Anton Ferdinand facts for kids

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Anton Ferdinand

Ferdinand playing for Sunderland in 2011
Personal information
Full name	Anton Julian Ferdinand
Date of birth	(1985-02-18) 18 February 1985 (age 39)
Place of birth	Peckham, England
Height	6 feet 0 inches (1.83 m)
Playing position	Centre back
Youth career
1994–2003	West Ham United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2003–2008	West Ham United	138	(5)
2008–2011	Sunderland	85	(0)
2011–2013	Queens Park Rangers	44	(0)
2013	→ Bursaspor (loan)	7	(0)
2013–2014	Antalyaspor	3	(0)
2014	Police United	0	(0)
2014–2016	Reading	21	(0)
2016–2018	Southend United	65	(2)
2018–2019	St Mirren	18	(0)
Total		381	(7)
National team
2003	England U18	2	(0)
2005	England U20	4	(0)
2004–2007	England U21	17	(0)
Honours  England UEFA European U-21 Championship Bronze 2007 Netherlands
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Anton Julian Ferdinand (born 18 February 1985) is an English former footballer who most recently played for St Mirren as a centre back. He was a product of the West Ham United academy and has also played for their senior team, Queens Park Rangers, Sunderland, Bursaspor, Antalyaspor and Reading. He has also played for England at under-21 level. Ferdinand retired from professional football in July 2019.

Background

Ferdinand was born in Peckham, Greater London, to Janice from Ireland and Julian from Saint Lucia. His brother, Rio, played for West Ham United and Manchester United, and is a former captain of the England national football team; and his cousin, Les, is a former England international. Anton showed considerable talent from an early age. Like his brother, Rio, he preferred to play in defence. His ability in this position led to him being signed to West Ham United's academy.

Club career

West Ham United

Ferdinand joined West Ham aged nine later signing a three-year professional contract in the summer of 2002. He was handed his first team debut, by manager Glenn Roeder, in August 2003 when he started the 2–1 victory at Preston North End on the 2003–04 season's opening day. He went on to feature in 26 games that season.

Anton with brother Rio in Tony Carr's testimonial match

In the 2004–05 season, he cemented his first team place with several key performances including scoring the opening goal, and his first for West Ham, on the final day of the season as West Ham beat Watford 2–1 at Vicarage Road to make the play-offs. In the Final Ferdinand was a member of the team which beat Preston 1–0, earning them promotion back into the Premier League after an absence of two years. At the end of July 2005, Ferdinand signed a three-year contract extension with the club.

Ferdinand won the Premier League Player of the Month award in January 2006, following his brother Rio to become the first brothers to win the award. In the 2006 FA Cup Final against Liverpool in Cardiff, Ferdinand fell to his knees after missing the decisive penalty in the shoot out. During the 2005–06 season, Ferdinand was linked with reigning Spanish champions FC Barcelona.

In March 2007 it was revealed that Ferdinand had been fined two weeks' wages (estimated at £45,000) for lying about his whereabouts. Ferdinand told the club he needed to go to the Isle of Wight to visit his grandmother when in fact, he went to South Carolina to celebrate his 22nd birthday. West Ham lost the following game to relegation rivals Charlton Athletic 0–4. His last goal for West Ham was against Fulham on 12 January 2008, scoring in the 69th minute to put West Ham 2–1 ahead, which proved to be the winning goal.

Sunderland

On 27 August 2008, Ferdinand signed for Sunderland for an undisclosed fee on a four-year deal. Sunderland manager Roy Keane also stated after the signing of Ferdinand that he viewed him as a future England International. Ferdinand made a promising start to his Sunderland career in a partnership formed with Danny Collins but Sunderland's poor results at the start of the 2008–09 season saw Keane experiment with several different back four line-ups resulting in Ferdinand being in and out of the side. Following captain Dean Whitehead's departure to Stoke City in July 2009, Nyron Nosworthy took Whitehead's vacated number 6 jersey and Ferdinand switched from number 26 to number 5. Ferdinand fell out of favour with new manager Steve Bruce and first team opportunities became limited and he was not initially given a squad number for the 2010–11 Premier League season as loan-signing John Mensah was given Ferdinand's number 5 shirt, but was later given number 29.

Queens Park Rangers

On 31 August 2011, Sunderland accepted a bid from Queens Park Rangers for Ferdinand. The transfer was confirmed on 1 September. He made his debut on 12 September, playing the full 90 minutes, alongside Danny Gabbidon in a 0–0 draw with Newcastle United at Loftus Road. ..... On 1 November, the Metropolitan Police announced a formal investigation into the allegations. On 1 February 2012 at Westminster Magistrates' Court, Terry was accused of a racially aggravated public order offence in relation to the game at Loftus Road on 23 October. He entered a not-guilty plea and stood trial on 9 July. On 13 July, after a four-day trial, Terry was acquitted. In July, following the court hearing Terry was charged by The Football Association with "using abusive and/or insulting words and/or behaviour towards Ferdinand and which included a reference to colour and/or race contrary to FA Rule E3[2]". In September 2012, after a four-day hearing, he was found guilty, banned for four games and fined £220,000. On 9 August 2013, Ferdinand was released by Queens Park Rangers in an effort to cut costs, the club having been relegated to the Championship.

Loan to Bursaspor

Ferdinand playing for Antalyaspor in 2013

In January 2013, after struggling for a first-team place with QPR, Ferdinand joined Turkish club Bursaspor on loan until the end of the season. Ferdinand played seven games for Bursaspor helping them to fourth place in the 2012–13 Super League and a qualifying position in the 2013–14 Europa League.

Antalyaspor

On 14 August 2013, Ferdinand signed for Turkish team Antalyaspor on a three-year contract. At the end of the 2013–14 season he was released by the club.

Police United

Ferdinand was heavily linked with a move to Police United of the Thai Premier League during the summer of 2014. The next week, he arrived in Bangkok to sign for Police United on 18 June 2014. He and Teeratep Winothai were unveiled as new Police United signings in a press conference on 20 June and he said former QPR teammate Jay Bothroyd, who played for Muangthong United, convinced him to move to Thailand. The BBC later reported that the move had fallen through and that Ferdinand was in advanced negotiations with Championship side Reading with the CEO of Police United, Samrit Bunditkitsada, being part of a consortium which bought a 90% stake in the English club in July.

Reading

On 11 August 2014, Ferdinand signed a two-year deal with Reading on a free transfer. Ferdinand did not make his Reading debut until 4 November 2014. He had been side-lined with a hamstring injury but played the first half in a 3–0 home win against Rotherham United. Reading announced on 9 May 2016, that Ferdinand would leave Reading when his contract expired at the end of June 2016.

Southend United

On 27 August 2016, Ferdinand signed for Southend United on a one-year deal. On 9 August 2017, Ferdinand signed a new two-year contract to stay at Southend United. At the end of the 2017–18 season he was transfer listed by the club. On 31 August 2018, he left the club by mutual consent and became a free agent.

St Mirren

On 14 September 2018, he joined Scottish Premiership side St Mirren. In January 2019, Ferdinand signed a contract extension with St Mirren – keeping him at the club until the end of the season. In May 2019, Ferdinand confirmed that he was leaving Saints at the end of his contract.

International career

In January 2003, before he'd made his senior debut for West Ham, Ferdinand was tipped by BBC Sport to be called up for the England squad for UEFA Euro 2008 - a tournament that England ultimately failed to qualify for.

Ferdinand was a regular selection for England's under-21 side, having made his début in a 3–1 win over Ukraine at the Riverside Stadium on 17 August 2004.

Ferdinand was selected to be part of the England squad for the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship in the Netherlands, and given the number 5 shirt. Going into the tournament whilst recovering from an injury, he made only one appearance off the bench in the semi-final against the hosts. The match finished 1–1 after extra time and in the resulting penalty shootout, he missed the decisive kick as England lost by a record 13–12 score. This was his final U21 appearance.

Ferdinand is also eligible to play for the Republic of Ireland national team through his mother and Saint Lucia through his father.

Personal life

Anton Ferdinand signing autographs

Ferdinand is a Christian. He is the brother of former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand, as well as the cousin of both Les Ferdinand, a former Queens Park Rangers striker, and Kane Ferdinand, a midfielder for Maidenhead United.

Court case

In October 2006, Ferdinand was arrested on assault charges following a fracas outside a nightclub in Ilford. He was charged in November 2006. He appeared at Snaresbrook Crown Court on 12 November 2007 charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and affray, arising from this incident. It was alleged that Ferdinand had punched Emile Walker. In his defence, Ferdinand said he had feared he was going to be robbed of his £64,000 watch and was defending himself. On 20 November 2007, Ferdinand was acquitted as the jury accepted he was acting in self-defence.

Charity work

Ferdinand is an Athlete Ambassador for the charity Right To Play.

Career statistics

Honours

Individual

• Premier League Player of the Month: January 2006

West Ham United

• Football League Championship play-offs: 2005

See also

In Spanish: Anton Ferdinand para niños In Spanish: Anton Ferdinand para niños