| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ryan Michael Green | ||
| Date of birth | 20 October 1980 | ||
| Place of birth | Cardiff, Wales | ||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Hereford United | ||
| Number | 2 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1997–2001 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 8 | (0) |
| 2001 | → Torquay United (loan) | 10 | (0) |
| 2001–2002 | Millwall | 13 | (0) |
| 2002 | → Cardiff City (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2002–2003 | Sheffield Wednesday | 4 | (0) |
| 2003–2006 | Hereford United | 91 | (3) |
| 2006–2009 | Bristol Rovers | 71 | (0) |
| 2009– | Hereford United | 91 | (2) |
| National team‡ | |||
| Wales U21 | 16 | (0) | |
| 1998 | Wales | 2 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:07, 2 January 2012 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). |
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Ryan Michael Green (born 20 October 1980) is a Wales international footballer who plays as a defender for Hereford United. He is perhaps best known for breaking Ryan Giggs's record as the youngest player to be capped for the Wales national football team, a record which has since been surpassed.
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Born in Cardiff, Green began his career as a trainee with Wolverhampton Wanderers turning professional in October 1997. He made his Wolves first team debut on 10 November 1998, in a 2–1 victory against Sheffield United at Molineux. After 70 minutes he suffered a medial ligament injury which sidelined him for six months.[1] He struggled to establish himself at Wolves and joined Torquay United on loan in March 2001, playing ten times as Torquay successfully fought off relegation to the Conference. However he scored an own goal in the final game of the season, a 3–2 win away to Barnet which nonetheless resulted in Torquay surviving at Barnet's expense.
He moved to Millwall on a free transfer in October 2001,[2] and almost joined Bradford City in 2002, a move scuppered by the financial impact on Football League clubs of the ITV Digital collapse.[1] Instead he joined Cardiff City on a monthly contract in November 2002, joining Sheffield Wednesday two weeks later. He was released by Wednesday at the end of the season, joining Hereford United in July 2003. In three seasons with Hereford he made a total of 117 appearances, scoring 4 goals. His first senior goal came against Telford United when, in the third minute of injury time, he ran the length of the pitch to get into a position to score the winning goal.[1] He scored his most notable goal in his final match for the Bulls, the 2006 Conference play-off final against Halifax Town. In the second period of extra time, he curled a shot into the top left corner of the goal, which secured Hereford's return to the Football League. However he left shortly afterwards, on 31 May 2006, signing a two-year contract with Bristol Rovers.[3]
Green made 33 league appearances in his first season with the Pirates but suffered a nasty foot injury in the 4–3 defeat to Grimsby Town, which sidelined him for several weeks and ruled him out of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy final. A broken jaw and further achilles problems in a volatile match at Swindon Town ruled him out for the rest of the following season. A hamstring injury sustained in a pre-season friendly added to Green's injury nightmare.[4] His contract was not renewed, and he left the club on 8 May 2009. On 5 June 2009 Green re-signed for Hereford United on a one year deal for season 2009–2010.[5]
Green's international career was brief and unusual; his full international debut against Malta on 3 June 1998 was also his senior football debut.[6] This made Green the youngest player ever to play for Wales, at the age of 17 years and 226 days, the record was previously held by Ryan Giggs.[7] Green's record stood until it was surpassed by Lewin Nyatanga, it is currently held by Gareth Bale. Wales manager Bobby Gould went on to select him for a match against Tunisia, his second and final cap to date. Green also represented Wales at youth and under 21 level.
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