Aaron Flahavan

Aaron Flahavan
Personal information
Full nameAaron Adam Flahavan
Date of birth15 December 1975
Place of birthSouthampton, England
Date of death5 August 2001 (aged 25)
Place of deathBournemouth, England
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing positionGoalkeeper
Youth career
1992–1994Southampton
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1994–2001Portsmouth105(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Aaron Adam Flahavan (15 December 1975 – 5 August 2001) was an English football goalkeeper who played for Portsmouth.

Life and career

Flahavan played for the Southampton youth team[1] before turning professional with Portsmouth at age 18 in 1994. He had to wait until 1996 before making his first-team debut as he was understudy to Pompey legend Alan Knight.

In the late 1990s, Flahavan gradually began receiving increased playing time, and became the team's first-choice goalkeeper. Overall, he played 105 first-team matches for Portsmouth.

Flahavan twice had blackouts during matches; the first was attributed to a virus, and the second to a drop in his blood pressure.[2][3]

Death

Flahavan died in a car accident near Bournemouth in August 2001.[4] An inquest heard that Flahavan died as a result of a fractured skull, and his blood alcohol level was nearly three times over the legal limit when he lost control of his BMW sports car.[1]

Following his death, Portsmouth and Southampton retired his number 1 jersey for the 2001–02 season as a mark of respect.[5]

Family

Flahavan's younger brother, Darryl, is also a goalkeeper, and currently plays for Championship club Bournemouth. Darryl has a son named Aaron in memory of his brother.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Goalkeeper over drink-drive limit". BBC News. 2001-11-21. Retrieved 2007-09-01.
  2. Warwick, Graham (1998-09-13). "High fives as Pompey strikers click". Sunday Mirror. Retrieved 2007-09-01.
  3. Anderson, David (1999-09-18). "Burley and Francis show mutual respect". London: The Independent. Retrieved 2007-09-01.
  4. "Pompey keeper dies in crash". BBC Sport. 2001-08-05. Retrieved 2007-09-01.
  5. "Hundreds pay tribute to Flahavan". BBC Sport. 2001-08-13. Retrieved 2007-09-01.

External links