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2008–09 Wigan Athletic F.C. Season
Wigan Athletic's season in the 2008–09 Premier League was their fourth season in the Premier League, and Steve Bruce’s first full season as the manager of the club. The off-season saw the club sign a number of players, including Middlesbrough's highly rated young midfielder Lee Cattermole, Birmingham City pair Daniël de Ridder and Olivier Kapo, both of whom played under Bruce at Birmingham, and little-known Egyptian striker Amr Zaki, ranked as the world's best striker in FIFA rankings. The club saw no forced sales during the transfer window, with players like Emile Heskey, Paul Scharner, Luis Antonio Valencia and Wilson Palacios deciding to commit their futures to the club rather than move away. Players to depart from the club included Julius Aghahowa, Salomon Olembé, Josip Skoko, Andreas Granqvist, Marlon King and Marcus Bent. Season summary July and August During the pre-season, Wigan played in seven friendlies, all away from home, to prepare for the upcomin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wigan Athletic F
Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the north-east and Warrington to the south. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre. The town has a population of 107,732 and the wider borough of 330,713. Wigan was formerly within the historic county of Lancashire. Wigan was in the territory of the Brigantes, an ancient Celtic tribe that ruled much of what is now northern England. The Brigantes were subjugated in the Roman conquest of Britain and the Roman settlement of ''Coccium'' was established where Wigan lies. Wigan was incorporated as a borough in 1246, following the issue of a charter by King Henry III of England. At the end of the Middle Ages, it was one of four boroughs in Lancashire established by Royal charter. The Industrial Revolution saw a dram ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daniël De Ridder
Daniël Robin Frederick de Ridder (born 6 March 1984) is a Dutch former professional footballer. He played as a winger operating either on the right or left side but would occasionally play a more advanced role. He represented Ajax, Celta Vigo, Birmingham City, Wigan Athletic, Hapoel Tel Aviv, Grasshopper, Heerenveen, RKC Waalwijk and Cambuur. Since 2016, De Ridder has worked as a pundit for football program ''NOS Eredivisie op Vrijdag''. Early and personal life De Ridder was born in Amsterdam to a Dutch father and a Jewish-Israeli mother. He is Jewish and speaks Hebrew. Club career Ajax He worked his way up to first-team selection from Ajax's youth department, making his full debut in an away game against Roda JC on 21 January 2004, and scored his first goal against Willem II on 16 May. De Ridder was a regular throughout the second half of the campaign, starting nine games and appearing a further six times as a substitute. De Ridder made his UEFA Champions League debut i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marcus Bent
Marcus Nathan Bent (born 19 May 1978) is a retired English professional footballer. A former England under-21 international, the journeyman striker played 573 games and scored 113 goals for fourteen different clubs. His numerous transfer fees totalled over £10 million. He began his career at Brentford in 1995, before he signed with Crystal Palace in 1998, where he made his Premier League debut. The next year he joined Sheffield United via Port Vale. In 2000, he transferred to Blackburn Rovers, before he moved on to Ipswich Town in 2001. He spent 2003–04 on loan at Leicester City, before he transferred to Everton in 2004. Two years later he was sold on to Charlton Athletic. He spent the 2007–08 season on loan at Wigan Athletic, before he moved on to Birmingham City in 2008. He spent three years with Birmingham, during which he spent time on loan at Middlesbrough, Queens Park Rangers, Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Sheffield United. After leaving the club he spent six months ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marlon King
Marlon Francis King (born 26 April 1980) is a Jamaican former professional footballer who played as a striker. Born and raised in south London, he started his career in non-League football with Dulwich Hamlet. He played for Barnet, Gillingham, Leeds United and Nottingham Forest before moving to Watford in 2005. At Watford he was the Football League Championship top scorer, and was voted Watford player of the season as the club earned promotion to the Premier League. King joined Wigan Athletic in 2008, and subsequently spent loan spells at Hull City and Middlesbrough. He joined Coventry City in September 2010, following his release from prison, and made 29 appearances for the club before controversially switching to Birmingham City in June 2011. He made 79 appearances for Birmingham, before suffering a series of injuries during the 2012–13 season that prevented him from playing again, leaving the club in August 2013 by mutual consent. King has also played and scored for the J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andreas Granqvist
Andreas Granqvist (; born 16 April 1985) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He currently serves as the director of sports of Helsingborgs IF. Starting his career with Helsingborgs IF in the mid-2000s, he went on to play for clubs in England, the Netherlands, Italy, and Russia before retiring at Helsingborg in 2021. A full international between 2006 and 2021, he won 88 caps for the Sweden national team and represented his country at four UEFA European Championships as well as the 2018 FIFA World Cup. He captained the national team between 2016 and 2021. However, due to injuries, he played his last international match in 2019. He was awarded Guldbollen (''the Golden Ball''), given to the Swedish player of the year, in 2017. Club career Born in Påarp, Granqvist started his career with his local club, Påarps GIF. He later transferred to Helsingborgs IF and he made his debut in Allsvenskan, 2004. Two years later he was team captain, whe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Josip Skoko
Josip Skoko (born 10 December 1975) is an Australian former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder for North Geelong Warriors, Hajduk Split, Genk, Gençlerbirliği, Wigan Athletic, Stoke City and Melbourne Heart. Skoko has been described as a central midfielder with "superb on-ball ability, inch perfect passing, and his ability to turn defence to attack in an instant." Skoko is currently the Director of Football at North Geelong Warriors FC. Club career Early career Skoko was born in Mount Gambier, he played for Mt Gambier Croatia until he was 9 years old when he and his family moved to Geelong. Skoko played for North Geelong Warriors before moving to Croatian side Hajduk Split in 1995. After four years at Stadion Poljud he signed for Belgium club Genk. At Genk he was made captain and helped the team win the title in 2001–02. He joined Turkish club Gençlerbirliği in 2003 where he spent two years before moving to English football. Wigan Athletic Skoko ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Salomon Olembé
René Salomon Olembé-Olembé (born 8 December 1980) is a Cameroonian former professional footballer who played as a left midfielder. Club career Olembé started his career with Nantes, where he contributed 30 appearances as his side won 2000–01 French Division 1. He also played in the victorious 1999 and 2000 Coupe de France finals and the 1999 Trophée des Champions. He then transferred to Marseille in 2002. While at Marseille he spent a season on loan at English Premiership strugglers Leeds United and a season at Qatari club Al Rayyan. After leaving Marseille permanently in 2007, Olembé spent the summer on trial at Premiership newcomers Derby County, where he scored in a friendly match against Burton Albion. However, he was not offered a contract by Derby and, on 4 September, he was snapped up by Wigan Athletic manager Chris Hutchings on a one-year initial contract. He was signed as a replacement for the recently departed Leighton Baines, but only made eight appearances fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Julius Aghahowa
Julius Efosa Aghahowa (born 12 February 1982) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He was known for his pace and his back-flips when he scored goals. Aghahowa became the first foreign national outside the former Soviet Union, who was among the best scorers in the Ukrainian Premier League 2000–01 season. Aghahowa played in Ukraine, England and Turkey during his career. Famous for his acrobatic goal celebrations, he performed six consecutive perfect backflips after scoring a goal against Sweden at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Club career Early career Born in Benin City, Aghahowa began his career with the Police Machines, a local police team, and went on to Bendel Insurance. He signed for Danish lower division team Herning Fremad before the 1999 African Youth Championship, but Aghahowa performed so well there that he wanted to play for a bigger club. He ended up with the Tunisian champions, Espérance, when he procured a contract with the Tunisia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wilson Palacios
Wilson Roberto Palacios Suazo (; born 29 July 1984) is a Honduran former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Born in La Ceiba, he played for Victoria and Olimpia in Honduras before moving to England, where he played for Birmingham City and Wigan Athletic. In 2009, he joined Tottenham Hotspur, generally playing central defensive midfield as he did for Wigan, though he was occasionally used as a right midfielder for Spurs. In August 2011, Palacios joined Stoke City for an undisclosed fee believed to be around £6 million. He struggled to make an impact in his four seasons at Stoke, however, and left the club in 2015. He subsequently had a spell in the North American Soccer League with Miami, before returning to Honduras where he played for Olimpia and Real Sociedad. He retired in December 2019. He was a regular player for Honduras from 2003 to 2014, helping them qualify for and playing at the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups. Club career Olimpia Palac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Luis Antonio Valencia
Luis Antonio Valencia Mosquera, known as Antonio Valencia (; born 4 August 1985), is an Ecuadorian former professional footballer who played primarily as a right-sided player throughout his career, initially as a right winger, before developing into a right-back. After progressing through the youth system at El Nacional, Valencia became a first team regular and made over 80 appearances for the club. He won the Ecuadorian Serie A with them before signing for La Liga side Villarreal in 2005. He only made two league appearances for the Spanish side in between loan spells at Recreativo for the 2005–06 season and later English Premier League club Wigan Athletic from 2006 to 2008. Wigan Athletic later signed Valencia on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee in January 2008. His performances for Wigan Athletic soon attracted attention from several high-profile clubs, eventually signing for Manchester United in June 2009. His stint there established him as one of the great ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Scharner
Paul Josef Herbert Scharner (born 11 March 1980) is an Austrian retired footballer. He operated mainly as a defender, although he could play almost every midfield position as well. He was known for his great positional versatility and haircuts. Scharner started his professional career with Austrian Bundesliga sides Austria Wien and SV Salzburg, before moving to Norwegian Tippeligaen in late 2004, starting for SK Brann. In January 2006, he entered the Premier League where he played for over six years, playing for Wigan Athletic and West Bromwich Albion, respectively. After a short time as a free agent, he transferred to Bundesliga veteran club Hamburger SV in August 2012, before returning to Wigan Athletic on loan in January 2013 - winning the FA Cup. He announced his retirement, at age 33, in September 2013. Early life and youth career Born in Scheibbs, Scharner grew up in Purgstall an der Erlauf, where he also started his playing career with local site SVG Purgstall at the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emile Heskey
Emile William Ivanhoe Heskey (born 11 January 1978) is an English former professional footballer who currently serves as head of football development of Leicester City Women. Playing as a striker, he made more than 500 appearances in the Football League and Premier League over an 18-year career, and represented England in international football. He also had a spell in Australia, playing for the A-League club Newcastle Jets. Born in Leicester, Heskey started his career with Leicester City after progressing through their youth system, making his first-team debut in 1995. After winning the League Cup in 1997 and 2000 he made an £11 million move to Liverpool in 2000, which, at the time, was the record transfer fee paid by the club. At Liverpool, he won multiple honours, including the FA Cup in 2001. He moved to Birmingham City in 2004 and after their relegation from the Premier League signed for Wigan Athletic for a club record £5.5 million fee in 2006. He signed for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
