Michael Carrick (born 28 July 1981 in Wallsend, Tyneside) is a
English football player who currently plays for Tottenham
Hotspur as a midfielder after coming from West Ham United.
Carrick is considered by Sven-Göran Eriksson, the England
national football team manager, to be a good possible holding
midfielder with others such as Scott Parker and Ledley King. He
has an excellent range and variation of passing which is applied
with his sense of positioning and calm nature when in control of
the ball. He made his first senior start in May 2005 during
England's tour of the USA having made two substitute appearances
in 2001.
Having studied at Wallsend's Burnside Community High School
until completing his GCSEs in 1997, he was courted by many clubs
before deciding on West Ham. Whilst as a youth team member at
West Ham he appeared on a satellite TV show looking at how young
footballers coped with life. He was part of the 1999 West Ham
team that won the FA Youth Cup final, recording the largest
aggregate score win in the competitions history (9-0 against
Coventry City). He made his debut as a substitute replacing Rio
Ferdinand in a 3-0 win at Bradford City in August 1999.
Michael is one of many West Ham players who moved on after they
got relegated. He did, however, stick with the Hammers for a
season before moving on. Other high profile players that left
include Joe Cole, Jermain Defoe and Fredi Kanouté. He is now
considered one of England's best talents and has proved that
with his performances for Tottenham so far this season, capped
to date by scoring his first goal for the club - a late winner
in the home match against Sunderland along with a second against
Manchester City in a 2-1 home victory.
As of 2 March 2006, Carrick has played for England 5 times. He
is now widely tipped to be included in the 2006 World Cup squad. |
