Damien Duff

Damien Duff
Personal information
Full name	Damien Anthony Duff
Date of birth	2 March 1979 (1979-03-02) (age 30)
Place of birth	Ballyboden, Ireland
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position	Winger, Wing Back
Club information
Current club	Newcastle United
Number	11
Youth career
	Leicester Celtic St. Kevin's Boys Lourdes Celtic
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1996–2003 2003–2006 2006–	Blackburn Rovers Chelsea Newcastle United	185 (27) 081 (14) 068 0(4)
National team2
1998–	Republic of Ireland	074 0(7)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:31, 16 May 2009 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 21:57, 6 June 2009 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Damien Anthony Duff (born 2 March 1979) is an Irish footballer. He currently plays as a winger for Football League Championship club Newcastle United and internationally for the Republic of Ireland.^[1]

Club career

Blackburn Rovers

Born in Ballyboden, County Dublin, Duff joined Blackburn Rovers as a trainee in 1996 after playing for Leicester Celtic, St. Kevin's Boys and Lourdes Celtic as a schoolboy in Dublin. He made his Blackburn debut at the age of 18 against Leicester City on the final day of the 1996-97 season. In his first full season (1997-98) he scored four goals and his exciting performances saw him billed as a big star of the future. Despite Blackburn's relegation the following season, Duff stayed loyal to the club and did not ask for a transfer, despite the obvious attention he was receiving from top flight clubs.

Duff helped Rovers achieve promotion back to the Premiership in (2000-01) and then win the League Cup the following season. Following his excellent World Cup 2002, Duff was soon identified as a world-class player, and rumours were rife that Duff would move to another club. However, Duff signed a new four-year contract with Rovers in summer 2002, stating his happiness with being at the club. Despite injury problems, his superb form continued in the 2002-03 season and he finished top goalscorer for Rovers with 11 goals.

In the run-up to the 2003-04 season, buoyed by new owner Roman Abramovich's money, Chelsea made a series of bids for Duff, with a £17m offer eventually triggering a release clause in the player's contract. Duff took many days deciding whether to leave behind his comfortable lifestyle in the Ribble Valley and move elsewhere.^[2] but he finally decided to end his seven year stint at Rovers, looking to challenge himself at a higher level.

Chelsea

Duff completed his move to West London in July (the transfer fee of £17m was at the time a club record), and there were high hopes for the Irishman. His first season at Chelsea was somewhat plagued by injury, and crucially he missed the latter stages of the season, including the Champions League semi-finals. Duff scored six goals that season with his goal against Newcastle in a 5-0 demolition particularly underlining his talent. Intercepting a throw from his international team-mate, Shay Given, he chipped the ball over the last man's leg and took a few touches before volleying the ball into the bottom corner of the net past his compatriot. Another individual effort came against Lazio in a 4-0 win at the Stadio Olimpico. Receiving the ball on the left wing, he dribbled past four defenders before slotting the ball in at the far post with his right foot. He was instrumental in securing for Chelsea the club's highest league finish for 49 years as well as the Champions League run, but the season ultimately ended trophyless and with the sacking of manager Claudio Ranieri.

The arrival of Dutch winger Arjen Robben and new manager José Mourinho posed a threat to Duff's place in the starting line-up for the 2004-05 season, but an injury to Robben at the start of the season saw Duff as the only available winger. Mourinho, however, did not play Duff in the early part of the 2004-05 season, preferring a more narrow approach. Duff eventually got into the side after four games and, when Robben returned to the side, Duff's versatility saw him move to the right wing and form a ferocious wing partnership with Robben. The season proved to be successful for both Duff and Chelsea. He scored ten goals, including a crucial strike in a 4-2 win against Barcelona in the Champions League, while the team won the Premiership title and the Carling Cup (in which Duff scored what proved to be the winning goal in the semi-final against Manchester United).

Newcastle United

On 22 July 2006, Duff agreed terms over a £5m move to Newcastle United and officially completed his transfer on 23 July, signing a 5 year contract.^[3]

His first game was a start in a friendly home game against PSV on 29 July. Duff made his competitive debut in a UEFA Cup Second Round Qualifying first leg against Latvian side Ventspils.

On 17 September, he scored his first goal for Newcastle. It was the first goal in a 2–0 victory over West Ham United away at Upton Park. Duff suffered a knee injury in November that kept him out for four months, during which Newcastle had a bad run of defeats. He returned but was then ruled out for the rest of the season due to an ankle injury in a 2–1 loss to Portsmouth on 14 April 2007.^[4] Sam Allardyce later described Duff's injury as 'career threatening'.^[5] Duff made a full return to fitness in December, and on 16 January 2008, in the first game after Kevin Keegan's reappointment, Duff scored Newcastle's fourth goal against FA Cup opposition Stoke City. Newcastle won the match 4–1.

On 19 July, in the first preseason match of the 2008–09 season, Duff scored a hat-trick against League One outfit Hartlepool United, his first for the club, which Newcastle also won 4–1. Duff also scored against Valencia in another pre-season match. Despite impressive pre-season form though, Duff was linked with an exit from the club, with Sunderland and former club Blackburn, rumoured as potential suitors. However, Duff remained at St. James' Park and made some key contributions in the aftermath of Kevin Keegan's departure and Joe Kinnear's appointment as interim manager, including a goal against Everton as part of a 2–2 draw at Goodison Park, along with the winning goal in a 2–1 victory against Tottenham Hotspur on 21 December.

In the final match of the 2008/09 Season, against Aston Villa in a crucial relegation decider, Duff unluckily scored the deciding own goal that sent his side down. This is the second occasion in which Duff has been relegated, and like he did when with Blackburn, Duff confirmed his intention to stay at the club and help them back into the Premier League.

As of 2009, Duff is apparently worth £14m coming in 92 in Four Four Two Magazine's 2009 Football Rich List.^[6]

International career

Duff taking a corner for Ireland in 2008

At junior level, Duff played for Ireland in the 1997 and 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship.

Duff made his senior début for the Republic of Ireland in 1998 against the Czech Republic. He has since gone on to win 72 caps for the Ireland Squad, scoring seven goals. He played every game for them at the 2002 World Cup and was voted their player of the tournament scoring a goal against Saudi Arabia en route to the second round.

Honours

Blackburn Rovers

• League Cup: 2001–02
• UEFA Team of the Year: 2002

Chelsea

• Premier League: 2004-05 and 2005-06
• League Cup: 2004–05
• Community Shield: 2005

Newcastle United

• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2006

Statistics

^[7] As of 11 May 2009

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Damien Duff

• Damien Duff FIFA competition record
• Damien Duff career stats at Soccerbase
• Football Database provides Damien Duff's profile and stats
• Newcastle Club profile

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