Ivan Sproule
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ivan Sproule (born February 18, 1981 in Castlederg, County Tyrone) is a professional footballer who is famed for his fast feet and pace and currently plays for Hibernian F.C. in the Scottish Premier League. He is perhaps the most revered player amongst the current squad by Hibernian supporters.[citation needed]
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[edit] Late developer
Sproule, a winger, came late to professional football. His career had been spent at Omagh Town and Institute - semi-professional clubs in the Irish Football League. He combined playing football with his full time career as an engineer.
[edit] Hibernian career
Hibernian FC invited him for a trial in January 2005, in which he impressed manager Tony Mowbray and signed as a full-time professional until the end of the season, which meant that he had to give up his day job.
The gamble paid off for both Sproule and Hibs. He scored one of the goals in a 3-1 win over Celtic at Celtic Park which significantly damaged their championship hopes, a particularly enjoyable moment for him given his boyhood allegiance to Rangers. As a result of such form, he was offered a revised 2 year deal which he showed little hesitation in accepting.
In August 2005 Sproule hit the headlines by scoring a hat-trick in a defeat of Rangers [1]. In February 2006 Sproule further added misery to Rangers season by helping Hibs eliminate them from the Scottish Cup. Sproule scored one goal and assisted with another, as Hibs won 3-0 [2]. Hibs went on to lose in a semi-final against rivals Hearts. Sproule was sent off during this match for a stamp on Saulius Mikoliunas.
Most of Sproule's better performances have tended to occur when he has been used as a substitute, which has sometimes made it difficult for him to command a regular first team place. Despite this, he has built up impressive tallies of both goals and assists over the last eighteen months.
His name is often sung by the Hibs fans with "He's here, he's there, he's every-f***ing-where", a reference to his blinding pace.
[edit] International career
Sproule was called into the Northern Ireland squad for the first time in September 2005, and came on as a substitute in the famous 1-0 win over England at Windsor Park [3].
Sproule scored on his first start for Northern Ireland against Estonia on 1 March 2006. His goal won the match, as it was the only goal of the game. The goal was actually scored with his first touch, with only 2 minutes of the game played [4]. During this match, the Northern Ireland fans sang "And I can't - help - falling in love - with - Sproule", after his maiden international goal.
He was, however, left out of the initial Northern Ireland squad for the matches in October 2006 with Denmark and Latvia, but was later added for the Latvia match due to call-offs by other players.
[edit] External links
| Hibernian F.C. - Current Squad |
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1 Simon Brown | 2 Whittaker | 3 Murphy | 4 Zemmama | 5 Jones | 6 Stewart | 7 Scott Brown | 9 Killen | 10 Benjelloun | 12 Martis | 14 Beuzelin | 15 Hogg | 17 Sproule | 18 McCluskey | 19 Sowunmi | 20 Fletcher | 21 Baillie | 22 Shiels | 25 McCann | 26 Stevenson | 27 Lynch | 28 Campbell | 32 Ayre | 33 Chisholm | 41 McNeil | 42 Grof | -- Haji | Manager: Collins |
