Demar Constantine Phillips (born 23 September 1983) is a Jamaican

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

left wingback In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

Early life

Demar Phillips was born on 23 September 1983 in a small town in the district of St Thomas outside Kingston. He describes growing up in among deep poverty, saying he "knew what it was like to starve".

Club career

Waterhouse

After starting his youth career at York United in the St Thomas Parish leagues and Eastern Confederation Super League, Phillips made the move to Waterhouse Football Club, starting with their u21 team before becoming a senior team regular.

Stoke City

With reference from Jamaican teammate

Ricardo Fuller Ricardo Dwayne Fuller (born 31 October 1979) is a retired Jamaican professional footballer who played as a forward. Fuller started his football career with Jamaican side Tivoli Gardens, before he moved to England with Crystal Palace in February ...

to boss

Tony Pulis Anthony Richard Pulis (; born 16 January 1958) is a Welsh football manager and former footballer who last managed Sheffield Wednesday. Pulis obtained his FA coaching badge at age 19, followed by his UEFA 'A' licence aged 21 – making him one ...

, Phillips signed a three-year contract for

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

, on 31 August 2007 from

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

n club Waterhouse, for an undisclosed fee. After appearing on the substitutes bench against

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building * ...

and

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. The side currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The tea ...

, Phillips finally made his first team debut on 10 November 2007 in the game against

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

, in which he came on as a 78th-minute substitute. Phillips made only two appearances for Stoke, however, and in the summer of 2008 joined

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic ...

on trial with a view to a season-long loan. Problems with obtaining a work permit saw this fall through and he returned to Stoke. He again struggled to force his way into the Premier side's first team squad and at the end of the transfer window in January 2009 he joined Norwegian side

Aalesunds FK Aalesunds Fotballklubb, commonly known as Aalesund or AaFK, is a Norwegian football club from the town of Ålesund, that competes in the Eliteserien, the first tier of the Norwegian football league system. The club was founded on 25 June 1914. A ...

on a free transfer.

Aalesunds FK

Phillips made his Aalesund-debut on 15 March 2009, playing at left back against

Tromsø IL Tromsø Idrettslag is a Norwegian professional football club founded in 1920, based in the city of Tromsø. They play their home games at Alfheim Stadion. Tromsø play in the Eliteserien. Tromsø have won the Norwegian Cup twice, in 1986 and 199 ...

. He played in the

Norwegian Football Cup The Norwegian Football Cup ( no, Norgesmesterskapet i fotball for herrer) is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest football ...

final as a substitute, which Aalesund won on penalties, one of which he scored. Phillips was named man of the match after scoring both goals in a 2–0 win against Hønefoss on 21 March 2010. On 20 August 2011, Phillips signed a new contract with

until 2014.

Real Salt Lake

Phillips signed with

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 20 ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

in January 2015. He was released following the 2015 season. In January 2016, RSL re-signed Phillips for the 2016 season. At the conclusion of the 2018 season, RSL declined the 2019 contract option on Phillips.

Austin Bold FC

Phillips was signed by

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

club

Austin Bold FC Austin Bold FC was an American professional soccer team located in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2017, the team made its debut in the USL Championship in 2019. In 2021, Austin Bold FC announced it would be moving to Fort Worth, Texas leaving Circuit ...

early in their inaugural season, on April 18, 2019.

International career

Phillips has appeared for the

Jamaica national football team The Jamaica national football team, nicknamed the "Reggae Boyz", represents Jamaica in international football. The team's first match was against Haiti in 1925. The squad is under the supervising body of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF ...

a total of 62 times scoring twelve goals. On 6 June 2011, Phillips scored the third goal in a 4–0 win. On 10 June 2011, Phillips scored a brace in a 2–0 win over Guatemala, being named man of the match.

Personal life

Phillips has one daughter named Jadyn, who currently lives in Jamaica with her mother, who is a university employee. Phillips and Jadyn's mother are separated. Phillips is a devout Christian, himself stating that he devotes a considerable amount of time to prayer. He explained: ''"I pray to God a lot. In the morning and at night before I go to bed. When I step onto the pitch before a game, I stop before the sidelines, taking to the ground with my hands, before I do the sign of the cross and look up at the sky. Then I know that God will protect me during the game"''.

Career statistics

Club

International

Source:

Honours

; Jamaica *

Caribbean Cup The Caribbean Cup was the championship tournament for national association football teams that are members of the Caribbean Football Union. The first competition, established by Shell and run by former England Cricket fast bowler Fred Rumsey, wa ...

: **Winner:

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

; Waterhouse * Jamaica National Premier League: **Winner (1): 2006 ; Aalesunds FK *

: **Winner (2): 2009, 2011

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Demar 1983 births Living people Association football midfielders Jamaica international footballers Jamaican footballers Waterhouse F.C. players Stoke City F.C. players Aalesunds FK players Real Salt Lake players Real Monarchs players National Premier League players English Football League players Eliteserien players Major League Soccer players USL Championship players 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2014 Caribbean Cup players 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Jamaican expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Norway Expatriate soccer players in the United States Jamaican expatriate sportspeople in England Jamaican expatriate sportspeople in Norway Austin Bold FC players