Jonathan Woodgate

Personal information
Full name	Jonathan Simon Woodgate
Date of birth	January 22, 1980 (1980-01-22) (age 27)
Place of birth	Middlesbrough, England
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position	Centre Back
Club information
Current club	Middlesbrough
Number	8
Youth clubs
1993–1998	Middlesbrough Leeds United
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1998–2003 2003–2004 2004-2007 2006–2007 2007–	Leeds United Newcastle United Real Madrid → Middlesbrough (loan) Middlesbrough	104 (5) 028 (0) 009 (0) 027 (0) 005 (0)
National team2
1999–	England	006 (0)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 07:06, 16 May 2007 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of February 7, 2007. * Appearances (Goals)

Jonathan Simon Woodgate (born January 22, 1980 in Middlesbrough) is an English footballer, who plays as a defender for Premier League side Middlesbrough.

Club career

Leeds United

Woodgate began his career at Middlesbrough but moved to Leeds United at the age of sixteen after disagreements over his future between Middlesbrough and his family. He helped Leeds to win the FA Youth Cup in 1997, and in November the following year made his debut for the senior side.

Controversey

Following an incident in Leeds in January 2000, in which an Asian student suffered severe injuries, Woodgate and teammate Lee Bowyer were charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent and affray. A initial trial collapsed in April 2001 after an article in a Sunday newspaper and following a second trial, which ended in December 2001, Bowyer was cleared of both charges while Woodgate was convicted of affray and sentenced to community service.

Newcastle United

Woodgate signed for Newcastle United, in January 2003 for £9 million. He impressed and quickly became a fan's favourite, but a serious injury saw him end his final season somewhat early. Woodgate never really had an injury-free run in the team, although his finest moment in a Newcastle shirt arguably came in the UEFA Cup Semi-Final in the 2003-04 season at St James Park where he marked Didier Drogba out of the game.

Real Madrid

Woodgate signed for Real Madrid in August 2004 for a transfer fee of £13.4 million. This was to the surprise of many in the football world,due to his frequent absences through injury at his previous clubs, and indeed he was injured at the time of the transfer. It is, however, widely accepted that had Woodgate had a better fitness record Newcastle would not have sold him.

Woodgate did not make any appearances for Real Madrid in his first season in Spain, eventually making his debut on 22 September 2005, in a league match against Athletic Bilbao. However, the game went extremely badly for him, as he scored an own goal and was later sent off for a second bookable offence. He scored his first goal for Real Madrid in the 4-1 UEFA Champions League defeat of Rosenborg B.K. on 19 October 2005, his first appearance for the club in European competition.

By February 2006, Woodgate had established himself as a first-team player, with the other centre half position alongside him often rotating among the likes of Sergio Ramos, Iván Helguera, Francisco Pavon and Álvaro Mejía. One Spanish newspaper even described him as having "become Madrid's true leader". However, further injury setbacks again stopped him playing. He was considered to have an outside chance of making the England squad for Germany 2006, but due to surgery on his back was not named in the squad.

Woodgate confirmed in August 2006 that he was returning to the English Premiership on a loan move. Newcastle and his home town Middlesbrough were the favourites to capture him, as Liverpool stated they had no interest in acquiring him.

In July 2007, Woodgate was voted the worst signing of the 21st century by readers of www.marca.com, the website for Spain's biggest selling sports daily, Diario Marca. The 27-year-old was the runaway winner polling 37.11 percent of the votes cast.

Middlesbrough

On 30 August, 2006, Woodgate signed a one-year loan move to hometown club Middlesbrough.

He made his debut against Arsenal at The Emirates Stadium on the 9th of September. He was later voted man of the match by Middlesbrough legend Bernie Slaven on a local radio station. He was made captain for his second game for Middlesbrough, with usual captain George Boateng out with suspension. Woodgate was one of Middlesbrough's best players in a somewhat mediocre season, in which the team didn't struggle with relegation but never really got into the top half of the table.

On 26 April 2007, Middlesbrough announced that Woodgate became their first summer signing for a transfer fee of £7 million. He signed a four year contract, keeping him at the club till 2011.

International career

He was capped several times by England while at Leeds, making his debut for the national side under manager Kevin Keegan in 1999, when he became the first player born in the 1980s to win a full England cap. However, both his club and international career have frequently been interrupted, not only by injury, but by controversy.

In 2000 he was a defendant in a Crown Court trial due to his involvement with an incident outside Majestyks nightclub nightclub in Leeds. He was convicted of affray and sentenced to one hundred hours of community service, as well as having been banned from international selection by the Football Association, which prevented him from being selected for the England squad for the 2002 World Cup.

Woodgate won his sixth cap - almost three years after his fifth - and his first start in the international friendly against Spain on 7 February 2007.

***From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia