Stewart Downing
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Stewart Downing | ||
 Downing, playing for Boro against Arsenal |
||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Stewart Downing | |
| Date of birth | 22 July 1984 | |
| Place of birth | Middlesbrough, England | |
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | |
| Playing position | Midfielder | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Middlesbrough | |
| Number | 19 | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 2001– 2003 |
Middlesbrough → Sunderland (loan) |
144 (17) 7 (3) |
| National team2 | ||
| 2004–2005 2006 2005– |
England U21 England B England |
8 (0) 2 (2) 18 (0) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Stewart Jason Downing (born 22 July 1984 in Middlesbrough) is an English football player, who currently plays for Middlesbrough, and is in the England squad. A natural left-footer, Downing plays on the left side of midfield in a traditional winger's role.
Contents |
[edit] Club career
Stewart Downing grew up in Middlesbrough's Pallister estate and has been with the club he has supported since his school days. He is considered one of the most promising graduates of the academy.
Earlier on in his career, he was sent out on loan to Sunderland in 2003, as at the time his first-team chances were limited due to the form on the left of Boro's midfield of Bolo Zenden. After his recall due to injuries at Middlesbrough, he found his chances for first-team appearances had increased, and his career started to take off.
In February 2008, Downing's contract at Boro was again extended to 2013, signing a 5 year deal.
With the departure of Mark Schwarzer in May 2008, Downing is now Middlesbrough's longest serving player.
[edit] International career
With seven Under-21 caps to his credit, Downing made his England debut on February 9, 2005 in a home friendly, played at Villa Park against the Netherlands, replacing Shaun Wright-Phillips in the second half. As the 2005-06 season started Downing found himself ignored by the England (senior team) management and his career took a further setback in May 2005 when he was injured training with England on their USA tour. He returned to full fitness in January 2006.
Downing was included in the England World Cup squad in May 2006 by Sven-Göran Eriksson, and came on as a second half substitute in England's victorious opening game against Paraguay. He was brought on once again in the match against Trinidad and Tobago, when England scored two goals in the last ten minutes.
On August 16, 2006 Downing made his first start for England, where Greece were beaten by 4 goals to 0, Downing involved in 3 of them. He started the subsequent 3 Euro 2008 qualifiers, against Andorra and the Republic of Macedonia. His performances drew criticism from the press, with many stating that Downing was only being selected due to his friendship with manager Steve McClaren. However Downing hopes to have proven many of his critics wrong after Fabio Capello became the 3rd successive England manager to give him an England cap, on 26th March 2008 in a 1-0 friendly defeat to France. Downing has also been called up (along side Middlesbrough Team mate David Wheater) for Capello's next two friendly's against USA and Trinidad and Tobago where he received the nod ahead of Ashley Young. His performance justified his selection by contributing with the first two goals and won praise from the press who have previously slated his inclusion in the squad. [1]
[edit] Work in the community
[edit] No Messin'
Stewart is also heavily involved in the nationwide No Messin' campaign, warning youngsters against playing on railway lines as well as chasing and jumping in front of on coming trains in a game known locally as 'Head On'. Head on is a game where youngsters stand on a railway track and wait for an on coming train, bow their head so that they cannot see the train and then jump out of the way at the last possible moment. It is a project that Stewart is keen to promote and raise awareness for, as it is an issue that has plagued him and his local surroundings for many years. Boxer Amir Khan is also involved in the project.
[edit] Middlesbrough Futsal Club
Stewart Downing was given the honorary position of president of Middlesbrough Futsal Club in December 2007. His involvement with the club will mainly be as a public figure in order to raise awareness of the game of futsal in England, particularly in Middlesbrough.
[edit] Private life
Downing's ex-girlfriend Michaela Henderson-Thynne, also from Middlesbrough, was one of the prominent WAGs during the 2006 World Cup. They split up after four years together.[1].
During his spare time Stewart often DJs at a few of Middlesbrough's top nightclubs.[citation needed].
[edit] Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Others | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | ||
| Middlesbrough F.C. | 2007-08 | 38 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 10 |
| 2006-07 | 34 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 2 | |
| 2005-06 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 1 | |
| 2004-05 | 35 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 6 | |
| Sunderland Loan | 2003-04 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 |
| Middlesbrough F.C. | 2003-04 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 |
| 2002-03 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | |
| 2001-02 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 148 | 17 | 22 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 190 | 23 | |
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- profile on Middlesbrough official site
- profile at premierleague.com
- profile at thefa.com
- Official Website of Middlesbrough Futsal Club
- Stewart Downing career stats at Soccerbase
|
|||||||
|
|||||
