Matt Holland facts for kids
Holland playing for Charlton Athletic in 2008
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Matthew Rhys Holland | ||
| Date of birth | 11 April 1974 | ||
| Place of birth | Bury, England | ||
| Height | 1.75 m | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Arsenal | |||
| –1992 | West Ham United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1992–1995 | West Ham United | 0 | (0) |
| 1992–1993 | → Farnborough Town (loan) | 21 | (0) |
| 1994–1995 | → AFC Bournemouth (loan) | 16 | (1) |
| 1995–1997 | AFC Bournemouth | 88 | (17) |
| 1997–2003 | Ipswich Town | 259 | (38) |
| 2003–2009 | Charlton Athletic | 191 | (13) |
| Total | 575 | (69) | |
| National team | |||
| 1999 | Republic of Ireland B | 1 | (0) |
| 1999–2005 | Republic of Ireland | 49 | (5) |
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Matthew Rhys Holland (born on 11 April 1974) is a former professional footballer. He played as a midfielder and was known for his strong leadership. Today, he works as a director and club ambassador for Ipswich Town.
Matt Holland started his football journey at West Ham United. Before that, he was part of Arsenal's youth team. While at West Ham, he gained experience by playing on loan for Farnborough Town and AFC Bournemouth. He later joined Bournemouth permanently in 1995.
After playing over 100 games and becoming captain at Bournemouth, Holland moved to Ipswich Town in 1997. He spent six successful years there, playing more than 300 matches. He led Ipswich as captain to get promoted to the Premier League in 2000. In 2003, Holland joined Charlton Athletic, where he also became captain and played over 200 games. He stopped playing professional football in 2009.
Matt Holland also played for his country, the Republic of Ireland. He played 49 international games and scored 5 goals between 1999 and 2005. He was even part of the team that went to the 2002 FIFA World Cup. After retiring from playing, he started a new career in sports media, working for several well-known TV and radio channels.
Contents
Matt Holland's Club Career Highlights
Starting Out in Football
Matt Holland first tried out for Arsenal but was told he was "too small." He then joined West Ham United's youth academy. Even though he trained hard, he didn't get to play for their main team. To get more playing time, he went on loan to Farnborough Town in the 1992–93 season, where he played 21 games.
Time at AFC Bournemouth
In January 1995, Matt Holland moved to AFC Bournemouth to play more first-team football. He quickly became a key player and was even named the club's Player of the Year for the 1995–96 season. During his time at Bournemouth, he played a total of 104 games and scored 18 goals. He also became the team's captain.
Becoming a Star at Ipswich Town
In the summer of 1997, Holland joined Ipswich Town for £800,000. He played his first game for Ipswich on the opening day of the 1997–98 season. He quickly became a very important player, playing in every league and cup game that season. Ipswich finished 5th in the First Division, which meant they could play in the play-offs. He played 59 games and scored 12 goals in his first season. He was also named Ipswich's Player of the Year for 1997–98.
Holland became Ipswich's club captain in his second season. He continued to play in every game. Ipswich finished 3rd in the league and made it to the play-offs again. They narrowly missed out on promotion.
The 1999–2000 season was very exciting for Ipswich. Holland continued his amazing record of playing every single game. He scored 10 goals in the league as Ipswich finished 3rd again. This meant they were in the play-offs for the fourth year in a row. Holland captained Ipswich in the play-off final at Wembley Stadium. Ipswich won the final 4–2, which meant they were promoted to the Premier League after five years away from the top division!
Playing in the Premier League
The next season, Holland led Ipswich to a fantastic 5th-place finish in the Premier League. This was Ipswich's best-ever finish in the Premier League. He scored his first Premier League goal against Charlton Athletic. Ipswich also reached the semi-finals of the League Cup. Holland played in every league game that season, making 47 appearances and scoring 5 goals. Because they finished 5th, Ipswich qualified for the UEFA Cup, a big European competition.
In the 2001–02 season, Holland continued to play every match in the Premier League and UEFA Cup. However, Ipswich was relegated from the Premier League after finishing 18th. Even though they were relegated, Holland decided to stay with the club for the 2002–03 season. He turned down a big offer from Aston Villa. He played 54 games and scored 7 goals. He won Ipswich's Player of the Year award for the second time in 2002–03. Matt Holland was known for his incredible consistency, playing 223 games in a row for Ipswich.
Moving to Charlton Athletic
After Ipswich didn't get promoted in 2003, Holland returned to the Premier League. He joined Charlton Athletic on a four-year deal. He quickly became the team's captain and played in every game in his first season. He scored his first goals for Charlton in November 2003, scoring twice in a 2–1 win. In his first season, Holland led Charlton to finish 7th in the league, which was their highest-ever Premier League finish.
Holland continued to be a key player for Charlton in the 2004–05 season. He scored important winning goals against West Bromwich Albion and Everton. He played 36 games and scored 3 goals as Charlton finished 11th.
He remained a regular player for Charlton, helping them stay in the top league in 2005–06. However, Charlton was relegated from the Premier League the following season. Holland stayed with the club and became one of their longest-serving players. He was very popular with fans and won the Fans' Player of the Year award in 2007–08. He played his last game for Charlton in April 2009. He left the club after they were relegated to League One.
Matt Holland's International Career
Even though Matt Holland was born in England, he could play for the Republic of Ireland because his grandmother was from County Monaghan. He made his first international appearance on 9 October 1999. His first goal for Ireland came in his sixth game, an equalizer against Portugal in a World Cup qualifier. Holland even captained the Irish team in three international matches.
He was chosen to play for the Republic of Ireland at the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan and South Korea. He scored an important equalizer against Cameroon in their first game. Ireland played well but were knocked out in the Second Round by Spain after a penalty shoot-out. Holland was one of the players who missed his penalty. After Ireland didn't qualify for the 2006 World Cup, he announced his retirement from international football in February 2006. He had played 49 games and scored five goals for his country.
Life After Football: Media Career
After ending his playing career, Matt Holland started working in the media. He became a football expert and commentator for many different channels. He worked for BBC Radio Five Live during the 2006 World Cup. He also appeared on TV shows like A Question of Sport and radio quizzes like Fighting Talk.
Holland has been a pundit for ESPN and Sky Sports. He has also appeared on BBC's Final Score and commented on games for ITV. He is a presenter for the BBC regional football show Late Kick Off. On the radio, he often appears on talkSPORT and BBC Radio 5 Live. He has also worked as an analyst for Setanta Sports and co-commentates on the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League for BT Sport. He also worked with RTÉ in Ireland, commenting on games and appearing on their football shows.
Matt Holland's Personal Life
Matt Holland is colour blind. He once said that this made it hard for him to see the difference between the red kit of Charlton and the green kit of Plymouth Argyle during his debut for Charlton.
Honours and Awards
Ipswich Town
- Football League First Division play-offs: 2000 (Promoted to Premier League)
Individual Awards
- AFC Bournemouth Player of the Year: 1995–96
- Ipswich Town Player of the Year: 1997–98, 2002–03
- Charlton Athletic Player of the Year: 2007–08
- Ipswich Town Hall of Fame: Inducted 2014
Images for kids
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Matt Holland playing for Charlton Athletic in 2008
See also
In Spanish: Matt Holland para niños
- List of Republic of Ireland international footballers born outside the Republic of Ireland
