Gary Cahill

   

 Name: Gary Cahill

    Nationality: English

    Date of Birth: 19/12/1985

    Height: 188 cm

    Weight: 70.7 kg

    Previous Clubs: Bolton, Aston Villa, Sheff Utd, Burnley, Aston Villa

    Position: Defender

Chelsea career

Gary Cahill signed for Chelsea in mid-January 2012.

At the time, he became the fifth England international in the squad, although over the course of his time with the Blues, Ryan Bertrand has also gained senior England recognition, while John Terry announced his retirement from international football. On moving to Stamford Bridge from Bolton Wanderers, Cahill took the number 24 shirt.

He didn't get his first Blues appearances for a couple of weeks as Andre Villas-Boas chose to give him time to acclimatise in west London, but did start the dramatic 3-3 draw with Manchester United and, despite the comeback from the visitors, looked to be showing the early signs of a promising partnership with David Luiz.

From that point onwards, Cahill was regularly involved, as knocks to central defenders afforded him opportunities, and he also showed the goalscoring prowess previously on display at former club Bolton and with the England national team, netting two during March.

Cahill enjoyed arguably his most impressive game in a Chelsea shirt during the 1-0 Champions League semi-final first leg victory over Barcelona, but having picked up an injury in the return, he missed the last month of the season, including the FA Cup Final win against Liverpool at Wembley.

However, having been passed fit only days ahead of the Champions League Final, Cahill started the game against Bayern Munich and played the full 120 minutes, picking up a Champions League winners' medal and ending a memorable season in the best possible fashion.

He was an unused substitute for our opening game of the 2012/13 campaign at Wigan, before being restored to the starting line-up for the following game against Reading, where he scored our third goal in a 4-2 victory. Cahill also netted in the 4-1 UEFA Super Cup defeat at the hands of Atletico Madrid.

Cahill was sent off in the FIFA Club World Cup final against Corinthians after lashing out following a challenge by Emerson.

The defender was forced to miss a crucial run of games when he picked up a knee injury in a 2-0 home win over West Ham United.

Pre-Chelsea

Born in Sheffield in December 1985, Cahill joined Aston Villa's Academy as a 15-year-old but joined Burnley on a half-season loan in late 2004, making his Football League debut in a 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest.

He made 32 appearances in all competitions for the Clarets, winning both Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year awards at Turf Moor before returning to Villa's first-team setup in late 2005, making his bow in an 8-3 win against Wycombe in the League Cup, but it was not until April that he made a Premier League appearance in a 5-0 defeat at Arsenal.

The defender kept his place however and began the next season at the centre of defence under Martin O' Neill, but after just two appearances in 2007/08 he went out on loan again, signing for Sheffield United in the Championship, scoring twice in 16 games for the Bramall Lane club.

A £5 million move to Bolton followed in January 2008 and Cahill quickly settled at the Reebok Stadium, becoming a fixture in Gary Megson's side and helping them avoid relegation.

Form at club level had remained consistently high under the guidance of Owen Coyle, and he played 36 league games during 2010/11, but stated he would not be signing a new contract for the Lancashire club when his current deal expired in 2012.

This led to interest from a number of top clubs but it was Stamford Bridge Cahill favoured as a destination.

International career

An England Under 21 international since early 2007, Cahill was added to the England squad for a World Cup qualifier against Kazakhstan in June 2009, but had to wait until September2010 for a debut, when he replaced the injured Michael Dawson to partner John Terry in a 4-0 win over Bulgaria.

In March 2011, Cahill made his first England start in a friendly against Ghana, and scored his first international goal away in Bulgaria in September.

After impressing during his first five months at Stamford Bridge, Cahill was selected as part of the 23-man England squad for the European Championships. However, in the final warm-up game before departure, he collided with goalkeeper Joe Hart, fracturing his jaw in two places, and was subsequently ruled out of the tournament.

Having missed the tournament, he made his international return for the friendly win against Italy, before being named in Roy Hodgson's squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and Ukraine in September 2012.

He was then forced to miss crucial World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and Montenegro after injuring his knee in a league game against West Ham United.