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Monday, 11 April 2011

Daniel Sturridge

Daniel Andre "Danny" Sturridge (born 1 September 1989) is an English footballer. Part of a footballing family, Simon Sturridge and Dean Sturridge are his uncles, Sturridge started his professional career at Manchester City, where he played in two FA Youth Cup finals. He made his first team debut in 2007, and scored his first goal in January 2008. Over the course of 2008–09 season, Sturridge became the only player ever to score in the FA Youth Cup, FA Cup and Premier League in the same season.


Daniel Sturridge Biography - Early Career
Sturridge began his playing career in earnest at local club Aston Villa. He then moved to Coventry City in 2002, from where he joined Manchester City's Academy in 2003, aged 13. A Football League committee later ordered Manchester City to pay Coventry £30,000 compensation, with further payments up to a maximum of £200,000 based upon appearances and international honours. The following year, he was the leading scorer and voted player of the season (the only other person to achieve this was Argentine footballer Carlos Tévez) as City won the Nike Cup, the world's largest under-15 tournament. At 16, he played for Manchester City Youth during their 2006 FA Youth Cup run. The youngest player in the side, he scored four goals en route to the final, and another two in the final, though they were insufficient to prevent a 3–2 aggregate defeat to Liverpool. That summer, he signed his first professional contract, which came into effect when he turned 17.


Daniel Sturridge Biography - Manchester City
From the start of the 2006–07 season, Sturridge began to train with the City first team. A hat-trick in a reserve match was rewarded by a place on the substitutes' bench for the senior side's match with Reading in February 2007. He duly made his debut from the bench, replacing Georgios Samaras for the final quarter-hour. He made a second substitute appearance a month later, but then suffered a hip injury which sidelined him for the remainder of 2007.

He scored his first goal for City on 27 January 2008 in an FA Cup match against Sheffield United, followed three days later by his first league goal on his full debut, against Derby County. However, first team opportunities were sporadic, so Sturridge continued to play for the youth team in the FA Youth Cup. City again reached the final, with Sturridge the leading scorer in the competition. This time City won the final, with Sturridge scoring in the first leg. In the 2007–08 season, Sturridge became the only player ever to score in the Youth FA Cup, the FA Cup and the Premier League in the same season.

As of 1 May 2009, after 16 appearances in the 2008–09 Premier League season, Sturridge had scored four goals and provided three assists. At the end of the 2008–09 season, the Manchester City fans voted Sturridge as the Manchester City Young Player of the Season, in which he dedicated the award to his family and his uncle Dean.

Daniel Sturridge Biography - Chelsea
With Sturridge's contract at Manchester City expired, he signed for Chelsea on a four-year contract on 3 July 2009. As Sturridge is under the age of 24, and the two sides were unable to agree a deal, the fee for Sturridge was decided by a tribunal. The Professional Football Compensation Committee decided on 14 January 2010, that Chelsea would pay an initial fee of £3.5 million with additional payments of £500,000 after each of 10, 20, 30 and 40 first-team competitive appearances. There will also be a further payment of £1 million if the player makes a full international appearance, and Manchester City will receive 15 per cent of any sell-on fee if Sturridge is transferred.

His first goal for Chelsea was on his debut, a friendly match against Seattle Sounders on 18 July 2009, in the twelfth minute of the match he scored the first goal. Chelsea won the match 2–0. Sturridge played his second game for Chelsea against former Chelsea manager José Mourinho's Internazionale, during which he won a penalty that player Frank Lampard scored from. He made his Premier League debut for Chelsea on 18 August 2009 against Sunderland, coming on for Didier Drogba. On 16 September 2009, Sturridge scored a hat-trick in a reserve game against Ipswich Town. On 28 October 2009, he made his first start for the club in a League Cup win against Bolton Wanderers at Stamford Bridge.

On 20 December, Sturridge came on as a substitute at half time against West Ham United and won Chelsea a controversial penalty which Lampard converted. He made his first start in the Premier League for Chelsea away against Birmingham City on Boxing day. He scored his first two goals for Chelsea against Watford in the FA Cup third round on 3 January 2010. He continued to show his ability with a real poachers effort in a 2–0 victory in the FA Cup against Preston North End, scoring his third goal for Chelsea in January.[citation needed] On 13 February 2010, he netted again against Cardiff City, as Chelsea won 4–1. He became the only player to score in the third, fourth and fifth round of the FA Cup that season. Daniel is one of only five English forwards to have played in the Champions League that season (the others being Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck and Matt Derbyshire).

Sturridge scored his first League goal for Chelsea on 25 April 2010, in a 7–0 victory over Stoke City at Stamford Bridge, by latching onto a through ball, before rounding the goalkeeper, Asmir Begovic, and slotting the ball home.

During the 2010 FA Cup Final he came on as a 90th minute substitute for Chelsea, as they won 1-0 against Portsmouth. Sturridge finished the 2009-10 FA Cup campaign as the leading scorer for Chelsea with four goals.

On 15 September, 2010 Sturridge made his full UEFA Champions League debut against Slovakian side MŠK Žilina. He scored on his debut (thus his first UEFA Champions League goal) in a 4-1 away victory. In the Premier League, in a 1-0 loss to his former club Manchester City, Sturridge came on as a substitute for striker Didier Drogba. He scored his second goal in the Champions League against Žilina, which Chelsea went on to win 2-1. Later on that season he scored two right footed goals against Ipswich Town F.C.


Daniel Sturridge Biography - Bolton Wanderers
On 31 January 2011, Sturridge agreed to join Bolton Wanderers on a loan deal until the end of the season. He made his debut, coming on as a substitute, two days later at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers, scoring his first goal in the process. He followed this with another goal in the defeat to Tottenham Hotspur the following weekend, in which he made his first start, before scoring his third goal in three games in the 2-0 victory over Everton.[30] When Sturridge scored the equaliser against Newcastle United in his fourth game, he became only the sixth player to score in his first four games for a club in the Premier League.

Daniel Sturridge Biography - International career
Sturridge has represented England at youth level from under-16 upwards. Most notably he scored at the European Under-17 Championship in the final against Italy, twice against Holland for the Under 18 side in 2007, he netted again in the Under-19 European Championships against Holland. He scored the only goal for England U-21 in a 1–1 draw against Greece U-21 in Greece and scored his second U-21 goal in the 1-0 win over Portugal.

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