Dennis Lawrence

Dennis Lawrence
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Personal information
Full name	Dennis Lawrence
Date of birth	1 August 1974 (1974-08-01) (age 35)
Place of birth	Morvant, Trinidad and Tobago
Height	2.00 m (6 ft 6+1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current club	San Juan Jabloteh
Number	23
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1992–1993 1993–1998 1999–2000 2001–2006 2006–2009 2008–2009 2009–	Barataria Ball Players Caledonia AIA Defence Force Wrexham Swansea City → Crewe Alexandra (loan) San Juan Jabloteh	198 (14) 079 0(7) 026 0(2) 008 0(1)
National team2
2000–	Trinidad and Tobago	086 0(5)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:48, 14 April 2009 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 13 August 2009. * Appearances (Goals)

Dennis Lawrence (born 1 August 1974) is a Trinidad and Tobago football player who is currently playing for San Juan Jabloteh after releasing from Football League Championship outfit Swansea City.

Club career

Lawrence signed for Wrexham for a fee of £100,000 in 2001, joining from Defence Force of his native Trinidad, becoming the third Trinidadian at Wrexham along with Hector Sam and Carlos Edwards. Before signing for Wrexham, he had trials at Newcastle United and Bolton Wanderers.

After some poor performances when he first joined the club, Lawrence went on to become a valued and popular player at the Welsh club, winning the 2003–04 Player of the Season award. He has also become the first Wrexham player to play at a World Cup, starting all three of his country's games.

He signed for Swansea City on 16 August 2006 after Swansea had lost central defender and skipper Garry Monk to injury. He made an impressive Swansea debut in a 2-0 win over Doncaster Rovers winning the Man of the Match award.

On the 30th September 2008 it was announced he had joined Crewe Alexandra on a 4 month loan until January. On 30th December 2008 the loan was extened until the end of the 2008-09 campaign, but he returned to the Liberty Stadium at the end of his loan spell on May 2.

Lawrence was released from his contract after two years with Swansea City on May 4th, with his former loan employers Crewe Alexandra interested in a permanent move.

In September 2009 He signed a deal to play for San Juan Jabloteh in his native Trinidad.

International career

Lawrence has been an important player for the Trinidad and Tobago national team, having made his debut on 18 March 2000. He was awarded the MVP (Most Valuable Player) award at the 2001 Caribbean Cup, which Trinidad and Tobago won. On 16 November 2005, he (in his 61st cap) scored the goal against Bahrain that awarded Trinidad and Tobago a ticket to the 2006 World Cup. He played every minute of his country's campaign in Germany as the Soca Warriors secured an impressive 0-0 draw against Sweden and gave England a run for their money.

He is also the player who approached Port Vale's Chris Birchall and asked him if he was interested in representing Trinidad and Tobago (Chris' mother was born there).

After a failed qualifying campaign for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Lawrence, who had succeeded Dwight Yorke as national captain, announced his retirement from international football with 89 caps under his belt. [1]

International Goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Goals	Result	Competition
1.	5 May 2001	Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago	Martinique	1	1 – 2	Caribbean Cup
2.	25 May 2005	Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago	Bermuda	1	4 – 0	Friendly
3.	4 June 2005	Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago	Panama	1	2 – 0	2006 FIFA World Cup Qualifier
4.	16 November 2005	Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa, Bahrain	Bahrain	1	1 – 0	2006 FIFA World Cup Qualifier
5.	3 September 2008	Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago	Guyana	1	3 – 0	Friendly

Honours

• Copa Caribe 2001 - MVP player of the Tournament.
• Wrexham - player of the season for the 2003–04 season.

External links

• Yahoo: Dennis Lawrence Profile.
• BBC: Dennis Lawrence
• Swansea Player Profile
• Swansea Vital Player Profile
• Dennis Lawrence career stats at Soccerbase

v • d • e Trinidad and Tobago squad – 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup 1 Hislop • 2 Charles • 3 A. John • 4 Andrews • 5 Sancho • 6 Lawrence • 7 Birchall • 8 Eve • 9 Whitley • 10 Scotland • 11 Edwards • 12 Rahim • 13 Glen • 14 S. John • 15 Jones • 16 Pierre • 18 Theobald • 19 Spann • 20 Samuel • 21 Jack • 22 Williams • 23 Wolffe • 24 Gray • Coach: Beenhakker

v • d • e Trinidad and Tobago squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Hislop • 2 Cox • 3 A. John • 4 Andrews • 5 Sancho • 6 Lawrence • 7 Birchall • 8 Gray • 9 Whitley • 10 Latapy • 11 Edwards • 12 Samuel • 13 Glen • 14 S. John • 15 Jones • 16 Wise • 17 Charles • 18 Theobald • 19 Yorke • 20 Scotland • 21 Jack • 22 Ince • 23 Wolfe • Coach: Beenhakker