Jlloyd Samuel (born March 29, 1981 in Trinidad and Tobago) is an English football defender, who currently plays for Aston Villa F.C..
As a youth, he played for sunday league team Senrab[1] and West Ham United, and was released from the East London club on the same day as Paul Konchesky, Bobby Zamora (who have both now returned to the Hammers) and Fitz Hall, now of Crystal Palace.[2]
Samuel's Aston Villa debut came after 51 minutes of a second-leg League Cup match against Chester City F.C., on September 21, 1999 which finished 5-0 in Aston Villa's favour.
Since the beginning of his Aston Villa career, he has also been on loan to Gillingham F.C., for whom he made seven full appearances and one substitute appearance, between October 25 and December 3, 2001.
Though looking set for the 2002 European Under-21 Championships, Samuel picked up a groin injury which ensured his being out of action for a sustained period of time.
When Graham Taylor took over the reins at Aston Villa, Samuel became more assured of a place on the team, despite his nervousness on the pitch. His star season, however, was 03/04, as he rose to become one of the best left-backs in the Premiership and was selected in the England squad for the game against Sweden, although his involvement only went as far as being an unused substitute.
His favourite food is curried goat, and his favourite pastime is defending awfully.
References
- ^ Sarah Holt (30 March, 2004). "Lessons from Senrab's soccer school". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 18 March.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|year=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help)CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ Sam Pilger (2003). "The Boy's A Bit Special". FourFourTwo (110): 31.
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