Darren Bent facts for kids
Bent in 2008
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 6 February 1984 | ||
| Place of birth | Tooting, England | ||
| Height | 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –1998 | Godmanchester Rovers | ||
| 1998–2001 | Ipswich Town | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2001–2005 | Ipswich Town | 122 | (48) |
| 2005–2007 | Charlton Athletic | 68 | (31) |
| 2007–2009 | Tottenham Hotspur | 60 | (18) |
| 2009–2011 | Sunderland | 58 | (32) |
| 2011–2015 | Aston Villa | 61 | (21) |
| 2013–2014 | → Fulham (loan) | 24 | (3) |
| 2014 | → Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) | 5 | (2) |
| 2015 | → Derby County (loan) | 15 | (10) |
| 2015–2018 | Derby County | 58 | (12) |
| 2018 | → Burton Albion (loan) | 15 | (2) |
| Total | 486 | (179) | |
| National team | |||
| 1999–2000 | England U15 | 8 | (7) |
| 2000–2001 | England U16 | 11 | (3) |
| 2002 | England U19 | 3 | (3) |
| 2003–2005 | England U21 | 14 | (9) |
| 2006–2011 | England | 13 | (4) |
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Darren Ashley Bent (born 6 February 1984) is a former English footballer who played as a striker. He was known for scoring many goals! After his playing career, he became a radio presenter for talkSPORT.
Darren played for nine different clubs in England's top football leagues, the Premier League and Championship. He also played for the England national team.
He started his journey at Godmanchester Rovers before joining Ipswich Town's youth team. He made his first-team debut for Ipswich in 2001. He scored 48 goals in 122 games for Ipswich.
In 2005, he moved to Charlton Athletic. He was their top goalscorer for two seasons! Then, in 2007, he joined Tottenham Hotspur for a club-record fee. After two years at Tottenham, he played for Sunderland and then Aston Villa. He also had loan spells at Fulham, Brighton & Hove Albion, and Derby County, eventually joining Derby permanently.
Darren represented England at different youth levels, including under-15, under-16, under-19, and under-21. He scored 9 goals in 14 games for the under-21 team. He made his debut for the senior England team in 2006 and scored four goals in 13 appearances. His first goal for England was in 2010 against Switzerland.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Ipswich Town
Darren Bent joined Ipswich Town when he was 14 years old in 1998. He signed his first professional contract in 2001. His first game for the senior team was in November 2001, a 3–1 win against Helsingborg. He scored his first goal in a League Cup match against Newcastle United.
During the 2002–03 season, Darren became a very important player for Ipswich. He scored 18 goals that season and won the Young Player of the Year award. He even scored against their rivals, Norwich City, in a 2–0 win.
He signed a new contract in 2003 and continued to score many goals. In 2004, he scored three goals in one game (a hat-trick) against Walsall. Ipswich nearly got promoted to the Premier League in both 2004 and 2005, with Darren being a top scorer each time. He scored 20 goals in the 2004–05 season.
Charlton Athletic
In June 2005, Darren moved to Charlton Athletic. He started with a bang, scoring two goals in his very first game against Sunderland. He even scored in his first four games for the club! This was a rare achievement in the Premier League.
He was the highest-scoring English player in the Premier League in the 2005–06 season with 18 goals. He was also named Charlton's Player of the Year. Even though he scored 13 goals the next season, Charlton was unfortunately relegated from the Premier League.
Tottenham Hotspur
Darren joined Tottenham Hotspur in June 2007 for a club-record fee of £16.5 million. He scored his first goal for Tottenham in a big 4–0 win against Derby County. He also helped Tottenham win the League Cup in 2008, though he was an unused substitute in the final.
In March 2008, he scored his 100th career goal in a 4–0 win against West Ham. He continued to score important goals for Tottenham.
In the 2008–09 season, Darren scored his first competitive hat-trick for Tottenham in a UEFA Cup match. He finished that season as Tottenham's top goalscorer with 17 goals.
Sunderland
In August 2009, Darren moved to Sunderland. He scored in his very first game for them, a 1–0 win against Bolton. He quickly became a fan favorite.
One famous moment was in October 2009 when he scored against Liverpool. His shot hit a beach ball that had been thrown onto the field by a fan, and it bounced past the goalkeeper into the net! He scored his first hat-trick for Sunderland in March 2010 against Bolton. He finished the 2009–10 season with 25 goals, which was half of all Sunderland's goals in the league that season! He was named Sunderland's Player of the Year.
Aston Villa
In January 2011, Darren joined Aston Villa for a large fee. He scored the winning goal on his debut against Manchester City. He continued his great form, scoring 9 goals in 16 games for Villa that season. He was the top English goalscorer in the Premier League that year, with 17 goals in total (combining his goals for Sunderland and Villa).
In the 2011–12 season, he scored his 100th Premier League goal, becoming only the 21st player to reach this milestone. Unfortunately, he suffered a serious ankle injury in February 2012, which ended his season early and meant he missed out on playing for England in the Euro 2012 tournament.
Darren later went on loan to Fulham in 2013, where he scored on his debut against Arsenal. He also had a loan spell at Brighton & Hove Albion in 2014, scoring in his first game for them too.
Derby County and Retirement
In 2015, Darren was loaned to Derby County and then joined them permanently. He continued to score goals, helping Derby in the Championship.
In 2018, he had another loan spell at Burton Albion. He even scored against his old club, Sunderland, in a match that led to Sunderland's relegation.
Darren Bent officially announced his retirement from playing football on 25 July 2019, after a long and successful career.
International Career
Youth Teams
Darren played for England's youth teams from a young age. He made his debut for the England under-15 team in 1999 and scored seven goals in eight games. He helped England win the Victory Shield tournament.
He also played for the under-16 team, scoring three goals in 11 games. In 2002, he played for the under-19 team, scoring two goals in his debut against Germany.
His first game for the England under-21 team was in 2003. He scored nine goals in 14 appearances for the under-21s, including a winning goal against Serbia and Montenegro.
Senior England Team
Darren was first called up to the senior England team in 2005. He made his official debut on 1 March 2006, starting in a friendly match against Uruguay.
He scored his first goal for England on 7 September 2010, in a Euro 2012 qualifying match against Switzerland. He came on as a substitute and scored in a 3–1 win. He scored again in February 2011 against Denmark and then against Wales in March 2011, making it three goals in three games for England.
He made 13 appearances for the senior England team, scoring four goals in total.
Personal Life
Darren Bent was born in Tooting, London, and grew up in Thornton Heath. His family has Jamaican roots. His father, Mervyn Bent, also played football in youth teams. When Darren was 10, his family moved to Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire.
Interestingly, Darren is a big fan of Arsenal football club and used to have a season ticket to watch their games.
In 2019, Darren appeared on the TV show Celebrity Mastermind. He later joked that it was "the worst experience of my life" because he didn't score many points!
Honours
Tottenham Hotspur
- Football League Cup: 2007–08; runner-up: 2008–09
England U15
- Victory Shield: 1999
England U16
- Nordic Cup runner-up: 2000
Individual
- Ipswich Town Young Player of the Year: 2002–03
- Premier League Player of the Month: August 2005
- Charlton Athletic Player of the Year: 2005–06
- Sunderland Player of the Year: 2009–10
Images for kids
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Bent in 2008 (also in infobox)
See also
In Spanish: Darren Bent para niños
