 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Stuart Alistair Holden[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 1 August 1985 | ||
| Place of birth | Cults, Aberdeenshire, Scotland | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2] | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Bolton Wanderers | ||
| Number | 22 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2003–2004 | Clemson Tigers | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2005 | Sunderland | 0 | (0) |
| 2006–2009 | Houston Dynamo | 88 | (15) |
| 2010– | Bolton Wanderers | 30 | (2) |
| 2013 | → Sheffield Wednesday (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2004–2005 | United States U20 | 11 | (2) |
| 2007–2008 | United States U23 | 7 | (1) |
| 2009– | United States | 25 | (3) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 09:52, 19 May 2013 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 22:30, 28 July 2013 (UTC) | |||
Stuart Alistair Holden (born 1 August 1985) is a Scottish-born American soccer player who currently plays as a midfielder for Bolton Wanderers in the English Football League Championship.[3]
Holden has represented the United States at under-20, under-23 and senior levels. He made his senior debut in July 2009 against Grenada and scored his first goal during that game. He was part of the United States squad at the 2008 Summer Olympics, 2009 and 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup and 2010 FIFA World Cup. Since his debut, Holden has gained 25 caps and scored three goals.
Early life
Holden was born in Cults, Aberdeen, Scotland and grew up in Sugar Land, Texas, after moving there with his family at age 10.[4] His father worked for Chevron Corporation in its human resources department.[5] He played high school football in Houston for Awty International School.
Club career
Sunderland[edit]
After playing two years of College soccer at Clemson University, Holden signed with English clubSunderland in early 2005.[6] On 12 March, Holden was attacked outside a bar in Newcastlebecause he was a Sunderland player, leaving him with a fractured left eye socket, which prevented him from training with the club for two months. When Holden resumed training, he suffered an ankle injury that ruled him out for the rest of the season.[7] Holden was released after his six-month stay having never played for Sunderland's first team.[8][9]
Houston Dynamo
Holden returned to the United States to play in Major League Soccer with the Houston Dynamo for the 2006 season. He made his MLS debut on 27 May 2006, and scored his first professional goal on 22 July 2006, in a 1–1 home draw againstNew England. He appeared thirteen times in the 2006 regular season and twice as a substitute in Houston's run to the MLS Cup 2006 championship. In the championship penalty shootout, Holden took the Dynamo's second shot and scored to the top right corner.
Holden's playing time increased in the 2007 season. He mostly started on the left wing when teammate Brad Davis went down with injury. In July, Holden scored goals on consecutive Thursday night games and added three assists in league play and another in SuperLiga play, as of 25 July. Holden was awarded the US Soccer Humanitarian of the Year award in 2008.
Bolton Wanderers
Having spent several weeks training in England following the end of the 2009 Major League Soccer season, Holden officially joined Premier League side Bolton Wanderers on 25 January 2010.[3][10] He made his debut on 24 February 2010 in a 4–0 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup, starting and playing the full ninety minutes. He made his first league appearance on 27 February 2010, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers.[11] On 30 September 2010, he signed a new contract at Bolton, which would keep him at the club until 2013.[12] He scored his first goal for Bolton away to Wolverhampton Wanderers on 13 November 2010.[13]
In the 2010–11 season, Holden helped Bolton reach seventh place in the Premier League and to the FA Cup Semi-finals. However, his season was cut short on 19 March after he suffered a knee injury against Manchester United at Old Trafford when going into a tackle with Jonny Evans. Evans' studs caught Holden in the left knee, leaving a gash that required twenty six stitches[14] and a fracture of the femur near the knee joint, which ruled him out for a minimum of six months.[15][16][17] Despite missing the final two months of the season, Holden was still voted the 2011 Bolton Wanderers Player of the Year. Without Holden, Bolton finished the season in fourteenth position.
On 20 September 2011, after six months out, Holden started and played the full ninety minutes against Aston Villain the third round of the League Cup,[18] but was then initially ruled out for a further six weeks as the club brought forward a routine follow up procedure.[19] However, the procedure revealed cartilage damage, meaning Holden would be out for a further six months,[20] missing the rest of the season. Later on in the season, Bolton Wanderers were relegated to the Championship after 11 years in the Premier League.
On 22 June 2012, Holden announced via his Twitter account that he was due to switch to the number 22 shirt after it had been vacated by Jussi Jääskeläinen.[21] This was confirmed by the club when they released their squad numbers on 5 July.[22]
After playing in a reserve match in early January 2013, Holden made his return to Bolton's first team on 15 January, 16 months after his last appearance, coming on as a late substitute in their 2-0 FA Cup replay win against his former club Sunderland.[23]
On 29 June 2013 it was confirmed that Holden had torn his anterior cruciate ligament in his right leg while playing for the United States in the CONCACAF Gold Cup final against Panama and would miss the majority of the 2013-14 season.[24]
Loan to Sheffield Wednesday
Holden joined fellow Championship Team Sheffield Wednesday on a months loan on 28 March, mainly for match fitness after a series of injuries, and also to replace Sheffield Wednesday's injured right midfielder Michail Antonio.[25] and he made his debut two days later in the local derby at home to Barnsley. He was one of 3 emergency loans made by Dave Jones to strengthen the struggling Sheffield Wednesday side who were on the verge of relegation. Holden made his second appearance in a 3-2 victory over Blackburn Rovers, Holden only played 59 minutes before being substituted for Kieran Lee. Holden played four times for Wednesday during his loan spell.
International career
Holden was capped 11 times as a United States youth international at the U-20 level, scoring two goals, the first being on 18 July 2004 in a 2–2 home draw against Denmark U-20 in the 2004 Milk Cup in Northern Ireland.[26] and the other on 24 June 2004 in a 1–2 defeat against Brazil U-20 in the Busan Four Nations International Youth Tournament.[27]Early in 2007, Holden was called in to the U.S. U-23 squad for a camp in California and in December for a camp and trip to China to play matches against the China U-23 team. In July 2008, Holden was named to the U.S. squad competing in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. On 7 August he scored in the USA's opening match, a 1–0 victory against Japan.[28] In December 2008 Holden was called into a camp set to begin in January 2009 preceding a friendly against Sweden on 24 January. He sustained a hip injury prior to the friendly and was forced to withdraw from camp.
Holden was named to the United States Gold Cup squad on 25 June 2009, as nearly all of the senior regulars were rested following the Confederations Cup. Holden scored a goal for the U.S. in his national team debut against Grenadaon 4 July 2009. On 11 July 2009, Holden scored his second international goal against Haiti with a thirty-yard strike that tied the game in the ninety-second minute, and assisted the USA's first goal in that match, which was scored byDavy Arnaud. Holden added two more assists in the 2–0 semi-final win against Honduras. Stuart was selected to theGold Cup All-Tournament Team.[29] During a friendly match on 3 March 2010, Nigel de Jong broke Holden's leg, causing him to miss six weeks of football. On 26 May 2010, it was announced that Holden would be part of the 23-man roster for the U.S. National Team which played in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and he played as a substitute in the opening 1–1 draw with England.
After 2 1/2 years without a callup due to injuries, Holden made his return in May 2013 and was a member of the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup squad that won the tournament. However, he was injured early in the final and it was revealed he had suffered a torn ACL.
