Steven Fletcher (footballer)
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| Steven Fletcher | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Steven Kenneth Fletcher | |
| Date of birth | March 26, 1987 | |
| Place of birth | Shrewsbury, England | |
| Playing position | Striker | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Hibernian | |
| Number | 9 | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 2004– | Hibernian | 120 (32) |
| National team2 | ||
| 2008– | Scotland | 1 (0) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Steven Fletcher (born March 26, 1987, in Shrewsbury, Shropshire) is a Scottish professional footballer who currently plays for Hibernian in the Scottish Premier League.
Contents |
[edit] Career
[edit] Early career
Fletcher was born into an army background and spent much of his early years living on military bases in England and Germany where his Liverpudlian soldier father was based. His father died from cancer when Fletcher was aged only 10, prompting his mother to relocate to Hamilton, Scotland to be closer to her family. Hibs youth coach Donald Park, also from Hamilton, spotted his footballing talent and the young Anglo-Scot joined the Leith side's youth network aged 13[1].
[edit] Hibernian
Fletcher made his debut for Hibs towards the end of the 2003-04 season in a 3-0 win over Kilmarnock. However his big breakthrough came in the 2004-05 season when he became a regular, playing 26 times and scoring 5 goals. In the 2005-06 season, Fletcher scored 10 goals in just 1,966 minutes on the pitch, which approximates to a goal every other game.
Fletcher took on a more prominent role in the 2006-07 season, after Hibs had sold star strikers Garry O'Connor and Derek Riordan. He scored in Hibernian's 5-0 Intertoto Cup win over Dinaburg and played regularly during the league season. The highlight of the season for Fletcher and Hibs was when he scored two goals in Hibernian's 5-1 win over Kilmarnock in the 2007 Scottish League Cup Final.
Fletcher became Hibs' main striker during the 2007-08 season and he scored his first professional hat-trick in a 4-2 win over Gretna on 13 February 2008. He won the Scottish Football Writers' Young Player of the Year Award in the 2007-08 season[2].
Fletcher has recently been touted for a £4.5million summer move to Real Madrid C.F. due to Madrid's scouts watching his performances for both Hibs and Scotland. On the 8th June it was also reported in the international press that Palermo, Marseille, Porto and Werder Bremen were ready to start a bidding war in order to secure his signature, a figure of £6million being reported. It has also been rumoured that Barcelona will keep an eye on him in the pre-season game between themselves and Hibernian, and that should he score they will make a bid for his services.[3].
[edit] International career
Fletcher made his debut for Scotland under-21s in the 2004-05 season. He was the top scorer in the Scotland under-19 side which reached the final of the 2006 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship, losing to Spain in the final. Following the well acknowledged achievements of the under-19 side, Fletcher is seen as a hot prospect for the future. He was named by The Scotsman as one of the "ten to watch" in 2007.[4]
On 17 March 2008, Fletcher was named in the squad for Scotland's senior friendly international against Croatia. Fletcher started the game, providing the assist for Kenny Miller's equaliser in a 1-1 draw. Fletcher was substituted at half-time due to injury[5].
[edit] References
- ^ Easter Road call-up spared Fletcher a soldier's life, Jonathan Coates, The Scotsman, 25 November 2006.
- ^ Fletcher is writers' young pick BBC Sport, May 7, 2008
- ^ Football365.com
- ^ Young, gifted and Scots: ten to watch in 2007, Jonathan Coates, The Scotsman, 1 January 2007.
- ^ Moffat, Colin. "Scotland 1-1 Croatia", BBC Sport website, 26 March 2008.
[edit] External links
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Scott Brown |
SFWA Young Player of the Year 2007-08 |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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