Ian De Souza Goodison (born 21 November 1972) is a Jamaican 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. He spent most of his career at English side

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ado ...

Club career

Born in Montego Bay, Saint James, Goodison began his career in minor Jamaican football leagues and was discovered in 1996 by René Simões who introduced him straight into the national squad. He joined Olympic Gardens in 1997, sharing his playing time at the club with a Cayman Islands-based team before making his first foray into English football via Third Division side

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...

, when he was signed along with fellow countryman and good friend Theo Whitmore by Brian Little. The Jamaican impressed during his time at Hull, epitomised by the fact that he was their Player of the Season for the 2000–01 season (his first in English football). He scored his first and only goal for the club in a 2–1 win over Carlisle United. Despite his impressive start Little's departure as manager was followed by that of Goodison who returned to Jamaica to play for

Seba United Montego Bay United Football Club is a Jamaican association football, football club based in Montego Bay. History Founded as ''Beacon'' in 1972, the club were renamed ''Seba United'' after a few years and has won the National Premier League, Jama ...

Tranmere Rovers

Goodison joined Tranmere in February 2004 under Brian Little and played in the heart of the defence. The former Jamaican international played more than 350 times for the club, and was named supporters' Player of the Season three times, and the North West League One Footballer of the Year award also three times. He played in the Tranmere team which reached the quarter final 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 ...

in his first season, whilst with his second season at the club Tranmere finished third in League One and entered the end of season play-offs. At the end of the 2011–12 season he signed a one-year contract extension which kept him at the club beyond his 40th birthday. He was the first player ever to play for Tranmere while in his forties. In May 2013, Goodison signed another year extension to his contract, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2014. The deal included an option for a testimonial at Prenton Park. On 27 August 2013 he played 120 minutes against Bolton Wanderers in the League Cup; his performance was praised by fans and he was labelled as the 'best player on the park' by manager Ronnie Moore. On 13 October 2013 Goodison made his 400th appearance for Tranmere and captained them to a 1–0 win against Bradford City. On 9 December 2013, it was reported that he had been arrested as part of a police investigation into match fixing, however the charges were later dropped. In May 2015, a testimonial for Goodison was held at Prenton Park. A team of ex-Tranmere teammates, including Enoch Showunmi,

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, Owain Fon Williams, and

Ryan Lowe Ryan Thomas Lowe (born 18 September 1978) is an English football manager and former professional player, who is manager of Championship side Preston North End. His playing career, as a striker, began at Burscough in 1999 and he became a Footbal ...

, faced an International XI, composed of ex-Jamaica teammates such as Ricardo Fuller,

Darren Byfield Darren Asherton Byfield (born 29 September 1976) is a former professional footballer. He is currently a coach of Crawley Town. Byfield won six caps for Jamaica in 2003, and has scored 110 goals in 484 appearances across all domestic competitions ...

, and Ricardo Gardner and other notable international players, such as ex-Tranmere teammate John Achterberg and

Fabrice Muamba Fabrice Ndala Muamba (born 6 April 1988) is an English former professional footballer who played for Arsenal, Birmingham City and Bolton Wanderers as a central midfielder. Born in Zaire, Muamba moved to England at the age of 11 and subsequently ...

, who has not played professionally since suffering a

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whilst playing for Bolton. Brian Little and

Ronnie Moore Ronald David Moore (born 29 January 1953) is an English football manager and former player. He has taken charge of several clubs including Rotherham United, Tranmere Rovers and Hartlepool United. He played for many different clubs in a care ...

managed the two sides, with Mike Dean acting as referee.

International career

Goodison made his debut for the Jamaica national team in a March 1996 friendly match against Guatemala and immediately scored his first international goal. Goodison was included in the 23-man squad named by Jamaica manager Theo Whitmore for the 2011 Gold Cup in the United States, though he was later dropped after failing to report for pre-tournament training in Brazil. As of May 2009 he has collected a country all-time record of 120 caps and scored 10 goals. 45 of those games were in

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

qualification and in the

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 ...

tournament.Record at FIFA Tournaments
– FIFA

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

:''Jamaica score listed first, score column indicates score after each Goodison goal.''

References

External links

Player profile
– ReggaeBoyz
Player profile
– ReggaeBoyz Supporters Club * {{DEFAULTSORT:Goodison, Ian 1972 births Living people People from Montego Bay Jamaican footballers Jamaican expatriate footballers Jamaica international footballers Association football defenders Hull City A.F.C. players Montego Bay United F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players English Football League players Expatriate footballers in England 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 1998 FIFA World Cup players 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup players FIFA Century Club Jamaican expatriate sportspeople in England Olympic Gardens F.C. players