Zak Whitbread facts for kids
Whitbread training with Norwich City in 2011
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | January 10, 1984 | ||
| Place of birth | Houston, Texas, United States | ||
| Height | 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) | ||
| Playing position | Center-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1992−2003 | Liverpool | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2003−2006 | Liverpool | 0 | (0) |
| 2005−2006 | → Millwall (loan) | 25 | (0) |
| 2006−2010 | Millwall | 78 | (3) |
| 2010−2012 | Norwich City | 44 | (1) |
| 2012−2014 | Leicester City | 16 | (1) |
| 2013−2014 | → Derby County (loan) | 4 | (1) |
| 2014−2015 | Derby County | 9 | (0) |
| 2015−2016 | Shrewsbury Town | 22 | (1) |
| Total | 198 | (7) | |
| National team | |||
| 2003 | United States U20 | 5 | (1) |
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Zak Benjamin Whitbread (born January 10, 1984) is an American retired professional soccer player. He played as a defender for several clubs during his career.
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Early Life and Background
Zak Whitbread was born in Houston, Texas, United States. However, he spent most of his life growing up in England and Singapore. For five years, he lived in Singapore because his father, Barry Whitbread, was the coach of the Singapore national football team. While in Singapore, Zak attended St Stephen's School and then United World College of South East Asia. Most of his life was spent in Runcorn, England.
Club Career Highlights
Starting at Liverpool
Even though he was a fan of Manchester United, Zak joined Liverpool's youth academy when he was eight years old. He worked his way up through the different age groups, eventually joining the reserve team in 2003.
Zak played his first match for Liverpool in 2003 during a tour in Thailand. He made his official first-team debut in the 2004–05 season. During this time, he played in some important games, including matches for Liverpool's 2005–06 UEFA Champions League qualification. He also spent time on loan at Millwall.
Playing for Millwall
In June 2006, Zak signed a permanent three-year contract with Millwall. He quickly became a regular player, starting 18 games in the 2006–07 season. However, an injury in September 2006 kept him out for the rest of that season.
In the 2008–09 season, Whitbread played in 44 matches for Millwall. This included the play-off final at Wembley Stadium. Millwall lost that game 3–2 to Scunthorpe United.
Time at Norwich City
Zak Whitbread joined Norwich City on January 8, 2010. He signed a two-and-a-half-year contract. He made his first appearance for Norwich as a substitute in a 5–0 win against Colchester United. However, injuries limited his playing time after that.
He returned to full training around Christmas 2010. His long-awaited return to playing came in a 4–2 win over Sheffield United on December 28, 2010. He then started his first game of the season in a 1–0 victory against Queens Park Rangers. This helped Norwich keep a clean sheet for the first time in 10 games.
Zak scored his first goal for Norwich in a 1–1 draw against Hull City on March 19, 2011. He also started Norwich's first game back in the Premier League, which was a 1–1 draw against Wigan Athletic. He continued to face some minor injuries but returned to the squad in December. He played well alongside Russell Martin and later Daniel Ayala in defense. At the end of the season, he was released by the club.
Moving to Leicester City
On July 24, 2012, Whitbread signed a two-year contract with Championship team Leicester City. He joined them on a free transfer. He played his first game for Leicester on August 28, 2012, in a League Cup match against Burton Albion.
Zak scored his first goal for Leicester City from a corner kick during a 4–1 win against local rivals Derby County on December 1, 2012. After this game, he was even named in the Championship Team of the Week. Leicester released him on May 9, 2014.
Playing for Derby County
On September 29, 2013, Derby County announced that Zak Whitbread had joined them on a three-month loan. He scored a goal in his very first game for Derby, which was a thrilling 4–4 draw at home against Ipswich Town.
After being released by Leicester City, Zak agreed to a one-year deal to join Derby County permanently on June 25, 2014.
Final Club: Shrewsbury Town
After leaving Derby, Whitbread joined Shrewsbury Town in League One in October 2015. He had thought about moving to the United States but decided to stay in England. He first signed a short contract until January 2016.
He made his debut for Shrewsbury as a substitute in a 2–1 loss to Scunthorpe United. A week later, he started his first game for the club, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–0 home win against Bury. His contract was later extended to the end of the season, after which he was released.
International Career
Zak Whitbread had the chance to play for the national team of his birth country, the United States, in August 2003. He was called up to the U.S. under-20s squad and traveled to Spain for a tournament. He started three out of five matches there.
He was also part of the team for the 2003 World Youth Championships in December. He started every match and scored his first goal for the U.S., helping the team reach the Quarter Finals. His good play led to him being included in the U.S. under-23 squad.
On March 16, 2011, Whitbread was called into the senior United States team's training camp. This was for friendly matches against Argentina and Paraguay. However, he could not play because he got an injury while playing for his club.
See also
In Spanish: Zak Whitbread para niños
