Michael Owen

Michael James Owen (born 14 December 1979 in Chester, Cheshire) is an English Association football player who currently plays for and captains Newcastle United F.C..

Owen has enjoyed a successful and high-profile career at both club and international level and was the Ballon d'Or winner in 2001. Owen is currently England national football team's fourth highest scorer of all time, scoring his 39th and Michael Owen International Goals on his 85th cap, and is England's leading competitive goalscorer with 26 goals. Owen was selected by Pelé as one of the FIFA 100 in 2004.





Owen was bitten by the "football bug" at a very young age. His father, Terry Owen, was a footballer and had previously played for Everton F.C.. As far back as Owen could remember he loved kicking a football round with his Dad and two brothers. It was at this time that he began to show a real talent for football and was bought his first pair of football boots when he was seven years old. As his father had played for Everton, it was only natural Owen grew up being an Everton fan. His favourite player was Gary Lineker and he always insisted that he was Gary when he and his dad had a kick about.

When Owen was only seven his father persuaded the manager of Mold Alexandra F.C. to let the youngster into his team of 10-year-olds. Owen was younger than most, and very much smaller, but he was soon showing off his "flair" and started in most games becoming known as the club's "secret weapon". He also played for his primary school team in Hawarden, Wales, breaking all local scoring records in his first season. He then attended Hawarden High School, where he played for the school team.



At age 13, when Owen started attending Hawarden High School, he became available to sign "School Boy" forms with a club. He held talks with Chelsea F.C., Manchester United F.C. and Arsenal F.C., before he eventually signed for Liverpool F.C., the club that persuaded him to attend the FA's School of Excellence at Lilleshall Hall in Shropshire at age 14. Throughout this time, he studied at Idsall School, Shifnal, Shropshire, and achieved ten General Certificate of Secondary Educations.

Liverpool signed Owen after he graduated from Lilleshall at 16, and joined the club on the Youth Training Scheme. The star of Liverpool's 1996 FA Youth Cup triumph, scoring a hat-trick in the final against Manchester United F.C., Owen scored prolifically as he rose rapidly through the Anfield ranks. After four months, he signed professional forms for the senior team just after his seventeenth birthday in December 18 1996.

He made his debut for Liverpool against Wimbledon F.C. in May 1997, coming on as a substitute and scoring a goal.

In the 2000–2001 season, he helped the club to their most successful season in several years. The team won the Football League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup, with Owen scoring two goals in the last few minutes against Arsenal F.C. in the FA Cup final to turn what had appeared to be a 1–0 defeat into a 2–1 victory, the game has since been christened "The Michael Owen Cup Final". At the end of the year, Owen became the first English player in twenty years and the only Liverpool F.C. player ever to win the Ballon d'Or award. He was also voted World Soccer player of the year in 2001, the only English player to win it & till date the only winner based in England. He scored his 100th goal for Liverpool on 21 December 2001 against West Ham United F.C.. Liverpool finished second in the league in the 2001–2002 season and Owen played a key part in the success, scoring 28 goals.

The 2002–2003 season saw Owen on top form again as he hit 28 goals. Liverpool were on top of the table and looked like genuine title contenders for the first time in several years but a run of bad results saw them eventually finishing 5th in the table. Owen also scored at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff when Liverpool beat Manchester United 2-0 to win the League Cup and scored his 100th Premiership goal against West Bromwich Albion F.C.. Real Madrid C.F. signed him for a fee of pound sterling8 million on 13 August 2004, with midfielder Antonio Núñez moving in the other direction as a make-weight.


He was a Real Madrid's player for one season, but haven't made any significant role on Santiago Berbaeu.


On 24 August 2005, Newcastle United F.C. announced that they had agreed a club record fee of £16 million to obtain Owen, although they still had to negotiate with the player's advisers. Liverpool and local rivals Everton F.C. entered the fray, but were unwilling to match Madrid's asking price. As the 2006 FIFA World Cup loomed in a year, Owen wanted to get more playing time to secure his position as the first choice striker in the English squad and joined Newcastle amidst rumours that he had inserted an escape clause valued at £12 million.

On 31 August 2005 Owen finally signed a four-year contract to play for Newcastle United, despite initial press speculation that he would rather have returned to Liverpool.. With the metro system being packed to the rafters with black and white shirts making their way to Central, Monument and Haymarket stations, roughly 20,000 fans were present at Newcastle's home ground of St James' Park for Owen's official unveiling as a Newcastle player. He scored his first goal for the club on his second appearance, the second goal in a 3–0 away win at Blackburn Rovers F.C. on 18 September – Newcastle's first win of the season. Owen scored his first hat-trick for Newcastle in the 4–2 away win over West Ham on 17 December. It was also a "Hat_trick Association_football", with one goal scored with each of his left foot, right foot, and head.

Owen has been very injury prone in sustaining serious injuries since joining Newcastle. On 31 December 2005, Owen broke a Metatarsus bone in his foot in a match against Tottenham Hotspur F.C.. He underwent surgery to place a pin in the bone, to help speed the healing process. He was expected to be out of action until late March, but the healing process did not go as hoped and on 24 March he underwent a second, minor, operation. Owen then stated that he should be fit for the final few weeks of the season with Newcastle. His return to action finally came against Birmingham City F.C. on 29 April when he came off the substitutes' bench in the 62nd minute. After the match Owen stated that he was "not 100% happy" with his foot. He underwent a further x-ray and made himself unavailable for Newcastle's final game of the season.

A damaged anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, sustained in the first minute of the group match against Sweden at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, kept Owen out of regular football for nearly a year, until April 2007. Owen's injury fanned the "club or country" dispute between clubs and the international authorities, as The Football Association's insurance policy would not fully reimburse Newcastle United for Owen's salary of over £120,000 a week, or the costs of employing another player to cover for him; Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd threatened to sue the FA for compensation.

Owen was stretchered off an hour into Newcastle's game with Watford F.C. on 13 May 2007, suffering concussion after colliding with team-mate Matty Pattison.

On 9 May 2007, Newcastle's chairman Freddy Shepherd reacted angrily to reports that Owen could move on to another club at the end of the 2006–07 in English football, due to a release clause in his contract. A report in The Times newspaper suggested Owen could be available for less than £10m and could be a target for the likes of Chelsea F.C., Manchester United F.C., Liverpool F.C. and Arsenal F.C.. Despite these reports, Shepherd warned Owen "to show some loyalty" and warned him that "none of the big four clubs want him." However, in a video posted on YouTube, a group of Liverpool fans asked Shepherd if they could re-sign Owen, he responded by saying that he would "carry Owen back to Liverpool" himself. Shepherd also stated his dislike of Owen's agent but praised Owen as a "good lad". This led many to believe that Owen would exercise his right to leave if the £9m valuation was matched. However on 12 July 2007 Owen committed his immediate future to Newcastle United, stating: "I believe that these can be good times to be at Newcastle, which is why I am more than happy to be here."

On 17 July 2007, he scored for Newcastle in a pre-season friendly against Hartlepool. Several days later, Owen picked up a thigh injury in training. Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce admitted that Owen was likely to miss the start of the forthcoming Premier League season due to the injury which "Doesn't look as encouraging as we first thought." Owen made his comeback from injury in a club friendly on 13 August 2007 and declared himself available for Newcastle's next match, against Aston Villa F.C., as well as England's forthcoming international matches. On 29 August 2007, Owen scored his first competitive goal for Newcastle since December 2005 when he scored in the Football League Trophy against Barnsley F.C.. Three days later he scored in the league, with a late winner against Wigan Athletic F.C..

In late September 2007, after an encouraging start to the season playing for both Newcastle United and for England, it was reported that he would urgently require an operation for a double hernia and would likely be out of action for at least a month. In his first match back from the hernia operation, he scored a late goal coming off the substitutes bench to clinch victory for Newcastle over Everton F.C.

After over 3 months without a goal, Owen scored the first goal of the second Kevin Keegan era in a 4-1 FA Cup 3rd round replay win over Stoke City on 16 January 2008, although Keegan was only a spectator in the stands for this game. Owen was awarded the captaincy by Keegan on 19 January 2008. He scored his first league goal of 2008 on 3 February. Owen's goal in the 2-0 defeat of Fulham F.C. on 22 March 2008, which marked Newcastle's first win under Kevin Keegan's second stewardship, also marked the first time in his Newcastle career that Owen had scored more goals for Newcastle than against them. By 5 April 2008, after his and the teams early season poor form, Owen had scored 6 goals in the last 6 matches, with Newcastle registering 4 wins and 2 draws, lifting Newcastle into mid-table after earlier relegation fears. In the final game of the season, Owen scored in a 3-1 loss at Everton F.C., finishing with 11 goals in total, putting him in equal 13th position for Premier League goals for the 2007-8 season.

Owen missed all of the pre season matches and training of the 2008-09 in English football due to a bout of Mumps, which also kept him out of the international friendlies with the United States men's national soccer team and Trinidad and Tobago national football team in May 2008. He also suffered a calf strain during the summer months which kept him out of the opening game of the season against Manchester United F.C. at Old Trafford, a game which Newcastle drew 1-1.

He made his return in the second game of the season against Bolton Wanderers F.C. on Saturday 23 August 2008, coming on in the 53rd minute for the injured Obafemi Martins. He scored the winning header in the 71st minute with the game finishing 1-0. Three days later he was named on the bench in a Football League Cup 2008-09 match away to Coventry City F.C., he came on as a substitute and scored the winner in extra time in a 2-3 victory. After a pass from José Enrique Sánchez, he sprinted clear of the Coventry defence and lifted the ball over the keeper. On 20th September 2008 he scored a brilliant low curling goal against West_Ham_United in the 67th minute at Boleyn_Ground to bring the game to 3-1.

Despite the goal sparking a late Newcastle rally, they still lost the game. Owen scored in Newcastle's third round game against Tottenham Hotspur in the 90th minute, his 11th goal in 15 games. However it was not enough to save the game as Newcastle lost 1-2. A few days later on September 27th 2008 in a Premier League game at home to Blackburn Rovers, he earned and scored a penalty in the second half to bring the scoreline to 1-2.


Owen had a highly successful record at Youth level, beating the goal scoring records of Kevin Gallen, and Nick Barmby in the Under-21 international level, although he was only briefly a member of the England national under-21 football team team (netting on his only appearance in a win over Greece national under-21 football team at Carrow Road) before he made his début for the England national football team in a 2–0 friendly loss to Chile national football team on 11 February 1998. Playing in this game made Owen the youngest player to represent England in the whole of the 20th century at 18 years and 59 days of age.

Owen's youthful enthusiasm, pace and talent made him a popular player across the country, and many fans were keen for him to be made a regular player for the team ahead of that year's Football World Cup 1998. His first goal for England, against Morocco national football team in another friendly game prior to the tournament further enhanced his reputation. The goal also made him the youngest ever player to have scored for England, until his record was surpassed by Wayne Rooney in 2003.

Although he was selected for the World Cup squad by manager Glenn Hoddle, he was left on the bench as a substitute in the first two games. However, his substitute appearance in the second game, a 2–1 defeat to Romania national football team, saw him score a goal and hit the post with another shot, almost salvaging a point from the game. After that, Hoddle played him from the start, and in England's second round match against Argentina national football team he scored a sensational individual goal, voted by many as the goal of the tournament and bringing him to the attention of the world football scene.

England drew that match and went out of the tournament on penalties, but Owen had sealed his place as an England choice and his popularity in the country had increased greatly. At the end of the year, he won a public vote to be elected winner of the prestigious BBC Sports Personality of the Year title, the award's youngest-ever recipient.

He has since played for England in 2000 European Football Championship, the Football World Cup 2002 and 2004 European Football Championship, scoring goals in all three tournaments. This makes him the only player to ever have scored in four major tournaments for England. He also became one of only a handful of England players to appear in three World Cup tournaments when he played at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, although he did not score and was injured in the final group game.

In April 2002, he was named as England's captain (football) for a friendly match against Paraguay national football team in place of the injured regular captain David Beckham. Owen was the youngest England skipper since Bobby Moore in 1963, and since then has regularly captained England during any absence of the regular captain.

Owen made his debut for the England national football team (B) in a friendly against Belarus national football team on 25 May 2006, as part of his return to match fitness ahead of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He captained England B in this game, playing for 61 minutes before being substituted.

Owen started England's first two games of the 2006 World Cup, against Paraguay national football team and Trinidad and Tobago national football team, but did not manage to score. After playing only 51 seconds of his third appearance of the tournament, and 80th cap, in the 2006 World Cup against Sweden national football team, Owen badly twisted his left knee and was forced to leave the match on a stretcher. A scan of the injury on 21 June confirmed that Owen had torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee, and was sent home, no longer able to play in the tournament.

Owen underwent successful reconstruction surgery, carried out by Richard Steadman, on 6 September 2006. The injury sidelined him until April 2007, meaning he missed England's first six matches in 2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying Group E for Euro 2008. He returned for the England B game against Albania national football team, and was named in the full squad for the games against Brazil national football team and Estonia national football team, with Owen stating "I feel sharp and, if given the chance, I feel confident when in front of goal." He played in both matches and scored against Estonia, breaking Gary Lineker record for most goals in competitive internationals for England. Owen's latest international efforts include a brace for England in a 3–0 win over Russia national football team on 12 September 2007..

With his two goals against Russia, he became the first player to score international goals at both the old and new Wembley Stadiums.

As of 26 August 2008, Owen has been capped 89 times for England and scored 40 goals: he is fourth in the list of all-time top scorers for the England team, behind Bobby Charlton (49 goals), Gary Lineker (48) and Jimmy Greaves (44). He has also scored a record 26 goals for England in competitive matches (World Cup and European Championship games and the qualifiers for those tournaments) and has been captain for England in 7 matches.

As of December 2007, Owen has never gone more than four international games in a row without scoring a goal. Owen's future as first choice striker for England is uncertain however, due to competition from Wayne Rooney and fast-developing Theo Walcott amongst others. Owen's lack of action in Fabio Capello's first two England friendlies and Capello's selection of a single striker 4-5-1 formation also support the view that Owen's international opportunities may in future be limited.. Owen was dropped from the squads for the World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Croatia in September 2008.

Owen was also controversially excluded from the October 2008 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan national football team & Belarus national football team despite being in good goalscoring form and having a good workrate in a currently poor Newcastle side.




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