Damien Duff

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Damien Duff
DDuff.JPG
Damien Duff (2009)
Personnel
Surname Damien Anthony Duff
birthday March 2nd 1979
place of birth Ballyboden ,  Ireland
size 175 cm
position Left winger
Juniors
Years station
Leicester Celtic
St. Kevin's Boys
Lourdes Celtic
Men's
Years station Games (goals) 1
1996-2003 Blackburn Rovers 184 (27)
2003-2006 Chelsea FC 81 (14)
2006-2009 Newcastle United 69 0(5)
2009-2014 Fulham FC 130 (15)
2014-2015 Melbourne City 15 0(1)
2015 Shamrock Rovers 9 0(0)
National team
Years selection Games (goals)
1998-2012 Ireland 100 0(8)
1 Only league games are given.

Damien Anthony Duff (born March 2, 1979 in Ballyboden , South Dublin ) is a retired Irish football player. Usually used in the left attacking midfield, he made 100 international appearances for the Irish national team between 1998 and 2012 . He took part in two final tournaments on the occasion of the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2012 . He spent his club career from a young age in England, where he won two English championships with Chelsea in 2005 and 2006 . He also won the League Cup with Chelsea in 2005 and previously with Blackburn Rovers in 2002 .

Athletic career

Club career

Blackburn Rovers (1996-2003)

After playing for Leicester Celtic , St. Kevin's Boys and Lourdes Celtic in his Irish homeland as a teenager , Duff joined the reigning English champions Blackburn Rovers in March 1996 . About a year later he made his debut on the last match day of the 1996/97 season against Leicester City and despite the 2-4 defeat he delivered there on May 11, 1997 with his strengths in speed and game intelligence a first foretaste. With a very agile style of play, good ball control and dribbling skills , the young winger became more and more a fixture and a crowd favorite in the 1997/98 season - his runs on the outside lane down to the baseline with a subsequent cross in the middle were particularly praised. Alternatively, he was also ready for action in midfield and in this role he scored two goals in a 3-0 win against West Ham United on December 20, 1997 . After a groin operation in preparation for the subsequent 1998/99 season, Duff initially only got sporadic action before his competitor Jason Wilcox was out with the same injury. He played his strengths under the new coach Brian Kidd from December 1998, however, primarily as a substitute and he had to wait until the end of April 1999 until his first (and only) league goal of the current season.

After relegation to the second division in the summer of 1999, a physically stronger Duff returned permanently to the team. As a result, he increasingly developed into an important factor in the attacking game of the Rovers and in numerous games he received the " Man of the Match " award in the 1999/2000 season . In the promotion season 2000/01 Duff was a fixture in Blackburn's starting eleven despite two short breaks due to thigh injuries and in addition to his qualities in the offensive game, thanks to his improved defensive performance, he also temporarily helped out as an offensive left full-back (as a so-called "wingback"). Although he only shot a total of one league goal himself, the PFA players' union voted him into the second division team last season (" PFA Team of the Year ") due to his constant performance .

After returning to the Premier League, Duff also made his sporting breakthrough in English top division football. With his cunning way of playing and the ability to outsmart opponents through skillful body deception and speed, he developed into one of the most spectacular players in the top English league and, in addition to securing relegation , he was involved in winning the league cup in 2002 . He and his men defeated Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in the final . With increased expectations, which were also nourished by his good performance for Ireland at the 2002 World Cup, Duff initially experienced frustrating times in the 2002/03 season - mainly due to recurring thigh problems - before he suddenly found himself in good shape and accurate in the final phase showed.

Chelsea FC (2003-2006)

At the end of July 2003, Duff moved to Chelsea FC in London for £ 17 million . At the club from the west of the British capital, he was supposed to replace Gianfranco Zola, who was returning to Italy, and Chelsea spent a new record transfer fee. He was signed on the same day as left-back Wayne Bridge , with whom Duff immediately harmonized well on the field. Due to mutual overflow during offensive actions, both seemed ideally coordinated. The highlight of his first Chelsea season was the 4-0 away win against Lazio in the Champions League , in which Duff on the left side "messed up" the Italian defense and also scored a goal himself - one of six goals in the 2003 season / 04. In between, however, he struggled with injuries. He dislocated his shoulder against Fulham FC in December 2003, before his groin problems returned later, and in April 2004 the further damaged shoulder caused his season to end prematurely.

When in the summer of 2004 both José Mourinho and a winger Arjen Robben were signed to Duff's position, a lot seemed to boil down to the fact that only either Robben or Duff could find their way into the team. Ultimately, Mourinho decided to use both players as "wing tongs" who frequently switched sides. As a result, Duff occasionally acted on the slightly weaker right wing. At the end of January 2005 he scored the late 2-1 winner in the league cup semi- finals at Manchester United and was also in the starting line-up in the subsequent win over Liverpool FC . A little later he had to sit out at the Champions League semi-final against Liverpool, but he had made a significant contribution to winning the English championship in 2005 with 30 league appearances.

In his third and final season in 2005/06 for Chelsea, Duff was initially in good shape and when the club started the season with ten wins and one draw, he contributed one goal each to away wins at Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool FC. After knee surgery in October 2005, which had become necessary after an injury from an international match, he shot a third and final league goal against his future employer Newcastle United. In the end, he had only a marginally smaller share in the successful defense of the English championship with 28 games than in the previous year - even though he was only a substitute ten times.

Newcastle United (2006-2009)

In late July 2006 Duff moved to Newcastle United . The transfer fee was £ 5m, and given the £ 17m Chelsea paid three years earlier, the signing was perceived as a "bargain". Nevertheless, Duff was only able to demonstrate his skills sporadically in the 2006/07 season - one of the rare highlights was the 4-2 first leg win in the UEFA Cup round of 16 against AZ Alkmaar (which was eliminated due to the 0: 2 second leg defeat followed). Duff delivered the best performances as a left full-back and in the remaining games Duff acted in various positions, including on both wings or as a striker. Numerous injuries, however, repeatedly caused setbacks, including cartilage damage with subsequent surgery, a calf injury at the turn of the year and a damaged ankle, which in April 2007 meant the premature end of the season.

At the end of December 2007, Duff initially returned to the team. However, when coach Kevin Keegan switched to a three-way attack formation, Duff was often only left with the role of substitute player. The place in the starting line-up won Duff back in the 2008/09 season, but this ended disappointingly for him with relegation from the Premier League . He had initially contributed important goals to narrow wins against Tottenham Hotspur and West Bromwich Albion , but also scored the own goal to make it 0-1 at Aston Villa on the last day of the game , which ultimately sealed relegation. In the second-rate Football League Championship , Duff completed one more game before moving back to the Premier League in August 2009 and hired for Fulham .

Fulham FC (2009-2014)

Right from the start, Duff became a fixture in Fulham. In addition to his tricky game, with which he was able to “crack” the opposing defensive rows, he scored spectacular goals against FC Everton and Birmingham City , the latter being voted “Goal of the Month” in February 2010. When required, he also dropped back as a full-back at the new club. Usually he now acted on the right wing position, often pulling the middle from the outside and using the stronger left foot. In this role, he also played the 2010 Europa League final for Fulham against Atlético Madrid , which was lost in extra time (Duff had already been substituted for Erik Nevland in the decisive phase ).

In his second year he played himself in good form, especially in the second half of the season and within a month he scored four goals in five games for the Cottagers - including hits against the ex-club from Newcastle (1-0) and two against Blackburn Rovers (3-2). In August 2011 he extended his contract, which originally expired at the end of the 2011/12 season, for another year and after a good start to the 2012/13 season, when Duff not only scored three goals in the first five league games, but also numerous goals for Prepared for teammates, they agreed in February 2013 on a further contract until the end of the 2013/14 season. In May 2014, Duff's involvement in Fulham finally ended with relegation to the second division .

Melbourne City (since 2014)

In early June 2014, Duff moved to the Australian A-League at Melbourne City .

Irish national team

From his debut on March 25, 1998 until his last international match in 2012, Duff has been one of the lynchpin of the Irish national team . The highlights of his international career were his participation with Ireland in the 2002 World Cup (Duff played all four games and scored one goal) and the 2012 European Championship .

At the EM 2012 he made his 100th international match in the last group game as the fifth Irishman in history and on this occasion led the team onto the field as captain. It was also his last international match, as he announced his departure from the national team in August 2012.

In addition, Duff took part with the junior team of Ireland in the U-20 World Cup 1997 and the U-20 World Cup 1999 .

Title / Awards

Club title

Irish national team title

Personal honors

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Information on missions / goals from the Complete Records book by Mike Jackman, page 666
  2. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1997-98 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 1997, ISBN 1-85291-581-1 , pp. 82 .
  3. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1998-99 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 1998, ISBN 1-85291-588-9 , pp. 87 .
  4. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1999-2000 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 1999, ISBN 1-85291-607-9 , pp. 87 .
  5. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 2000-2001 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 2000, ISBN 1-85291-626-5 , pp. 94 .
  6. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 2001-2002 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 2001, ISBN 0-946531-34-X , pp. 87 .
  7. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2002/2003 . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 2002, ISBN 1-85291-648-6 , pp. 119 .
  8. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2003/2004 . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 2003, ISBN 1-85291-651-6 , pp. 122 .
  9. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2004/2005 . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 2004, ISBN 1-85291-660-5 , pp. 119 .
  10. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2005/2006 . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 2005, ISBN 1-85291-662-1 , pp. 119 .
  11. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2006-07 . Mainstream Publishing, 2006, ISBN 1-84596-111-0 , pp. 119 .
  12. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2007-08 . Mainstream Publishing, 2007, ISBN 978-1-84596-246-3 , pp. 118 f .
  13. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2008-09 . Mainstream Publishing, 2008, ISBN 978-1-84596-324-8 , pp. 131 .
  14. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2009-10 . Mainstream Publishing, 2009, ISBN 978-1-84596-474-0 , pp. 126 f .
  15. ↑ a b Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010-11 . Mainstream Publishing, 2010, ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0 , pp. 127 .
  16. ↑ "Player Departures" (Fulhamfc.com)
  17. ^ "Damien Duff makes Melbourne City move" (BBC Sport)
  18. ↑ FAI.ie: Centurion Duff to captain Ireland
  19. ↑ fifa.com: Duff ends national team career ( Memento from October 12, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
personal data
SURNAME Duff, Damien
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Duff, Damien Anthony (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Irish soccer player
DATE OF BIRTH March 2nd 1979
PLACE OF BIRTH Ballyboden , South Dublin , Ireland