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Emile Heskey

He is an English football player. He plays as a striker.

Emile William Ivanhoe Heskey (born January 11, 1978 in Leicester, England) is an English footballer. Known for his pace and strength, he is a striker currently playing for Premier League side Wigan Athletic. He also has the versatility to play down the left flank.
Heskey is a former England international. He made his international debut against Hungary in a 1-1 draw in 1999. He went on to gain a total of 43 caps and score 5 goals for the team, making his final appearance against France in Euro 2004, during which he failed to shine and was the subject of much criticism.
Heskey started his career at home-town club Leicester City, where he made league debut against Queens Park Rangers in 1995 at the age of 17. He then became a first-team regular in the 1995–96 season, making 30 appearances for the club, helping them earn promotion to the Premier League. During this season, Heskey scored his first goal as a professional footballer, which came in a 1-0 victory of Norwich City, in a season he managed to score a total of seven goals.
During the 1996–97, his first in the Premier League, Heskey managed to score 10 goals in 35 appearances in this league, and also scored the equaliser in the 1997 League Cup final against Middlesbrough, which was won by Leicester in the replay. The following season saw interest from Leeds United and Tottenham Hotspur for Heskey, as he again managed to net 10 Premier League goals. However, the 1997–98 season saw Heskey score only six top-flight goals, and had been criticised for not scoring enough goals and going to ground too easily.
In the 1998–99 season, Heskey forged an effective strike partnership with Tony Cottee, who benefited from Heskey's unselfish style of play. He went on to win the League Cup again in 2000 with a 2–1 win against Tranmere Rovers.
Heskey joined Liverpool in March 2000 in a long-anticipated £11m move, which, at the time, set the record transfer fee for the Merseyside club. Heskey made his home debut in the Premier League clash with Sunderland and played well, but the season finished with continuing doubts about his goalscoring prowess. During the 2000–01 season Heskey put an end to those scoring worries by scoring 23 goals for Liverpool and rocketing himself up the England pecking order.
"Some people like to criticise Emile, but I can produce plenty of facts and figures to back up how important he is to us, and how many goals we have scored that he has been involved in." Gérard Houllier
Heskey had been linked with a £12m move to Tottenham Hotspur in 2002, but Liverpool manager Gérard Houllier insisted Heskey was a part of his long-term plans.
Heskey made a six-figure donation in 2002 to aid a consortium led by Gary Lineker in their bid to buy-out cash-strapped Leicester City, who are a former club of Heskey's.
In the 2003–04 season Heskey faced increasing competition from Milan Baroš for a place in the Liverpool starting line-up. Despite this, he scored 12 goals and secured a place in the England squad for the Euro 2004 tournament in Portugal.
At the end of the 2003–04 season, Heskey signed for Birmingham City for an initial fee of £3.5m, which could rise to £6.25m, thus becoming Birmingham's most expensive player. He made his Birmingham debut against Portsmouth, which ended as a 1–1 draw.
Despite Birmingham's mediocre 2004–05 season, Heskey won four club awards at the end of the season - Player's Player of the Season, Fan's Player of the Season, Top Goalscorer (11) and most Man of the Match Awards. Birmingham's poor 2005–06 season, during which Heskey scored only 4 goals in 34 league appearances, culminated in relegation to The Championship. During this season, Heskey gave inconsistent performances and fans had started to get on his back.
Heskey was signed by Wigan Athletic for £5.5m during the summer of 2006. Heskey made his debut for Wigan against Newcastle United in August 2006, which his new club lost 2–1. On his 500th league appearance Heskey scored his first goal for Wigan in a 1-0 Premiership victory over Reading on 26 August 2006. Throughout the 2006–07 season Heskey became a popular figure amongst the Wigan faithful. He showed great endeavour, although not always matched by goals. Nonetheless, his undoubted strength and presence proved vital and managed to score 8 goals, helping Wigan avoid relegation on goals difference from Sheffield United, against whom Heskey proved to be a handful for Wigan on 13 May 2007, where he nearly scored an overhead kick. After this match, Heskey was described as "A man possessed", after playing at the heart of the Wigan defence, a position not suited to his play.
He starred alongside Michael Owen in the England Under-18 team which finished third in the European Championships in France. Following this, Heskey was gaining recognition with the England U21 team.
Heskey was given his first call-up to the senior England team for a friendly against the Czech Republic in 1998, but did not play. Heskey made his debut for England in a friendly against Hungary in Budapest in a 1-1 draw in 1999 and made his first start against Argentina at Wembley Stadium in 2000. That showing ensured he was in the England squad for the Euro 2000 tournament. However, his two substitute performances in the tournament could not help England, as the team crashed out in the group stage.
Heskey was selected in the squad for the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan. Heskey was used as a make-shift option to play in England's left-wing role in the game against Sweden, but this performance showed he is not natural in that position. Heskey netted against Denmark in England's 3-0 victory, which saw England reach the quarter-finals of the tournament.
Heskey's place in the England squad had been placed under scrutiny in 2003 with the emergence of Wayne Rooney into the England squad. Despite being criticised for his lack of goals for England, Heskey continued to be an integral part of the international squad and took over the captaincy from Michael Owen when England beat Serbia and Montenegro 2-1 in his hometown of Leicester in June 2003. Heskey was named in the England squad for Euro 2004, but failed to shine and was the subject of much criticism. He came on as a sub when England were leading 1-0 against France. Within minutes he had given away a free kick (which France equalised from) and England lost 2-1. Heskey was recalled into the England squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Northern Ireland and Azerbaijan in 2005, after having being dropped following the game against Ukraine in August 2005. Since the emergence of Peter Crouch in the England squad, the possibility of a recall has receded further on the horizon.
As of 28 June 2007, Heskey has a number of 43 caps and 5 goals for the England senior team.

Wigan
11 January 1978
Source: Wikipedia