Matty Pattison
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Matthew Joseph Pattison | ||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Newcastle United | ||
| Number | 35 | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15:02, 24 August 2006 (UTC) | |||
Matthew Pattison (born October 27, 1986 in Johannesburg) is an Anglo-South African professional footballer, who currently plays for Newcastle United as a midfielder.
Pattison began playing football at an early age, learning his trade at amateur Johannesburg-based outfit Alberton F.C. He and his family then moved to England in 1997, when he was eleven years old. He joined the Newcastle United Academy three years later at the age of fourteen.
He got his first taste of senior football in a pre-season friendly match against Celtic in August 2004. Unfortunately, Pattison was put on the sideline for the whole 2004-2005 season with two knee ligament injuries that threatened to end his career before it had really begun.
However, he showed his resilience and made his competitive first team debut on February 25 2006 in a Premiership match against Everton, coming on as a substitute. Pattison made his first start for the club later in the same season against West Brom, before being substituted after 80 minutes. Pattison was later named man of the match for the impressive contribution he made during the win.
Trivia
- He is said to be a keen fan of meat, and once even worked on his father's meat factory in Johannesburg. This has earned him the nickname of Meaty Pattison.
- Matty Pattison received his first call up for the South African men's senior soccer team (Bafana Bafana) on November 1, 2006 to represent his country against Egypt on November 15, 2006 in the annual Nelson Mandela Challenge.