Gary Hooper

At 36 years old, Gary Hooper has this physical status:

Gary Hooper (born 26 January 1988) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Wellington Phoenix in the A-League. Hooper started his career at non-League Grays Athletic in 2003.

While there he won the 2004–05 Conference South, as well as the FA Trophy twice in 2005 and 2006.

After this Championship club Southend United signed him on a free transfer in 2006.

He was loaned out twice by the club, on a three-month loan to League One club Leyton Orient in 2007 and a six-month loan to League Two club Hereford United in 2008.

Scunthorpe United signed him in 2008, for a fee of £175,000.

After two years he was signed by Scottish Premier League club Celtic for £2.4 million.

In his first season with the club he was the top scorer and also won the 2011 Scottish Cup. Hooper has scored in the Premier League, Championship, League One, League Two, FA Cup, League Cup, Football League Trophy, FA Trophy, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, Scottish Cup, Scottish League Cup and the Scottish Premier League, the first and only player to achieve this feat.

On top of this, he has also scored in the Conference National and the Conference South.Hooper was born in England but has not represented the national team at any level.

In March 2011 it was thought that he may be eligible to represent Scotland.

However, this possibility was later closed off.

Since his move to Celtic he has been considered for England duty and was called up to the under-21 squad for a friendly but had to pull out due to injury.

He was then included in the provisional squad for the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship but did not go to the tournament.

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Club career

Hooper was born in Harlow, Essex, and grew up in Loughton. At the age of seven, he joined the Tottenham Hotspur youth team. When he was 14 years old, he appeared in 20 minutes of a trial match and was later released by the club. He had trials with Northampton Town and Luton Town after this. These were unsuccessful, and he started playing Sunday league football. He then spent a short time with Maldon Town.

Hooper joined Greys Athletic in the 2003-2004 season as a used substitute in an Essex Senior Cup match against Braintree Town on November 11, 2003, although he was still 15 years old when he was last seen for Edward Erekosima.

He made his debut in the league the following season when Grays were promoted to the newly formed Conference South, assisting them in winning the league by scoring 12 goals in 30 league appearances. In the 2004–05 FA Trophy Final against Hucknall Town, Grays got to him early, but he was recalled at the end of extra time. Grays won the shoot-out 6–5.

Hooper had scored eight times in 40 league appearances this season. In Grays Athletic's 2–0 victory over Woking in the final of the 2006 FA Trophy, he was an unfit substitute. He was signed by the Grays at the end of the 2006 season. Hooper said he was only getting substitute appearances for the final few minutes of matches and that he wanted to move.

Hooper went on two trials in July 2006, after being released by Grays. Barnet was first transfer to Championship club Southend United, where he was given a one-year deal by manager Steve Tilson the following month. In a 3–1 League Cup victory over Leeds United on October 24, Hooper scored twice. He continued to make 18 appearances for Southend in the Championship, but only two were scheduled. Hooper joined Leyton Orient in March 15 on loan for the remainder of the season. This loan, Tilson, said, would enable him to determine whether Hooper deserved a new deal and would give the young striker some experience. On May 1, Hooper was released from loan, but Southend's last match of the season has been postponed. A number of players were injured for the game, and Hooper's five-day recall began the 4-1 loss to Southampton, a five-day loss.

During the first half of the 2007–08 season, Hooper made 18 appearances in League One for Southend, scoring twice. Hooper signed a new 18-month deal on January 28th, 2008, extending his player contract with the club. He then joined Hereford United in a loan transfer to the League Two club.

The 2008-09 season began at the beginning. Hooper, as Tilson attempted to re-build his attack, was slated for transfer along with three other strikers. Following his fruitful loan period, Hereford had a bid for Hooper, but they were unable to afford larger transfer fees offered by other clubs. Several other League One clubs were keen on him. A bid was accepted by Cheltenham Town, but Hooper later decided to transfer to Scunthorpe United. During his time at Southend, he scored just four goals in 44 appearances. Despite that he had two successful loan spells, he did have two.

Hooper joined Leyton Orient in January 2007 on loan from League One club Leyton Orient. He scored in a 2–2 draw with Oldham Athletic after being brought on as a replacement two days after joining the club. He scored against Scunthorpe United's league One leaders in another 2–2 draw a week later. Hooper made two more appearances for Orient before being called back to Southend on May 1st, when the club introduced a 24-hour return clause in his contract. Orient boss Martin Ling said he thought Hooper had done well during his loan stint with the club and that he would track the player's progress.

Hooper agreed to a one-month loan contract with Hereford United, a League Two club. In a 2–1 loss to Barnet, he made his debut two days after being signed for them, starting with a 2–1 loss. He scored in his next match for the club, a 1–0 victory over Rotherham United. He played five times, scoring four goals before his loan contract was due to end on February 28. Nonetheless, boss Graham Turner has agreed to a deal to keep him at the end of the season. Despite having two strikers out injured at the time, Southend boss Steve Tilson agreed to this. Hooper's 11 goals in 19 appearances for Hereford helped them finish third in League Two and win promotion.

Scunthorpe United's fee climbed to £175,000. Hooper has been with the League One club for three years. In the first game of Scunthorpe's league campaign, Hooper scored in a 2–1 loss at Glanford Park against Leeds United. On September 6, he scored his first hat-trick against Brighton, while Brighton defeated Brighton on September 6th and scored seven goals in his first seven games to support Scunthorpe's promotion push. "As soon as he started training, you might imagine something special there," Hooper said. Scunthorpe lost 32-0 to Oldham Athletic on Sunday, the league's leaders' first defeat in 12 games. Hooper suffered with an ankle injury in this match and it was thought he had broken his foot and may have been out for up to six months. However, scans later revealed that his foot was just badly bruised. In the media, he was dubbed the newest from Scunthorpe's "production line for talented young forwards." In a victory over Millwall in promotion over Jan. 29, he scored both goals. Scunthorpe defeated Luton Town in the final of the Football League Trophy, beating them in the Football League Trophy final. Hooper scored the opener, but Luton pulled it back to win the match 3–2 in extra time. At the end of the season, Hooper received the Scunthorpe Player of the Year award. He expressed delight with the team's results during the season, in which he scored 24 league goals to help Scunthorpe gain promotion. He then set himself a target of 15 Championship goals for the upcoming season. In all competitions during the 2008–2009 season, he scored 30 goals, but only three goals shy of Billy Sharp's record of 33 goals in a season for Scunthorpe.

Queens Park Rangers' 2011-2010 season saw them reject Hooper for £1 million. The striker's co-owners in Coventry were also reported to be interested in him. Hooper scored twice twice in a 3–2 win over Derby County on August 15th. Nigel Adkins, the current Scunthorpe manager, said Hooper was a "significant threat" to the opposition and that he was concerned that other clubs would try to sign him before the transfer window expired. Hooper was described as the kind of striker who could "create something out of nothing" on February 22nd. He also said that he wished Hooper would stay at the club, but that if he did leave it would cost a lot more. This was just after Hooper had scored in a 2–2 draw with Watford, bringing his total number to 13. On his return from a groin injury, he scored a hat-trick against Bristol City on his return from a groin injury on April 17, 2010 and added two more goals at Doncaster Rovers a week later. In 39 appearances in all competitions in the 2009–2010 season, including 19 in 35 in the league, where he came in third-best goal scorer behind Peter Whittingham and Nicky Maynard, who both scored 20 goals.

Fans of Scunthorpe United voted Hooper as the club's best ever player in 2012.

Celtic, a Scottish Premier League club, resigned Hooper for £2.4 million on July 26, 2010. Despite his young age of 22 when joining and keeping him grounded, the move gave him a lot of experience. Hooper scored on his debut for the club against Portuguese Primeira Liga club Braga in the Champions League third qualifying round on August 4th. Just four days later, Hooper tore his calf muscle in a friendly against Blackburn Rovers, taking him out of action for nearly six weeks.

Hooper recovered from injury in the League Cup on September 22, scoring in a 6–0 victory over Inverness Caledonian Thistle. In a 2–1 victory over Hibernian at Celtic Park on September 25, Hooper made his Scottish Premier League debut in his debut in Scottish Premier League history. In a 3–1 victory over Hamilton Academical, Hooper scored his Scottish Premier League goal on October 2nd. On October 17, Tannadice defeated Dundee United in a double. In a 3–1 loss to Rangers at Celtic Park one week later, he scored the first goal. In a league-wide victory over Aberdeen on Sunday, Hooper and strike partner Anthony Stokes each scored hat-tricks. He was named the winner over St Mirren the following week.

Hooper returned to the team against Hibernian on January 15, 2011, scoring the first goal in a 3–0 victory. He suffered from an injury that kept him out of action during the Christmas season. In a 3–0 win over Aberdeen, Hooper scored the first goal on February 1st. In Celtic's 3–0 victory over Rangers on February 20th, he scored twice. In a 3–1 victory over Hibernian on 6 April 2011, he grabbed another brace. Hooper had a man of the match against Kilmarnock two weeks later, scoring a goal and setting up another three in a 4–0 SPL victory. Hooper won by 4–1 over Dundee United on May 1st, 2011. In the last Scottish Premier League match of the season, he scored a brace against Hearts and the opener in a 4–0 victory over Motherwell. Hooper was nominated for the PFA Player of the Year award, but was disqualified by coworker Emilio Izaguirre and was also selected in the PFA Scotland Team of the Year. Following a 3–0 victory over Motherwell in the final on May 21, Hooper earned his first medal for Celtic in the Scottish Cup. Hooper had the best strike rate of any player in Britain during the 2010-11 season, scoring 20 goals in 26 matches at a strike rate of 0.77 goals per match. This was also the fourth best strike rate in Europe, behind Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Antonio Di Natale.

Celtic defeated Hibs 2–0 in their first match of the 2011–12 season on July 24th. Graham Stack had a penalty saved by Graham Stack in Celtic's first match of the 2011–12 season. In a 5–1 victory over Dundee United on Wednesday, he scored his first goal of the season. He also sustained an ankle injury, which barred him from playing for the next two games. He made his return to Celtic's 3–1 loss to FC Sion on August 25. In a 2–0 win over St Mirren, he scored both goals three days later. Queens Park Rangers and Wolverhampton Wanderers expressed enthusiasm in signing Hooper on the transfer deadline day of summer 2011, but Celtic denied their requests about his availability. Anthony Stokes, the Hooper's regular strike partner, said, "He's a top, top player." One day he could play at the top of the game, but we want to keep him here as long as possible."

In Celtic's 4–2 loss to Rangers on September 18, Hooper scored in the team's 4–2 loss. This was his fourth goal in seven Old Firm matches. Celtic also played in Celtic's first Scottish League Cup match of the season against Ross County, scoring one goal in a 2–0 victory. He appeared in Celtic's 1–1 draw with Italian team Udinese on September 29. He won a penalty that Ki Sung-Yueng scored after three minutes. After 83 minutes of Neuton fouled, he gave up a penalty, which was converted. In Celtic's 4–1 victory over Hibernian, he scored a month later. Hooper scored his first European goal of the season on Friday, netting the final goal of Celtic's 3–1 Europa League group stage victory over Rennes, after coming on as a 78th-minute replacement for James Forrest. In a 2–1 victory over Motherwell, he returned as a replacement and scored the winner. In a 5–0 victory over St Mirren on November 26, he scored a hat-trick. He received the SPL Player of the Month award after scoring five goals in November. Hooper scored in Celtic's final Europa League group match on December 15, a 1–1 draw against Udinese, which put Celtic third in the league and did not qualify for the knockout stages. Southampton made several bids for Hooper during the January transfer window. However, Celtic and Hooper had their wishes to remain with the team, but they were turned down by the club's manager. Hooper scored in a 2–1 victory over Dundee United on January 14th. In Celtic's 4–0 win over Hearts on February 8, he scored in that match. Celtic defeated Rangers 3–0 at Celtic Park on March 29, 2012, with Hooper scoring the final goal. This was his fifth goal in ten appearances against Rangers. Hooper scored all five goals for Celtic over 5–0 on May 13th in the final SPL match of the season, securing his spot as the top scorer in the Scottish Premier League with 24 goals and winning the Golden Boot.

Since Southampton had won promotion to the Premier League, there was rumors linking them with a £7 million for Hooper at the start of the 2012–2013 season. However, Hooper said he was content at Celtic and was looking forward to playing Champions League football. Hooper started scoring in Celtic's 2–1 victory over HJK Helsinki in the first leg of the Champions League Third Qualifying Round on August 1, 2012. Hooper scored all four goals in Celtic's Scottish League Cup match against Raith Rovers at Celtic Park on September 25, 2012, a match that finished 4–1. Celtic defeated Motherwell 2–0 on September 29, 2012, the first goal in the Scottish Premier League's second round victory. Hooper scored his seventh goal in four matches against Spartak Moscow in the UEFA Champions League; Celtic defeated Spartak Stadium 3–2, their first away victory in the UEFA Champions League proper; Hooper scored braces against Hearts and Dundee United in high scoring victories at home, as well as scoring the only goal in a 1–0 away victory at Motherwell in January 2013. He was named SPL Player of the Month Award after a string of goalscoring. Celtic defeated Inverness Caledonian Thistle at Parkhead on April 21, 2013 in their second straight Scottish Premier League title. In the match, Hooper scored twice. Celtic defeated Hibernian 3–0 in the Scottish Cup Final on May 26, 2013, while Hooper scored twice.

Hull City, England's Premier League club, made an undisclosed bid for Hooper, which Celtic rejected on June 12. Hooper appeared in what was to be his last game for Celtic on July 23rd, when he came as transfer talker against Cliftonville. Anthony Stokes was called out on 65 minutes and nearly scored nine minutes later with an overhead kick that struck the post.

Hooper decided to join Norwich City in a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee, expected to be £5 million, with Norwich having the option of a new year to Hooper's deal. Hooper made his Premier League debut for Norwich on September 21st, 2013 as a 63rd-minute replacement for Aston Villa. Hooper scored a brace to win 3–2 over Watford in the third round of the League Cup on September 24th in his first appearance for the club.

Hooper scored his first Premier League goal against West Ham United at Carrow Road on November 9, 2013 to tie the scores at 1–1. Norwich City defeated the match 3-1, with Hooper named Man of the Match. He became the first player to score in the top four divisions of the English League, the top division of the Scottish League and two cup competitions in each nation, as well as the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. In just his seventh appearance for Norwich City and fourth goal in all competitions, Hooper scored his second Premier League goal and fourth goal in just his seventh appearance against Crystal Palace, which Norwich City defeated 1–0 for a crucial 3 points on Sunday. Hooper's fifth Norwich City goal and third Premier League goal against West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns on December 7, 2006, a first-time goalkeeper goal against goalkeeper Boaz Myhill after a through ball from Leroy Fermwich. Hooper scored in consecutive Premier League matches on December 15th after losing a single point on his chest after a Johan Elmander lay off before unleashing a spectacular volley 30 yards over Michel Vorm and into the roof of the net, leveling the score at 1-1. Hooper would score again on the Boxing Day match against Fulham, with Aaron Hughes' shot deflected off of Aaron Hughes and past goalkeeper David Stockdale, making Hooper the first-ever Norwich City player to score in four consecutive Premier League matches at Carrow Road.

Hooper scored eight goals in his first season at Norwich, but the club was unable to save his team's relegation from the Premier League to the Championship. Hooper missed the first couple of months of the following season due to a calf injury. He scored his first goal of the season on Sunday, in a 3–3 draw at home against Brighton after returning to the team in October. Hooper's goals then flowed, with the striker scoring twice in a 6–1 win over Millwall, then described as "outstanding" by boss Neil Adams on Boxing Day, then returning to score a hat trick against Blackpool on February 7, bringing his total score for the season to nine goals. Hooper later scored 12 goals in the league and helped Norwich to third place in the league. During the promotion play-off match against Ipswich Town, Hooper was only a replacement and was an unused substitute in the play-off final against Middlesbrough at Wembley Stadium. Norwich, on the other hand, regained their Premier League position by beating the final 2–0.

Hooper was having trouble holding a spot in the team after Norwich re-electing them in the Premier League. He had only played ten minutes in the first round against Crystal Palace in the opening league match, as well as an 89th-minute replacement appearance against Southampton by September 2015. Despite the Yorkshire club deciding to pay Norwich £500,000 and match Hooper's £32,000 weekly wage, a loan move to Sheffield Wednesday fell through. According to reports, the move collapsed due to Hooper's request that Sheffield Wednesday provide him with a VIP box at their stadium for his family and friends. He stayed at Norwich for a few weeks, but he sustained an ankle injury in preparation. Sheffield Wednesday made a second attempt to sign Hooper on loan, but the Sheffield Wednesday boss did not sign up until January 2016.

Hooper made his debut for Sheffield on Wednesday, appearing as a late replacement in a 1–0 victory over Nottingham Forest in the Championship. Hooper scored his first goal for Sheffield Wednesday in a 2–1 loss at MK Dons in his seventh appearance in all competitions for the club. In Hooper's final two games for Sheffield Wednesday before his loan ran out, he scored four goals, which culminated in the team's victories over Bolton Wanderers and Leeds United on Wednesday.

Hooper, who died on January 22, 2016, signed a three-and-a-half-year contract on Wednesday. The fee was undisclosed, but it was estimated to be about £3 million.

He was released by Sheffield on Wednesday at the end of the 2018-19 season.

Hooper, a marquee striker who plays in the A-League, signed for the Wellington Phoenix, who play in the A-League on October 17th. With a header against Melbourne City on November 3, 2019 he scored his first goal for the Nix in his debut in the Nix in his first game. Hooper will play in his first six games in an attempt to regain match fitness; this included one game for the Wellington Phoenix Reserves in New Zealand's ISPS Handa Premiership, playing the first half and scoring in a 2-2 draw against Eastern Suburbs on December 21. He made his Central Coast Mariners debut, scoring the first goal in the process. Hooper will play all remaining games bar one, becoming Wellington's spearhead. Hooper scored six goals and assisted a further four before the A-League season was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, assisting the Wellington Phoenix in their best season in club history.

Hooper had signed a one-year contract with Kerala Blasters FC, the Indian Super League club. Hooper scored his first goal for the club against NorthEast United on a penalty in the 45th minute of the game. The match was drawn 2–2 in a 2–2 draw. Hooper scored his 200th league goal of his career against Chennaiyin FC on February 21, 2021. The club officially announced the departure of Hooper on June 11, 2021.

The Phoenix announced on June 15th that Hooper would return to the Phoenix on a two-year contract. Wellington Phoenix's contract will be terminated a year ahead of schedule, on the 25th of March 2022.

He signed for Omonoia Nicosia, Cyprus, on September 2nd, 2022.

International career

Hooper hasn't represented England at any level. William Hooper, his paternal grandfather, was born in the Scottish Borders, and it gave Hooper's hopes that he would play for Scotland. Craig Levein, Scotland's head coach, demanded clarification about his grandfather's birth certificate as he was born in a hospital in Berwick-upon-Tweed. When it was announced that his grandfather was included in the English Birth Index, the possibility was dismissed. Hooper was included in Stuart Pearce's 31-man squad for the England under-21 team's game against Denmark and Iceland on March 13, 2011. However, Hooper was forced to withdraw from the team due to injury. He was drafted in the 41-man provisional squad for the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship on May 3rd, but did not make the final selection.

The Football Association of Wales were investigating his potential, according to BBC Sport, but Hooper was unaware of his Welsh ancestry. Hooper expressed his desire to compete for Great Britain in the 2012 Summer Olympics, but was not chosen.

After it was revealed that the Football Association had contacted Celtic about Hooper's fitness in November 2012, he was due to join teammate Fraser Forster in the England squad for their upcoming friendly against Sweden in Stockholm. Celtic's medical staff had a bleak prognosis, implying that Hooper could not make the squad due to illness.

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