Robert Green

At 44 years old, Robert Green has this physical status:

Robert Paul Green (born 18 January 1980) is an English former professional footballer who competed as a goalkeeper.

He competed in the Premier League and Football League as well as for the England national team. Green made his first-team debut for Norwich City in 1999 and made 241 appearances in all competitions for them, earning the PFA Team of the Year award in 2003-2004.

He moved to West Ham United in 2006, making the same number of appearances over a six-year span in which he was their Player of the Year in 2008 and 2012, as well as winning promotion via the Championship play-offs.

He then moved to Queens Park Rangers, winning the play-offs for the fourth time in 2014.

Green joined Leeds United on a one-year deal in July 2016.

He played for Huddersfield Town and Chelsea for one year before retiring in 2019. At the under-16, under-18, and B level, Green represented England.

In 2005, he made his England debut in the full squad.

Green was omitted from England's 2006 FIFA World Cup squad due to sickness, but he was back in 2010 as England's first choice goalkeeper, but England lost after an error cost England a victory over the United States.

He was also in their squad for UEFA Euro 2012, as he was named in the team's squad.

Personal life

Green scaled Mount Kilimanjaro in 2008 during a charity run by AMREF (the African Medical and Research Foundation). He is a huge fan of Woking and cited Laurence Batty as another goalkeeping inspiration.

In a Leeds United interview, Green said that he is studying at the Open University for a Bachelor of Business Management Degree in order to have something to focus on after he graduates from football.

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Club career

Green, a youngster from Chertsey, Surrey, came from Norwich City's youth system. On April 11, 1999, he made his first-team debut in the First Division, keeping a clean sheet against rivals Ipswich Town at Carrow Road. Andy Marshall, the first-choice goalkeeper since 1997-1998, was able to establish himself as Norwich's first choice goalkeeper after Marshall's departure in the summer of 2001.

He was a participant of the 2001–02 season play-off season, which culminated in a disappointing loss to Birmingham City on penalties.

Green was a central figure in Norwich's 2003 squad. He was instrumental in Norwich's 2003-2004 championship and promotion to the Premier League. The Norwich number one was unveiled once more, with another 18 clean sheets and conceding only 39 goals in 46 league appearances. Green put on several match winning performances during the season. These man of the match appearances included home matches with Derby County and Stoke City; he saved Gerry Taggart during the latter. His first England international call up for the friendly against Sweden was due to his high success. For the season, he was also included in the PFA Team of the Year.

The following season, Norwich was promoted to the Championship. Despite some outstanding individual results, Green maintained just 6 clean sheets and conceded 77 goals during the Premier League season. Green was consistently selected for international squads based on merit by England coach Sven-Göran Eriksson.

Norwich's return to Championship football was difficult after relegation. Green's worst season as Norwich's top one came in this season, with just seven clean sheets in 42 league appearances. Green sustained an injury in the warm-up match against Sheffield on Wednesday, missing the last few matches of 2005–06, the last few matches of 2005–06 was postponed. Norwich accepted a bid for Green from West Ham United in August 2006.

Green has joined West Ham United for four years, where he competed with former Norwich striker Dean Ashton, who was sold to West Ham in January 2006. Green made his West Ham debut on October 19, 2006, when the team lost 1–0 at White Hart Lane against Tottenham Hotspur. Two of his best performances came when West Ham beat Arsenal 1–0 and Manchester United defeated Manchester United 1–0 and then regained Premier League status, which kept West Ham's Premier League status. Green kept nine clean sheets in 26 appearances during the league season.

Green saved the first three points against him in 2007-08. The first was against Kevin Doyle of Reading, the second, Benjani of Portsmouth in injury time, and the third from Tottenham's Jermain Defoe in injury time. On February 9, 2008, Birmingham City's James McFadden brought an end to the streak. He appeared in every match and was named the West Ham Hammer of the Year, with the team finishing in 10th place in the Premier League.

Green saved another penalty in 2008-09, this time against Jason Roberts of Blackburn Rovers, West Ham's, who had a lot of followers, by winning the match 4–1. Green played in all 38 league games for West Ham in that season, while keeping ten clean sheets. And fought in all 38 league games for West Ham in 2009–10, including eight clean sheets and saving another penalty this time from Ashley Young of Aston Villa's 2–1 victory.

Green made 44 appearances in all sports between 2010 and 2011, winning seven clean sheets in all competitions during 2010-2011. In a 3–1 victory over Wigan Athletic at Upton Park and then again against Stoke City in a 2–1 FA Cup loss. He saved a penalty. Green made a world-class save against Gareth Bale's free kick in the 0–0 draw with Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane on March 19, 2011. As runner-up to Scott Parker, he was named Hammer of the Year.

Green was suspended against Blackpool for the first time in his club career against on February 21, 2012. With midfielder Henri Lansbury in goal, West Ham, who hadn't selected a replacement goalkeeper in their squad for the match, were compelled to play the remainder of the second half. They eventually defeated 4-1. West Ham also gained an appeal against the red card, leaving Green cardholders free to play in their next match. He appeared in 42 games at West Ham's 2011–12 Championship season, when the team defeated West Ham United in the play-off final at Wembley Stadium, securing their immediate return to the Premier League. Green, a joint-chairman who struggled to settle new terms at the end of his deal, reported his release from the club in June 2012.

Green signed terms with Queens Park Rangers (QPR) on June 21, 2012 and joined on a free transfer on July 1st, ending on a two-year deal. In a 5–0 home loss by Swansea City on August 18, he made his debut on August 18, 2012. Green only played two more matches for QPR before boss Mark Hughes signed Brazilian international Jlio César; even though Green's match against Manchester City was delayed, Jlio César's work permit was not valid, and the Brazilian took the following match against Chelsea on September 15th, 2012.

During Hughes' dismissal of Julio César, the new boss announced him against Sunderland on Friday at halftime during his first match in charge. Green then proceeded to play the next five matches. Before being banned to the bench for the majority of the next four months, only starting three matches between December and April 20, two FA Cup matches in January and June respectively, and the Brazilian recovered when Jlio César was injured in the victory over Southampton. Following Green's third straight start in the loss to Arsenal, Redknapp said that he "want[s] to play Rob Green [and] that Green "will probably be [his] goalkeeper next season" and that Green "will most likely be [his] goalkeeper next season" and that "probably [his] goalkeeper [should] be sold over the summer" as he expects Jlio César to be sold over the summer. Green was named as the first choice goalkeeper for the first match of the season at 2013-2014. Green was a member of the QPR team that lifted the 2014 Championship play-off Final, 1–0 against Derby County at Wembley Stadium on May 24th.

After a single season in the Premier League, QPR was relegated following a 6–0 home loss to Manchester City on May 10, the city's fourth relegation from the Premier League. He saved an early penalty in a 2–1 loss to Arsenal on December 26th, as his colleague Eduardo Vargas pointed out which way Alexis Sánchez was supposed to shoot earlier in the season.

Green, QPR's first choice goalkeeper, had been frozen out the starting lineup one game after his arrival of new manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, who served 30 Championship matches. Green left the club at the end of 2015–16 after a transfer to Crystal Palace fell through in the January transfer window, with QPR aiming to reduce the wage bill.

Green signed a one-year deal with Leeds United in July, 2016. Green scored in a 3–0 loss against QPR on August 7, 2016, when he failed to punch a ball from a corner leading to a Sol Bamba own goal. Green fought in the next match against Fleetwood Town on August 10, 2016 after a 2–0 draw in a 5–0 draw.

Green committed a high-profile mistake by dropping the ball under his crossbar to the feet of Newcastle United striker Dwight Gayle on the 20th of the game, a 2–0 loss. With goalkeeper Marco Silvestri's return to Leeds, Green maintained his eighth clean sheet for the whole 2016-2016 season.

In Leeds' 1–0 victory, Green saved a penalty from Sheffield Wednesday striker Jordan Rhodes on his 600th appearance in league, as well as a victory on Sunday. Green completed a new one-year deal at the club on March 18, 2017 after impressing during his first season at the club.

Greene started the 2017/18 season as the club's second choice goalkeeper behind new signing Felix Wiedwald, who made his first appearance of the season on August 22 in Leeds' 5–1 League Cup victory over Newport County. Leeds reached a mutual agreement on Andy Lonergan's release in order to transfer to Premier League side Huddersfield Town.

After his deal with Leeds United was mutually terminated, Green signed for Huddersfield Town in Premier League football until the end of 2017-18. Green was unable to make a single first-team appearance for Huddersfield, and the club announced in May 2018 that his deal would not be renewed.

Green signed for Chelsea on a one-year deal in July 2018 to provide cover for Thibaut Courtois and Willy Caballero. He discussed his third-choice goalkeeper in March 2019, saying that "you don't get that same excitement" and that "there isn't the same commitment in a physical or mental sense."

Despite not being on the bench for the 2019 UEFA Europa League Final or any other Chelsea game this season, Green celebrated by lifting the Europa League trophy after Chelsea defeated Arsenal 4–1.

Green announced his retirement from playing on May 31.

International career

When at Norwich, Green earned his first call-up to the full England squad in 2004. In a 3–2 friendly victory over Colombia against Colombia on May 31, 2005, he became the sixth Norwich player to wear the Three Lions shirt when he appeared as a halftime replacement for David James. Despite Norwich being dropped into the Championship in 2005, Green stayed in the England squad and was selected for the England 2006 FIFA World Cup squad. However, when taking a goal kick during England's B international against Belarus on May 25, he strained his groin. He was brought into the squad by Liverpool's Scott Carson. The injury did not stop Green Bay from the World Cup but also the start of the 2006-07 season.

Green was called up for the England "B" match in May 2007 and later named in the senior England squad to face Brazil and Estonia in June 2007. He had a long absence from the international stage. He did not make Fabio Capello's first England team in February 2008. Green displayed a sense of humour about the international situation, sporting gloves with 'England's No.6' embroidery on them. On March 26, 2008, he was called to the squad in place of the injured Chris Kirkland for England's friendly against France. Green got his first England victory over Almaty against Kazakhstan in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier on June 6th. He played for England against Croatia on September 9, 2009, with England winning by 5–1 victory over South Africa. During the penultimate match of qualification against Ukraine, he was the first England goalkeeper to be dismissed early in the game. England lost 1–0 by the time they turned to lose 1–0.

Green was selected in England's squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Fabio Capello did not choose his first choice goalkeeper until the day of England's opening match against the United States, which was where he decided Green would start. Green failed to save a long-range shot from US midfielder Clint Dempsey, which bounced off his gloves and into the net in the 40th minute, leading 1–0. The match was a 1–1 draw. Green was ruled out after this mistake and an uneventful final training session on June 17. David James, a 0–0 draw against Algeria on June 18, was used to replace him in England's upcoming match, a 0–0 draw against Algeria. He did not appear in the World Cup again and was dropped from the first England squad named after the tournament for a friendly against Hungary.

Green was called back to the squad for the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro in October 2010. Green was named in England's 23-man squad for UEFA EURO 2012 on May 16, 2012. England defeated Norway 1–0 in a friendly on Friday, with him making his first appearance since the World Cup and keeping a clean sheet.

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