Gareth McAuley

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Personal information
Gareth McAuley
Full name	Gareth McAuley
Date of birth	December 5, 1979 (1979-12-05) (age 28)
Place of birth	Larne, Northern Ireland
Height	6'03 (191cm)
Playing position	Centre back
Club information
Current club	Leicester City
Number	5
Youth clubs
1996-2000	Linfield
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1996-2000 1999-2000 2000-2002 2002-2004 2004-2006 2006-	Linfield →Ballyclare Comrades (loan) Crusaders Coleraine Lincoln City Leicester City	0? 0(?) 07 0(0) 60 0(0) 65 0(4) 72 0(8) 74 0(5)
National team²
2003 2005-	Northern Ireland B Northern Ireland	01 0(0) 10 0(0)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12:57, 17 May 2008 (UTC). ² National team caps and goals correct as of 22:09, 27 March 2008 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Gareth McAuley (born 5 December 1979, Larne, Northern Ireland) is a Northern Irish footballer currently playing for Leicester City.

1 Career
- 1.1 Leicester City
2 International
3 Career honours/achievements
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Career

Coming from Glenoe outside of Larne and nicknamed "Big G", Gareth began his career at Linfield and spent some time in early 2000 on loan at Ballyclare Comrades. After four years at Linfield, he moved to Crusaders in the summer of 2000. After two successful seasons, he moved to Coleraine. During this period, he worked as a window draftsman. In the summer of 2004, Gareth decided to move into the English professional leagues and signed for Lincoln City, twice helping them reach the play-offs. He was named in the 2005/2006 season League Two select eleven whilst playing for Lincoln City.

[edit] Leicester City

McAuley signed for Leicester City on 5th June 2006, after reaching the end of his contract at Lincoln, signing a three-year deal.^[1] He scored his first senior goal for Leicester on January 17 in a 4-3 defeat to Fulham in the FA Cup,^[2] and was also on the scoresheet against Ipswich Town on February 10, heading in both as Leicester won 2-0.^[3]

In the 2007/08 season, McAuley was appointed captain in a 0-0 draw against Wolves on October 2, 2007, following Stephen Clemence's injury.^[4] He scored his fourth goal on 5 October against Sheffield Wednesday, helping Leicester earn their second only league win of the season,^[5] and was then named in the Championship Team of the Week three days later.^[6] McAuley is one of three players (DJ Campbell & Carl Cort) who netted in three goals against Chelsea in a Carling Cup match on October 31 at Stamford Bridge, but could not prevent his side from losing 4-3.^[7]

On 11th January 2008, Ipswich Town manager Jim Magilton says he plans to return with an improved offer for McAuley after his bid for him was rejected a week earlier,^[8] but Leicester manager Ian Holloway played down speculation that he will be leaving the club.^[9] Ipswich's second bid was also rejected on 30th January,^[10] and McAuley signed a new three-and-a-half year contract on February 8.^[11]

[edit] International

McAuley has been capped ten times for Northern Ireland. His first and only international appearance in the B team was a 2-1 defeat to Scotland B in May 2003. He received his first cap against Germany as his team lost 4-1 in a friendly match on 4 June 2005.^[12]

McAuley contemplated international retirement after being left out of the squad to face Sweden on 17 October 2007.^[13] But on 9 October, Nigel Worthington recalled him to the squad.^[14] McAuley made his comeback against Sweden on October 17, drawing 1-1.^[15] He was also part of the squad that defeated Denmark 2-1 in a memorable victory on November 17, keeping the national team's hopes of qualifying for the UEFA Euro 2008.^[16] Their hopes were dashed when they lost 1-0 to Spain in Las Palmas on November 21, finishing third in Group F with twenty points.^[17]