playername | Theo Walcott |
---|
fullname | Theo James Walcott |
---|
dateofbirth | March 16, 1989 |
---|
cityofbirth | Stanmore |
---|
countryofbirth | England |
---|
height | |
---|
position | Winger, Forward |
---|
currentclub | Arsenal |
---|
clubnumber | 14 |
---|
youthyears1 | 1999–2000 |
---|
youthclubs1 | Newbury |
---|
youthyears2 | 2000 |
---|
youthclubs2 | Swindon Town |
---|
youthyears3 | 2000–2004| youthclubs3 Southampton |
---|
years1 | 2004–2006 |
---|
clubs1 | Southampton |
---|
caps1 | 21 |
---|
goals1 | 4 |
---|
years2 | 2006– |
---|
clubs2 | Arsenal |
---|
caps2 | 117 |
---|
goals2 | 19 |
---|
nationalyears1 | 2004–2005 |
---|
nationalteam1 | England U16 |
---|
nationalcaps1 | 4 |
---|
nationalgoals1 | 0 |
---|
nationalyears2 | 2005–2006 |
---|
nationalteam2 | England U17 |
---|
nationalcaps2 | 14 |
---|
nationalgoals2 | 0 |
---|
nationalyears3 | 2006 |
---|
nationalteam3 | England U19 |
---|
nationalcaps3 | 1 |
---|
nationalgoals3 | 0 |
---|
nationalyears4 | 2006–2010 |
---|
nationalteam4 | England U21 |
---|
nationalcaps4 | 20 |
---|
nationalgoals4 | 6 |
---|
nationalyears5 | 2006– |
---|
nationalteam5 | England |
---|
nationalcaps5 | 17 |
---|
nationalgoals5 | 3 |
---|
pcupdate | 17:32, 28 August 2011 (UTC) |
---|
ntupdate | 17:32, 28 August 2011 (UTC)
}} |
---|
Theo James Walcott (born 16 March 1989) is an English footballer of Jamaican descent who plays for Arsenal and the England national team. Walcott is a product of the Southampton F.C. Academy. He is a striker who is usually deployed on the right wing as a wide foward. Walcott won the prestigious BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year Award in 2006.
He was the subject of worldwide media attention, following his shock inclusion to the 2006 English World Cup squad.
On 30 May 2006, Walcott became England's youngest ever senior football player with an age of 17 years and 75 days. On 6 September 2008, he made his first competitive start in a World Cup qualifier against Andorra, and in the following match against Croatia on 10 September he opened his senior international goals tally and became the youngest player in history to score a hat-trick for England.
Walcott is well known for his blistering pace, with Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola declaring that “you would need a pistol to stop him.” He has been likened by Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger to Walcott's former teammate and captain, Thierry Henry. FIFA World Player of the Year winner Lionel Messi has described Walcott as "one of the most dangerous players I have ever played against."
Club career
Early career
Walcott was born in
Stanmore,
Greater London, but grew up in
Compton near
Newbury, Berkshire. He attended Compton Church of England Primary School and
The Downs School, playing football for the local village team and later for
Newbury. Walcott scored more than 100 goals in his one and only season for Newbury, before leaving there for
Swindon Town. He spent only six months there before leaving for Southampton after he rejected a chance to join
Chelsea.
Nike agreed to a sponsorship deal with Walcott when he was fourteen years old.
Southampton
In the
2004–05 season, he starred in the Southampton youth side that reached the final of the
FA Youth Cup against
Ipswich Town. In addition, he became the youngest person to play in the Southampton reserve team at 15 years and 175 days, when he came off the bench against
Watford in September 2004. However, he did not play in the Premier League, as Southampton were relegated to the
Championship at the end of the 2004–05 season.
Before the start of the 2005–06 season, Walcott linked up with the first team's tour of Scotland, just two weeks after leaving school. The striker then went on to become the youngest-ever player with the Southampton first team, at 16 years and 143 days, after coming on as a substitute in Southampton's 0–0 draw at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Football League Championship.
Walcott made his full first team debut away to Leeds United on 18 October 2005, scoring his first senior goal in the same game. He scored again away at Millwall four days later, and yet again in his full home debut against Stoke City the following Saturday. His rapid rise to fame also led him to be named amongst the top three finalists for the prestigious BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year award on 11 December 2005.
Arsenal
Walcott transferred to Arsenal on 20 January 2006, for a fee of £5 million, rising to £12 million depending on appearances for club and country. The original fee was payable by instalments – £5 million down, £5 million based on club appearances and £2 million based on England appearances – but was revised to a total of £9.1 million by a compromise settlement agreed on 31 March 2008. He signed an initial pre-contract agreement to sign a professional contract on his 17th birthday on 16 March 2006, and was given the number 32 shirt in the process.
2006–07 season
Following his surprise and controversial selection in the England squad for the World Cup 2006, he made his
Premier League debut on 19 August 2006, the first day of the
2006–07 season, coming on as a substitute against
Aston Villa and setting up a goal for
Gilberto Silva.
A UEFA Champions League debut came in the second leg of Arsenal's third qualifying round match against Dinamo Zagreb, where Walcott became the youngest ever Arsenal player to appear in European competition, a record previously held by Cesc Fàbregas, and since beaten by Jack Wilshere. Within minutes of coming on he received his first yellow card in Arsenal colours for taking a shot several seconds after the referee had already blown for offside. During stoppage time his cross beat the Dinamo defence and Mathieu Flamini scored, giving Walcott a record of two assists in two substitute appearances. His first start came in a home league game against Watford on 14 October 2006. Walcott's exploits with Arsenal and with the England team earned him the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year award at the end of 2006.
Walcott's first goal for Arsenal came in the 2007 League Cup Final against Chelsea at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, on 25 February 2007, but his eleventh minute strike was overshadowed by events later on in the match as Didier Drogba scored twice to give Chelsea a 2–1 victory and three players were dismissed following a mass brawl.
2007–08 season
Walcott's first home goals were scored in a
Champions League match against
Slavia Prague, which
Arsenal won 7–0, as well as setting up a goal for Fàbregas. Walcott scored his first two Premier league goals in a 2–2 draw against
Birmingham City at
St. Andrews on 23 February 2008. He finished the
2007–08 season with seven goals from all competitions. In the Champions League quarterfinal against Liverpool on 8 April, Walcott made a run from inside his own half down the length of the pitch, beating the Liverpool back four to set up
Emmanuel Adebayor's last minute equaliser, however, Arsenal were subsequently beaten 4–2. Later that season,
Arsene Wenger claimed that Walcott was finally able to make his shift from a boy, to a man, and shall soon be a monster.
2008–09 season
Following comparisons to former team-mate
Thierry Henry, Walcott was assigned Henry's former number 14 for the 2008–09 season. During the season, Walcott established himself as a first team regular, starting many games on the right midfield or winger. In September 2008,
Arsène Wenger confirmed that Tottenham, Chelsea and Liverpool were all interested in signing Walcott as a 16-year-old. On Saturday 18 October 2008, Walcott scored his first Premier League goal of the season against
Everton, scoring the third and final goal in the match, which Arsenal won 3–1 despite going behind to a
Leon Osman goal. Three days later, Walcott scored Arsenal's second goal in a 5–2 win away to
Fenerbahçe, rounding the keeper before tucking the ball away from a tight angle.
On 18 November 2008, Walcott dislocated his right shoulder while training with England for a friendly against Germany. He made a full recovery by April 2009, scoring against Wigan to equalise before starting the second leg tie against Villarreal, where he scored in the 10th minute after receiving a pass from captain Fàbregas and flicking the ball over the goalkeeper. Arsenal won 4–1 on aggregate.
In the next match, an FA Cup Semi-Final against Chelsea, Walcott put Arsenal ahead in the first half, although they eventually lost 2–1. Three days later, Walcott came off to the bench to run half the length of the field before squaring for Andrei Arshavin to put Arsenal 4–3 up against Liverpool in the 91st minute, although the match finished 4–4. In May 2009 he signed a new long term contract with Arsenal.
2009–10 season
Walcott's 2009–10 season was marred by injuries. He suffered from shoulder, back, knee and hamstring problems which restricted him to only 15 starts for Arsenal. He did not complete 90 minutes until 9 December 2009. On 6 March 2010, Walcott scored his second goal of the season against
Burnley in a 3–1 victory to give Arsenal a decisive lead, with a left-footed effort from the edge of the box, after cutting inside from the right flank.
Walcott scored the first of two goals for Arsenal in the first leg of the Champions League on 31 March 2010 against FC Barcelona, with team-mate Cesc Fabregas scoring the second from the penalty spot. After the match he said, "if you look back at the game they had a lot of possession and a 2–2 draw was probably a fair result." Walcott's appearance was the turning point in Arsenal's draw with Barcelona during the first leg of the Champions League. Due to this Arsène Wenger, after much debate, started Walcott for the second leg. His appearance did not reward him with any goals but did however contribute to the set up for Nicklas Bendtner to put Arsenal up.
2010–11 season
Walcott's start to the
2010–11 season was particularly successful, winning EA SPORTS Player of the Month in August by a landslide. On 21 August 2010, Walcott scored the first
hat-trick of his club career after he netted three against newly promoted
Blackpool in a 6–0 home win, coming in just the second game of the
new season. At the beginning of the
2010–11 season Walcott had a remarkably high goalscoring record; after playing
Newcastle on 28 October 2010, it was calculated that Walcott had scored an average of 1 goal for every 48 minutes of playing time.
On 27 December 2010, he scored a goal and made an assist to help beat
Chelsea 3–1 in a crucial win which, according to manager,
Arsène Wenger was a "must-win" game.
After an FA Cup third round match against Leeds United on 8 January 2011, Walcott admitted diving in the last minute of the game in an attempt to win a penalty kick. The penalty was not awarded, though Walcott was fouled soon after the dive, winning a legitimate penalty which was converted by Cesc Fabregas, securing a draw for Arsenal and a replay of the fixture – which Arsenal then won. On 21 February, during the 1–0 victory against Stoke City, Walcott had twisted his leg on the turf which left him with an ankle injury. This ruled him out of the League Cup final and the Champions League knockout phase, second-leg against Barcelona. On the last day of the 2010–11 season, Walcott came off the bench to score the equaliser in a 2–2 draw away to Fulham. He ended the season with a career high of 9 goals in the Premier League and 13 goals in all competitions.
2011–12 season
On 16 August, Walcott scored his first goal of the season in the first leg of a
UEFA Champions League qualifying match against
Udinese, giving a vital 1–0 win to Arsenal to carry on into the second leg of the tie. Walcott scored again in the second leg and helped Arsenal secure qualification for the lucrative group stage of the competition for the 14th straight season. And then in the disappointing 8-2 loss against Manchester United, Theo Walcott scored the first Arsenal goal of their premier league campaign.
International career
Walcott came on as a second half substitute on 25 May 2006 for the
England B team against
Belarus and was a shock inclusion in
Sven-Göran Eriksson's 30-player preliminary
England squad for the
2006 FIFA World Cup, announced on 8 May 2006. When the final 23-man team was announced later that month, he made the cut and was given the number 23. Even with first-choice strikers
Wayne Rooney and
Michael Owen both recovering from injury, Walcott was selected over established
Premier League strikers
Darren Bent (the highest-scoring English forward in the Premier League in the
2005–06 season),
Andrew Johnson (the top English goalscorer in the Premier League in the
2004–05 season),
Dean Ashton (like Bent, already an established player at
England Under-21 level) and
Jermain Defoe. On 30 May 2006, he became
England's youngest ever senior player by appearing in a 3–1
friendly win over
Hungary at
Old Trafford aged 17 years and 75 days. Eriksson defended his decision, claiming that the experience would serve Walcott well for future tournaments. Despite being one of only two fully fit strikers in the England squad (the other being Crouch), he did not play during the tournament.
After the World Cup, Eriksson quit as England manager. New appointment Steve McClaren put Walcott into the England Under-21s, claiming he was "toughening up" on his squad selections. On 15 August, Walcott became the youngest player ever to score for the England national Under-21 football team when he scored the opener after three minutes in England's 2–2 draw with Moldova at Ipswich Town's ground Portman Road. The game against Moldova was his first cap for the England Under-21s.
Walcott scored two goals against Germany to seal qualification for England to the Under-21 European Championships, in the playoff second leg in October 2006, with his second drawing comparisons with Thierry Henry.
On 6 September 2008, Walcott made his first competitive start in a World Cup qualifier against Andorra, and in the following match against Croatia on 10 September he opened his senior international goals tally and became the youngest player in history to score a hat-trick for England.
Over the summer of 2009, Walcott participated in England Under-21 team's European Cup campaign despite protestations from his club manager, Arsène Wenger. Wenger complained that Walcott's participation in the tournament as well as matches with the senior squad would lead to burn out and injury.
Walcott returned to the international fold on 3 March 2010 in a friendly against Egypt. It was his first international start for nine months. He faded after a bright start and was replaced by Shaun Wright-Phillips after 57 minutes as England recovered from a goal down to beat Egypt 3–1 at Wembley. His performance came under heavy criticisms from Chris Waddle who said of Walcott, "I've never seen him develop. He just doesn't understand the game for me – where to be running, when to run inside a full back, when to just play a one-two. It's all off the cuff. I just don't think he's got a football brain and he's going to have problems. Let's be honest, good defenders would catch him offside every time."
Walcott started England's friendly victories against Mexico and Japan in May 2010. However, on 1 June 2010, it was announced that Walcott had been left out of England's 23-man World Cup squad by Fabio Capello. On 4 July, a few days after England's exit from the World Cup, Lionel Messi said that he was shocked by Walcott's exclusion as he believed that Walcott could have made the difference against Germany and Algeria. In January 2011, Capello admitted that he had made a mistake in not selecting Walcott for the 2010 World Cup.
In the Euro 2012 Qualifying match against Switzerland on 7 September, Walcott was stretchered off after he was clipped in the build-up to Wayne Rooney's opener for England after 10 minutes, putting him out of action for several weeks.
International goals
:''Scores and results list England's goal tally first.''
# !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition
|
1. |
10 September 2008 |
rowspan=3Maksimir Stadium, Zagreb, Croatia || | |
1–0 |
4–1 |
rowspan=3 |
2. |
2–0
|
3. |
4–1
|
Career statistics
Club
''Statistics accurate as of 17 August 2011''
Club
|
Season
|
League
|
Cup
|
!colspan="3" |
Total
|
!Apps
|
!Goals
|
!Assists
|
!Apps
|
!Goals
|
!Assists
|
!Apps
|
!Goals
|
!Assists
|
!Apps
|
!Goals
|
!Assists
|
rowspan="1" valign="center" | Southampton |
|
21 |
4| | 1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
— |
23 |
5 |
2
|
colspan="2">Total |
—!!23!!5!!2
|
rowspan="7" valign="center" | Arsenal |
|
16 |
0 |
3| | 10 |
1 |
2 |
6 |
0 |
2 |
32 |
1 |
7
|
2007-08 Premier League | 2007–08 |
25 |
4| | 2 |
5 |
1 |
0 |
9 |
2 |
3 |
39 |
7 |
5
|
2008-09 Premier League | 2008–09 |
22 |
2| | 2 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
10 |
3 |
1 |
35 |
6 |
3
|
2009-10 Premier League | 2009–10 |
23 |
3| | 2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
1 |
0 |
30 |
4 |
2
|
2010–11 Premier League | 2010–11 |
28 |
9| | 7 |
5 |
2 |
1 |
5 |
2 |
0 |
38 |
13 |
8
|
2011–12 Premier League | 2011–12 |
3 |
1| | 0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
5 |
3 |
0
|
Total
|
!117!!19!!16!!24!!5!!3!!38!!10!!6!!179!!34!!25
|
Career Total
|
!138!!23!!17!!26!!6!!4!!38!!10!!6!!202!!39!!27
|
Honours
Club
;
Southampton
Runner-up:
FA Youth Cup: 2005
;Arsenal
Runner-up:
Football League Cup: 2007, 2011
International
;
England U-21
Runner-up:
UEFA U-21 Championship 2009
Individual
BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year Award: 2006
Outside football
Walcott currently has four published books – "''T.J. and the Hat-Trick''", "''T.J. and the Penalty''", "''T.J. and the Winning Goal''" and "''T.J. and the Cup Run''". The first two were published in April 2010, with the latter two being published in August 2010. All four were published by
Corgi Children's.
In August 2011, Walcott's auto-biography "Theo: Growing Up Fast" was published by Bantam Press. The book caused controversy because of his criticism of England manager Fabio Capello, whom he describes as "cold and clinical".
Family and personal life
Walcott was born to a
British Jamaican father and an English mother. His family made a cameo appearance in the 2007 film ''
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'', directed by
David Yates, the partner of Walcott's aunt. Walcott himself was due to appear as well, but his commitments to Arsenal forced him to drop out.
Walcott and his father are both
Liverpool fans. Walcott has never hidden the fact that he's a massive Liverpool supporter and even when Chelsea asked him to be a ball boy, he used the opportunity to meet his Liverpool idols:
"I was playing in a tournament for Swindon when Southampton and Chelsea showed an interest. Chelsea invited me to be a ball-boy for a game against Liverpool and it was fantastic to meet my heroes Michael Owen and Robbie Fowler. I was a Liverpool fan simply because my dad followed them. Unfortunately I wasn't born when the team had their golden era, but I enjoyed watching the likes of Michael Owen, Robbie Fowler and Steve McManaman when I was growing up. When Liverpool won the Champions League last year, I went mad. I was shouting so loud I think I woke up the entire village where I live!"
Walcott has been involved with the UK charities Build a School and Best Beginnings.
On 6 April 2008, Walcott was a torchbearer for the Olympic Flame for Beijing 2008 as it was paraded around London. He was the second last torchbearer just before Dame Kelly Holmes.
He is in a long-term relationship with Melanie Slade. The couple got together after meeting in 2004 at the WestQuay shopping centre in Southampton.
His cousin Jacob Walcott is a trainee at Reading and a member of the England national under-17 football team appearing in the 2009 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship. His older sister, Hollie, is a bodybuilder who came second in the British Natural Bodybuilding Federation Central Championships in July 2010.
References
External links
National Football Teams Profile
Theo Walcott profile TheSaintsHub
Theo Walcott profile at Arsenal.com
Theo Walcott profile at ESPNsoccernet
Theo Walcott information and news updates at TheoWalcott.net
Walcott's book website
Category:1989 births
Category:Living people
Category:People from Stanmore
Category:People from West Berkshire (district)
Category:English footballers
Category:England under-21 international footballers
Category:England B international footballers
Category:England international footballers
Category:Association football forwards
Category:Southampton F.C. players
Category:Arsenal F.C. players
Category:Premier League players
Category:The Football League players
Category:Black British sportspeople
Category:English people of Jamaican descent
Category:2006 FIFA World Cup players
Category:English children's writers
Category:England youth international footballers
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