Owen Hargreaves

At 43 years old, Owen Hargreaves has this physical status:

Owen Lee Hargreaves (born 20 January 1981) is a former footballer and current television pundit for BT Sport.

Hargreaves was known as a hard-working and "solid defensive midfielder who worked tirelessly to win the ball" and provide his teammates with possession.

Born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Hargreaves played with Calgary Foothills as a youth before beginning his professional football career in Germany with Bayern Munich.

After seven years with the Munich side – during which time he won four German league titles and the 2000–01 UEFA Champions League – Hargreaves signed for Manchester United in 2007, winning the Premier League and UEFA Champions League in his first season.

However, his time at Manchester United was plagued with injuries and he was allowed to leave the club at the end of his contract in June 2011.

Hargreaves posted YouTube videos in a bid to convince potential suitors of his fitness, and in August 2011, Manchester City offered a one-year contract to Hargreaves, which he accepted. As a Canadian citizen with a Welsh mother and an English father, Hargreaves was eligible to represent Canada, Wales or England.

He opted to play for the England under-21 team in 2000 and was capped by the senior squad the following year.

He is the only player to have played for England without having previously lived in the United Kingdom, and only the second, after Joe Baker, to have done so without having previously played in the English football league system.

Early life

Hargreaves was born in Calgary, Alberta, as the youngest of three children of Margaret and Colin Hargreaves, who had emigrated from the United Kingdom at the start of the 1980s. His father played football for the Bolton Wanderers youth side and also for the Calgary Kickers of the Canadian Soccer League. He is the only member of his family born in Canada; his brother Darren and his mother were both born in Wales, and his other brother Neil and his father were born in England.

As a youngster in North America, Hargreaves grew up mostly watching and playing sports like basketball, ice hockey and American football. His sporting heroes were basketball legend Michael Jordan and American football player Deion Sanders. He did not begin to play football seriously until the age of 15.

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Club career

On July 1, 1997, Hargreaves went from Calgary Foothills to Bayern Munich at the age of 16. Before spending nine months with the Amateur team, he served in the Under-19 team for two and a half years. The team was in the final of the German Championship in 1998 with the Under-19s. They lost in the final to Borussia Dortmund, but only after a penalty shoot-out in Dortmund's Stadion Rote Erde.

Hargreaves played in his first Bundesliga match against Hertha Berlin on August 12, 2000, while playing as a substitute for Carsten Jancker in the 83rd minute. On September 16, 2000, he made his first appearance against Spvgg Unterhaching. The club was champions and also won the UEFA Champions League last season, with Hargreaves playing in central midfield. Hargreaves is one of only two English players to win a Champions League medal with a non-English team, as well as two-time champion Steve McManaman (who won the Champions League with Real Madrid in 1999–2000 and 2001–02).

Hargreaves made his debut in the 2001-02 season as a first team regular. He made 46 appearances in total, with the club finishing third in the Bundesliga, making the quarterfinals of the Champions League, and losing in the DFB-Pokal by Schalke. In 2002-03, the club and the DFB-Pokal combined to regained their Bundesliga crown. Hargreaves scored his first Bundesliga goal against Borussia Mönchengladbach on January 26, 2003.

Hargreaves were wounded on three occasions from 2002 to 2003. He tore a thigh muscle in September and a calf muscle in October. Adductor problems that had hampered him early in the season extended for three weeks. He made 25 Bundesliga appearances, four in Cup matches, and three in the Champions League.

Hargreaves' first season with Bayern was 2003–2004, but there was no silverware at the time. After winning the double last year, the Bavarian team finished second in the Bundesliga and then were kicked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid. In this season, Hargreaves made 38 appearances for the club.

Hargreaves won another German championship and DFB-Pokal in 2004-05. He made 27 appearances in the Bundesliga (one goal), participated in three Cup games (two goals) and eight Champions League games. He gained another Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal title in 2005–2006. In a friendly match against Borussia Mönchengladbach on August 5, Hargreaves scored his first goal at the new Allianz Arena in 2005. In total, he made 15 league appearances (one goal), four cup appearances (two goals), and three Champions League appearances. In October 2005, he extended his contract with Bayern for another four years.

Hargreaves suffered his leg during the 2006–07 season, leaving him out of the majority of Bayern's league play this season. He recovered in time to play in Bayern's victory over Real Madrid in the Champions League, raising from a score of 4–4 on Friday in Madrid's Estadio Bernabéu's first leg. Bayern was forced out in the quarter-final by Milan and finished fourth in the Bundesliga for the first time since 1996, missing out on Champions League football for the first time since 1996. In total, he appeared in 145 top-flight matches for FC Bayern in Germany.

Hargreaves were expected to join Manchester United on July 1st, 2007, after almost a year of talks between Bayern Munich and United for a fee of about £17 million. Hargreaves was officially announced as a United player on July 1st, having signed a four-year deal with the club. He and fellow newcomer Nani were then announced to the public on September 9th. At Old Trafford, Hargreaves were given the number 4 shirt.

On August 4th, Hargreaves made his first United appearance in a friendly against Peterborough United, winning by a 2–1 victory. In the derby match against Manchester City, he lost his first Premier League appearance in the season's third game of the season. Hargreaves scored his first league goal for United against Fulham on March 1st, a free kick from just outside the penalty box. On Monday, he scored his second league goal for the club, including a free kick winner against Arsenal. United's first season with the Premier League and Champions League titles. Hargreaves played all 120 minutes, starting on the right of midfield, and scoring United's fourth goal of the shootout as they defeated Chelsea 6–5 on penalties.

Injury, a recurring patellar tendinitis problem that limited him to sporadic appearances in 2008–09, hampered Hargreaves' second season at United. Hargreaves travelled to Colorado, USA, in November 2008 to visit renowned knee surgeon Richard Steadman after visits to specialists in both London and Sweden failed to produce any results. Hargreaves underwent knee surgery on 10 November 10th and underwent a similar procedure on his left knee in January 2009. However, this meant he would miss the remainder of the 2008–09 season, as well as League Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, and FA Community Shield champion's medals. Hargreaves completed his rehabilitation course in the United States and was due to return to training with United at the Audi Cup in Munich. However, it was decided on assessment that he should continue with his medical treatment in the United States. Hargreaves returned to the club on September 23, 2009, where his physiotherapist and the club's rehabilitation staff worked with him for a week to assist the transition process and the club's to learn their rehabilitation program.

Despite not being 100% match fit, Hargreaves was expected to return in time for United's Champions League first knockout round match against Milan in January 2010. However, Hargreaves suffered a setback to their hopes of playing in the 2010 FIFA World Cup when Sir Alex Ferguson withdrew him from the squad for the knockout stage in favor of Belgian defender Ritchie De Laet on February 4th. On the day of the match, Hargreaves was expected that Hargreaves would return from injury in a reserve team match against Manchester City, but Hargreaves canceled out of the match to continue with his training program. He made his comeback a week later by playing for 45 minutes of United's reserve team match against Burnley on March 18th. Hargreaves was announced as an ineffective substitute for the first-team match against Tottenham Hotspur on April 24.

In the 93rd minute of United's season's penultimate game of the season against Sunderland, Hargreaves made his Premier League return in the 93rd minute. It was his first Premier League action since a 1–1 draw with Chelsea in September 2008, the first time he had missed 113 matches in 20 months. Despite this, Hargreaves missed the start of the 2010-11 season after suffering another injury, for which he travelled to the United States to see a consultant. Hargreaves had returned to training on September 24, according to manager Ferguson. He made his first appearance against Wolverhampton Wanderers in September 2010, but his return to Bébé was short-lived just five minutes into the match, which United then defeated 2–1.

Ferguson revealed on May 22nd that Hargreaves would not be given a new deal. His deal came to an end in the 2010–11 season, and he left the club, despite promising to watch the 2011-12 season for free. Hargreaves later posted videos of him exercising on YouTube in an attempt to prove his fitness to prospective clubs. Hargreaves' knees, which have been a source of injury for a number of years, were reported to be considering an offer for Hargreaves, according to Richard Steadman's optimistic assessment that Hargreaves' knees, "jumping from the Eiffel Tower," a number of clubs, including Bolton Wanderers, Tottenham Hotspur, Leicester City, West Bromwich Albion, Nottingham Forest Queens Park Rangers, Rangers, and "sever MLS clubs" were a adman' Hargreaves was one of Ferguson's most frustrating signings in his autobiography, published in 2013. ESPN named his move to United as the 27th worst Premier League trade of all time in 2020.

Hargreaves was spotted on August 30, 2011 with Manchester City surgeon Phillip Batty allegedly having a medical with the team ahead of a transfer to Manchester. Hargreaves' physical appearance, as well as his state of mind, was reported to impress the medical staff at City. City had been searching for a replacement for Patrick Vieira, who had been out of office before, and an additional midfielder due to Yaya Touré's anticipated absence during January 2012 due to the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. Daniele De Rossi, Fernando Gago, and Mark van Bommel had been earmarked, but City turned to Hargreaves after these efforts failed, a player they had been waiting for for a few months before their initial approach.

City announced on August 31 that they had signed Hargreaves to a one-year contract. Hargreaves had hoped to join West Bromwich Albion, but the City's invitation was a surprise. Hargreaves were given the opportunity to compete in Champions League football as the club looked to face United in the Premier League. However, he was left out of the Champions League squad. Hargreaves scored in a 2–0 win over Birmingham City in the League Cup for the first time, with a goal in the 17th minute. It was announced on 27 April 2012 that he would be released at the end of the season after only four appearances for the club. City were expected to win their first English title in 44 years, with Hargreaves participating in the on-pitch festivities after losing to Queens Park Rangers on the final day. However, he did not qualify for a winner's award after only playing one league match all season.

Following his release, he trained with Queens Park Rangers, but the club did not have a deal.

International career

Hargreaves, who was born in Canada to a Welsh mother and an English father, was eligible to play international football for England, Wales, or Canada. Soccer fans in Canada and Welsh football fans in Wales reacted angrily to England's selection for England. After being courted by the Vancouver Whitecaps in 2010, one fansite went to the extent of requesting that the three Canadian teams in MLS (Montreal Impact, Toronto FC, Vancouver Whitecaps) never sign Hargreaves to play for them.

He was a member of Wales during the 1998 Milk Cup, where Wales finished third place behind Turkey and Northern Ireland in third place, but not above Russia. In September 2000, he was supposed to make his Wales U21 team debut against the Belarus U21 team, but he was forced to withdraw from the squad after being approached by England.

Howard Wilkinson, then England under-21 manager, called the 19-year-old into his squad for the match against Georgia on August 31, 2000. The game, which was played at Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium, ended in a 6–1 victory for the home team. The under-21s will appear again in friendlies against Italy and Spain.

Hargreaves played his first international game against the Netherlands at White Hart Lane on August 15, 2001, giving him the distinction of being the only England player to play for England despite never having lived in England. He was also the second player (after Joe Baker) to play in English league football and the first to play for England without having played in England. In his second cap, he came on as a replacement as England defeated Germany 5–1 in the Olympiastadion. Hargreaves was the only player outside of the Premier League to be selected for England's 2002 FIFA World Cup squad. Hargreaves were forced to be substituted after just fifteen minutes of England's second group match against Argentina.

Despite criticism from sections of the press and public, he was chosen for the England squads in Portugal and the 2006 World Cup in Germany, despite the fact that he had not been a member of the first team. His generally skepticism of him by English fans had not been aided by his appearance to have the "German-ness" in its entirety, which was exacerbated by his Canadian, Welsh accent, and fluency in German. Hargreaves was in the starting lineup of England's final three matches in 2006, although restricted to three appearances as a replacement at Euro 2004. He was, by the time of England's participation in a tournament in which England is generally underperforming, and he was certainly one of the few successes of the English squad. In the quarter final against Portugal, where England was eliminated after a penalty shootout, Hargreaves being the only successful English penalty taker. He won both England Player of the Year and England Player of the World Cup in official FA polls in 2006, becoming the first to win both in the same year.

In England's 4–0 victory over Greece on August 16, 2006, Hargreaves received the Man of the match award. He was named England Player of the Year 2006 by visitors to the Official FA website on January 30, 2007, as the Year's Best Player of the Year 2006 award was announced.

In June 2007, FIFA revealed that Hargreaves and Philipp Lahm would tour South Africa in advance for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Hargreaves' condition after his transfer to Manchester City in 2011 was hoped for by the manager, Fabio Capello, "I hope he will be really good in the short run for Manchester City and also for England."

Media career

Hargreaves is seen as a narcotic for BT Sport in the Premier League, FA Cup, UEFA Europa League, and UEFA Champions League coverage. He is also a Football Analyst on CNN and has reported on France's Euro 2016 football championship.

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