Alan Sunderland
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| Alan Sunderland | ||
 |
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alan Sunderland | |
| Date of birth | July 1, 1953 | |
| Place of birth | Conisbrough, England | |
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | |
| Playing position | Midfielder | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1971-1977 1977-1984 1984 1984-1986 1986 |
Wolves Arsenal → Ipswich Town (loan) Ipswich Town Derry City |
158 (30) 206 (55) 15 (3) 43 (8) - (-) |
| National team | ||
| 1974 1976 1978-1981 1980 |
England Under 23 England Under 21 England B England |
1 (0) 1 (0) 7 (1) 1 (0) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
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Alan Sunderland (born July 1, 1953) is an English former football player.
Sunderland was born in Conisbrough, Yorkshire, and began his career at Wolves as an apprentice in 1971; initially a midfielder, he eventually switched positions to centre forward. He made over 200 appearances in total for the Midlands side, and won the 1974 League Cup and the Second Division championship in 1977.
In November 1977, he joined Arsenal for £220,000 and immediately became a regular, playing in the 1978 FA Cup Final (which Arsenal lost to Ipswich Town).
Sunderland's most famous moment came in the 1979 FA Cup Final; Arsenal had gone 2-0 up against Manchester United, with goals from Brian Talbot and Frank Stapleton, and looked set for victory with only five minutes remaining. However, United scored twice in three minutes, with goals from Gordon McQueen and Sammy McIlroy, and extra time loomed. In the very last minute of the match, however, Arsenal pushed forward in a desperate counter-attack; Liam Brady fed Graham Rix on the left wing, and his cross was converted by Sunderland at the far post to make the score 3-2, and win Arsenal the cup.
Sunderland stayed at Arsenal for another five years, forming an impressive partnership with Frank Stapleton for two years; he was the club's top scorer in 1979/80 and 1981/82, and featured in the Arsenal sides that lost the 1980 FA Cup and Cup Winners' Cup finals.
He also won a solitary England cap in a 2-1 friendly win over Australia in Sydney on May 31, 1980, and also represented his country at under-21, under-23 and 'B' team level.
However, after a spate of injuries and the arrival of Charlie Nicholas, Sunderland found himself pushed out of the first team. He joined Ipswich Town on loan in February 1984, and made the move permanent later in the summer. He played for Ipswich until 1986, then had a brief stint at Irish club Derry City, before calling it a day.
Following retirement, he opened a pub in Ipswich, before emigrating to Malta, where he coached local team Birkirkara F.C.. He made several successful property investments in both Malta and Gozo, buying before Malta joined the EU.[citation needed]
