| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Richard Daniel Hughes | ||
| Date of birth | 25 June 1979 | ||
| Place of birth | Glasgow, Scotland | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Playing position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1992–1993 | Atalanta | ||
| 1993–1998 | Arsenal | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1998–2002 | Bournemouth | 131 | (14) |
| 2002–2011 | Portsmouth | 131 | (1) |
| 2003 | → Grimsby Town (loan) | 12 | (1) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2004–2011 | Scotland | 5 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 10:01, 6 February 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). |
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Richard Daniel Hughes (born 25 June 1979) is a former Scottish footballer who was capped five times for the Scotland national team. He played as a defensive midfielder for Atalanta, Arsenal, Bournemouth, Portsmouth and Grimsby Town.
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Hughes began his career as a youth player at Serie A side Atalanta.[1] After he moved back to the UK he spent five years with Arsenal as a youth player. Hughes did not make the transition to the first team and so left the club to join Bournemouth in the summer of 1998.
Hughes made his debut in 2–0 victory over Lincoln City, and became a regular member of the first team. He was signed by Portsmouth for £50,000 in the summer of 2002.
After making his debut in a 1–1 draw at Sheffield United he was loaned out to Grimsby Town, where he played 12 games and scored one goal against Brighton.[2]
He was given a Premier League appearance in December 2003, and he remained a squad member for the remainder of the 2003–04 campaign. He scored the winning goal, his first for Portsmouth, in a 1–0 FA Cup victory over Liverpool on 22 February 2004.[3]
On 28 July 2006 he pledged their futures at the club, signing a three-year contract.
On 15 August 2007, playing against Manchester United, Hughes was headbutted by Cristiano Ronaldo, after Hughes allegedly provoked him. Ronaldo was red-carded for his actions. The game finished 1–1.[4]
In January 2009, Hughes was offered an extension to his Portsmouth contract.[5]
His second competitive goal for Portsmouth came when he scored in a 4–1 League Cup win against Hereford on 25 August 2009.[6]
Hughes' first league goal for Portsmouth came in a 3–3 draw against Leeds at Elland Road on 28 December 2010, his last game for the club. The Scottish midfielder's strike deflected off Leeds defender Andy O'Brien on its way into the net. Originally awarded as an own goal to O'Brien, the goal was subsequently credited to Hughes by the dubious goals committee as his first league goal for the club.[7] [8] Hughes played his last game for Portsmouth on 28 December 2010. Under the terms of his contract, signed when Portsmouth were still in the Premier League, he was entitled to new contracts with increased wages, if he had played one more game. As Portsmouth could not afford to fulfil the original offer and he was not prepared to accept alternative terms, he remained at Portsmouth without playing in the second half of the 2010–11 season. He was subsequently released at the end of the season.[9]
His performances earned him selection for the Scottish national side, and he won his first cap against Estonia in May 2004. He gained recognition for his performances at Bournemouth with a call-up to represent Scotland at Under-21 level.
| Club performance | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| England | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||||
| 1998–99 | Bournemouth | Second Division | 44 | 2 | ||||||||
| 1999-00 | 21 | 2 | ||||||||||
| 2000–01 | 44 | 8 | ||||||||||
| 2001–02 | 22 | 2 | ||||||||||
| 2002–03 | Portsmouth | First Division | 6 | 0 | ||||||||
| 2002–03 | Grimsby Town | First Division | 12 | 1 | ||||||||
| 2003–04 | Portsmouth | Premier League | 11 | 0 | 1 | |||||||
| 2004–05 | 16 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 2005–06 | 26 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 2006–07 | 18 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 2007–08 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||||||||
| 2008–09 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 0 | ||||
| 2009–10 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | ||
| Total | England | 235 | 15 | |||||||||
| Career total | 235 | 15 | ||||||||||