Gabriel Agbonlahor facts for kids
Agbonlahor playing for Aston Villa in 2008
|
|||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gabriel Imuetinyan Agbonlahor | ||
| Date of birth | 13 October 1986 | ||
| Place of birth | Birmingham, England | ||
| Height | 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) | ||
| Playing position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2005 | Aston Villa | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2005–2018 | Aston Villa | 341 | (76) |
| 2005 | → Watford (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 2005 | → Sheffield Wednesday (loan) | 8 | (0) |
| Total | 351 | (76) | |
| National team | |||
| 2006–2009 | England U21 | 13 | (4) |
| 2008–2009 | England | 3 | (0) |
|
|||
Gabriel Imuetinyan Agbonlahor (born 13 October 1986) is an English former professional footballer. He played as a forward, often as a striker. He could also play on the wing.
Gabriel Agbonlahor spent his whole professional career with Aston Villa. He also had short loan spells at Watford and Sheffield Wednesday. He came from Aston Villa's youth team. He played 391 games for Aston Villa, including 322 in the Premier League. He scored 87 goals for the club. He is Aston Villa's top Premier League goalscorer with 74 goals. He played for the England under-21s. He also played three times for the senior England team.
Contents
Club Career
Early Football Days
Before joining Aston Villa, Gabriel Agbonlahor played for local teams. He was spotted by Aston Villa scouts during a district game. He also played a few games for Wolverhampton Wanderers. But he chose to join Aston Villa, his favourite team since childhood.
He signed his first professional contract with Aston Villa in June 2005. In September 2005, he was loaned to Championship club Watford. He played his first senior game there on 22 September 2005. He played two matches for Watford. Later, in October 2005, he was loaned to Sheffield Wednesday. He played eight games for them.
Agbonlahor made his Premier League debut for Aston Villa on 18 March 2006. He was 19 years old. He scored a goal in that game against Everton.
Playing for Aston Villa (2006–2008)
In the 2006–07 season, Agbonlahor scored three goals in pre-season games. He started the season playing on the right wing. His first goal of the season was against Charlton Athletic. He also scored an important goal against Chelsea, helping Villa get a 1–1 draw.
He scored a winning goal in injury time against Leicester City in a cup match. He also scored against Manchester United. Agbonlahor played almost every minute of the 2006–07 season. He signed a new four-year contract with Villa.
In September 2007, Agbonlahor scored a key goal against Chelsea, helping Villa win 2–0. He scored the winning goal in the "Second City derby" against Birmingham City in November. He was named Premier League Player of the Month for November 2007. In April 2008, he scored in a big 6–0 win against Derby County. He also scored in a 5–1 win against Birmingham City.
Great Seasons (2008–2010)
On 15 August 2008, Agbonlahor signed a new contract until 2012. Two days later, he scored a "perfect" hat-trick against Manchester City. This means he scored with his head, right foot, and left foot. He scored these three goals in just seven minutes. This was one of the fastest hat-tricks in Premier League history.
He formed a strong partnership with teammate John Carew. They both scored and assisted goals in many games. In November, he scored in a 2–0 win against Arsenal. He scored two goals against Bolton Wanderers in December. He reached ten league goals for the season in February.
Agbonlahor was nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year award. His teammate Ashley Young won it.
In the 2009–10 season, Agbonlahor scored his first goal against Fulham. He scored the only goal in the "Second City derby" against Birmingham City. He continued his scoring run in the League Cup and Premier League. He scored the only goal in a 1–0 win against Manchester United at Old Trafford. This was Villa's first league win there since 1983. He also scored in the League Cup semi-final, helping Villa reach the final. He finished the season with 13 league goals and 16 goals overall.
Middle Years (2010–2014)
In November 2010, Agbonlahor signed a new contract until 2015. In January 2011, he played his 200th game for Aston Villa. He scored his first Premier League goal of the season in January 2011 against Wigan Athletic. He scored a winning goal in injury time against West Ham United in April.
In the 2011–12 season, he scored his first goal against Blackburn Rovers. He was named Aston Villa's Player of the Month for August 2011. He continued to score, reaching his previous season's goal tally very quickly. He scored and assisted goals in wins against Wigan and Norwich City. In January 2012, he scored in an FA Cup win against Bristol Rovers.
In April 2012, after Aston Villa captain Stiliyan Petrov was diagnosed with a serious illness, Agbonlahor was named team captain.
In the 2012–13 season, Agbonlahor scored two goals in a League Cup win against Manchester City. In November 2012, he scored his first Premier League goal in almost a year. In April 2013, he scored his 60th Premier League goal for Aston Villa. This made him the joint top Premier League goalscorer for the club. Later that month, he scored his 61st goal, becoming Villa's top Premier League scorer. He scored two goals against Norwich, helping Villa move up the league table.
Agbonlahor started the 2013–14 season well. He won two penalties and assisted a goal in early games. His manager, Paul Lambert, praised him highly.
Later Career (2014–2018)
On 10 September 2014, Agbonlahor signed another four-year contract. He said he was happy to still be helping the club. Three days later, he scored the only goal in a win against Liverpool.
On 14 March 2015, Agbonlahor played his 300th Premier League game for Villa. He scored two goals in a 4–0 win against Sunderland. In the FA Cup Final against Arsenal, he came on as a substitute. Villa lost the match 4–0.
Agbonlahor was named club captain at the start of the 2015–16 season. He scored his first goal of the season in February 2016 against Norwich. This was his first goal in 11 months.
He returned to first-team training under new manager Steve Bruce. Bruce said it was a "clean slate" for him. Agbonlahor came on as a substitute in the "Second City derby" in April 2017. He scored the only goal in a 1–0 win.
Agbonlahor played six games for Villa in the 2017–18 season. He scored one goal against Hull City. His last game for the club was on 23 December 2017. He left Aston Villa at the end of the season. He had been with his hometown club for 17 years. He scored 86 goals in 391 games for Villa. He retired from playing football on 27 March 2019, at age 32.
International Career
Youth Teams
Gabriel Agbonlahor could have played for Scotland or Nigeria because of his family background. However, he chose to play for England, his home country.
In September 2006, he was called up to the Nigeria under-20 team. He decided not to join them. He later confirmed he would play for England.
On 28 September 2006, Agbonlahor was called up to the England under-21 team. He played his first game for them against Germany. He later scored his first goal for the under-21s against Montenegro in September 2007.
Senior England Team
On 1 February 2008, Agbonlahor was named in the senior England squad. This was for a match against Switzerland. However, an injury stopped him from playing.
He was called up again in November 2008 for a match against Germany. He started the game and played for 76 minutes. He received praise from England captain John Terry.
On 11 February 2009, he started a game against Spain. He played for 75 minutes. He made his first appearance in a competitive international game on 14 October 2009. This was in a 3–0 win against Belarus during World Cup qualification. He was last called up to the England squad in November 2011.
Personal Life
Gabriel Agbonlahor was born in Birmingham, England. After retiring from football, he started working as a football expert. He is a pundit for Sky Sports and Talksport. He also writes columns for online magazines.
Career Statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Aston Villa | 2005–06 | Premier League | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 9 | 1 | |
| 2006–07 | Premier League | 38 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | 42 | 10 | ||
| 2007–08 | Premier League | 37 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 40 | 11 | ||
| 2008–09 | Premier League | 36 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 48 | 13 | |
| 2009–10 | Premier League | 36 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 46 | 16 | |
| 2010–11 | Premier League | 26 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 32 | 5 | |
| 2011–12 | Premier League | 33 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 36 | 6 | ||
| 2012–13 | Premier League | 28 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | — | 33 | 12 | ||
| 2013–14 | Premier League | 30 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 31 | 4 | ||
| 2014–15 | Premier League | 34 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 36 | 6 | ||
| 2015–16 | Premier League | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 18 | 1 | ||
| 2016–17 | Championship | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 14 | 1 | ||
| 2017–18 | Championship | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 1 | ||
| Total | 341 | 76 | 16 | 2 | 22 | 7 | 12 | 2 | 391 | 87 | ||
| Watford (loan) | 2005–06 | Championship | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Sheffield Wednesday (loan) | 2005–06 | Championship | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | 8 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 351 | 76 | 16 | 2 | 22 | 7 | 12 | 2 | 401 | 87 | ||
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 2008 | 1 | 0 |
| 2009 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 3 | 0 | |
Honours
Aston Villa
- FA Cup runner-up: 2014–15
- Football League Cup runner-up: 2009–10
England U21
- UEFA European Under-21 Championship runner-up: 2009
Individual
- Premier League Player of the Month: November 2007
See also
In Spanish: Gabriel Agbonlahor para niños
