James McFadden

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James McFadden (born 14 April 1983) is a Scottish professional footballer currently playing as a striker for Birmingham City. His goal for Scotland in the Euro 2008 qualification match on 12 September 2007 against France in the Parc des Princes is already regarded as one of Scotland's most famous goals.^[1][2]

[edit] Club career

[edit] Motherwell

Born in Springburn, Glasgow, McFadden joined the Motherwell youth system at a young age, making his first-team debut when he was 17 years old. He came to greater prominence during the 2002–03 SPL season, scoring 19 goals from 34 starts and winning the Scottish Young Player of the Year Award. This was in a season when Motherwell finished bottom of the Premier League and should have been relegated but were given a reprieve due to Scottish First Division champions Falkirk not meeting stadium criteria.^[3] McFadden received some criticism for his lack of discipline, picking up fifteen yellow cards and one red during the campaign. His final game for Motherwell that season saw him score a hat-trick in a 6–2 defeat of Livingston at Fir Park.^[4]

[edit] Everton

Motherwell's financial circumstances ensured that any interest from larger clubs would not be refused, and Everton won the battle for McFadden's signature in 2003. Toffees boss David Moyes paid £1.25 million to ensnare his target. McFadden scored his debut goal for Everton during their 5–2 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur on 1 January 2005, more than a year after joining the club. One week later he scored his second goal in a third-round FA Cup tie against Plymouth Argyle.

During the 2005–06 season, McFadden was in and out of the Everton team as they struggled to re-capture their form of the previous season. On 11 March 2006 he scored with a 35-yard volley to help Everton to a 3–1 victory over Fulham. This scoring run of form continued the next week against Aston Villa, a half-volley from just outside the area helping the Toffees to a 4–1 victory. He went on to end the season with a total of seven goals.

McFadden made an indifferent start to the 2006–07 season following the arrival of record signing Andrew Johnson, managing only two goals in the first half of the campaign. On 24 January 2007, McFadden injured his fifth metatarsal during training for Everton.^[5] After nearly three months on the sidelines, he made a scoring return to action for Everton as a second-half substitute against Charlton Athletic on 15 April 2007. He scored a spectacular volley in injury time to secure a 2–1 win for the Toffees, a goal later voted "goal of the season" by the readers of SkySports.com.^[6]

On 4 October 2007 McFadden scored a critical equalizing goal in Everton's triumph over Metalist Kharkiv in the UEFA Cup. In December 2007, McFadden was subject of a failed loan bid by boyhood heroes Celtic and had been linked with a January move to the club. He slotted a goal against Middlesbrough on 2 January 2008 and pointed to his black armband to commemorate the death of former Motherwell captain Phil O'Donnell. McFadden also revealed a t-shirt in memory of O'Donnell.

[edit] Birmingham City

On 18 January 2008 McFadden joined Birmingham City, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract with an option for additional two years, for an initial fee of £5 million, potentially rising to £6m depending on appearances.^[7][8] His first goal came in his fourth game for the club, a penalty kick against West Ham United at Upton Park, after he had been fouled by Lucas Neill.^[9] In his next match, at home to Arsenal, he scored from a 20-yard free kick before adding the equalising goal from the penalty spot in the last minute of stoppage time.^[10]

[edit] Career statistics

^[11]

[edit] International career

McFadden gained his first Scotland cap at the age of nineteen, on a Far East tour against South Africa, at the end of which he controversially missed his flight home.^[12] Despite his domestic performances he became a regular in Berti Vogts' Scotland set-up, scoring his first goal against the Faroe Islands during a 3–1 win in a Euro 2004 qualifying match at Hampden Park on 6 September 2003.

He is also remembered for his goal against Holland in November 2003 that gave Scotland a famous 1–0 victory. However, in September 2007 McFadden scored an even more significant goal in a 1–0 win over France in Paris during Scotland's unsuccessful qualifying campaign for the 2008 European Championships,^[13] and was on target again in the following game, a 3–1 win over Ukraine at Hampden Park in October. He was unable to score in the last match of the campaign against Italy in November 2007 at Hampden, which Scotland lost 2–1. He has become a cult hero for his country, mainly due to the goal in Paris.^{[citation needed]}. The winning goal in the September 2008 match against Iceland in the 2010 World Cup Qualifying campaign was initially credited to McFadden,^[14] but has since been awarded to Barry Robson.^[15]

[edit] International goals

Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	6 September 2003	Glasgow, Scotland	Faroe Islands	3–1	3-1	UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
2.	15 November 2003	Glasgow, Scotland	Netherlands	1–0	1-0	UEFA Euro 2004 Play-off
3.	31 March 2004	Glasgow, Scotland	Romania	1–2	1-2	Friendly
4.	27 May 2004	Tallinn, Estonia	Estonia	1–0	1-0	Friendly
5.	3 September 2004	Valencia, Spain	Spain	1–0[16][17]	1-1	Friendly
6.	17 November 2004	Edinburgh, Scotland	Sweden	1–3	1-4	Friendly
7.	4 June 2005	Glasgow, Scotland	Moldova	2–0	2-0	World Cup 2006 qualifying
8.	12 October 2005	Celje, Slovenia	Slovenia	2–0	3-0	World Cup 2006 qualifying
9.	11 May 2006	Kobe, Japan	Bulgaria	3–1	5-1	Kirin Cup
10.	2 September 2006	Glasgow, Scotland	Faroe Islands	2–0	6-0	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
11.	8 September 2007	Glasgow, Scotland	Lithuania	3–1	3-1	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
12.	12 September 2007	Paris, France	France	1–0	1-0	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
13.	13 October 2007	Glasgow, Scotland	Ukraine	3–1	3-1	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• James McFadden career stats at Soccerbase
• James McFadden profile at scottishfa.co.uk