Christopher Birchall
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Age: 29
Position: Midfield
Country: Germany
Caps: 63
Goals: 30
Club: Chelsea
Previous clubs: Chemnitzer, Kaiserslautern, Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich
In his own words: It's all or nothing, but that's what we've been expecting all along. |  |
Wednesday, 17, May 2006 12:25
Age: 22
Position: Midfielder
Country: Trinidad and Tobago
Caps: 15
Goals: 2
Club: Port Vale
Estimated 'Chelsea-target' value: Do I hear £500,000?
In his own words: From when I started, it was just an experience to be there. I never thought we would get to the World Cup - it has been a dream.
No player sums up the spirit of the Trinidad and Tobago football team more than Chris 'Chrissy' Birchall.
Born in Stafford, England on May 5th 1984, Birchall rocketed to the heady delights of League One side Port Vale where he soon met fellow defender Dennis Lawrence and let it slip that his mother was of Trinidadian heritage. And before you could say Soca Warrior, Trinidad and Tobago had their first white player and a legend was born.
Birchall, who weighs in at 85.5kg and is 1.75m tall, made his international debut aged 21 against Peruvian club side Alianza Lima, while his first competitive outing came against Panama in a World Cup qualification game which the team won 1-0.
The central midfielder has a wicked shot and as keen an eye for goal as he does for sun block. Birchall scored a bullet strike in a 1-1 draw with Honduras in the Concacaf Gold Cup, while he also scored a crucial goal against Bahrain in Trinidad and Tobago's first-ever successful World Cup qualification campaign.
His club form has also been impressive, with Port Vale fans recently relieved to discover the 22-year-old had signed a two-year contract extension with the side. Most comfortable on the right side of midfield but happy to play with his left peg, Birchall won the club's young player of the year award alongside the accolade of supporters' goal of the season with a 25-yard rocket against Barnsley.
And it seems fate is not without a sense of irony as Birchall will now line up against the likes of Gerrard and Lampard when England play Trinidad and Tobago on Thursday June 15th at 1700 BST in Germany.
Lets all hope he's not got his shooting boots on.
Jamie Coggans.