Gareth Barry

Gareth Barry

Barry with Aston Villa
Personal information
Full name	Gareth Barry
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team	Manchester City
Number	18
Youth career
1995–1997	Brighton & Hove Albion
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1997–2009	Aston Villa	441	(41)
2009–	Manchester City	109	(5)
International career‡
2000–	England	53	(3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:54, 18 September 2012 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:07, 12 June 2012 (UTC)

Gareth Barry (born 23 February 1981) is an English footballer who plays for Manchester City and the England national football team. Barry moved to Aston Villa from Brighton & Hove Albion as a youngster, and spent 12 years at the club. He captained Aston Villa and is ninth in their all-time list of appearances. In June 2009, he joined Manchester City. Barry is an England international, having won his first full cap in 2000 and captained the side in 2010 in a friendly against Egypt.

Early life

Barry was born in Hastings, Sussex. He attended William Parker Sports College in the town at the same time as Sussex cricketer Michael Yardy.

Club career

Aston Villa

Barry joined Aston Villa from Brighton and Hove Albion as a trainee in 1997 along with Michael Standing. The move was controversial as the Brighton board demanded £2.5 million for the two players; the Football Association's transfer tribunal panel came up with a deal which would have seen Brighton make £2.4 million in the event of Barry and Standing making international appearances for England, as well as sell-on clauses. He played his first match for Villa on 2 May 1998 against Sheffield Wednesday. Initially, he played as a central defender, on the left-hand side of a back three alongside Gareth Southgate and Ugo Ehiogu. Barry became a highly versatile player and captain first as a centre-back, then a left-back. He then moved to left-midfield, before establishing himself in the centre of midfield. Barry was part of the Villa team who lost the 2000 FA Cup Final 1-0 to Chelsea.

In April 2005, Barry intervened in a controversial incident in a match against Newcastle United when two Newcastle United players, Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer, brawled with one another during the game.

In November 2007, it was reported that Aston Villa were set to award Barry a testimonial, at the age of just 26, to recognize his 10 years at the club. On 5 April 2008, Barry helped to break a run of bad form, scoring in a 4–0 victory over Bolton Wanderers. He scored two goals (his first two from open play that season) and he was also credited with two assists.

As of April 2008, Barry, approaching 400 total appearances for Aston Villa, was the longest serving player in the team. During the league game against Bolton Wanderers on 28 October 2007, Barry became the youngest player to appear in 300 Premier League games (aged 26 years 247 days), replacing former record-holder Frank Lampard.

In May 2008, Liverpool made a series of bids to buy Barry, all of which were rejected by Aston Villa. Barry publicly criticised his manager, Martin O'Neill, accusing him of making no attempt to keep him at the club, and further stating a desire to join Liverpool in order to compete in the Champions League. O'Neill denied this claim and Barry was officially disciplined for giving an unauthorised interview. A further bid from Liverpool of around £15 million was rejected as it was still short of Villa's £18 million asking price. Steve Finnan had then been offered in a part-exchange in the deal but the fee Villa wanted in this case was understood by BBC Sport to be £17 million with Steve Finnan.

Barry was then stripped of the Villa captaincy, fined 2 weeks wages and banned from training with the Villa squad.

Barry remained an Aston Villa player, starting in a UEFA Cup tie against FH Hafnarfjordur, in which he scored in a 4–1 win. The goal against Hafnarfjordur was Barry's first European goal since he scored a penalty in the Intertoto Cup against Celta Vigo in 2000. On 18 September 2008, Barry made his 400th appearance in a Villa shirt in the UEFA Cup away to Litex Lovech: Barry scored a penalty as Villa won the match 3–1. He scored again for Villa as they beat Ajax 2–1 in their first UEFA Cup group match on 23 October 2008. Due to the transfer saga, O'Neill had taken the captaincy away from Barry and handed it to centre-back Martin Laursen for the 2008–09 season. Following Laursen's injury, the captaincy was restored to Barry in January 2009. In total, Gareth Barry made 441 appearances for Aston Villa, scoring 52 goals in the process.

Manchester City

On 2 June 2009, Barry signed a five-year contract with Manchester City for a fee of £12 million and wears the number 18 shirt. Many Aston Villa fans publicly criticised Barry for this move considering his alleged desire to play in the UEFA Champions League. However, Barry responded to this positively and wrote a letter to the Birmingham Mail in which he thanked the Villa fans for their support while he was there, claiming that his move to City was for a "new challenge." He made his debut for City in the opening league game of the season vs. Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–0 victory. He scored his first goal for the club, under high expectations, in a 2–1 pre-season victory over Celtic. Barry scored his first Premier League goal for City against Manchester United at Old Trafford on 20 September 2009 levelling the scores at 1–1, but City went on to lose the match 4–3. Three days later he scored a header in a League Cup tie with Fulham to make the scores 1–1 but City went on to win in extra time. On 25 April 2011, he started and played the full 90 minutes against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park in the 1–0 win and also got booked by referee Andre Marriner. On 16 February 2010, a week before his 29th birthday he played the full 90 minutes and scored a late equaliser in a 1–1 draw against Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium. He scored his first goal of the 2011–12 season on 21 August in a 3–2 win against Bolton Wanderers. On 3 January 2012 he was sent off for the first time since joining Manchester City in a 3–0 league win against Liverpool. Barry made 34 Premier League appearances in the 2011–12 season as Manchester City won the league title, the club's first in 44 years.

International career

Barry playing for England in September 2009

Barry first represented England at under-16 level, and also played for the under-18s. He made his England under-21 debut against the Czech Republic in 1998, and made 27 appearances for the under-21 side between 1998 and 2003. This was a record at the time, though has since been surpassed.

Barry was first picked for the senior England side by Kevin Keegan. After an injury to Jason Wilcox, he travelled to UEFA Euro 2000, but did not feature in any of the side's games. Barry made his England debut as a substitute in a pre-Euro 2000 friendly against Ukraine on 31 May 2000. His first start for England was in the 1–1 draw against France on 2 September 2000.

He made further England appearances in matches against South Africa, Serbia and Montenegro and Slovakia in 2003.

Barry was recalled to the England squad following a four-year international exile on 2 February 2007. Barry was resigned to never winning another cap under previous boss Sven-Göran Eriksson but Steve McClaren brought him back for the first time since March 2003. Barry was brought on at the beginning of the second half of the friendly match against Spain on 7 February 2007 as replacement for Steven Gerrard and played left midfield for the majority of the game, moving to left-back when Stewart Downing was brought on. England lost 1–0 thanks to a second half Andrés Iniesta goal. On 25 May 2007, Barry played for England B in a 3–1 victory over Albania, getting an assist for England's first goal scored by Alan Smith. Barry renewed his England international career by coming on as a substitute, replacing Michael Carrick in a friendly against Germany, at Wembley.

As a replacement for the injured Owen Hargreaves, Barry started in central midfield for England against Israel on 8 September 2007; with two assists and impressive overall play. He kept his place with Owen Hargreaves declared unfit for the match against Russia on 12 September 2007, and produced another stunning display, proving to be more than competent at international level. BBC pundits Ian Wright and Alan Shearer commented that Barry was immense in the centre of midfield alongside Gerrard, forming a wonderful partnership together, and further commented that he should have been given man of the match overall for the two performances against Israel and Russia.

He was also given the official man of the match for England's Euro 2008 home qualifier against Estonia. He was selected to start against Switzerland on 6 February 2008, the first game of the Capello era. He was again selected to start in England's friendly away to France on 26 March 2008. Barry scored his first international goal against Trinidad and Tobago on 1 June 2008, this completed a personal treble for Barry as he also captained England in the second half of his 20th cap.

Barry appeared in every one of England's ten games during the 2008–09 season up until the game against Andorra on 10 June 2009, for which he was suspended, having picked up yellow cards in the games against Ukraine and Kazakhstan. In the game against Kazakhstan on 6 June, he scored his second international goal on his 13th cap, heading a cross from Steven Gerrard back across the goalkeeper and into the corner.

Playing for England in a friendly against Egypt at Wembley, Barry was handed the captaincy in a game that they won 3–1, with Barry's former Manchester City teammate Shaun Wright-Phillips on the scoresheet. However, an ankle injury picked up while playing for Manchester City made him uncertain for the 2010 World Cup, yet he was included in the 23-man England squad for the tournament. Barry missed the first game but played in the remaining three games for England, including the full 90 minutes of the second round 4–1 defeat against Germany in Bloemfontein, South Africa which sent England out of the competition.

On 9 February 2011, Barry was again made captain for the final 10 minutes of the match against Denmark, after Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole had already worn the skipper's armband. On 29 March 2011, he skippered England against Ghana in a friendly match at Wembley Stadium in a 1–1 draw. On 4 June 2011, Barry was an unused substitute against Switzerland in a Euro 2012 qualifier at Wembley in a 2–2 draw. On 12 November 2011, Barry earned his 50th cap for England in the 1-0 win over Spain in a friendly match after coming on as a substitute.

Barry was called into the England squad for UEFA Euro 2012 but ruled out of the tournament after picking up a groin injury. He was forced off less than 30 minutes after being introduced as a half-time substitute in the pre-tournament friendly against Norway in Oslo on 26 May 2012.

International goals

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	1 June 2008	Port of Spain, Trinidad	Trinidad and Tobago	0–1	0–3	Friendly match
2.	6 June 2009	Almaty, Kazakhstan	Kazakhstan	0–1	0–4	2010 World Cup Qualification
3.	15 November 2011	Wembley Stadium, London	Sweden	1−0	1–0	Friendly match

Career statistics

Club

As of 25 September 2012

England
Season	Club	Division	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total		Discipline
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1997–98	Aston Villa	Premier League	3	0	0	0	0	0	–	–	2	0	0	0
1998–99			32	2	2	0	0	0	3	0	37	2	4	0
1999–2000			30	1	6	0	8	0	–	–	44	1	7	0
2000–01			30	0	3	0	1	0	4	1	38	1	3	0
2001–02			20	0	1	0	0	0	7	0	28	0	2	0
2002–03			35	3	1	0	4	1	4	0	44	4	11	0
2003–04			36	3	1	1	6	0	–	–	43	4	3	1
2004–05			34	7	1	1	1	0	–	–	36	8	2	0
2005–06			36	3	3	1	3	2	–	–	42	6	10	1
2006–07			35	8	1	0	3	1	–	–	39	9	8	1
2007–08			37	9	1	0	2	0	–	–	40	9	5	0
2008–09			38	5	1	0	1	0	8	3	48	8	11	0
Total			365	41	21	3	29	4	26	4	441	52	66	3
2009–10	Manchester City	Premier League	34	2	3	0	6	1	–	–	43	3	5	0
2010–11			33	2	7	0	0	0	7	0	47	2	7	0
2011–12			34	1	0	0	2	0	7	0	44	1	9	1
2012–13			1	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	3	0	0	0
Total			102	5	10	0	9	1	15	0	137	6	20	1
Career total			467	46	31	3	40	5	41	4	578	58	87	4

Honours

Aston Villa

• Intertoto Cup: 2001

Manchester City

• Premier League: 2011–12
• FA Cup: 2010–11

Individual

• Aston Villa Player of the Season: 2006–07

Personal life

Barry married his childhood sweetheart Louise in the summer of 2007. They have two children: a son, Oscar, and a daughter, Freya.

Barry is best friends with Michael Standing, a player that signed for Aston Villa on the same day as him from Brighton & Hove Albion in 1997. The pair have known each other since they were both ten years old. In 2009, Barry appointed Standing as his new agent after terminating his partnership with previous agent Alex Black.

External links

• Gareth Barry – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Gareth Barry at Soccerbase
• Gareth Barry's international Stats Football Association
• Gareth Barry's Profile Aston Villa FC