Chris Lucketti

Christopher James "Chris" Lucketti (born September 28, 1971 in Littleborough, Greater Manchester, Rochdale, England) is an England association football, who currently plays as a Defender (association football) for Huddersfield Town F.C. in Football League One.

Playing career

Halifax Town, Bury and Huddersfield Town

Lucketti started with Halifax Town A.F.C. and made 78 appearances for them between 1991-93. In 1993, he moved to Bury F.C. where he made a total of 235 first team appearances, winning back to back promotions in the 1995/96 and 1996/97 seasons. In 1999, he joined Huddersfield Town F.C. and made 76 appearances for The Terriers.

Preston North End

Lucketti moved to Preston North End F.C. in a pound sterling750,000 deal from Huddersfield at the start of the 2001-02 in English football and he played over 200 times for the club. In the 2004-05 in English football, he formed formidable partnerships with both Claude Davis and Youl Mawene in the Preston defence, helping his team to the Football League play-offs final at Cardiff Millennium Stadium.

Sheffield United

In March 2006, Lucketti joined Sheffield United F.C. for the remainder of the 2005-06 in English football, making 3 first-team appearances before signing a one-year deal on June 1, 2006 with the Blades with both clubs agreeing to a fee of £250,000.

Lucketti made his first team debut for the Blades whilst on loan, appearing in the 1-1 home draw with Leeds United A.F.C. on April 18 2006. He was used as defensive cover and as such only made irregular first team starts deputising for injured regulars or in League Cup or FA Cup matches.

On January 13, 2007, he made his Premiership debut at the age of 35 against Portsmouth F.C. and went on to make a handful of Premiership appearances over the rest of the season. In July 2007, after being linked with a moved to Hull City A.F.C., he signed a new one-year contract. Despite being resigned by then manager Bryan Robson he featured even less for the Blades under the new boss.

On March 27, 2008 he signed on loan until the end of the season for Southampton F.C. by new manager Kevin Blackwell, making four appearances for The Saints. Under the terms of his loan deal he was eligible to play in the final game of the season between Sheffield United and Southampton, a match which both sides desperately needed to win to try and finish in the play offs and to avoid relegation respectively, but Lucketti opted to declare himself unavailable for the match to avoid a conflict of interests.

Return to Huddersfield

On July 4, 2008, Lucketti signed a two-year deal at Football League One side Huddersfield Town F.C., seven years after leaving them to join Preston North End F.C.. He returned on a free, after Sheffield United agreed to cancel the last year of his contract. Then, July 5, he was appointed captain (football) of the Terriers. He made his second Town debut in the 1-1 draw against Stockport County F.C. at the Galpharm Stadium on August 9, 2008. There is currently a "Knighthood for Chris Lucketti" campaign set up by Bury fans. Their Facebook group currently boasts over eighty members.