Darius Vassell

Darius Markus Vassell (born 13 June 1980 in Sutton Coldfield) is an England national football team Association footballer who plays club football in the Premier League at Manchester City F.C.. He started his career off as a striker but has been used as a Midfielder Winger under both Stuart Pearce and Sven Goran Eriksson at Manchester City.

Club career

Early career

Vassell was raised in from Wylde Green and went to the Yenton Primary School in Erdington and John Willmott School, in Falcon Lodge, Sutton Coldfield. He first played football with local junior team Romulus F.C. in the Birmingham Boys League scoring a record of 46 in a season and 6 in 1 match. Vassell was the best player but fell out with the coach and didn't play in all the games so the next season he only scored 12. He signed on for the Aston Villa youth team and that's when his career began.

Aston Villa

An Aston Villa F.C. fan, Vassell was taken on by the club's School of Excellence. While playing for the Aston Villa youth team Vassell set a club record by scoring 39 goals in a single season. He made his first team debut as a substitute in a 3-1 win against Middlesbrough in August 1998.

Vassell's best qualities were his speed and agility. Aston Villa fans lamented the fact that his best performances seem to come with England, where he has proved particularly useful as a "super sub", coming on for the last 15 to 20 minutes of a game to trouble a tired defence with his exceptional pace

Manchester City

Vassell was transferred to Manchester City F.C. on July 27 2005 for £2m.

During his first season for Manchester City, Vassell scored eight league goals in 35 appearances, forming an effective partnership with Andrew Cole. Additionally, he helped the Blues to an FA Cup Quarter Final, scoring two goals in his five cup games. He played part of the season with a hernia problem, which required surgery in the close season.

During his second season for the club, he generally struggled to find his best form. In the latter half of the season, many of his appearances were as a wide midfielder, as manager Stuart Pearce adopted a defensive 4-5-1 formation. Vassell was linked with a move away from Eastlands, with Turkish runners-up Beşiktaş J.K. having a £1m bid rejected and linked to other clubs, including Premier League rivals Bolton Wanderers F.C. and newly-promoted Derby County F.C.. Vassell scored his 50th Premier League goal on February 10, 2008, in the victory against local rivals Manchester United F.C.. On April 20, Vassell scored the opening goal in City's 3-1 win over Portsmouth F.C..

He is yet to play in the 2008/09 season after suffering a knee injury in a pre-season friendly against AC Milan.

International career

Vassell made his England debut on February 13, 2002, in a man of the match performance against Netherlands national football team in a 1–1 draw. Fellow debutants in this game were Michael Ricketts and Wayne Bridge. He scored in the game with a 60th minute bicycle kick to equalise. He was subsequently included in England's 2002 FIFA World Cup campaign. He played in three games, starting just one: against Sweden national football team in England's opening group game.
The positive contribution of Vassell's England career has been somewhat overshadowed by his penalty shoot-out miss in the quarter-finals of UEFA Euro 2004. Coming on for the injured Wayne Rooney early on in the game, Vassell missed England's last spot-kick in the penalty shoot-out, putting England out of the tournament. Vassell has not been recalled to an England squad since.

Personal life

Vassell is a practicising Christian, and credits his faith for his survival of a serious car accident.