background

Hargreaves is the youngest of three children born to Margaret and Colin Hargreaves who had migrated to Canada at the start of the eighties from Great Britain. His father played football for the Bolton Wanderers youth side and also for the Calgary Kickers of the Canadian Soccer League. He has two brothers, Darren and Neil. His eldest brother, Darren, represented Canada at youth level.

Career

FC Bayern Munich

Owen Hargreaves moved at the age of sixteen from Calgary Foothills to Bayern Munich on 1 July 1997. Hargreaves played in the Under-19 team for two and a half years before spending six months with the Amateur team. Whilst with the Under 19s the team reached the Final of the German Championship in 1998. They lost in the final to Borussia Dortmund, but only after a penalty shoot-out in Dortmund's Rote-Erde Stadium.

On 12 August 2000, Hargreaves played in his first Bundesliga match, making an appearance as a substitute for Carsten Jancker in the 83rd minute. His first start came against SpVgg Unterhaching on 16 September 2000. That season proved to be a triumphant one for Bayern Munich; the club were Bundesliga champions and also claimed the UEFA Champions League crown. Hargreaves's performances in the Champions League semi final against Real Madrid put him in the international spotlight as he showed he was capable of holding his own against the likes of Roberto Carlos and Luís Figo. He is one of only two English players to have won a Champions League medal with a non-English club, the other being two-time winner Steve McManaman (Real Madrid).

In the 2001-02 season Hargreaves established himself as a first team regular, making 46 appearances in all. In spite of setbacks for the club in the form of a third place finish in the Bundesliga, a quarter final appearance in the Champions League and a Cup defeat by Schalke, the season proved to be a decisive one for Hargreaves as he emerged as a key player of the team.

2002-03 saw Hargreaves celebrate another domestic success as Bayern won the Bundesliga title and the DFB Cup. On 26 January 2003, Hargreaves scored his first Bundesliga goal in the game against Borussia Mönchengladbach. Unfortunately, the season also saw him out injured on three separate occasions. In September he tore a thigh muscle, then in October a calf muscle. Towards the end of the season adductor problems meant he missed a further three weeks. He racked up 25 Bundesliga appearances, four Cup games and three matches in the Champions League.

The 2003-04 season was Hargreaves' first with Bayern without winning any silverware. After clinching the double the year before, the Munich side finished second in the Bundesliga, and were knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid. Hargreaves made a total of 38 appearances for the club in this season.

In 2004-05 he picked up another German championship and DFB Cup. He had 27 appearances in the Bundesliga (one goal), played in three Cup games (two goals) and eight Champions League games.

In the 2005-06 season, he added another Bundesliga and Cup title. Hargreaves scored the first goal at the new Allianz Arena in a competitive match on 5 August 2005, against Borussia Mönchengladbach. In all, he had 15 (one goal) league, four (two goals) cup and three Champions League appearances.

In October 2005, he extended his contract at Bayern for another four years.

In the 2006-07 season, Hargreaves was unfortunate enough to break his leg which has kept him out of most of Bayern Munich's league campaign this term. But he recovered in time to help Bayern knock out Real Madrid in the Champions League with an aggregate score of 4-4, with Bayern going through on away goals thanks to their 3-2 defeat in the first leg at Madrid's Bernabéu.

Manchester United

On 31 May 2007 it was announced that Hargreaves would join Manchester United on 1 July 2007, after almost a year of negotiations between Bayern Munich and United for a fee of around £17million.[1] Hargreaves was finally unveiled as a Manchester United player on 1 July, having signed a four-year contract with the club. He was then revealed to the press on 9 July, along with fellow newcomer Nani. Fighting for fitness, Hargreaves is trying to get his Manchester United debut in their Pre-season Asia Tour (2007). Although reports are suggesting that he may have to wait until the new season to start for the Reds. It has recently been shown that he will wear the no. 8 shirt, which was Wayne Rooney's former number. 

                          = File:42448604 hargreaves gill203.jpg

International career

Hargreaves was eligible to play international football for any one of the Home Nations[2][3] or for Canada, and had he not accepted selection at the time he did, would soon have been eligible for Germany under residency rules. On 31 August 2000, the then England U21 manager, Howard Wilkinson, called the 19-year-old into his squad for the match against Georgia. The game, played at the Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough, ended in a 6-1 win for the home team. Further appearances for the U21s followed in friendlies against Italy and Spain.

Hargreaves played his first full international game on 15 August 2001 against the Netherlands at White Hart Lane, giving him the distinction of being the only England player in history who has neither lived, nor played club football, in England. Hargreaves was the only player playing outside the Premier League to be selected for England's 2002 FIFA World Cup squad. Hargreaves was injured after just fifteen minutes of England's second Group game against Argentina and had to be substituted.

Although he had not usually been part of the first choice team, he was selected for the England squads at Euro 2004 in Portugal and the 2006 World Cup in Germany despite criticism from sections of the press and public. The generally negative perception of him by English fans had not been helped by his seeming to have an essence of "German-ness",[4] exacerbated by his German/Canadian accent. His entry into England's first match of the 2006 World Cup as a substitute prompted vocal abuse from a number of England fans. However, in a tournament in which England were generally regarded as having underachieved, he was, by the end of England's participation, widely considered one of the few successes of the English squad, and he was named "Man of the Match" in the quarter final against Portugal, the game in which England were eliminated after a penalty shootout, Hargreaves having been the only successful English penalty taker. In 2006, he won both England Player of the Year, and England Player of the World Cup in official FA polls, the first to win both in the same year.

He continued his rise in the eyes of English supporters in picking up the Man of the Match award in England's 4-0 win over Greece on 18 August 2006, where he first took over the number seven shirt of former captain David Beckham. On 30 January 2007 he was voted England Player of the Year 2006, as voted for by visitors to the Official FA site.[5]

In June 2007, FIFA announced that Hargreaves and Philipp Lahm would visit South Africa in advance support for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.[6]

Career stats

  • He has never been sent off in over 200 appearances for club and country.[7]
All-Time Club Performance
Club Season Domestic League Domestic Cup International Total
App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals
Bayern Munich 2000-01 14 0 1 0 4 0 19 0
2001-02 29 0 4 0 14a 0 47 0
2002-03 25 1 5 1 5 0 35 2
2003-04 25 2 3 0 6 0 34 2
2004-05 27 1 3 2 8 0 38 3
2005-06 16 1 4 2 3 0 22 3
2006-07 9 0 1 0 5 0 15 0
Total 145 5 21 5 45 0 211 10
Manchester United 2007-08 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career Totals 145 5 21 5 45 0 211 10

aIncludes a Toyota Cup match.

Awards

FC Bayern Munich

International

References and notes

  1. ^ "Hargreaves completes Man Utd move". BBC Sport. 2007-07-01. Retrieved 2007-07-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ "FIFA Statutes (VII. ELIGIBILITY TO PLAY FOR ASSOCIATION TEAMS - article 15)" (pdf). FIFA. 2005. Retrieved 2007-02-18. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  3. ^ "England National Football Team Player Eligibility". England Football Online. Retrieved 2007-02-18.
  4. ^ "He's feted in Munich, but slated in England". The Observer. Retrieved 2006-06-04.
  5. ^ "Owen's honour". The FA. 2007-01-30. Retrieved 2007-05-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ Hargreaves and Lahm to visit South Africa, www.fifa.com, June 8, 2007
  7. ^ "Owen Hargreaves column, 14 March, 2007". Owen Hargreaves. Retrieved April 10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)

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