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England U21s have reached the European Under-21 Championship final for the first time in 14 years, where they will face Spain for a chance at glory in the youth tournament.
Manager Lee Carsley is hoping the result will be more like the 1984 final – the last time England won the tournament. In 2009 a Germany side, containing the likes of Manuel Neuer, Mesut Ozil, Mats Hummels, Sami Khedira and Jerome Boateng, swept England aside 4-0 in the final in Malmo.
But where are the members of that England U21 side who reached the final in 2009 now? FourFourTwo has taken a look…
GK: Scott Loach
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England’s goalkeeper in the final against Germany was Scott Loach, who is currently still a professional footballer at Derby County. The 35-year-old has enjoyed a fruitful career below the Premier League, making over 500 career appearances in his time as a pro.
His best period came at Watford in the Championship, where he started the majority of the games in goal for the Hornets between 2008 and 2012. More recently Loach has been playing for Chesterfield, Barnet and Hartlepool in the National League, but earned a move to Derby at the beginning of the 2022/23 campaign.
While he failed to make a single appearance for the Rams last season, Loach remains at Pride Park for the 2023/24 campaign.
RB: Martin Cranie
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Cranie retired from football in 2021, with Luton Town the last club he played for. The full-back played the majority of his career in the Championship, winning promotion to the Premier League on two occasions, with Huddersfield and Sheffield United, respectively.
He hasn’t officially announced his retirement from football, though, and has been a free agent for the last two years.
CB: Micah Richards
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Ah, Big Meeks. You don’t need us to tell you what Micah Richards is doing. Everyone’s beloved pundit often fills our TV screens with his infectious laughter and tactical insight week after week – and long may it continue, many might say (perhaps not Roy Keane…) Sky Sports, BBC and US network CBS are all regularly graced with Richards’ presence.
Following a spell in Italy with Fiorentina, and a return to England with Aston Villa, he retired from professional football aged just 31, after reoccurring knee injuries.
CB: Nedum Onuoha
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Richards’ Manchester City team-mate at the time, Onuoha went onto play for Sunderland (on loan), QPR and MLS side Real Salt Lake after leaving his boyhood club. He retired from the game in 2020, and has since moved into a number of different ventures.
The former central defender has been named as a trustee on the City in the Community board, a charity created by Manchester City to support people in the Greater Manchester area through football. He also has his own podcast called ‘Kickback with Nedum’, where he discusses a range of different topics. Onuoha also appears on ESPN as a pundit, too.
LB: Kieran Gibbs
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The former Arsenal man most recently played for Inter Miami in MLS, but mutually agreed to terminate his contract with the club in February 2023. At just 33, Gibbs immediately transitioned into a broadcaster for Inter Miami’s Apple TV channel.
Living the life in Florida, Gibbs’ job will be made slightly easier with the imminent arrival of Lionel Messi…
CM: Fabrice Muamba
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Muamba sadly had to retire from football in August 2012 just three years after the U21 final against Germany, after suffering a cardiac arrest while playing for Bolton against Tottenham at White Hart Lane.
Following his forced retirement, Muamba has worked a number of different jobs in the decade since, such as part of ITV’s coverage for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, while he graduated with honours from Staffordshire University in 2015 after completing a BA in sports journalism.
Now, though, Muamba is an academy coach at Bolton. He completed his coaching badges at Manchester City, Stoke City and Rochdale before returning to Bolton in 2022.
CM: Lee Cattermole
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Notoriously good at collecting bookings, Cattermole has calmed down in his retirement as he competes in competitive golf tournaments. Indeed, in June Cattermole picked up his clubs to play in the International Series qualifying event.
For the past three years, since calling it quits on his playing career at VVV-Venlo in the Netherlands, Cattermole has also been studying and working as a coach. Most recently he was the Middlesbrough U18s boss, though he left that role in February to pursue other jobs in senior football.
CM: Mark Noble
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West Ham stalwart Mark Noble only called time on his career at the end of the 2021/22 season, but he has remained at the club he’s called home since his youth, working as a sporting director. Appointed to the role in January 2023, Noble is directly involved in the development side of the club.
“I still put my boots on and train with the Under-18s and the U21s, because you only know first-hand what they’re like when you’re training with them,” Noble told Standard Sport.
RW: James Milner
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The most successful player from this team by far, Milner has three Premier League titles and a Champions League trophy to his name, and he’s still playing at the ripe old age of 37.
After leaving Liverpool following the conclusion of his contract, Milner joined Brighton on a one-year contract, with the option to extend for a further year. The man just doesn’t stop.
LW: Adam Johnson
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Johnson went on to earn 12 senior England caps and played 73 times for Manchester City, where he won the Premier League and FA Cup. He also played 122 times for Sunderland.
On March 24, 2016, Johnson was sentenced to six years in prison for grooming and sexual activity with a girl aged 15. He was released on March 22, 2019, after serving half of his sentence.
He hasn’t played professional football since his imprisonment.
ST: Theo Walcott
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Walcott’s career didn’t quite take the meteoric trajectory Sven-Göran Eriksson thought it might in 2006, but the speedster has still enjoyed a stellar career nonetheless.
Most recently at boyhood side Southampton, who he left for Arsenal in 2006 aged just 16, Walcott also spent a three-year spell on Merseyside with Everton and over a decade at Arsenal before that. The 34-year-old is still playing, with Reading in League One reportedly on the cusp of tying him down to a contract.
More stories
England U21 vs Spain U21 live stream, match preview and kick-off time for Under-21 Euros final
‘It’s about making our own history’: FourFourTwo spoke exclusively to England manager Lee Carsley ahead of the under-21 Euros
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Ryan is a staff writer for FourFourTwo, joining the team full-time in October 2022. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture’s websites, before eventually earning himself a position with FourFourTwo permanently. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer while a Trainee News Writer at Future.
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