Aaron Hughes
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Aaron William Hughes (born 8 November 1979) is a Northern Irish former professional
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 ...
who played as a defender. Hughes played mainly at centre back, but was also used at right back or left back, as well as anywhere in midfield. He is renowned for his disciplined defending, having made 455
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
appearances without getting sent off, which is the second-most in the history of the league, behind only Ryan Giggs. He began his career with Newcastle United, making his debut in 1997 and playing 279 games for the club across all competitions. He remained with the club until 2005, when he was transferred to Aston Villa for £1 million, and two years later he was signed by his former international manager
Lawrie Sanchez Lawrence Philip Sanchez (born 22 October 1959) is a Northern Irish football manager and former international footballer. The defining moment of his playing career came in the 1988 FA Cup Final, when he scored the winning goal for Wimbledon a ...
to play for Fulham. He spent six-and-a-half seasons at Fulham, reaching the
UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
in 2010. After leaving the club in January 2014, he had brief spells in the
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...
with
Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...
and
Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...
, and abroad with
Melbourne City FC Melbourne City Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in the south–eastern Melbourne suburb of Cranbourne East, that plays in the A-League, the top level of Australian soccer, under licence from Australian Professio ...
and
Kerala Blasters FC Kerala Blasters Football Club (), commonly referred to as The Blasters, is an Indian professional football club based in Kochi, Kerala, that competes in the Indian Super League, the top tier of football in India. The club was established ...
. Hughes made his full international debut aged 18 in 1998 and has earned 112 caps for Northern Ireland, the third most in the nation's history, behind Steven Davis and goalkeeper
Pat Jennings Patrick Anthony Jennings (born 12 June 1945) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played 119 international matches for Northern Ireland in an international career which lasted for over 22 years. D ...
. He captained the national team from 2003 up to international retirement in 2011, but returned to the team the following year and was included in their squad for
UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...
.


Club career


Newcastle United

Born in Cookstown,
County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an administrative division for local government but retai ...
, Hughes came through the ranks at Newcastle United. He made his first team debut in the Camp Nou in a match between Newcastle and
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
on 26 November 1997, replacing
Philippe Albert Philippe Julien Albert (born 10 August 1967) is a Belgian former professional footballer and television pundit. As a player he was a defender. He played for Charleroi, KV Mechelen and Anderlecht in his native Belgium, and for English clubs N ...
at half-time in a 1–0
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
defeat. His league debut came against
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 ...
on 10 January 1998, playing the entirety of a 2–1 defeat at Hillsborough. Although he featured in the earlier rounds, including the semi-final against
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...
at Old Trafford in the latter campaign as a 36th-minute replacement for the injured Steve Howey, Hughes was not included in Newcastle's squads for their
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
Final defeats in
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
and
1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
. He established himself in the team in the 1999–00 season under
Ruud Gullit Ruud Gullit (; born Rudi Dil; 1 September 1962) is a Dutch footballer and subsequent manager who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s as a defender, midfielder or forward. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all ...
and later
Bobby Robson Sir Robert William Robson (18 February 1933 – 31 July 2009) was an English footballer and football manager. His career included periods playing for and later managing the England national team and being a UEFA Cup-winning manager at Ipswich ...
. Hughes scored his first goal for the club on 19 September 1999, heading
Kieron Dyer Kieron Courtney Dyer (born 29 December 1978) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He was recently the U23s manager at Ipswich Town. Born in Ipswich, Dyer played youth football for his home club Ipswich Town ...
's cross past
Kevin Pressman Kevin Paul Pressman (born 6 November 1967) is an English football coach and former professional goalkeeper, who is the current goalkeeping coach for Grantham Town. As a player he made over 500 appearances in both the Premier League and Footb ...
to open an 8–0 win over
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 ...
at St. James' Park, and added his other goal of the season six months later to begin a 2–0 victory at Everton, dispossessing David Weir from six yards out and scoring past
Paul Gerrard Paul William Gerrard (born 22 January 1973) is an English football goalkeeping coach and retired player. He is currently employed by Football League Two side Carlisle United as a goalkeeping coach, having previously been employed as a player-go ...
. Before the 2001–02 season, Hughes featured as Newcastle reached the final of that summer's UEFA Intertoto Cup. In the semi-final first leg away to
1860 Munich , commonly known as TSV 1860 München (; lettered as ) or 1860 Munich, is a sports club based in Munich. The club's football team currently plays in the 3. Liga, the third tier of German football. 1860 Munich was one of the founding members of ...
at the
Olympiastadion Olympiastadion is the German, Finnish and Swedish word for Olympic Stadium and may refer to: * Stockholm Olympic Stadium, the host of the 1912 Summer Olympics (though mostly referred as simply ''Stockholms Stadion'') * Olympiastadion (Berlin), the ...
, he headed in Wayne Quinn's cross in the 83rd minute to win the match 3–2. In the second leg of the final on 21 August, he scored a last-minute equaliser for a 4–4 draw against Troyes, but his team lost on the away goals rule. On 27 January 2002, he confirmed a 4–2 win at
Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...
in the fourth round of the FA Cup, again heading in a cross from Quinn. In August 2003 he missed the crucial penalty in the shootout as Newcastle lost in the final qualifying round for the 2003–04 Champions League.


Aston Villa

On 20 May 2005, Hughes was sold to fellow Premier League side Aston Villa for a fee of £1 million, on a three-year contract. He made his debut on 13 August, as they began the season with a 2–2 draw against Bolton Wanderers at
Villa Park Villa Park is a football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, England, with a seating capacity of 42,682. It has been the home of Premier League side Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witton and Aston railway station ...
, all four goals coming in the first nine minutes. During his time in the
West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
, he made 64 appearances in all competitions for his club.


Fulham

On 27 June 2007, Hughes was announced as a new signing for Premier League side Fulham. He was quoted as saying "I'm delighted to be joining Fulham and am looking forward to working with
Lawrie Sanchez Lawrence Philip Sanchez (born 22 October 1959) is a Northern Irish football manager and former international footballer. The defining moment of his playing career came in the 1988 FA Cup Final, when he scored the winning goal for Wimbledon a ...
at club level. I enjoyed my time at Aston Villa but when this opportunity presented itself I had no hesitation in coming to discuss the Manager's ambitions for the Club, which obviously were of great interest to me. I'm happy to have signed before the start of pre-season, which gives me the opportunity of being with the lads on day one, when we come back to training next week." He took the captain's armband in the absence of
Brian McBride Brian Robert McBride (born June 19, 1972) is an American former soccer player who played as a forward for Columbus Crew, Fulham and Chicago Fire. He is the fifth-highest all-time leading goalscorer for the United States national team. For m ...
and latterly, Danny Murphy. On 4 December 2009, Hughes signed a new deal with the club which would see him remain at
Craven Cottage Craven Cottage is a football ground in Fulham, West London, England, which has been the home of Fulham F.C. since 1896.According to the club'official website The ground's capacity is 22,384; the record attendance is 49,335, for a game against ...
until the summer of 2013. He scored his first goal for Fulham on 26 December 2010, heading a Simon Davies cross to open a 1–3 defeat to
West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
at
Craven Cottage Craven Cottage is a football ground in Fulham, West London, England, which has been the home of Fulham F.C. since 1896.According to the club'official website The ground's capacity is 22,384; the record attendance is 49,335, for a game against ...
. His second goal came against Dnipro in the
Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...
on 18 August 2011, set up by
Matthew Briggs Matthew Anthony Briggs (born 6 March 1991) is an English-born Guyanese professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Gosport Borough and captains the Guyana national football team. Briggs began his career with Fulham, where he progres ...
for the first goal of a 3–0 victory. On 14 September 2012, Hughes signed a one-year contract extension with Fulham, keeping him at the club until 2014. He scored his third goal for Fulham, in his third different competition, against Manchester United in the fourth round of the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
on 26 January 2013, heading
Giorgos Karagounis Georgios Karagkounis ( el, Γεώργιος Καραγκούνης; born 6 March 1977), known as Giorgos Karagounis ( el, Γιώργος Καραγκούνης), is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. In his club ...
' cross at the end of a 4–1 defeat at Old Trafford.


Queens Park Rangers

After 17 appearances for Fulham earlier in the season, on 31 January 2014, Hughes joined
Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...
of the
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...
on a free transfer. Manager Harry Redknapp signed him on a short-term deal until the end of the season, saying that Hughes would be useful in a defence suffering from injuries, while the player himself refuted suggestion that he was taking a step down in his career. Redknapp had previously tried to sign Hughes before he joined Newcastle. He started on the bench a day later when the side drew 3–3 against
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...
, and made his debut on 10 February when they lost 1–0 to
Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...
. On 24 May, Hughes was an unused substitute as QPR earned promotion to the Premier League with a 1–0 victory over
Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 188 ...
in the play-off final at
Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...
. On 1 July 2014, he was among seven players released by QPR following the expiration of their contracts.


Brighton & Hove Albion

Following his release from QPR, Hughes signed a one-year contract with fellow Championship side
Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...
on 14 July, becoming
Sami Hyypiä Sami Tuomas Hyypiä (; born 7 October 1973) is a Finnish football manager and former defender. Hyypiä began his playing career with Ykkönen side Kumu and soon moved to Veikkausliiga outfit MyPa. He spent four years at the club, helping t ...
's first signing at the club. He made his debut on 9 August as they began the campaign with a 0–1 home loss to
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 ...
at the
Falmer Stadium The Falmer Stadium, known for sponsorship purposes as the American Express Community Stadium and also referred to as the Amex, is a football stadium in the village of Falmer, in the City of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex. With a capacity of 31, ...
. He only played 13 matches across all competitions, and did not feature at all after January 2015. On 27 April, before the season had finished, it was announced that Hughes and compatriot Paddy McCourt would be released at its conclusion.


Melbourne City

On 13 July 2015, it was announced that Hughes had signed a one-year contract for Melbourne City of the A-League. He credited
Damien Duff Damien Anthony Duff (born 2 March 1979) is an Irish professional football manager and former player who played predominantly as a winger. He has been the manager of League of Ireland club Shelbourne F.C. since November 2021. He began his pro ...
, his former Fulham teammate, with persuading him to make the move. Hughes was first included in a matchday squad on 5 November, remaining an unused substitute in a 4–2 win away to
Adelaide United Adelaide United Football Club is a professional soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club participates in the A-League Men under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was founded in 2003 to fil ...
. He made his debut eight days later in a 0–3 home loss to
Western Sydney Wanderers Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club (colloquially known as Western Sydney, or simply as Wanderers) is an Australian professional soccer club based in the Western Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier ...
at the
Melbourne Rectangular Stadium The Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, known as AAMI Park for sponsorship reasons, is an outdoor sports stadium on the site of Edwin Flack Field in the Sports and Entertainment Precinct in the Melbourne central business district. When complete ...
, being replaced at half time by
Jack Clisby Jack Clisby is an Australian soccer player who plays as a centre back or left back, for A-League side Western Sydney Wanderers. Club career Clisby made his senior debut for Perth Glory on 26 January 2013, starting against Brisbane Roar. Cl ...
. On 2 January 2016, Hughes scored his first goal in Australia, heading in
Harry Novillo Harry Christopher Novillo (born 11 February 1992) is a Martiniquais professional footballer who recently played as a striker and winger . Club career Olympique Lyonnais Born in Lyon, France, Novillo joined Lyon when he was seven years old in 1 ...
's corner kick to open a 2–2 home draw against Sydney FC. Hughes was released by Melbourne City on 28 April 2016.


Kerala Blasters

On 28 July 2016, it was announced that Hughes would join the
Kerala Blasters Kerala Blasters Football Club (), commonly referred to as The Blasters, is an Indian professional football club based in Kochi, Kerala, that competes in the Indian Super League, the top tier of football in India. The club was established i ...
of the
Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is an Indian professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Indian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Organised by the All India Football Federat ...
as their
marquee player A marquee player is an athlete who is considered exceptionally popular, skilled, or otherwise outstanding, especially in professional sports. Its name comes from theater marquees, on which the names of the stars of productions in said theater ar ...
for the 2016 season. He made his debut on 1 October, playing the full 90 minutes as they began the campaign with a 1–0 loss at
Northeast United FC NorthEast United FC is an Indian professional football club based in Guwahati, Assam that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. The club was founded on 13 April 2014 during the inaugural season of Indian Sup ...
, and scored his first goal on 25 November, the winner in a 2–1 victory over
FC Pune City Football Club Pune City was an Indian professional football club based in Pune, Maharashtra, which last participated in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football league system, under licence from AIFF. The club was founded in ...
at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. Hughes helped the
Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...
-based team to the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
, which they lost on penalties at home to
Atlético de Kolkata ATK (formerly Atlético de Kolkata) was an Indian professional football club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. The club competed in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football and were the league champions during the inaugural ...
.


Heart of Midlothian

Hughes signed for
Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottis ...
club Heart of Midlothian on 9 January 2017, agreeing a contract due to run until the end of the season. He made his debut 13 days later in a
Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Raith Rovers Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the town of Kirkcaldy, Fife. The club was founded in 1883 and currently competes in the Scottish Championship as a member of the Scottish Professional Football Leagu ...
, in which BBC Sport described him as having "the composure of a Northern Ireland centurion despite his advancing years". Despite suffering injuries that kept him out of action for two months, Hughes signed a one-year contract with Hearts on 5 May 2017. Hughes retired from football in June 2019, aged 39.


International career

Hughes made his debut for
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
on 25 March 1998, against
Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
. He first captained his country on 17 April 2002, against
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
in
Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
. He was the regular captain from 2003 until his retirement in 2011, leading the team in notable wins over
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, Spain and Sweden. With Hughes injured, Fulham teammate Chris Baird was given the honour of captaining Northern Ireland for
Nigel Worthington Nigel Worthington (born 4 November 1961) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who was most recently the manager of York City. He played a defender and a midfielder, playing his club football for Ballymena United, Notts County, ...
's first games as manager. Hughes scored his only international goal, thirteen and a half years and 77 caps after his debut, against the
Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...
on 10 August 2011, opening a 4–0 win in qualification for
UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th UEFA European Championship, European Championship for List of men's national association football teams#UEFA (Europe), men's ...
at
Windsor Park Windsor Park is a football stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of Linfield F.C. who own the land the stadium is built on, while the Irish Football Association own and operate the stadium and pay Linfield an annual renta ...
. He announced his retirement from international football in September 2011; injury meant that he could not play in the final Euro 2012 qualifying matches, so he retired on 79 caps. On 19 February 2012, Hughes announced his return to international football, and ten days later played in Michael O'Neill's first match as manager, a 3–0 home friendly defeat to
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
. On 31 May 2015, Hughes earned his 96th cap by captaining the team to a 1–1 friendly draw against
Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
at
Gresty Road Gresty Road or the Alexandra Stadium, currently known as the Mornflake Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Crewe, Cheshire, England. The home ground of Crewe Alexandra, it has an all-seated capacity of 10,153. History Cre ...
in Crewe, surpassing his former teammate David Healy to become Northern Ireland's most capped outfield player of all time, and second overall to goalkeeper
Pat Jennings Patrick Anthony Jennings (born 12 June 1945) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played 119 international matches for Northern Ireland in an international career which lasted for over 22 years. D ...
. Ahead of
UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...
, Hughes became the first Northern Irish outfield player to earn 100 caps when he came on as a 30th-minute substitute for the injured
Craig Cathcart Craig George Cathcart (born 6 February 1989) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for EFL Championship club Watford and the Northern Ireland national team. He has also captained his country's under-21 side. A ...
in a goalless friendly away to Slovakia on 4 June. Twelve days later, he made his tournament debut at the age of 36, marking
Yevhen Konoplyanka Yevhen Olehovych Konoplyanka ( uk, Євген Олегович Коноплянка; born 29 September 1989) is a Ukrainian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Ekstraklasa club Cracovia and the Ukraine national team. He began ...
in a 2–0 win over
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
in
Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...
.


Personal life

Hughes is married to Samantha, with whom he has two daughters. He has a younger brother, Ian, who is a competitive
field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...
player. Hughes was appointed
Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(MBE) in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to football.


Career statistics


Club


International


See also

*
List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps In men's association football, a cap is traditionally awarded in international football to a player making an official match appearance for their national team. In total, over 600 players have played in 100 or more international matches. The re ...


References


External links

*
Profile
at Irish FA {{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Aaron 1979 births Living people People from Cookstown Association footballers from Northern Ireland Northern Ireland youth international footballers Northern Ireland B international footballers Northern Ireland international footballers Association football defenders Newcastle United F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players Fulham F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Melbourne City FC players Kerala Blasters FC players Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players A-League Men players Indian Super League marquee players Scottish Professional Football League players UEFA Euro 2016 players People educated at Cookstown High School FIFA Century Club Expatriate association footballers from Northern Ireland Expatriate soccer players in Australia Expatriate sportspeople from Northern Ireland in Australia Expatriate footballers in India Expatriate sportspeople from Northern Ireland in India Members of the Order of the British Empire