Matthew Upson facts for kids
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Upson in 2009
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 18 April 1979 | ||
| Place of birth | Eye, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||
| Playing position | Centre back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| – | Ipswich Town | ||
| 1994–1996 | Luton Town | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1996–1997 | Luton Town | 1 | (0) |
| 1997–2003 | Arsenal | 35 | (0) |
| 2000 | → Nottingham Forest (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2001 | → Crystal Palace (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2002 | → Reading (loan) | 14 | (0) |
| 2003–2007 | Birmingham City | 113 | (5) |
| 2007–2011 | West Ham United | 131 | (4) |
| 2011–2013 | Stoke City | 15 | (2) |
| 2013 | → Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) | 18 | (1) |
| 2013–2014 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 43 | (2) |
| 2014–2015 | Leicester City | 5 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | Milton Keynes Dons | 3 | (0) |
| Total | 386 | (14) | |
| National team | |||
| 1997–1998 | England U18 | 9 | (0) |
| 1998–2000 | England U21 | 12 | (2) |
| 2003–2010 | England | 21 | (2) |
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Matthew James Upson (born April 18, 1979) is a former English footballer. He played as a centre back, which is a defensive position. Matthew Upson even played for the England national team, including in the 2010 World Cup.
Upson started his career at Luton Town. Then, in May 1997, he joined Premier League club Arsenal for £2 million. It was tough for Upson to get into Arsenal's main team. He played 57 games over six seasons. He also spent time on loan at other clubs like Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace, and Reading.
In 2003, Upson moved to Birmingham City, where he played regularly. After Birmingham was moved down to a lower league in 2006, he joined West Ham United in January 2007 for £7.5 million. He became the team captain in 2009. When West Ham was moved down to the Championship league in 2011, Upson left the club. He then signed a two-year contract with Stoke City in August 2011. After playing on loan for Brighton & Hove Albion in the 2012–13 season, he signed a permanent contract with them in 2013.
Contents
Matthew Upson's Football Journey
Starting at Luton Town
Matthew Upson was born in Eye, England. He went to Diss High School. He first trained at the Ipswich Town Centre of Excellence. Later, he joined Luton Town as a trainee. This happened after his youth coach, Terry Westley, moved there.
Upson became a professional player in April 1996. He played his only game for Luton Town in the Football League in August 1996. He came on as a substitute in the last few minutes of the game.
Time at Arsenal
In May 1997, Upson joined Arsenal in a deal worth £2 million. However, it was hard for him to get a regular spot in the team. Arsenal already had strong defenders like Tony Adams and Martin Keown. Upson also had his own injury problems.
He played only five games in the 1997–98 Premier League season. Arsenal won the title that year, but Upson didn't play enough games to get a winner's medal. After a serious knee injury in 1999, he spent a year recovering. He then played a few more games for Arsenal. He also went on loan to Nottingham Forest in 2000 and Crystal Palace in 2001.
In the 2001–02 season, Upson played 22 games for Arsenal. Fourteen of these were in the league, which earned him a Premier League winner's medal. But a broken leg in February 2002 meant he missed the rest of the season. Arsenal went on to win both the league and the FA Cup that year.
After recovering, Upson joined Reading on a three-month loan in September 2002. He scored his first professional goal for Reading in a League Cup game. Since Arsenal had new strong defenders, Upson moved to Birmingham City in January 2003.
Playing for Birmingham City
Birmingham City signed Upson from Arsenal in January 2003. The initial fee was £1 million, which could go up to £3 million depending on how many games he played.
In April 2006, Upson hurt his leg before a game against Aston Villa. He missed the rest of that season. Birmingham City was then moved down to the Championship league. Upson stayed with the club to get back to full fitness. He returned to play in December and scored a goal in a 3–0 win against Plymouth Argyle.
Years at West Ham United
On January 18, 2007, West Ham United tried to buy Upson for £4 million, but Birmingham said no. They also turned down a £6 million offer a few days later. Finally, an offer of £6 million, which could rise to £7.5 million, was accepted. Upson signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with West Ham.
Upson got a calf injury less than 30 minutes into his first game for West Ham. He then got injured again in his comeback game, lasting only 11 minutes.
In August 2007, Upson played his first full game for West Ham. A week later, he was captain for the first time in a win against his old club, Birmingham City. On December 29, Upson scored his first goal for West Ham. It was the winning goal against Manchester United.
In July 2008, West Ham retired Upson's number 6 shirt to honor Bobby Moore. Upson then took the number 15 shirt. In August 2009, Upson became the captain of West Ham. He led the team through a tough season in 2009–10. He scored three goals that season.
After West Ham was moved down from the Premier League in May 2011, Upson left the club when his contract ended.
Moving to Stoke City
Upson joined Stoke City on a two-year contract on August 9, 2011. He said that playing in the UEFA Europa League was a big reason he joined Stoke. Upson played his first game for Stoke in a Europa League win. He scored his first goal for the club in the second game against FC Thun.
Upson often played in the Europa League games. He scored his first league goal for Stoke in a 2–0 win against Swansea City in February 2012. In December 2012, he scored Stoke's second goal in a 3–3 draw against Southampton.
Time at Brighton & Hove Albion
On January 31, 2013, Upson joined Brighton & Hove Albion on loan until the end of the season. He scored his first goal for Brighton in a big 6–1 win against Blackpool. After Stoke released him, Upson joined Brighton permanently on July 10, 2013. He signed a one-year contract. He was voted the club's Player of the Year for the 2013–14 season.
Playing for Leicester City
On May 23, 2014, Upson signed a one-year contract with Leicester City, a team that had just been promoted to the Premier League. He was injured for the first half of the season. In February 2015, Upson played his first game for Leicester. It was a 2–1 loss to his old club, Arsenal. He left Leicester when his contract ended at the end of the season.
Final Club: Milton Keynes Dons
On July 30, 2015, Upson signed a one-year contract with Milton Keynes Dons. He played his first game on August 11 in a League Cup win. He only played six more games for the club. His contract was not renewed, and he retired from playing football in 2016.
Matthew Upson's International Career
Upson played for England's youth teams. He played twelve games for the under-21 team and scored two goals. Because he was playing regularly for Birmingham City, he was chosen for the senior England team. He made his debut for England in May 2003 against South Africa. He played seven games for England while he was a Birmingham player.
In February 2008, Upson was chosen for Fabio Capello's first England squad. He played his eighth game for England, more than three years after his last one. He also started a game against Kazakhstan in October.
Upson scored his first goal for England on November 19, 2008, in a friendly game against Germany. England won the match 2–1. He was part of England's team for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. On June 23, he played in his first World Cup game against Slovenia. He scored England's only goal in their 4–1 loss to Germany in the round of 16. This was his second goal for England, and his second against Germany. He was England's joint top scorer for the 2010 World Cup, with one goal.
Matthew Upson's Life Outside Football
Matthew Upson and British runner Ellie Darby have a son named Elijah. Upson has also worked as a football expert for the BBC's Match of the Day. He also helped cover the 2018 World Cup and 2022 World Cup for them.
Matthew Upson's Career Statistics
Club Games and Goals
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Luton Town | 1995–96 | First Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1996–97 | Second Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||
| Arsenal | 1997–98 | Premier League | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | |
| 1998–99 | Premier League | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | |
| 1999–2000 | Premier League | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | |
| 2000–01 | Premier League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2001–02 | Premier League | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 22 | 0 | ||
| 2002–03 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||
| Total | 35 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 57 | 0 | ||
| Nottingham Forest (loan) | 2000–01 | First Division | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Crystal Palace (loan) | 2000–01 | First Division | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 7 | 0 | ||||
| Reading (loan) | 2002–03 | First Division | 14 | 0 | — | 1 | 1 | — | — | 15 | 1 | |||
| Birmingham City | 2002–03 | Premier League | 14 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 14 | 0 | ||||
| 2003–04 | Premier League | 30 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 0 | |||
| 2004–05 | Premier League | 36 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 40 | 2 | |||
| 2005–06 | Premier League | 24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 1 | |||
| 2006–07 | Championship | 9 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 2 | |||
| Total | 113 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | — | 128 | 5 | ||||
| West Ham United | 2006–07 | Premier League | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 2007–08 | Premier League | 29 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 1 | |||
| 2008–09 | Premier League | 37 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 41 | 0 | |||
| 2009–10 | Premier League | 33 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 3 | |||
| 2010–11 | Premier League | 30 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 0 | |||
| Total | 131 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 0 | — | — | 145 | 4 | ||||
| Stoke City | 2011–12 | Premier League | 14 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | — | 25 | 2 | |
| 2012–13 | Premier League | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 1 | |||
| Total | 15 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 1 | — | 27 | 3 | |||
| Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) | 2012–13 | Championship | 18 | 1 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | 20 | 1 | |||
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 2013–14 | Championship | 43 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 47 | 2 | |
| Total | 61 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | 67 | 3 | |||
| Leicester City | 2014–15 | Premier League | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0 | ||
| Milton Keynes Dons | 2015–16 | Championship | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 7 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 386 | 14 | 26 | 0 | 28 | 1 | 18 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 462 | 16 | ||
International Games and Goals
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 2003 | 6 | 0 |
| 2004 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2005 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2006 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2007 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2009 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 3 | 1 | |
| Total | 21 | 2 | |
- England score listed first, score column indicates score after each Upson goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 November 2008 | Olympiastadion, Berlin, Germany | 12 |  Germany |
1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly | |
| 2 | 27 June 2010 | Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, South Africa | 21 | Germany |
1–2 | 1–4 | 2010 FIFA World Cup |
Matthew Upson's Achievements
Arsenal
- Premier League: 2001–02
- FA Community Shield: 2002
Individual Awards
- Brighton & Hove Albion Player of the Year: 2013–14
