Michael Carrick

Michael Adrian Carrick (born 28 July 1981 in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear) is an England football (soccer) who currently plays for Manchester United F.C. as a midfielder.
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Club career

Carrick first became involved with football when he was five years old, playing five-a-side football with Wallsend Boys Club on Saturday nights, courtesy of his father's volunteer work at the club. Football became more serious for him at the age of 12 when he was selected for Wallsend Schools' and later on North Tyneside Schools'. Whilst playing for Wallsend Boys' Club under 16s, he was capped for the England Boys' club side. During the school years, and the years up until his move to West Ham United, Carrick actually played as a centre forward; it was only at West Ham where he started to play more often as a midfielder.

West Ham

Having studied at Wallsend's Western Middle School and Burnside Community High School until completing his GCSEs in 1997, he was courted by many clubs before being taken to West Ham by Wallsend-based North East scouts Dave Mooney and Bill Gibbs, who had watched Carrick for a few years playing for Wallsend Boys' Club.

Carrick's professional career began at the famous youth academy of West Ham United in 1998. A notable contribution during the season 98-99 came from him in the FA Youth Cup final, where he helped, alongside another rising star Joe Cole, West Ham to a 9-0 victory over Coventry City, scoring two goals himself.

Carrick made his senior debut as a substitute replacing Rio Ferdinand in a 3-0 win at Bradford City F.C. in August 1999. He spent two periods on loan that season, a couple of months at Swindon Town and a month at Birmingham City, and made a few more appearances for West Ham. But in 2000-01 in English football, his exploits in his first full season for West Ham gained widespread recognition, resulting in his being nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year award (Steven Gerrard of Liverpool FC was the winner).

2002-2003 was a season to forget for Carrick, as much of it for him was plagued by injury and West Ham were eventually relegated from the FA Premier League at the end of the season. Carrick decided to stay with the club, playing for them the subsequent season 2003-2004 in the division now called Football League Championship. At the time, a number of clubs were credited with an interest in Carrick, such as Portsmouth F.C., Arsenal F.C. and Tottenham Hotspur. It appeared that Arsenal were winning the race to sign him, before Patrick Vieira decided to stay at the club, thus stopping any potential transfer.

Tottenham Hotspur

Before the beginning of season 2004-2005, keen to ply his trade in the highest league, Carrick then moved to Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of £2.75 million. An initial bid of £10 million by United was rejected, though a later bid with a £14 million basic fee, potentially rising to £18.6 million depending on club and player success, was accepted. This potentially makes Carrick the fifth most expensive player acquired by Manchester United.

Carrick wears the number 16 shirt for Manchester United, previously worn by former captain Roy Keane.

He made his Premiership debut for United on 23 August 2006, coming on as a substitute in United's 3-0 away win over Charlton Athletic F.C.. He had sustained an injury in his original debut against Porto in the Amsterdam Tournament. He made his starting line-up debut against Watford on 26 August 2006 at Vicarage road, which United went on to win 2-1.

Carrick had started almost every game for United in the 2006/7 season. He was briefly injured in late December, at which point his 'holding' role in central midfield was filled in by John O'Shea (footballer) or Darren Fletcher.

Carrick scored his first goal for Manchester United on 13 January 2007 - the Reds' second goal in a 3-1 win over Aston Villa at Old Trafford (football ground) in the FA Premier League.

On 10 April 2007 Carrick scored two long-range right-foot curlers against A.S. Roma in United's 7-1 victory in the quarter finals of the UEFA Champions League at Old Trafford. He opened the scoring with his first, thus setting United on their way to the semi finals.

With the arrival of Owen Hargreaves at Old Trafford for the 2007/08 season, Carrick himself has agreed that he is not guaranteed a place in United's first team. However his place in Sir Alex Ferguson's plans for the future remain secure. The partnership he will be able to form with Owen Hargreaves will be keenly watched, as they seem to be Sir Alex's choice for the central midfield after Paul Scholes' retirement.

International career

He made his first senior international start in May 2005 during England's tour of the United States. England national football team manager, Sven-Göran Eriksson considered Carrick to be a good option as a holding midfielder with others such as Scott Parker (footballer) and Ledley King. On 8 May 2006, Carrick was named in England national football team's squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup by manager Sven-Göran Eriksson. Carrick played in one World Cup game, the second round match against Ecuador, which England won 1-0. For the next game against Portugal national football team, it was felt that a more cautious approach was needed, thus Owen Hargreaves replaced him who was playing at rightback in the Ecuador game.
As of April 2007, Carrick's fortunes at international level since have been mixed. He has been starting games, but in his last three starts he has suffered two defeats and a draw.

Personal life

Carrick has a brother, Graeme (b. 3 April 1985), who was also at West Ham United but unfortunately had a few injuries. Graeme is now coaching at Newcastle United's U10 Academy. Carrick is married to Lisa Roughead. They met at high school and married on June 162007, the same day as England teammates Steven Gerrard and Gary Neville married their partners.

Honours

- FA Premier League: 2006/07
- FA Cup runners up: 2006/2007
- Community Shield: 2007