Ryan Giggs

Ryan Giggs

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3by2white.svg Ryan Giggs Football pictogram.svg
R giggs.jpg
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Dati biografici
Nome Ryan Joseph Wilson Giggs
Nato 29 novembre 1973
Cardiff
Paese bandiera Regno Unito
Nazionalità bandiera Galles
Passaporto {{{passaporto}}}
Morto
{{{luogo morte}}}
Altezza 180 cm
Peso 68 kg
Dati agonistici
Disciplina Calcio
Specialità {{{specialità}}}
Categoria {{{categoria}}}
Record
Ranking {{{ranking}}}º
Best ranking {{{best ranking}}}º
Ruolo Centrocampista
Squadra 600px Rosso con scudo forcone e barca Gialli.png Manchester Utd
Ritirato {{{Terminecarriera}}}
Carriera
Giovanili
1985-1987
1987-1990 600px sky city.png Manchester City
600px Rosso con scudo forcone e barca Gialli.png Manchester Utd
Squadre di club1
1990- 600px Rosso con scudo forcone e barca Gialli.png Manchester Utd 567 (104)
Nazionale
1991-2007 Bandiera del Galles Galles 64 (12)
Carriera da allenatore
Incontri disputati

{{{rigavuota}}}
Palmarès

{{{palmares}}}
1 Dati relativi al solo campionato.
Il simbolo → indica un trasferimento in prestito.
Statistiche aggiornate al 12 settembre 2009

Ryan Joseph Giggs (Cardiff, 29 novembre 1973) è un calciatore gallese, ala sinistra del Manchester United e già componente per sedici anni della Nazionale gallese.

Fino alla maggiore età, il suo cognome era Wilson e aveva la nazionalità inglese. Il non ottimo rapporto con il padre lo ha portato a cambiare cognome e scegliere il Galles come Nazionale. La madre infatti è gallese e il suo cognome è appunto Giggs.

Dal 21 maggio 2008 è il primatista di presenze con la divisa del Manchester United, in cui milita dal 1989; quel giorno ha disputato la sua 759a gara con i Red Devils.

Ha vinto in totale undici Premier League, 4 FA Cup, 6 Community Shield, tre Football League Cup, due UEFA Champions League, una Coppa delle Coppe, una Supercoppa europea, una Coppa Intercontinentale e una Coppe del Mondo per club.
Indice
[nascondi]

* 1 Caratteristiche tecniche
* 2 Carriera
o 2.1 Club
o 2.2 Nazionale
* 3 Statistiche
o 3.1 Presenze e reti nei club
* 4 Palmarès
o 4.1 Club
+ 4.1.1 Competizione nazionali
+ 4.1.2 Competizioni internazionali
o 4.2 Individuale
* 5 Note
* 6 Altri progetti
* 7 Collegamenti esterni

Caratteristiche tecniche [modifica]

Di ruolo primario ala sinistra, Giggs è dotato di buon dribbling ma anche di un cross preciso e veloce, doti che mostra nei calci piazzati e dalla bandierina, per la sua abilità in veste di assistman può essere schierato da seconda punta.
Carriera [modifica]
Club [modifica]

Diventa professionista il 29 novembre 1990, nel giorno del suo diciassettesimo compleanno; fa invece il suo debutto in Premier League contro l'Everton all'Old Trafford il 2 marzo 1991, sostituendo Denis Irwin in una sconfitta per 2-0. Poco dopo debutta anche con la Nazionale del Galles, diventando il più giovane giocatore ad aver esordito con tale compagine.

Il 18 novembre 1995 ha realizzato il gol più veloce della storia del Manchester United, quando in 15 secondi appena ha segnato al Southampton F.C..

Il 1999 è l'anno migliore della sua carriera: in tale stagione vince infatti Premier League, FA Cup e Champions League. Segna un gol in semifinale di FA Cup del 1999 contro l'Arsenal nei tempi supplementari, realizzato al culmine di un'azione personale iniziata partendo dalla sua metà campo. È stato poi inserito nel Best Team degli anni '90 dall'UEFA accanto a nomi del calibro di Marco van Basten e Zinédine Zidane. I tifosi del Manchester lo hanno eletto terzo miglior giocatore di sempre nella storia della squadra dietro Éric Cantona e George Best.

Segna il suo 100° gol in Premier League contro il Derby County l'8 dicembre 2007, in una partita vinta dallo United 4-1. Il 20 febbraio mette a referto la sua 100a presenza nella UEFA Champions League in una partita contro il Lione e l'11 maggio 2008, nell'ultima giornata di Premier League 07/08, sostiuisce Park Ji-Sung eguagliando il record di Bobby Charlton di 758 presenze con la maglia dello United. Nella stessa partita, vinta dal Manchester United contro il Wigan per 2 a 0, Giggs segna il secondo gol, che regala al club il suo decimo titolo di campionato.

Dieci giorni dopo, il 21 maggio 2008, sorpassa il record di presenze di Bobby Charlton entrando al posto di Paul Scholes nell'ottantasettesimo minuto della finale di Champions League contro il Chelsea. Lo United vincerà poi la finale, sconfiggendo il Chelsea 6-5 ai rigori dopo l'1-1 alla fine dei supplementari. Giggs segna quello che diviene il rigore decisivo (dopo che il giocatore del Chelsea Nicolas Anelka aveva sbagliato il rigore finale) e diventa l'unico giocatore britannico, con Steve McManaman e il suo compagno di squadra Owen Hargreaves, ad aver giocato e vinto più di una finale di Champions League.

Il 26 aprile 2009 è stato eletto, per la prima volta nella sua carriera, giocatore dell'anno della PFA, nonostante abbia giocato appena dodici partite durante la stagione 2008-2009 al momento di ricevere il trofeo. Il premio è dunque un omaggio alla sua lunga carriera.

La sua 800esima presenza per il Manchester United arriva il 29 aprile 2009, nella semifinale di Champions League vinta per 1-0 contro l'Arsenal.
Nazionale [modifica]

In Nazionale è stato espulso per la prima e unica volta in tutta la sua carriera, per doppia ammonizione.
Statistiche [modifica]
Presenze e reti nei club [modifica]

Statistiche aggiornate al 1 ottobre 2009[1]
Stagione Squadra Campionato FA Cup Coppa di Lega Europa Altro[2] Totale
Pres Gol Pres Gol Pres Gol Pres Gol Pres Gol
1990–91 Bandiera dell'Inghilterra Manchester United 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1
1991–92 38 4 3 0 8 3 1 0 1 0 51 7
1992-93 41 9 2 2 2 0 1 0 0 0 46 11
1993-94 38 13 7 1 8 3 4 0 1 0 58 17
1994-95 29 1 7 1 0 0 3 2 1 0 40 4
1995-96 33 11 7 1 2 0 2 0 0 0 44 12
1996-97 26 3 3 0 0 0 7 2 1 0 37 5
1997-98 29 8 2 0 0 0 5 1 1 0 37 9
1998-99 24 3 6 2 1 0 9 5 1 0 41 10
1999-2000 30 6 – 0 0 11 1 3 0 44 7
2000-01 31 5 2 0 0 0 11 2 1 0 45 7
2001-02 25 7 1 0 0 0 13 2 1 0 40 9
2002-03 36 8 3 2 5 0 15 5 0 0 59 14
2003-04 33 7 5 0 0 0 8 1 1 0 47 8
2004-05 32 5 4 0 1 1 6 2 1 0 44 8
2005-06 27 3 2 1 3 0 5 1 0 0 37 5
2006-07 30 4 6 0 0 0 8 2 0 0 44 6
2007-08 31 3 2 0 0 0 9 0 1 1 43 4
2008-09 28 2 2 0 4 1 11 1 2 0 47 4
2009-10 6 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 8 2
Totale 569 104 64 10 34 8 130 27 17 1 814 150
Palmarès [modifica]
Ryan Giggs nel 2006
Club [modifica]
Competizione nazionali [modifica]

* Premier.png Campionato inglese: 11

Manchester United: 1992-1993, 1993-1994, 1995-1996, 1996-1997, 1998-1999, 1999-2000, 2000-2001, 2002-2003, 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009

* FAcup.png Coppa d'Inghilterra: 4

Manchester United: 1993-1994, 1995-1996, 1998-1999, 2003-2004

* Carling.png Coppa di Lega inglese: 3

Manchester United: 1992, 2006, 2009

* CommunityShield.png Community Shield: 7

Manchester United: 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2007, 2008

Competizioni internazionali [modifica]

* UEFA - Champions League.svg Champions League: 2

Manchester United: 1998-1999, 2007-2008

* Copa Intercontinental.svg Coppa Intercontinentale: 1

Manchester United: 1999

* FIFA Club World Cup2.svg Coppa del Mondo per club: 1

Manchester United: 2008

* Coppacoppe2.png Coppa delle Coppe: 1

Manchester United: 1990/1991

* UEFA - Super Cup.svg Supercoppa UEFA: 1

Manchester United: 1991

Individuale [modifica]

* Giocatore dell'anno della PFA: 1

2009

batista

Dave Batista

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Dave Batista

Batista at an autograph signing in 2003
Ring name(s) Batista[1]
Dave Batista
Deacon Bautista[2]
Leviathan[2]
Kahn / Khan[2]
Billed height 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)[1]
Billed weight 290 lb (130 kg)[1]
Born January 18, 1969 (1969-01-18) (age 40)[3]
Washington, D.C.[2]
Resides Tampa, Florida[2]
Billed from Washington, D.C.[1]
Trained by Afa Anoa'i[2][4]
Debut 1997[4]
Website Official website

David Michael Bautista, Jr.[5] (born January 18, 1969),[3] better known by his ring name, Batista, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment on its SmackDown brand.

In professional wrestling, Batista is a five-time world heavyweight champion, having won the World Heavyweight Championship four times and the WWE Championship one time. In addition to these championships, Batista has also won the World Tag Team Championship three times (twice with Ric Flair and once with John Cena) and the WWE Tag Team Championship once (with Rey Mysterio). Batista was also the winner of the 2005 Royal Rumble match.[1]

After trying out at the WCW Power Plant, Batista signed a contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 2000 and was sent to its developmental federation, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), where he won the OVW Heavyweight Championship.
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Early life
* 2 Professional wrestling career
o 2.1 Ohio Valley Wrestling (2000–2002)
o 2.2 World Wrestling Entertainment (2002–present)
+ 2.2.1 Debut
+ 2.2.2 Evolution (2003–2005)
+ 2.2.3 Move to SmackDown! (2005–2008)
+ 2.2.4 Return from injury (2006)
+ 2.2.5 World Heavyweight Championship feuds (2007)
+ 2.2.6 Return to Raw (2008-2009)
+ 2.2.7 Return to SmackDown (2009-present)
* 3 Media
* 4 Controversy
o 4.1 Criticism of WWE and TNA
o 4.2 Backstage problems
o 4.3 Steroid allegations
* 5 Personal life
* 6 In wrestling
* 7 Championships and accomplishments
* 8 References
* 9 External links

Early life

Bautista was born the son of David Michael Bautista, who is Filipino and Donna Raye Bautista, who is Greek.[5] His parents separated (and eventually divorced) after his mother came out as a lesbian.[6] His paternal grandparents were also from the Philippines as his grandfather served in the military, worked as a taxi driver, barber, and other odd jobs to feed the family. Bautista says he is not ashamed to admit he lived in poverty.[7]

He has publicly admitted to having a hard life where, as before he was age nine, three murders occurred on his front lawn.[8] As young as age 13, he was stealing automobiles.[9] By age 17, he was considered estranged from his parents and on his own,[10] despite admitting later that "I am proud of my parents. They are good, honest, hard-working folks. They taught me the values of working hard."[9] Bautista became a regular bouncer for clubs until he was arrested after a fight that left two badly injured patrons, one of which could be found lying in the street.[10] After a trial, he was sentenced to one year of probation.[10] He was also a lifeguard[11] before he pursued a career in bodybuilding.[10] He credits bodybuilding as possibly saving his life.[12]
Professional wrestling career

Bautista tried out at the WCW Power Plant but was told he would never make it in the wrestling business by Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker.[13] He then went to the World Wrestling Federation, who sent him to train with Afa Anoa'i's school in the Wild Samoan Training Centre.[14]
Ohio Valley Wrestling (2000–2002)

He made his Ohio Valley Wrestling debut in 2000 under the ring name Leviathan, where he immediately joined forces with Synn.[4] As a member of the Disciples of Synn stable, he went undefeated until being beaten at Christmas Chaos by Kane with help from Stone Cold Steve Austin. He later won the OVW Heavyweight Championship from "The Machine" Doug Basham before losing the belt to The Prototype. A few months later, Bautista left OVW after he was promoted to World Wrestling Entertainment.[15]
World Wrestling Entertainment (2002–present)
Debut

He began his WWE career on the May 9, 2002 episode of SmackDown! as Deacon Bautista, a villainous enforcer for Reverend D-Von.[16] He made his WWE in-ring debut in a tag team match teaming with D-Von against Faarooq and Randy Orton, pinning Orton. Over several weeks, Orton tried to beat D-Von and Bautista with different partners, but ultimately lost each time.[17] Bautista suffered his first loss in a match against Rikishi after D-Von accidentally punched him, allowing Rikishi to take advantage and pin Bautista. Bautista and D-Von argued over the forthcoming weeks, with Bautista eventually turning on D-Von.[18] After splitting with D-Von, he signed with Raw and was renamed to Dave Batista (or simply Batista). He aligned himself with Ric Flair[19] and feuded with Kane, whom he defeated at Armageddon.[20]
Evolution (2003–2005)
Main article: Evolution

In January 2003, Batista joined Triple H, Ric Flair and Randy Orton to form the villainous stable Evolution.[21] Batista, however, was sidelined for much of 2003 after he tore his right triceps muscle at a Raw live event in a tag team match against the Dudley Boyz. While training after the injury, Batista re-tore his triceps, extending his stay on the sidelines.[22] Batista made his return on the October 20 episode of Raw, interfering in a match between Bill Goldberg and Shawn Michaels and "shattering" Goldberg's ankle with a chair. After the interference, Evolution came out, and Triple H rewarded Batista with $100,000.[23] On the November 10 edition of Raw, Goldberg defeated Batista by disqualification when Triple H interfered.[24]

At Armageddon, Batista took part in two matches; losing to Shawn Michaels in a singles match,[25] and winning a tag team turmoil match along with Ric Flair to become one-half of the World Tag Team Champions.[26] By the end of the event, all four members of Evolution held every male championship on Raw, with Triple H winning the World Heavyweight Championship and Randy Orton winning the WWE Intercontinental Championship.[27] They held the title until the February 16, 2004 episode of Raw, when they were defeated by Booker T and Rob Van Dam.[28] They later regained the title for a short period.[29][30]

At Survivor Series, Triple H, Batista, Gene Snitsky, and Edge were defeated by Maven, Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, and Randy Orton in an eight-man elimination tag team match for control of Raw over the following month;[31] the members of the winning team would each be the Raw general manager for a week. Throughout the next two months, the relationship between Batista and Triple H began to deteriorate. After a loss to Chris Jericho, Triple H verbally insulted Batista. Batista teased leaving Evolution that night, but declared that he was still part of Evolution and that they tricked everyone.[32] Despite this ploy, Batista began behaving more like a fan favorite over the next few weeks in comparison to Evolution's villainous tactics. One particular moment saw Batista express disgust as Triple H and Ric Flair boasted about how they had intimidated and/or beat up Jim Ross, Danny Hodge, and Stacy Keibler. Regardless, he continued to show his loyalty to Triple H and Evolution by running down to the ring and assisting them in matches.

As 2005 began, Triple H realized the possibility of Batista becoming a threat to his World Heavyweight Championship. Triple H suggested that he not enter the Royal Rumble, claiming that it would be selfish of him to do so, and to simply focus on Triple H retaining the title. Batista entered anyway and went on to win the Rumble earning the right to participate in the main event of WrestleMania 21 against the World Champion of his choice.[33] In an attempt to persuade Batista to challenge WWE Champion John "Bradshaw" Layfield rather than him, Triple H concocted a scheme to have Batista run over in a limousine resembling the one used by Layfield. Initially, Dave did not want help from Evolution and wanted to confront JBL by himself. Triple H insisted that Evolution stick together and accompanied Dave anyway, saving him from the oncoming vehicle.[34] Batista became aware of the plot while sneakily eavesdropping on fellow Evolution members and signed a contract guaranteeing him a match with the World Heavyweight Champion Triple H at WrestleMania 21, thus leaving Evolution and officially turning into a fan favorite. Batista initially pretended that he would sign with SmackDown!, giving Triple H and Flair the "thumbs up", but turned it into a "thumbs down" before attacking the pair. He emphasized his departure by powerbombing Triple H through the table used for the contract signing.[35]
Move to SmackDown! (2005–2008)
Batista in September 2005 as the World Heavyweight Champion.

Batista won the World Heavyweight Championship on April 3 at WrestleMania 21.[1][36] Batista won a rematch with Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship at Backlash.[37] After Batista retained his title against Edge, he was betrayed by Ric Flair, who helped Triple H viciously attack the champion as Triple H challenged Batista to a Hell in a Cell match at Vengeance.[38] Batista won the match at Vengeance, retaining his title yet again. With this win, Batista became the first wrestler to pin Triple H in a Hell in a Cell match.[39]
Batista at a SmackDown! live event in Cincinnati, Ohio.

On June 30, Batista was revealed as the last pick in the 2005 WWE Draft Lottery; he made a surprise appearance while JBL was celebrating his victory in a six-man elimination match to win the new SmackDown! Championship.[40] JBL defeated Batista at The Great American Bash by disqualification after the referee saw Batista use a steel chair.[41] They had a rematch at SummerSlam in a No Holds Barred match in which Batista pinned JBL.[42] The feud culminated in a Bull Rope match with Batista retaining his championshp.[43] Soon after retaining the title in a feud with Eddie Guerrero,[44] WWE.com reported that Batista suffered a muscle tear in his back at the taping for the November 11 edition of SmackDown! due to a double chokeslam from Big Show and Kane.[45] Plans had been made for Batista to defend the title in a Triple Threat match with Eddie Guerrero and Randy Orton on the November 18 episode, but the match did not take place due to the unexpected death of Guerrero on November 13, the date of the taping. Batista paid homage to Guerrero during the SmackDown! and Raw tribute shows dedicated to Guerrero's memory.[46]

Batista led Team SmackDown! against Team Raw in an inter-brand feud before Survivor Series. The feud saw Big Show and Kane chokeslamming Batista several more times in the weeks leading up to Survivor Series in an on-camera explanation for Batista's injury.[47] Batista ultimately helped his team win the match.[48] After Batista saved Rey Mysterio from Big Show and Kane,[49] it was announced that Mysterio would team with Batista to face the Big Show and Kane at Armageddon.

On the December 16 edition of SmackDown!, Batista and Mysterio defeated WWE Tag Team Champions[50] MNM to become champions in a match they dedicated to Eddie Guerrero,[51] and the clash with Big Show and Kane at Armageddon turned into a Champions vs. Champions encounter. Batista and Mysterio lost to Kane and Big Show at Armageddon.[52] Two weeks later on SmackDown!, MNM defeated Batista and Mysterio after help from the returning Mark Henry to regain the WWE Tag Team Championships. During the interference, Henry attacked Batista, and performed his World's Strongest Slam.[53] The teams met again in a steel cage match that Henry also became involved in, and Batista and Rey were defeated again.[54] On January 9, WWE.com announced that Batista tore his right triceps during a match with Mark Henry at a live event on January 6. Due to his injury, Batista was forced to vacate the World Heavyweight Championship at the SmackDown! tapings on January 13, two days after surpassing Triple H's previous mark of 280 days for longest reigning champion. In his book, Batista Unleashed, Batista said that he believed that Henry was "careless" during their match as he never gave Batista any warning that the move was coming. Batista went on to have successful surgery on his arm on January 12.[55]
Return from injury (2006)
Batista at a SmackDown! live event.

Batista made an appearance at No Way Out and told the crowd that once his arm had healed he would return to regain the World Heavyweight Championship.[56] At WrestleMania 22, he interrupted a Randy Orton interview, putting SmackDown! on notice; the World Heavyweight Championship would return to him by WrestleMania 23.[57] Batista made his official return during the July 7 edition of SmackDown! immediately calling out and entering into a feud with Mark Henry.[58] At Saturday Night's Main Event, Batista won a six man tag match with Rey Mysterio and Bobby Lashley taking on King Booker, Finlay, and Mark Henry.[59] Henry was legitimately injured and was ruled out of the scheduled match between the two at The Great American Bash, thus further delaying a potential feud between the two after being delayed by Batista's initial injury.[58]

Batista put out an open challenge to replace the injured Henry, which was answered by Mr. Kennedy.[60] Batista lost this match via disqualification for failing to stop choking Mr. Kennedy into the turnbuckle with his boot, but continued to attack Kennedy resulting in a laceration on his forehead so severe that it exposed his cranium and required more than 20 stitches to close.[61][62] Batista lost another match with Kennedy via count out in a rematch on SmackDown! before finally defeating Kennedy by pinfall on the August 4 edition of SmackDown!.[63][64]

During this time, Batista tried to regain a world title, facing both Big Show for his ECW World Championship on ECW,[65] and King Booker for his World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam and on SmackDown!. Batista won the SummerSlam match, but not the title as the contests ended via disqualification meaning Booker retained the title.[66] In the SmackDown! bout a few weeks later, Booker retained with help from his Court.[67] Batista remained a top contender to the World Championship, competing against King Booker on several occasions while feuding with Finlay,[68] before finally defeating Booker to regain the World Heavyweight Championship at Survivor Series.[1] Ironically, the win occurred at the same arena where he surrendered the title in January.[69]
World Heavyweight Championship feuds (2007)
Batista in a Puerto Rican house show as the World Heavyweight Champion.

At WrestleMania 23, Batista lost the championship to the winner of the Royal Rumble match, The Undertaker.[70] They continued to battle over the title to a stalemate in a Last Man Standing match at Backlash[71] and a Steel Cage Match on the May 11 episode of SmackDown!. Following the latter, Edge took advantage and won the title from The Undertaker by cashing in his Money in the Bank contract.[72] Afterward, Batista challenged Edge unsuccessfully for the World Heavyweight Championship at Judgment Day, One Night Stand (in a Steel Cage Match), and Vengeance: Night of Champions (in a Last Chance match).[73][74] The loss at Vengeance stipulated that Batista could no longer get another chance at the World Heavyweight Championship while Edge remained champion.[75]

Batista accepted an open challenge from The Great Khali at The Great American Bash. Edge relinquished the title due to an injury the week before the pay-per-view, and Khali became the new World Heavyweight Champion, winning a Battle Royal and eliminating Batista. Batista and Kane, Edge's title opponent, faced Khali at The Great American Bash in a Triple Threat match where Khali retained the title.[76] Batista received a disqualification victory against Khali at SummerSlam after Khali used a steel chair, thus retaining the title again.[77] Batista finally claimed his third World Heavyweight Championship after eight consecutive attempts, by defeating Khali in a match that included Rey Mysterio at Unforgiven.[1][78] His first challenge was from The Great Khali in a Punjabi Prison Match at No Mercy where Batista retained his title. He won the match by leaping from the inner bamboo structure to the outer one, shortening his escape route and beating Khali to the floor.[79]

After the return of the The Undertaker at Unforgiven, the duo reignited their feud at Cyber Sunday where the fans chose Stone Cold Steve Austin as the Special Guest Referee. Batista pinned The Undertaker after two Batista Bombs.[80] The feud continued with a Hell in a Cell match at Survivor Series. During the match, Edge returned and interfered by giving The Undertaker a con-chair-to. He then pulled an unconscious Batista on top of The Undertaker for the pinfall to retain the World Heavyweight Championship.[81] At Armageddon, Edge won a Triple Threat Match, alongside The Undertaker for Batista's World Heavyweight Championship.[82]
Return to Raw (2008-2009)

Batista appeared in the Royal Rumble and was eliminated by Triple H. At No Way Out, he was part of the SmackDown Elimination Chamber Match and eliminated Big Daddy V, but was last eliminated by The Undertaker. At WrestleMania XXIV, he defeated Umaga in an interpromotional match. After Shawn Michaels defeated Ric Flair at the same event,[83] Batista began a feud with Michaels, calling him selfish and egotistical. The two faced off at Backlash with Chris Jericho as the Special Guest referee. Michaels won after faking a knee injury and performing Sweet Chin Music.[84] Batista then defeated Michaels at One Night Stand in a stretcher match, thus ending their feud.[85]

On June 23, Batista was drafted from SmackDown to the Raw brand during the 2008 WWE Draft.[86] Batista became a World Tag Team Champion for a third time on the August 4 edition of Raw when he teamed up with John Cena to defeat Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase for the title,[87][88] but they failed to retain the titles against the former champions on the next episode of Raw.[89] Batista narrowly defeated Cena at SummerSlam.[90]

On October 26 at Cyber Sunday, Batista defeated Chris Jericho for his fourth World Heavyweight Championship in a match in which Stone Cold Steve Austin was voted in as the special guest referee.[91] Batista's reign, however, only lasted eight days when Jericho won back the title in a Steel Cage match on a three-hour special episode of Raw.[92]

Batista then entered a feud with former Evolution partner, Randy Orton; at Survivor Series, Batista led a team of himself, CM Punk, Kofi Kingston, Matt Hardy, and R-Truth to face the team of Randy Orton, Shelton Benjamin, William Regal, Cody Rhodes, and Mark Henry. Batista was pinned by Orton, winning the match for his team. His feud with Orton continued up to Armageddon where Batista defeated Orton. On the December 15 edition of Raw, Batista was put into a handicap match against The Legacy with John Cena as his partner. During the match, Orton struck Batista with a punt to the head. Batista was knocked out and put out of action indefinitely due to a (kayfabe) head injury. WWE.com later reported that Batista elected to undergo surgery to repair a hamstring tear.[93] The hamstring was injured at SummerSlam, in the same match that former World Heavyweight Champion John Cena was forced out of action with a neck injury. He was expected to be out of action for six to eight months.

Batista returned on the April 6 episode of Raw, to save Triple H, Shane McMahon, and Vince McMahon from The Legacy. Vince McMahon, then announced that Batista would take his place at Backlash, where he would team up with WWE Champion Triple H, and Shane McMahon, to face The Legacy. During the match, Batista had brought out a chair, but Triple H tried to stop him, so they would not get disqualified. This distraction however, cost Triple H his championship, after he lost it to Orton. The following night on Raw, Batista won a singles match against Big Show due to a distraction by John Cena, to become the number one contender for the WWE Championship at Judgment Day.[94] Batista went on to defeat Orton in a rematch at Extreme Rules in a Steel Cage match to capture the WWE Championship.[95] However, on the June 8th edition of Raw, Batista was to vacate the title due to a staged brutal attack by Orton and the Legacy. It was later revealed that Batista had suffered a legitimate torn left biceps. Legacy was given on-screen credit for his injury[96].
Return to SmackDown (2009-present)

It was announced a few weeks before the Trish Stratus-hosted Raw week that Batista would be making a career-altering announcement come that show. Batista returned on the Sept 14 episode with his arm still in a vice and began his announcement. Randy Orton, assuming Batista was announcing his retirement, then came out and stated that it was he who ended the career of Batista. Batista then went on to remove his arm vice, as it was a fake just to leer out Orton, and proceeded to attack Orton. He then announced that he will not be retiring, but moving to SmackDown instead. Later that night, he defeated Orton in a no-holds barred match 4 months in the making which was to be his last match on the Raw brand.[97] On the September 18 edition of SmackDown, Batista made his return by winning a match against Chris Jericho. Jericho's tag team partner, The Big Show would then challenge Batista to a match the following week in which Batista put in a new move when he used the Ankle Lock on both Show & Jericho. Batista would then announce that he would challenge Jericho & Show for the tag titles at the Hell in the Cell Pay Per View with his tag team partner Rey Mysterio. Batista & Rey would be unsuccessful in their attempt to win the tag titles after Show pinned Rey after a knockout punch.
Media

In addition to wrestling, Batista has been in several commercials and on several magazine covers. He was shown breakdancing in a commercial promoting WWE SummerSlam in 2004 where he did his take on a "floor routine", a routine that arguably mocked the floor routines shown at the Olympic Games.[98] He was also on the cover of the April 2005 Flex magazine[99] and Muscle & Fitness for September 2008.[100]

Moreover, Bautista has acted and has guest starred in several television shows as both himself and in-character as Batista. He guest starred in the eighth episode of Season 6 of the American drama, action/adventure television series Smallville; he played an extraterrestrial alien named Aldar that escaped from the Phantom Zone, who sucks the bones out of people for nourishment.[101] Along with John Cena and Ashley Massaro, Bautista appeared representing WWE on an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition in January 2007, giving the kids of the family whose house was renovated WWE merchandise and eight tickets to WrestleMania 23.[102]

During the week of November 5, 2007, he appeared on Family Feud with several other WWE superstars.[103] On September 7, 2008, he appeared on an episode of Iron Chef America as one of the judges, with snails as the theme ingredient[104] Batista, along with Candice Michelle, Shelton Benjamin, and Josh Mathews, represented the WWE at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in an effort to persuade fans to register to vote in the 2008 Presidential election.[105] Bautista has also appeared on MTV Cribs showing his house and his cars.[106]

In May 2, 2009, he was shown on camera where he accompanied Philippine boxer Manny Pacquiao in his fight against British boxer Ricky Hatton in which Pacquiao won in the second round. He told the UK Sun that he loves Hatton, but Manny is in a league of his own, adding that he is thrilled to be there to support Manny before his bout.[107]

In June 2009, Bautista made a cameo appearance in an episode of the Australian soap opera Neighbours.[108] He has also made a cameo appearance in Relative Strangers.[9]

Bautista is currently working alongside Rob Van Dam and Ja Rule in an upcoming movie titled Wrong Side of Town.[109] Bautista will also star in the movie Wapakman alongside Manny Pacquiao and Nicole Scherzinger. He is confirmed to be portraying the villain of the movie.[110][111]

Dave Batista has his first biographical DVD being released through WWE productions entitled "Batista: I Walk Alone" it is currently set to be released October 20, 2009.[112]
Controversy
Criticism of WWE and TNA

In 2005, Bautista gave two controversial interviews to the British tabloid newspaper The Sun. In the first interview, Bautista, then wrestling on the Raw brand of WWE, criticized SmackDown!, stating, "I've watched their tapings live and it seems like a lot of the guys couldn't care less. There's a lack of passion and pride."[113] In the second interview, Bautista acknowledged that his statements had attracted considerable backstage heat from members of the SmackDown! brand. He then went on to claim, "there are guys on both shows who are lazy, couldn't care less and show no dedication." He then criticized rival wrestling promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, claiming, "I've also seen clips of their car wreck matches with A.J. Styles doing his stunts. That's not wrestling. Wrestling is storytelling."[114] In April 2006, Styles responded to Bautista's comments, stating, "I think it's funny that a guy who takes a bump and tears his back tells me that I don't know how to wrestle.[115]
Backstage problems

Bautista's backstage problems continued at a SummerSlam pay-per-view commercial shoot. It was reported that Bautista got into a real-life fistfight with Booker Huffman (better known as Booker T). The incident was reported on WWE.com, with both men telling their sides of the story. The fight was believed to stem from the idea that Buatista considered himself to be better than the rest of the roster due to his main event status and relatively quick climb to achieve it. It is believed that Bautista provoked the fight, though Huffman appeared to get the upper hand until they were pulled apart by various superstars. Huffman swore revenge, but the two seemingly put it behind them.[116][117][118]
Steroid allegations

In August 2007, Bautista was accused of anabolic steroid use after an ESPN article released the names of wrestlers that were clients of Signature Pharmacy of Orlando, Florida, one of many pharmacies under investigation for filling illegal prescription drugs.[119] Bautista released a statement denying ESPN's allegations and was reportedly furious over the report. He denied ever being a customer of Signature and stated that he has been "tested regularly by the WWE, and I am in full compliance with the WWE Wellness Program".[120] WWE reportedly suspended ten wrestlers named in the controversy, though Bautista was not one of them.[119]
Personal life

Bautista was married to a woman named Glenda in the early 1990s and had two daughters with her, Keilani (born in 1990) and Athena (born in 1992) before divorcing.[121] Bautista married his second wife Angie on October 13, 1998, yet they divorced in 2006. Before the age of 40, Bautista had already become a grandfather of two grandsons: Jacob and Aiden by Keilani, his first daughter.[122][123] During his marriage with Angie, Bautista became an avid collector of vintage metal lunchboxes. He admits his favorite is the 1967 Green Hornet lunch box, as it has Bruce Lee on it. This collection started when he bought Angie an ET lunchbox and she did not want to break it, so he bought a second one.[124] Bautista revealed that he and Angie were separated in the August 2006 edition of WWE Magazine.[125] He later revealed, in his autobiography, a relationship with WWE Diva Melina Perez after the divorce from his wife in 2006, which led to a brief angle on SmackDown! during a feud with MNM.[126]

In October 2007, his autobiography Batista Unleashed, was released.[15] In an interview about the book, Bautista claims "I didn't want to tell my story unless it was honest," and that "you have to go through three sets of lawyers: Simon & Schuster lawyers, WWE lawyers, my lawyers. Everything now being the way it is, you can be sued for the simplest thing."[127] One source of controversy was the mentioning of Chris Benoit, who was almost completely removed due to the Chris Benoit double murder and suicide. Bautista responded saying "I loved the guy. I despise what he did, but that doesn't erase him from my life. I fought to keep him in there and glad they did."[127] When asked about his ex-wife, Angie, he says "[we] have really become close again, which we really haven't been in years. I really learned a lot about her, and she learned a lot about me from reading the book. She actually saw things from a different perspective from reading the book. So that was definitely therapeutic."[127]

He has numerous tattoos, including a large Chinese dragon on his back, red Kanji lettering on his upper left biceps which says "Angel" in tribute to his former wife Angie, a signature design on his upper right biceps, and a small Sun on his stomach which encircles his belly button.[128] He also has a tattoo on his arm of the flags of the Philippines and Greece merged into one. While taking time off due to injury in 2009, Bautista had both upper arms covered in large, tribal style tattoos, including the word "soldier" on his right biceps.
In wrestling
BatistaBomb.jpg
Batista delivering his finishing move, the Batista Bomb, to Finlay.
Dave Batista - Spinebuster.jpg
Batista delivering a Spinebuster to Edge.

* As Batista
o Finishing moves
+ Ankle lock 2009 - present
+ Batista Bomb[1] (Sitout powerbomb)
+ Spear[129][130]
+ Spinebuster[2][44][78]
o Signature moves
+ Big boot, sometimes to a seated or kneeling opponent
+ Diving shoulder block
+ Multiple powerslam variations
# Front[131]
# Spinning side
# Vertical suplex
+ Multiple turnbuckle thrusts
+ Running clothesline[132]
+ Two–handed chokelift[4]

* As Leviathan
o Finishing moves
+ Belly to back suplex lifted and twisted into a running powerslam
+ Demon Bomb[4] (Sitout powerbomb)
o Signature moves
+ Big boot, sometimes to a seated opponent
+ Elevated single leg Boston crab[4]
+ Hammerlock / Armbar combination[4]
+ Spear[4]

* Managers
o Synn[4]
o Reverend D-Von[4]
o Ric Flair[4]
o Triple H[4]

* Entrance themes
o "Voodoo" by Godsmack (Ohio Valley Wrestling; Used while a part of The Disciples of Synn)[2]
o "Eyes of Righteousness" by Jim Johnston (Used while teaming with Reverend D-Von)
o "Line in the Sand" by Motörhead (Used while a part of Evolution)
o "I Walk Alone" by Saliva[2] (2005-present)

Championships and accomplishments
David-Michael-Bautista-denis-apel-edited.jpg
Batista as World Heavyweight Champion in 2005.
Batista with World Heavyweight Championship.jpg
Batista during his second World Heavyweight Championship reign.

* Ohio Valley Wrestling
o OVW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[133]

* Pro Wrestling Illustrated
o PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year (2005)[134]
o PWI Wrestler of the Year (2005)[135]
o PWI ranked him #1 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2005[136]

* World Wrestling Entertainment
o World Heavyweight Championship (4 times)[137][138][139][140]
o World Tag Team Championship (3 times)[26][29][141] – with Ric Flair (2) and John Cena (1)
o WWE Championship (1 time)[142]
o WWE Tag Team Championship (1 time)[50] – with Rey Mysterio
o Royal Rumble (2005)[1]

* Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
o Feud of the Year (2005) vs. Triple H
o Feud of the Year (2007) vs. The Undertaker
o Most Overrated (2006)

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owen

Michael OwenFor other persons named Michael Owen, see Michael Owen (disambiguation).
Michael Owen Michael Owen 072007 cropped.jpg
Personal information
Full name Michael James Owen
Date of birth 14 December 1979 (1979-12-14) (age 29)
Place of birth Chester, England
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[1]
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current club Manchester United
Number 7
Youth career
1991–1996 Liverpool
Senior career*
Years Club Apps† (Gls)†
1996–2004 Liverpool 216 (118)
2004–2005 Real Madrid 35 (13)
2005–2009 Newcastle United 71 (26)
2009– Manchester United 5 (2)
National team‡
1997 England U20 4 (3)
1997 England U21 1 (1)
2006–2007 England B 2 (0)
1998– England 89 (40)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:25, 26 September 2009 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20:02, 3 July 2009 (UTC)

Michael James Owen (born 14 December 1979 in Chester) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Manchester United.[2]

The son of former footballer Terry Owen, Owen began his senior career at Liverpool in 1996. he progressed through the Liverpool youth team and scored on his debut in May 1997. In his first full season in the Premier League he finished as joint top scorer. He repeated the feat the following year and was Liverpool's top goal scorer from 1997–2004, in spite of a recurring hamstring injury. His first major club honours came in 2001 when Liverpool won a cup treble of the UEFA Cup, FA Cup and Football League Cup, and Owen was the recipient of the Ballon d'Or that year. He went on to score 118 goals in 216 appearances in the English Premier League for Liverpool.

Owen moved to Real Madrid for £8 million in mid-2004 but was frequently used as a substitute. In spite of this, he scored 13 goals in La Liga and had the season's highest ratio of goals scored to number of minutes played. He returned to England the following season, joining Newcastle United for £16 million. He had a promising start to the 2005–06 season but injuries largely ruled him out over the next 18 months. After his return he became team captain and was the team's top scorer for the 2007–08 season. After the final season of his four year contract, Newcastle were relegated, and Owen moved to Manchester United as a free agent.

Internationally, Owen first played for the senior England team in 1998, becoming England's youngest player and youngest goalscorer at the time. His performance at the 1998 World Cup brought him to national and international prominence and he went on to appear, and score, in Euro 2000, the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004. He is the only player to ever have scored in four major tournaments for England. He played at the 2006 World Cup but suffered an injury which took him a year to recover from. Occasionally playing as captain, he is England's seventh most-capped player and has scored a national record of 26 competitive goals, with 40 in total from 89 appearances.[3]

Owen's long injury absence after the 2006 World Cup resulted in a dispute between FIFA and The FA and Newcastle United, and eventually resulted in an unprecedented £10m compensation award to Newcastle, and brought changes to the compensation arrangements between club and country regarding injuries sustained by contracted club players while on international duty.
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Early life
* 2 Club career
o 2.1 Liverpool
o 2.2 Real Madrid
o 2.3 Newcastle United
o 2.4 Manchester United
* 3 International career
* 4 International goals
* 5 Personal life
* 6 Career statistics
* 7 Honours
o 7.1 Liverpool
o 7.2 International
o 7.3 Individual
* 8 References
* 9 External links

Early life

Born 14 December 1979 in Chester, Cheshire, Michael James Owen was the fourth child of Janette and Terry Owen. His father is a former professional footballer and Owen grew up playing the game with him and his two older brothers. An Everton fan, Owen played for his primary school team in Hawarden, Wales, breaking all local scoring records in his first season. He joined the youth team of Mold Alexandra, playing with an older age-group, and later attended Hawarden High School, where he also played for the school team.
Club career
Liverpool

At age 13, when Owen started attending high school, he became eligible to sign a schoolboy contract with a club. He held talks with Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal, before he eventually signed for Liverpool, the club that persuaded him to attend the FA's School of Excellence at Lilleshall in Shropshire at age 14. Throughout this time, he studied at Idsall School, Shifnal, Shropshire, and achieved ten GCSEs.

Liverpool signed Owen after he graduated from Lilleshall at 16, and joined the club on the Youth Training Scheme. The star of Liverpool's 1996 FA Youth Cup triumph, scoring in the final against a West Ham United team that included Frank Lampard and Rio Ferdinand, Owen scored prolifically as he rose rapidly through the Anfield ranks.[4] After four months, he signed professional forms for the senior team just after his seventeenth birthday on 18 December 1996.

He made his debut for Liverpool against Wimbledon in May 1997, coming on as a substitute and scoring a goal.[4] With an injury to Robbie Fowler, he was thrust immediately into action as a first team regular alongside the likes of newcomer Paul Ince and playmaker Steve McManaman in the following 1997–98 season. He scored his first European goal for the club against Celtic in the UEFA Cup and recorded his first professional hat-trick against Grimsby Town in the League Cup. His first Premier League hat-trick came later that season at Hillsborough against Sheffield Wednesday. Owen ended that season as a joint top scorer in the Premier League with Blackburn Rovers' Chris Sutton and Coventry City's Dion Dublin, scoring eighteen goals, and was voted the PFA Young Player of the Year by fellow professionals.

The 1998–99 season proved to be another good season for Owen as he scored 23 Goals in 40 games for Liverpool. Despite his form, Liverpool were unable to mount anything like a title challenge and their seventh place finish was not enough to attain even a UEFA Cup place. Owen injured his hamstring in a league game against Leeds United on 12 April, which proved to be a recurring injury and prematurely bought his season to an end.

The next season was a frustrating one for Owen as he was out injured for lengthy periods, effects of the injury suffered the previous season but nevertheless managed to score 12 goals and helped Liverpool to qualify for the UEFA Cup.

In the run-up to Euro 2000, Owen was still suffering hamstring problems and received treatment from the Bayern Munich doctor, Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt.[5]

In the 2000–01 season, he helped the club to their most successful season in several years. The team won the League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup, with Owen scoring two goals in the last few minutes against Arsenal in the FA Cup final to turn what had appeared to be a 1–0 defeat into a 2–1 victory, the game has since been christened "The Michael Owen Cup Final".[4]

Winning the FA Cup and the UEFA Cup allowed Liverpool to play in the Charity Shield and the UEFA Super Cup at the beginning of the 2001–02 season. Liverpool won both matches with Owen scoring the second goal of the 2–1 win over Manchester United in the Charity Shield and the third goal in the 2001 UEFA Super Cup win over European champions Bayern Munich. Liverpool thus became the first English team to win five trophies in one calendar year. Just a week later, Owen would again beat Bayern goalkeeper Oliver Kahn, as the English international hit a hat-trick in England's 5–1 win over Germany in Munich.[6] At the end of the year, Owen became the first English player in twenty years and the only Liverpool player ever to win the European Footballer of the Year award. He was also voted World Soccer player of the year in 2001; he is the only English player to win the award and was the first Premier League player to do so.[7] He scored his 100th goal for Liverpool on 21 December 2001 against West Ham United. Liverpool finished second in the league in the 2001–2002 season and Owen played a key part in the success, scoring 28 goals.

The 2002–03 season saw Owen on top form again as he hit 28 goals. Liverpool were on top of the table and looked like genuine title contenders for the first time in several years, but a run of bad results saw them eventually finishing fifth in the table. Owen also scored at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff when Liverpool beat Manchester United 2-0 to win the League Cup and scored his 100th Premier League goal against West Bromwich Albion.[4]

In an injury-hit 2003–04 season he still managed to score 19 goals, getting his 150th goal for the club on 15 February 2004 against Portsmouth, but otherwise it was a bleak season for both him and Liverpool.

Following Gérard Houllier's sacking as Liverpool manager, speculation about Owen's departure from the club began. During the first few Champions League games at the start of the 2004–2005 season, Owen sat on the bench to avoid being cup-tied for the Champions League, something that would have meant none of the top clubs in Europe would want to sign him. Since 1998 Owen had been Liverpool's top scorer every season until he left the club.[8] Real Madrid signed him for a fee of £8 million on 13 August 2004, with midfielder Antonio Núñez moving in the other direction as a make-weight.[9]
Real Madrid
Owen at a training camp with Real Madrid

Following their successful bid, Owen was presented with the number 11 shirt by Real Madrid. Owen had a slow start to his Madrid career. He was often confined to the bench and drew criticism from fans and the Spanish press for his lack of form. A successful return to action with the England squad in October 2004 seemed to revive his morale, however, and in the first following match, he scored his first goal for the club, the winner in a 1–0 Champions League victory over Dynamo Kiev.[10] A few days later, he scored his first Spanish league goal in a 1–0 victory over Valencia.[11] The scoring spree continued, as he found the back of the net in three of the next four matches to make it five goals in seven successive matches. He ended the season with thirteen goals in La Liga, with the season's highest ratio of goals scored to number of minutes played. Following Real's signing of two high-profile Brazilian forwards, Robinho and Júlio Baptista in the summer of 2005, the speculation arose that Owen would return to the Premier League. During his time at Real Madrid, Owen scored 18 goals from 41 games, 15 of which were starts.[12]
Newcastle United

On 24 August 2005, Newcastle United announced that they had agreed a club record fee of £16 million to obtain Owen, although they still had to negotiate with the player's advisers. Liverpool and local rivals Everton entered the fray, but were unwilling to match Madrid's asking price. As the 2006 World Cup was less than a year away, Owen wanted to get more playing time to secure his position as the first-choice striker in the England squad and joined Newcastle amidst rumours that he had inserted an escape clause valued at £12 million.[13] On 31 August 2005 Owen finally signed a four-year contract to play for Newcastle United, despite initial press speculation that he would rather have returned to Liverpool.[14] Roughly 20,000 fans were present at Newcastle's home ground of St James' Park for Owen's official unveiling as a Newcastle player.[15][16] Several days after signing he suffered a thigh-injury in pre-season, which ruled him out for the start of the 2005–06 season. He scored his first goal for the club on his second appearance, the second goal in a 3–0 away win at Blackburn Rovers on 18 September – Newcastle's first win of the season. Owen scored his first hat-trick for Newcastle in the 4–2 away win over West Ham on 17 December.[17] It was also a "perfect hat trick", with one goal scored with each of his left foot, right foot, and head.

On 31 December 2005, Owen broke a metatarsal bone in his foot in a match against Tottenham Hotspur. He underwent surgery to place a pin in the bone, to help speed the healing process. He was expected to be out of action until late March,[18] but the healing process did not go as hoped and on 24 March he underwent a second, minor, operation. Owen then stated that he should be fit for the final few weeks of the season with Newcastle.[19] His return to action finally came against Birmingham City on 29 April when he came off the substitutes' bench in the 62nd minute. After the match Owen stated that he was "not 100% happy" with his foot.[20] He underwent a further x-ray and made himself unavailable for Newcastle's final game of the season.

A damaged anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, sustained in the first minute of the group match against Sweden at the 2006 World Cup, kept Owen out of regular football for nearly a year, until April 2007. The seriousness of Owen's injury at the World Cup inflamed the so called 'club-versus-country' row in England, centering on the liability of the world governing body FIFA and the English national association The FA for the cost of injuries to players incurred while on international duty.[21][22] Newcastle were aggrieved at the length of time Owen would now be out of action in forthcoming Premier League and Cup competitions as a result of the World Cup injury, particularly as he had been out for the half-season prior to the World Cup. Under the existing insurance arrangements between club and country, Fifa and the FA had been paying £50,000 of Owen's £110,000 weekly wages since he suffered the injury, totalling about £2m for the time he was out of action.[23] By September 2006, Newcastle were threatening to sue the FA for further compensation, for a reported figure of £20m.[21] The Owen case was a high profile follow up to an already ongoing legal claim for compensation from Fifa over an injury incurred by Abdelmajid Oulmers on international duty.[22] The compensation claim by Newcastle included the £10m cost of buying Owen's replacement, Obafemi Martins, £6.2m towards Owen's salary costs while injured, the possibility of long-term damage to Owen's fitness and ability, the loss of league position and cup competition progress, depreciation of Owen's four-year contract, and the cost of medical treatment for Owen.[24][23][21] In February 2007 Fifa made Newcastle a "final offer" of £1m.[24] By April 2007, Newcastle were threatening to take out an injunction to stop the FA picking Owen for England games.[25] The club finally reached a compromise settlement figure with Fifa and the FA. Fifa indicated that the settlement was between £6m and £7m. The club, stating that Owen's wages had "now been paid in full", stated the overall compensation achieved totalled £10m.[23] Resulting from the Owen compensation claim, the FA doubled their future insurance coverage of England players to £100,000, and FIFA introduced a compensation fund for injuries sustained at World Cups.[22]
Owen training with Newcastle in 2007

Owen began light training on 12 February 2007, when pictures on the club's official website highlighted Owen running and carrying out minor exercises.[26] He made his comeback from injury on 10 April 2007 in a 4–1 behind-closed-doors friendly against Gretna, scoring after ten minutes and then setting up fellow striker Shola Ameobi before coming off an hour later.[27] Owen then started his first game for Newcastle United in over a year, against Reading on the 30 April 2007 in a game that Newcastle United lost 1–0. He played the full 90 minutes, having a goal disallowed for offside.[28] Owen was stretchered off an hour into Newcastle's game with Watford on 13 May 2007, suffering concussion after colliding with team-mate Matty Pattison.[29]

On 9 May 2007, Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd reacted angrily to reports that Owen could move on to another club at the end of the 2006–07 season, due to a release clause in his contract. A report in The Times newspaper suggested Owen could be available for less than £10million and could be a target for the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal. Despite these reports, Shepherd warned Owen "to show some loyalty" and warned him that "none of the big four clubs want him."[30] However, in a video posted on YouTube, a group of Liverpool fans asked Shepherd if they could re-sign Owen, he responded by saying that he would "carry Owen back to Liverpool" himself.[31] Shepherd also stated his dislike of Owen's agent but praised Owen as a "good lad".[32] This led many to believe that Owen would exercise his right to leave if the £9 million valuation was matched.[31] On 10 June 2007, Owen's new manager at Newcastle, Sam Allardyce, confirmed the existence of the release clause in Owen's contract and admitted he feared that the club would be powerless to prevent Owen from leaving.[33] However on 12 July 2007 Owen committed his immediate future to Newcastle United, stating: "I believe that these can be good times to be at Newcastle, which is why I am more than happy to be here."[34]

On 17 July 2007, he scored for Newcastle in a pre-season friendly against Hartlepool United.[35] Several days later, Owen picked up a thigh injury in training.[36] Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce admitted that Owen was likely to miss the start of the forthcoming Premier League season due to the injury which "doesn't look as encouraging as we first thought."[37] Owen made his comeback from injury in a club friendly on 13 August 2007 and declared himself available for Newcastle's next match, against Aston Villa, as well as England's forthcoming international matches.[38] On 29 August 2007, Owen scored his first competitive goal for Newcastle since December 2005 when he scored in the Carling Cup against Barnsley.[39] Three days later he scored in the league, with a late winner against Wigan Athletic.[40]

In late September 2007, after an encouraging start to the season playing for both Newcastle United and for England, it was reported that he would urgently require an operation for a double hernia and would likely be out of action for at least a month.[41] In his first match back from the hernia operation, he scored a late goal coming off the substitutes bench to clinch victory for Newcastle over Everton.[42]

In November 2007, Owen suffered a thigh strain whilst on international duty, ruling him out for six weeks. This reignited the 'club or country' row, with then Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce voicing his disappointment that Owen was risked in a low-key friendly game against Austria.[43]

After over three months without a goal, Owen scored the first goal of the second Kevin Keegan era in a 4–1 FA Cup third round replay win over Stoke City on 16 January 2008, although Keegan was only a spectator in the stands for this game. Owen was awarded the captaincy by Keegan on 19 January 2008. He scored his first league goal of 2008 on 3 February. Owen's goal in the 2–0 defeat of Fulham on 22 March 2008, which marked Newcastle's first win under Kevin Keegan's second spell as manager, also marked the first time in his Newcastle career that Owen had scored more goals for Newcastle than against them.[44] By 5 April 2008, after his and the teams early season poor form, Owen had scored six goals in the previous six matches, with Newcastle registering four wins and two draws, lifting Newcastle into mid-table after earlier relegation fears. In the final game of the season, Owen scored in a 3–1 loss at Everton, finishing with 11 goals in total, putting him in equal 13th position for Premier League goals for the 2007-2008 season.

Owen missed all of the pre-season matches and training of the 2008-09 season due to a bout of mumps, which also kept him out of the international friendlies with the USA and Trinidad & Tobago in May 2008. He also suffered a calf strain during the summer months which kept him out of the opening game of the season against Manchester United at Old Trafford, a game which Newcastle drew 1–1. He made his return in the second game of the season against Bolton Wanderers on 23 August 2008, coming on in the 53rd minute for the injured Obafemi Martins. He scored the winning header in the 71st minute with the game finishing 1–0. Three days later he was named on the bench in a Carling Cup match away to Coventry City, he came on as a substitute and scored the winner in extra time in a 2–3 victory. In the 2008–2009 season he featured more consistently than in prior seasons, scoring four goals in twelve league appearances.

Under the transfer rules, with the 2008–09 season being the final year of his contract with Newcastle, Owen would have been allowed to sign a pre-contract agreement with other clubs during in January. On 22 December 2008, Owen rejected a new contract offer from Newcastle, but stated that he would not be seeking a move in the January transfer window and instead intended to postpone talks over his contract situation until the end of the season.[45][46] With speculation over his future continuing in the second half of the season, Owen received "substantial damages" in June in the High Court in London and a public apology, following a story on 15 May in the Daily Express alleging that due to a lack of interest from Premier League clubs, Owen's career was effectively finished and he intended to retire.[47][48] After a disastrous season in general for the club, which culminated in Owen's former Newcastle and England team mate Alan Shearer being brought in as a temporary manager for the final 8 games of the season, on the final day of the season on 24 May, Newcastle were relegated from the Premier League for the first time in 15 years. On 14 June it was reported that Owen's management company Wasserman Media Group had sent out a 34-page brochure advertising Owen to several potential clubs.[49][50] On 22 June Owen confirmed he would not be re-signing for Newcastle, in preference for a move to a Premier League club, or other top flight foreign club.[46] It was reported that Owen would not begin negotiations with any other club until after 30 June when, on expiry of his contract, he would become eligible for a free transfer.[46]
Manchester United
Owen at Old Trafford for Manchester United vs Birmingham City

On 3 July 2009, it was announced that Owen had signed a two-year deal with Premier League champions, Manchester United.[51][52] Owen had also been linked with Hull City, Stoke City, Everton, and Aston Villa, before signing for United, and he said that the approach from manager Alex Ferguson came from "out of the blue".[51] Owen was handed the number 7 shirt vacated by the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid.[53] Owen scored his first goal for United on his debut, scoring an 84th-minute winner after coming on as a substitute in a pre-season friendly against a Malaysian XI;[54] he followed this up by scoring three more goals in United's pre-season games.[55][56] He made his league debut for the club when he came on as a substitute against Birmingham City on 16 August, and scored his first competitive goal in a Manchester United shirt against Wigan Athletic on 22 August, scoring the fourth in a 5–0 away win.[57] He scored his second goal for United, his first at Old Trafford, against their local rivals Manchester City after coming on as a substitute for Dimitar Berbatov and netting the winner in the sixth minute of stoppage time. This gave United a 4–3 derby win and also meant that Owen has now scored in his fourth derby, after netting in the Merseyside derby, El Clásico, the Tyne–Wear derby and now the Manchester derby.[58] Owen struggled to recall the moments immediately after the goal, and said that it ranked as one of his most important.[59]
International career

Owen had a highly successful record at Youth level, playing for the England under-20 team at the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship and scoring three goals in four games. He was only briefly a member of the England under-21 team (netting on his only appearance in a win over Greece under-21 at Carrow Road) before he made his début for the senior team in a 2–0 friendly loss to Chile on 11 February 1998. Playing in this game made Owen the youngest player to represent England in the whole of the 20th century at 18 years and 59 days of age.[60]

Owen's youthful enthusiasm, pace and talent made him a popular player across the country,[61] and many fans were keen for him to be made a regular player for the team ahead of that year's World Cup. His first goal for England, against Morocco in another friendly game prior to the tournament, further enhanced his reputation.[62] The goal also made him the youngest ever player to have scored for England,[63] until his record was surpassed by Wayne Rooney in 2003.

Although he was selected for the World Cup squad by manager Glenn Hoddle, he was left on the bench as a substitute in the first two games. However, his substitute appearance in the second game, a 2–1 defeat to Romania, saw him score a goal and hit the post with another shot, almost salvaging a point from the game.[64] After that, Hoddle played him from the start, and in England's second round match against Argentina he scored a sensational individual goal after beating defenders Roberto Ayala and José Chamot before striking the ball just outside the penalty box. This goal voted by many as the goal of the tournament, thus bringing him to the attention of the world football scene.[65]

England drew that match and went out of the tournament on penalties, but Owen had sealed his place as an England choice and his popularity in the country had increased greatly. At the end of the year, he won a public vote to be elected winner of the prestigious BBC Sports Personality of the Year title.[66]

He has since played for England in Euro 2000, the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004, scoring goals in all three tournaments. This makes him the only player to ever have scored in four major tournaments for England.[67] He also became one of only a handful of England players to appear in three World Cup tournaments when he played at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, although he did not score and was injured in the final group game.

In April 2002, he was named as England's captain for a friendly match against Paraguay in place of the injured regular captain David Beckham. Owen was the youngest England skipper since Bobby Moore in 1963,[68] and in the following few seasons regularly captained England during any absence of the regular captain.

Owen made his debut for the England national B-team in a friendly against Belarus on 25 May 2006, as part of his return to match fitness ahead of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He captained England B in this game, playing for 61 minutes before being substituted.[69]

Owen started England's first two games of the 2006 World Cup, against Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago, but did not manage to score. After playing only 51 seconds of his third appearance of the tournament, and 80th cap, in the 2006 World Cup against Sweden, Owen badly twisted his left knee and was forced to leave the match on a stretcher.[70] A scan of the injury on 21 June confirmed that Owen had torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee, and was sent home, no longer able to play in the tournament.[71]

Owen underwent successful reconstruction surgery, carried out by Dr. Richard Steadman, on 6 September 2006.[72] The injury sidelined him until April 2007, meaning he missed England's first six matches in qualifying for Euro 2008. He returned for the England B game against Albania,[73] and was named in the full squad for the games against Brazil and Estonia,[74] with Owen stating "I feel sharp and, if given the chance, I feel confident when in front of goal."[75] He played in both matches and scored against Estonia, breaking Gary Lineker's record for most goals in competitive internationals for England.[76] Owen's latest international efforts include a brace for England in a 3–0 win over Russia on 12 September 2007.[77]

With his two goals against Russia, he became the first player to score international goals at both the old and new Wembley Stadiums.

As of 26 August 2008, Owen has been capped 89 times for England and scored 40 goals: he is fourth in the list of all-time top scorers for the England team, behind Bobby Charlton (49 goals), Gary Lineker (48) and Jimmy Greaves (44). He has also scored a record 26 goals for England in competitive matches (World Cup and European Championship games and the qualifiers for those tournaments) and has been captain for England in 7 matches.[78]

As of December 2007, Owen has never gone more than four international games in a row without scoring a goal. Owen's future as first choice striker for England is uncertain however, due to competition from Manchester United's Wayne Rooney and fast-developing Theo Walcott amongst others. Owen's lack of action in Fabio Capello's first two England friendlies and Capello's selection of a single striker 4-5-1 formation also support the view that Owen's international opportunities may in future be limited.[79]

2008 was a tough year for Owen as he was excluded from World Cup qualifiers against Andorra, Croatia, Kazakhstan & Belarus despite at times being in good goalscoring form and having a good workrate in a poor Newcastle side.[80] Many fans and pundits[81] have called for Owen to be reinstated in the national team but whether Capello will select him still remains to be uncertain. He was once again left out of the squad for the friendly against Germany in November 2008, despite forwards Emile Heskey and Wayne Rooney being unavailable for the match. However Capello stated in November 2008 that Owen could still be reinstated to the side at some point in the future.[82]
International goals

Scores and results list England's goal tally first.

Goal Date Venue Opponent Result Competition Scored
1 27 May 1998 Stade Mohamed V, Casablanca Morocco 1–0 Friendly match 1
2 22 June 1998 Stade de Toulouse, Toulouse Romania 1–2 1998 FIFA World Cup 1
3 30 June 1998 Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Étienne Argentina 2–2 (3–4 on penalties) 1998 FIFA World Cup 1
4 14 October 1998 Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City Luxembourg 3–0 UEFA Euro 2000 qualification 1
5 4 September 1999 Wembley Stadium, London Luxembourg 6–0 UEFA Euro 2000 qualification 1
6 27 September 2000 Wembley Stadium, London Brazil 1–1 Friendly match 1
7 20 June 2000 Stade du Pays de Charleroi, Charleroi Romania 2–3 UEFA Euro 2000 1
8 2 September 2000 Stade de France, Paris France 1–1 Friendly match 1
9 24 March 2001 Anfield, Liverpool Finland 2–1 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification 1
10 28 March 2001 Qemal Stafa, Tirana Albania 3–1 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification 1
11 1 September 2001 Olympic Stadium, Munich Germany 5–1 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification 3
14 5 November 2001 St James' Park, Newcastle Albania 2–0 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification 1
15 17 April 2002 Anfield, Liverpool Paraguay 4–0 Friendly match 1
16 21 May 2002 Jeju World Cup Stadium, Seogwipo Korea Republic 1–1 Friendly match 1
17 15 June 2002 Stadium Big Swan, Niigata Denmark 3–0 2002 FIFA World Cup 1
18 21 June 2002 Shizuoka Stadium, Shizuoka Brazil 1–2 2002 FIFA World Cup 1
19 12 October 2002 Tehelné pole, Bratislava Slovakia 2–1 UEFA Euro 2004 qualification 1
20 29 March 2003 Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz Liechtenstein 2–0 UEFA Euro 2004 qualification 1
21 11 June 2003 Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough Slovakia 2–1 UEFA Euro 2004 qualification 2
23 20 August 2003 Portman Road, Ipswich Croatia 3–1 Friendly match 1
24 10 September 2003 Old Trafford, Manchester Liechtenstein 2–0 UEFA Euro 2004 qualification 1
25 1 June 2004 City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester Japan 1–1 2004 FA Summer Tournament 1
26 24 June 2004 Estadio da Luz, Lisbon Portugal 2–2 (5–6 on penalties) UEFA Euro 2004 1
27 18 August 2004 St James' Park, Newcastle Ukraine 3–0 Friendly match 1
28 13 October 2004 Tofik Bakhramov Stadium, Baku Azerbaijan 1–0 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification 1
29 26 March 2005 Old Trafford, Manchester Northern Ireland 4–0 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification 1
32 31 May 2005 Giants Stadium, East Rutherford Colombia 3–2 Friendly match 3
33 12 October 2005 Old Trafford, Manchester Poland 2–1 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification 1
35 12 November 2005 Stade de Genève, Geneva Argentina 3–2 Friendly match 3
36 3 June 2006 Old Trafford, Manchester Jamaica 6–0 Friendly match 1
37 6 June 2007 A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn Estonia 3–0 UEFA Euro 2008 qualification 1
38 8 September 2007 Wembley Stadium, London Israel 3–0 UEFA Euro 2008 qualification 1
40 12 September 2007 Wembley Stadium, London Russia 3–0 UEFA Euro 2008 qualification 2
Personal life

Owen met English-born Louise Bonsall at primary school in 1984.[83] The couple bought Lower Soughton Manor in Flintshire, North Wales where Owen keeps his cars and Louise keeps her horses. They got engaged on 14 February 2004, and married on 24 June 2005[84], at the Carden Park Hotel in Chester, Cheshire. The couple had initially planned to get married at their home, but changed plans when they were informed that if a licence was granted for a marriage ceremony the venue must be made available for other weddings for three years,[83] so opted to marry in a registry office in informal clothing and have a lavish reception the next day in the grounds of their home.

On 1 May 2003 their daughter, Gemma Rose, was born.[85] On 6 February 2006, they welcomed a son named James Michael. Their third child, a daughter, Emily May, was born on 29 October 2007.[86]

After Owen returned to the UK to play for Newcastle United, he traveled to a nearby BAE facility on a daily basis in order to fly, via helicopter, to train with his club. However, there is now a helipad installed within the grounds of the house to accommodate Owen's Eurocopter Dauphin, with which he both travels and is training to become a pilot.[87] Owen was eventually banned from training to be a pilot by Newcastle United, due to excessive insurance premiums.[88]

Owen also bought an entire street for his extended family (Austen Close, Ewloe), which is in an area close to where he used to live.[89] and in 2008 was reported in the Daily Express as surveying the purchase of the original Walt Disney site with celebrity realtor Paul Grimshaw in Estepona, Southern Spain.[90]

In 2004, Owen's sister Karen was assaulted by two youths, who attempted to kidnap her. When she revealed that she was pregnant, they fled.[91]

Owen owns several cars and a helicopter and enjoys horse racing and gambling. Owen is the brother in-law of footballer Richie Partridge.[92]

Owen starred in a series of adverts that charted his life, and rise to fame.[93] In 2001, he was the advertising face of breakfast cereal "Nestlé Sporties". He also appeared in several adverts for the washing powder Persil, in a contract worth £1,000,000.[93] Owen was selected as one of the two cover athletes for Pro Evolution Soccer 2008.[94] He has been an ambassador of the Swiss watchmaker Tissot since 1998 and has a contract with car manufacturer Jaguar.[95][96]

He has indicated that he would like to become involved with Chester City in some capacity when he retires as it was his local team growing up and his father is a former Chester City player.[97]
Career statistics
Club Season League Cup League Cup Europe Other[98] Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Liverpool 1996–97 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1
1997–98 36 18 0 0 4 4 4 1 0 0 44 23
1998–99 30 18 2 2 2 1 6 2 0 0 40 23
1999–2000 27 11 1 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 30 12
2000–01 28 16 5 3 2 1 11 4 0 0 46 24
2001–02 29 19 2 2 0 0 12 7 2 2 45 30
2002–03 35 19 2 0 4 2 13 7 1 0 55 28
2003–04 29 16 3 1 0 0 6 2 0 0 38 19
Total 216 118 15 8 14 9 52 23 3 2 300 160
Real Madrid 2004–05 35 13 4 2 – 4 1 0 0 43 16
Total 35 13 4 2 – 4 1 0 0 43 16
Newcastle United 2005–06 11 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 7
2006–07 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
2007–08 29 11 3 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 33 13
2008–09 27 8 2 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 31 10
Total 70 26 5 1 3 3 0 0 0 0 78 30
Manchester United 2009–10 5 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 8 2
Total 5 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 8 2
Total 326 159 24 11 18 12 57 24 4 2 429 208

Statistics accurate as of match played 26 September 2009[99]
Honours
Liverpool

* FA Cup (1): 2001
* Football League Cup (2): 2001, 2003
* FA Community Shield (1): 2001
* UEFA Cup (1): 2001
* European Super Cup (1): 2001
* FA Youth Cup (1): 1996

International

* FA Summer Tournament: 2004

Individual

* PFA Young Player of the Year: 1998
* Premier League joint top scorer: 1998, 1999
* BBC Sports Personality of the Year: 1998
* Ballon d'Or: 2001
* FIFA 100

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98. ^ Includes other competitive competitions, including the FA Community Shield, UEFA Super Cup, Intercontinental Cup, FIFA Club World Cup
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External links

* Michael Owen FIFA competition record
* Michael Owen career stats at Soccerbase
* Official website for Michael Owen
* TheFA.com profile
* Newcastle United profile
* FIFA World Cup profile
* Michael Owen's career timeline, photo gallery and detailed statistics
* Michael Owen's column in The Times
* Michael Owen England photos & stats at sporting-heroes.net
* Michael Owen Liverpool photos & stats at sporting-heroes.net
* Michael Owen Real Madrid photo & stats at sporting-heroes.net
* Michael Owen Newcastle photo & stats at sporting-heroes.net