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Theo Walcott biography
Theodore Walcott (born 16 March 1989 in Stanmore, London) is an English footballer who currently plays for Arsenal, having signed there from Southampton on 20 January 2006.
Walcott grew up in the small village of Compton near Newbury. His first 11 a side game came when he was staying round schoolfriend Adam Walkers' house and was asked if he could play for his team Steventon boy's as they were a player short. He then played for his local side AFC Newbury. His most memorable game there was in 2000, when Newbury's Under-11 side beat Down Grange Albion 4-2 in the Peter Houseman League Cup Final. Walcott also scored over 100 goals (including mini tournament) in his one and only season for Newbury, before leaving there for Swindon Town. He then left Swindon Town for Southampton.
He currently lives with his parents, Don and Lynn, and brother Ashley at a five-bedroom villa he has just bought near Arsenal’s training ground in Hertfordshire leaving his old house at Compton which will be occupied by his sister Hollie and his two nephews, Sebastian and Aurora.
He is now dating 17-year-old Melanie Slade.
Southampton
In the 2004-05 season, he starred in the Southampton youth side that reached the FA Youth Cup final against Ipswich Town. In addition, he became the youngest person to play in the Southampton reserve team, aged just 15 years and 175 days, when he came off the bench against Watford in September 2004. However, he did not play in the Premier League, as Southampton were relegated at the end of the 2004-05 season to the Championship. Despite having not yet played in the first team, at the age of 14, Nike agreed a sponsorship deal with Walcott.
Before the start of the 2005-06 season, Walcott linked up with the first team's tour of Scotland, just two weeks after leaving school. The striker then went on to become the youngest-ever player to play for the Southampton first team when he made his first team debut aged just 16 years and 143 days, after coming on as a substitute in Southampton's 0-0 draw at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Football League Championship.
Walcott made his full first team debut away to Leeds United on 18 October 2005, scoring his first senior goal in the same game. He continued his scoring spree four days later away at Millwall before scoring again on his full home debut against Stoke City the following Saturday. His rapid rise to fame also led him to be named amongst the top three finalists for the prestigious BBC Sports Personality of the Year Young Personality award on 11 December 2005.
Arsenal
His performances soon attracted attention from the British media, who saw him as one of the most promising young English talents of his time. There was speculation that Walcott would move to the Premiership and media reports linked him with some of the league's top clubs including Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United, as well interest from the likes Real Madrid, Juventus, Milan and Barcelona. After much tabloid speculation, and intense and protracted interest from Chelsea in particular, Walcott ultimately signed for Arsenal on 20 January 2006 for an initial fee of £5m, rising to a possible £12m based on appearances for club and country, making him the most expensive 16-year-old in the history of British football.
On 7 February 2006, Walcott made his debut for Arsenal reserves in a game against Portsmouth reserves at Havant; he scored, but Arsenal lost 3-2. Walcott was then named in an 18-man squad to face Real Madrid in a UEFA Champions League second round first-leg tie at the Bernabéu on 21 February 2006.
On 28 February 2006 Walcott was included in the England Under-19 squad alongside Arsenal team mate Kerrea Gilbert to face Slovakia in a friendly at Sixfields Stadium. England won 3-0 on the night with Walcott scoring on his U19 international debut, with an 80th minute penalty kick. His original kick was saved, but the referee ordered the penalty to be retaken and Walcott scored on his second attempt.
On 16 March 2006, Walcott's 17th birthday, he finally signed a professional contract worth a reported £1 million a year, which lasts until summer 2008 and includes provisions to extend it.
On 19 August 2006, Walcott made his Premier League debut on the first day of 2006-07 season. He came on as a substitute after 73 minutes against Aston Villa. He played a significant role in creating Gilberto Silva's equaliser in the 84th minute. Upon receiving the ball in the penalty area, he sent in a floating cross towards the far post. The ball skimmed Robin van Persie's head before falling onto the path of Gilberto Silva, who made no mistake and scored the equaliser.
Walcott made his Champions League debut in the second leg of Arsenal's third qualifying round match against Dinamo Zagreb and became the youngest ever Arsenal player to appear in European competition, a record previously held by Cesc Fàbregas. Within minutes of coming on he received his first yellow card in Arsenal colours for taking a shot several seconds after the referee had already blown for offside. During stoppage time, however, his cross beat the Dinamo defence and Mathieu Flamini scored, giving Walcott an enviable record of two assists in two substitute appearances.
Walcott made his first Arsenal start on October 14, 2006 in the home game against Watford, impressing many on his much-anticipated full debut.
Walcott has since made his second full start for Arsenal in the 2-0 Carling Cup win over West Brom, in which he is credited for one assist.
He came on the pitch in 67 th minute against Everton on 28th October 2006.
England national team
Walcott came on as a second half sub on 25 May 2006 for the England B team against Belarus. On 30 May 2006, he made history by becoming the youngest ever England player in a full international by appearing in England's friendly against Hungary at Old Trafford, aged 17 years and 75 days. England won the match 3-1.
Walcott was a shock inclusion in Sven-Göran Eriksson's preliminary England squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup when it was announced on 8 May 2006. Even with first-choice strikers Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen both recovering from injury, Walcott was selected over established Premiership strikers such as Darren Bent (the top English goalscorer in the Premiership in the 2005-06 season), Andy Johnson (the top English goalscorer in the Premiership in the 2004-05 season), Dean Ashton (like Bent, already an established player at England U21 level) and England squad regular Jermain Defoe.
Despite being one of only two fully fit strikers in the England squad, he did not play during the tournament. Eriksson has since defended his decision, claiming that the experience has served him well for future tournaments. However, Eriksson's decision to include Walcott in the preliminary squad was made despite never having seen him play a professional match, and the decision was generally regarded as the most unexpected in what was seen as a surprisingly uncharacteristic set of selections. It received mixed reactions, some regarding it as an unnecessary risk when England had more established strikers, while others praise Eriksson for his willingness to "try something new".
On 15 August 2006 Walcott became the youngest player ever to score for the England under 21s when he scored the opener after three minutes in England's 2-2 draw with Moldova at Ipswich Town's ground Portman Road. The game against Moldova was his first cap for the England under 21s. His impressive form for the under 21 team continued in a 3-2 win against the highly rated Swiss.
Walcott scored 2 well-taken goals against Germany to seal qualification for England to the Under 21 European Championships, in the play off second leg on October 10, 2006. For his first goal, he received the ball from a long Leighton Baines pass after intelligently timing his run through the middle, before taking just two touches and curling the ball past the on rushing Michael Rensing and into the bottom corner. If his first goal was magical, the second was sublime. He received another pass from Leighton Baines close to the left touch-line just inside his own half, he jinked the ball just beyond a defender who was attempting to close him down before using his dazzling pace to leave the defender for dead, his pace took him past another defender as he cut inside and curled the ball beyond Michael Rensing and into the net, in a move more than vaguely remiscient of his Arsenal mentor and teammate, Thierry Henry.
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| Theo Walcott biography |
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