Adam David Lallana (born 10 May 1988) is an English footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Southampton. Born in St Albans,
Lallana began his career with Southampton as a youth player in 2000. He
signed professional terms in 2006, and has remained with the club
since.
Early life
Lallana was born in St Albans but moved to the Iford area of Bournemouth when he was five years old.[3] As a child, Lallana supported Everton, like his father.[4]
Club career
Lallana was a member of the Bournemouth Centre of Excellence, where his rich potential was eventually spotted by a talent scout from Southampton, with Lallana snapped up by the Premier League club, joining the Saints Academy
as a 12-year old in 2000. Southampton paid £3,000 compensation to
Bournemouth with further payments of £5,000 and £10,000 when he signed
scholarship and professional contracts respectively. The contract with
Southampton provides for Bournemouth to receive 25% of any transfer fee,
in addition to the payments already made.[3]
Lallana was involved in Southampton's FA Youth Cup squads of 2004–05 and 2005–06, when they reached the final and semi-final respectively.
Lallana joined the first team squad in July 2006, making his debut on 23 August 2006, in a 5–2 victory over Yeovil Town, in the League Cup. On 31 October 2006 he signed a new contract to keep him at Southampton until December 2009.[5] On 9 October 2007 he joined Bournemouth on loan for one month.[6] On 28 April 2008, Lallana scored his first professional goal for Southampton against West Bromwich Albion in a crucial Championship clash, with a well placed finish in the bottom left corner.[7]
He became a regular in the first team at the start of the 2008–09
season. On 29 August 2008, he signed a new three-year deal with the
Saints.
He finished the 2009–10 season with a total of twenty goals in all
competitions, netting his 20th on the final day of the season against Southend United. This made him the first Southampton midfielder to score twenty goals in a season since Matthew Le Tissier's 30 in the 1994–95 season.
On 7 January 2011, Lallana signed a new contract with Southampton which expires in the summer of 2015.[8][9] He was named in the League One Team of the Year for the 2010–11 season after scoring 11 goals that season.
He then scored on the opening day of the 2011–12 season, a 3–1 victory over Leeds United at St Mary's Stadium
which broke a 12-year hoodoo of Southampton not winning on the opening
day and secured a record-breaking seventh consecutive league win. He
then scored twice in a 5–2 victory at Ipswich Town. His 150th start for the club came in a 1–1 draw at south coast rivals Portsmouth. His tenth goal of the season came in a 4–0 victory over Derby County. He then grabbed a brace in a 2–0 victory over Barnsley. He was nominated for the Player of the Year award but lost out to teammate Rickie Lambert. Along with Lambert and Kelvin Davis,
he was one of three Southampton players named in the Championship Team
of the Year for the 2011–12 season. He scored on the final day of the
campaign to finish with 13 goals, 11 of which came in the league.
He made his first Premier League appearance on the opening day of the
2012–13 season, setting up a goal and wearing the captain's armband in a
3–2 defeat against 2011 champions Manchester City.[10] He scored his first Premier League goal in a 4–1 defeat away to West Ham United.[11] His second goal of the season came on 25 November, as he opened the scoring in a 2–0 home win against Newcastle United.[12]
The 50th goal of his career came in a 2–0 victory at Reading.
On 11 April 2013, Lallana signed a new five-year contract with Southampton.[13]
Arguably his greatest goal for the club was scored in their 4–1 Premier League victory over Hull City
on 9 November 2013. Lallana started with the ball 30 yards from goal
and dribbled his way past five players into the left-hand side of the
18-yard box, before slotting it past Hull goalkeeper Steve Harper.[citation needed]
International career
Lallana has played for England Under-18s, scoring on his debut against Slovenia, 18 months after undergoing an operation to correct an irregular heartbeat. He has also played once each for England Under-19s and England Under-21s. On 10 September 2012, Lallana was called up to the senior England squad for the first time for the 2014 World Cup qualifying match against Ukraine although he was not selected for the match itself.[14]
On 7 November 2013, along with Southampton team mates Rickie Lambert and fellow uncapped Saint Jay Rodriguez, he was called up to the England team.[15] Lallana won his first cap for England on 15 November in a friendly match against Chile at Wembley Stadium (which they lost 2–0) [16] to generally favourable reviews
 Lallana after a Southampton match in September 2012 |
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Adam David Lallana[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 10 May 1988 [1] | ||
| Place of birth | St Albans, England | ||
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)[2] | ||
| Playing position | Winger/Attacking midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Southampton | ||
| Number | 20 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| ?–2000 | Bournemouth | ||
| 2000–2006 | Southampton | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2006– | Southampton | 212 | (42) |
| 2007 | → Bournemouth (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2006 | England U18 | 1 | (1) |
| 2006 | England U19 | 1 | (0) |
| 2008 | England U21 | 1 | (0) |
| 2013– | England | 2 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:38, 8 December 2013 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21:54, 19 November 2013 (UTC) | |||
