Darius Vassell Biography

Darius Vassell

Darius Markus Vassell (born 13 June 1980 in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham) is an England international footballer who is currently playing for Süper Lig side Ankaragücü.

Early career

Vassell was raised in from Wylde Green and went to the Yenton Primary School in Erdington and John Willmott School, in Falcon Lodge, Sutton Coldfield. He first played football with local junior team Romulus in the Birmingham Boys League scoring a record of 46 in a season and 6 in 1 match. Vassell was the best player but fell out with the coach and didn't play in all the games so the next season he only scored 12. He signed on for the Aston Villa youth team and that's when his career began.

Aston Villa

An Aston Villa fan, Vassell was taken on by the club's School of Excellence. While playing for the Aston Villa youth team Vassell set a club record by scoring 39 goals in a single season. He made his first team debut as a substitute in a 3-1 win against Middlesbrough in August 1998.

Vassell's best qualities were his speed and agility. Aston Villa fans lamented the fact that his best performances seem to come with England, where he has proved particularly useful as a "super sub", coming on for the last 15 to 20 minutes of a game to trouble a tired defence with his exceptional pace . One oddity of his career is that he has never finished on the losing side in a league game in which he has scored (however it is notable that he played few games in which he scored altogether ).

Manchester City

Vassell was transferred to Manchester City on 27 July 2005 for £2m.

During his first season for Manchester City, Vassell scored eight league goals in 35 appearances, forming an effective partnership with Andrew Cole. Additionally, he helped the Blues to an FA Cup Quarter Final, scoring two goals in his five cup games. He played part of the season with a hernia problem, which required surgery in the close season.

In the 2007-08 season, he was assigned the number 12, as team-mate Elano took the number 11 shirt.

During his second season for the club, he generally struggled to find his best form. In the latter half of the season, many of his appearances were as a wide midfielder, as manager Stuart Pearce adopted a defensive 4-5-1 formation. Vassell was linked with a move away from Eastlands, with Turkish runners-up Besiktas having a £1m bid rejected and linked to other clubs, including Premier League rivals Bolton Wanderers and newly-promoted Derby County. Vassell scored his 50th Premier League goal on 10 February 2008, in the victory against local rivals Manchester United. On 20 April, Vassell scored the opening goal in City's 3-1 win over Portsmouth.

On 30 June 2009, it was reported by Sky Sports that Vassell had travelled to Turkey for talks with MKE Ankaragücü concerning a potential transfer. Ankaragücü chariman Cengiz Topel Yildirim claimed that the club had "completed the pre-negotiations with Darius Vassell".

On 1 July 2009, he was officially released by Manchester City as his contract expired.

Ankaragücü

On 30 June it was officially announed that Vassell has signed for turkish side Ankaragücü. Around 3,000 fans turned out in wild celebration to greet Vassell as he arrived in Turkey to discuss a transfer.

International career

Vassell made his England debut on 13 February 2002, in a man of the match performance against Netherlands in a 1–1 draw. Fellow debutants in this game were Michael Ricketts and Wayne Bridge. He scored in the game with a 60th minute bicycle kick to equalise. He was subsequently included in England's 2002 FIFA World Cup campaign. He played in three games, starting just one: against Sweden in England's opening group game. The positive contribution of Vassell's England career has been somewhat overshadowed by his penalty shoot-out miss in the quarter-finals of UEFA Euro 2004 against hosts Portugal. Coming on for the injured Wayne Rooney early on in the game, Vassell missed England's last spot-kick in the penalty shoot-out, putting England out of the tournament. Vassell has not been recalled to an England squad since a 6-1 friendly win over Iceland where he scored twice.

Personal life

Vassell is a practicising Christian, and credits his faith for his survival of a serious car accident. Vassell was mugged in Didsbury, Manchester in the early hours of 9th December 2008. He was uninjured but his watch and earings were stolen. When at Aston Villa Vassell missed several games after he drilled through his toe nail with a home power drill thinking it would relieve the pressure on a swollen toe. The attempt at DIY surgery succeeded only in giving the toe an infection which required medical attention.

Darius Vassell Pictures ( 8 Pictures)