 Neill with Australia in 2007 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Lucas Edward Neill | ||
| Date of birth | 9 March 1978 | ||
| Place of birth | Sydney, Australia | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Omiya Ardija | ||
| Number | 22 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1991–1993 | Manly United | ||
| 1994–1995 | AIS | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1995–2001 | Millwall | 152 | (13) |
| 2001–2007 | Blackburn Rovers | 188 | (5) |
| 2007–2009 | West Ham United | 79 | (1) |
| 2009–2010 | Everton | 12 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | Galatasaray | 39 | (1) |
| 2011–2012 | Al Jazira | 19 | (3) |
| 2012–2013 | Al Wasl | 4 | (0) |
| 2013 | Sydney FC | 3 | (0) |
| 2013– | Omiya Ardija | 7 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 1996–1997 | Australia U20 | 8 | (3) |
| 1999–2000 | Australia U23 | 13 | (0) |
| 1996– | Australia | 95 | (1) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16 October 2013.
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 24 September 2013 | |||
Lucas Edward Neill (born 9 March 1978) is an Australian professional footballer who plays for Omiya Ardija. Neill plays as a defender, who commonly plays as a centre back as well as a full back. Neill had spent almost 15 years of his career playing in England. He represented Australia at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, and also the 2011 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar. On 6 October 2006 he was named the 50th captain of the Australian national team. He has also played for Millwall, Blackburn Rovers, West Ham United, Everton, Galatasaray, Al Jazira, Al Wasl andSydney.
Early life
Neill grew up in the Northern Beaches of Sydney and was a student at Wakehurst Public School in Belroseand St Augustine's College in Brookvale, before attending the Australian Institute of Sport on a football scholarship in 1994–95.[1]
Club career
Millwall
Neill joined Millwall on a free transfer in November 1995, making his debut on 17 February against Luton Town in 1996.[2] In almost six years at The Den, he made 174 appearances in all competitions, scoring 13 goals.[3] In September 2001, Neill, by then the longest serving player at the club, submitted a transfer request[2] and shortly after, signed for Blackburn Rovers for an initial fee of £600,000 plus up to £400,000 more depending on appearances.[4]
Blackburn Rovers
Neill played his first game for Blackburn in September 2001 against Sunderland and scored his first Blackburn goal later that month against Bolton Wanderers. Neill is a combative, versatile player. He has played in all defensive positions during his professional career and is a key member for both his club and national team.
Neill was well regarded by Blackburn Rovers supporters largely due to his never-say-die, determined attitude. He was one of Blackburn Rovers' most consistent performers and held the right back position for over five years without any competition.
Neill's combative and committed style of play in the Premier League attracted criticism in 2003–04 at a time when Blackburn had been criticised routinely for their aggressive play. He broke the leg of Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher when his trailing leg caught that of the Liverpool player in the fifth game of the2003–04 season in a tackle at Ewood Park. Carragher, a popular home-grown Liverpool player, was sidelined for six months and the incident sparked a war of words between Gérard Houllier and Graeme Souness after Neill and his manager did not apologise for 48 hours[citation needed].
Johan Neeskens, who became assistant to Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard for the 2006–07 season, said that Neill "could play for any of the best clubs".[5] On 4 August 2006 he announced he would not sign a new four-year contract for Blackburn Rovers. The player's agent, Peter Harrison, said "He has enjoyed his time there (Blackburn), he loves the club and the fans, he just feels it is time for a change."[6] On 30 August, Liverpool reportedly made a £2 million bid for Neill; however, this bid was rejected by Blackburn. The club wanted Stephen Warnock in part exchange for Neill; however Liverpool were not prepared to let the left back go.[7] In late November, rumours emerged that Chelsea were also interested in his signature.[8] Neill, once a cult hero at Blackburn left under something of a storm and is now extremely unpopular amongst Blackburn fans. He was booed and barracked on his return to Ewood Park in March 2007.[9]
West Ham United
In January 2007 Neill turned his back on an un-confirmed bid from Liverpool in favour of West Ham United, following the successful transfer of Stephen Warnock from Liverpool to Blackburn.[10] Neill was accused of his primary motivating factor being money, but he later refuted these claims, stating the move was for purely footballing reasons.[11] Neill later alleged to the media that Liverpool had not made him feel truly wanted, and that he had not even spoken to manager Rafael Benítez. Neill made his league debut for the Hammers in February 2007 againstWatford, where he picked up a knee injury.[12] He captained the team for the first time during a 3–4 defeat againstTottenham Hotspur the following month and went on to play every remaining game of the season. He became the permanent team captain following Nigel Reo-Coker's transfer to Aston Villa.[13] Neill made his first appearance as team captain in the 1–1 draw against Wigan Athletic on 25 August 2007.[14] Neill scored his only goal for West Ham in a 3–2 away defeat to West Brom in September 2008.[15] At the end of the 2008–09 season Neill rejected a one-year contract extension with West Ham, becoming a free agent.[16]
Everton
On 17 September 2009, Neill joined close friend[17] Tim Cahill at Everton on a free transfer, signing a one-year deal.[18]He was unveiled to the fans at half time during Everton's 4–0 Europa League win at Goodison Park against AEK Athens.
Neill played his first game for Everton on 23 September 2009 in the League Cup, coming on as a second half substitution for Leighton Baines, in their 4–0 victory over Hull City.[19] Neill's first start for Everton in the Premier League was on 25 October 2009 where he played a full match against Bolton Wanderers setting up two goals.
Galatasaray
On 13 January 2010, Neill agreed to join Turkish side Galatasaray.[20] It is believed Neill wanted to leave Everton to secure a longer contract.[21] Neill signed a one-and-a-half-year contract with Galatasaray,[22] linking up with Soccerooteammate Harry Kewell. Neill made his Turkish Super Lig debut for Galatasaray on 24 January 2010 in a 1–0 home win at the Ali Sami Yen Stadium against Gaziantepspor.[23] Neill along with Kewell and several others were released at the end of the 2010–11 season.
Al Jazira
On 19 August 2011 it was announced he had signed a one-year contract with UAE Pro League Club Al Jazira.[24][25]On 2 June 2012 it was announced he had been released by the club.[26]
Al Wasl
He signed in August 2012 one-year contract with Al Wasl.[27] In January 2013, Neill was released from Al Wasl after the club signed Ahmad Ibrahim Khalaf, thus replacing Neill as an import player.[28]
Sydney FC
In February 2013 Neill signed with Sydney FC.[29] He made his A-League debut for Sydney FC against Melbourne Heart on 24 February 2013 at AAMI Park in Melbourne.[30] Neill played just four games of his ten game guest stint at Sydney FC.
Omiya Ardija
On 18 August 2013, Neil signed with Japanese team Omiya Ardija. [31] He signed a four-month deal for the remainder of the Japanese season.
International career
In October 1996, Neill became the third-youngest player, after Duncan Cummings and Harry Kewell, to debut for the Australian national team[32] when he played in a friendly game against Saudi Arabia in Riyadh, aged 18 years and 7 months.[33] He also competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney with the Australian men's team, the Olyroos.
On 16 November 2005 at Sydney's ANZ Stadium, Neill helped Australia qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup playing the entire game and scoring the Socceroos' second penalty in a shoot-out against Uruguay, after aggregate scores were tied at 1–1 following extra-time. He was named Man of the Match for this game.[34]
Neill started all four of Australia's games at the 2006 World Cup. In the closing minutes of Australia's Round of 16 game against Italy, referee Luis Medina Cantalejo adjudged Neill to have fouled Italian full back Fabio Grosso in the penalty area. Francesco Totti converted the ensuing penalty kick to score and give the Italians a 1–0 victory, knocking Australia out of the cup.[35]
Following the World Cup, Neill expressed his desire to captain his national side and on 6 October 2006 was named as the 50th player to captain Australia. On 7 October 2006 he made his debut as the Socceroos' captain in a 1–1 friendly against Paraguay, in Brisbane. Four days later, in Sydney, he captained Australia again in an Asian Cup qualifying game against Bahrain, which Australia won 2–0.[36] On 2 June 2007, Neill captained the Socceroos again in a friendly match against Uruguay at Sydney's Telstra Stadium in which Australia lost 2–1.
On 13 July 2007, in the dying seconds of the Socceroo's 3–1 loss to Iraq, Neill verbally abused the referee. He received his second yellow card and was sent off, capping a disappointing performance by the Australian side. In the quarter finals of the Asian Cup, Neill missed a crucial penalty in a shootout againstJapan which resulted in Australia's elimination from the cup.[37] Neill played his 50th game for Australia in a World Cup Qualifier against Japan, a game that Australia won 2–1 with Tim Cahill scoring both goals. In June 2013 Neill scored his first international goal with a header in a World Cup qualifying match against Jordan. The game finished 4-0. This was his 91st appearance for Australia.[38]
In the final part of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Neill came under much criticism in the media and from fans. It was during this period that Neill spent a considerable period unable to find a new club contract after not managing to secure an extension to his contract with Sydney FC. The nub of the criticism was that Neill continued to be selected as Socceroos captain, in spite of not having regular game time at a club, and having been dropped by two Middle Eastern clubs, Al Jazira Club and Al Wasl FC, and having made minimal impact in his short time in Australia's domestic A-League. With these criticisms hanging over his head, the issue of Neill's age-related lack of pace was highlighted when the Socceroos were defeated 6-0 in a friendly againstBrazil on 7 September 2013, and again defeated 6-0 against France on 11 October 2013. Fox Sports (Australia) prepared a video analysis of the 12 goals scored against the Socceroos by France and Brazil in the two friendlies, identifying Neill's role in the lack of defence for the bulk of those goals. As a result of the dual 6-0 losses, Holger Osieck, the coach of the Socceroos was sacked. In the press and social media, there was also a groundswell of opinion calling for Neill to retire. Media commentator Robbie Slater called for Neill to be stood down as Socceroos captain [39] Another media commentator Mark Bosnichdescribed Neill as "part of the problem" for the successive 6-0 losses, given Neill's lack of pace in defence. At that point, Neill was 35 years old, and if he were to continue as captain into the 2014 FIFA World Cup the following year, he would be a 36 year old at that World Cup. Neill responded to the criticism, refusing to contemplate retirement, instead appearing to lay the blame at the feet of the younger players of the squad.[40][41] In that media interview, Neill was quoted as saying: "I add value to the team and I bring a lot of good attributes but I am the victim ..."
Controversy
In 2011 Les Murray, an Australian football journalist, published a book entitled "The World Game: The Story of How Football Went Global" in which Murray cited an undisclosed source in alleging that Neill had instigated a mutiny just before the Germany vs. Australia game at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Murray alleged that Neill had asked his coach, Pim Verbeek, to leave the room, before describing Verbeek's game-plan as "bullshit" and erasing what the Dutchman had written on a whiteboard, telling the team to play like they normally do. The publication of this story was followed by responses from team members who had been eyewitnesses of the actual events, including Craig Moore, Eugene Galeković and Mile Jedinak, clarifying that such an event, as portrayed in Murray's book, had never occurred. Neill himself protested that before the Germany game it was Mark Schwarzer, and not Neill himself, who had given the team pep talk. A few days after the allegations hit the news, Les Murray retracted his allegations with a full apology, with an undertaking that future editions of his book would have the relevant portion deleted
