Darius Vassell

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Darius Vassell
Personal information
Full name	Darius Vassell
Date of birth	June 13, 1980
Place of birth	Birmingham, England
Height	5 ft 7 in
Position	Forward
Club information
Current club	Manchester City
Number	11
Youth clubs
	Aston Villa
Professional clubs*
Years	Club	Apps (goals)
1997-2005 2005-	Aston Villa Manchester City	162 (35) 40 (8)
National team**
2002-2004	England	22 (6)
* Professional club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of September 3, 2006. ** National team caps and goals correct as of September 3, 2006.

Darius Vassell (born 13 June 1980 to Jamaican parents in Sutton Coldfield) is an English international footballer who plays club football in the Premiership at Manchester City.

He is from Wylde Green, went to John Willmott School, in Falcon Lodge, Sutton Coldfield, and began his footballing career with Romulus in the Birmingham Boys League. An Aston Villa fan, was taken on by the club's School of Excellence at the age of 13. Vassell was a product of the Aston Villa Youth Team for whom he scored a club record 39 goals in a single season. He made his debut as a substitute in a 3-1 win against Middlesbrough in August 1998.

His England career began with an impressive spell in the under 21 team. His full England debut in the senior team was against Netherlands in 2002 where he scored England's goal in the 1-1 draw. He has had a forgettable moment in his England career however, he missed the decisive penalty which sent England out of the Euro 2004 finals in Portugal.

His best qualities are his speed and agility. Aston Villa fans lamented the fact that his best performances seem to come with England, where he has proved particularly useful as a "super sub", coming on for the last 15 to 20 minutes of a game to trouble a tired defence with his exceptional pace. One oddity of his career is that he has never finished on the losing side in a league game in which he has scored.

A devout Christian, Vassell believes his religious beliefs played a part in saving his life when involved in a road smash several years ago.

He was transferred to Manchester City on 27 July 2005 for £2m.

During his first season for Manchester City, Darius scored 8 league goals in 35 appearances despite playing part of the season carrying a groin injury. Additionally, he helped the blues to an FA Cup Quarter Final, scoring 2 goals in his 5 cup games.

[edit] External links

• Darius Vassell at the Internet Movie Database
• Darius Vassell career stats at Soccerbase
• Info on player

	England squad - 2002 FIFA World Cup Quarter-finalists
1 Seaman | 2 Mills | 3 A. Cole | 4 Sinclair | 5 Ferdinand | 6 Campbell | 7 Beckham | 8 Scholes | 9 Fowler | 10 Owen | 11 Heskey | 12 Brown | 13 Martyn | 14 Bridge | 15 Keown | 16 Southgate | 17 Sheringham | 18 Hargreaves | 19 J. Cole | 20 Vassell | 21 Butt | 22 James | 23 Dyer | Coach: Eriksson

Manchester City F.C. - Current Squad
1 Isaksson | 2 Richards | 3 Thatcher | 4 Jordan | 5 Dabo | 6 Reyna | 7 Ireland | 8 Barton | 11 Vassell | 12 Weaver | 14 Dickov | 15 Distin | 16 Onuoha | 17 Sun | 18 D. Mills | 20 Samaras | 21 Hamann | 22 Dunne | 24 Beasley | 25 Hart | 26 M. Mills | 27 Trabelsi | 28 Sinclair | 30 Corradi | 33 Johnson | 39 Laird | 43 Miller | Manager: Pearce