Contenders: Upson
Tuesday, 20 January, 2009
Matthew Upson ended the year with four consecutive appearances and his first goal for England.
During 2008, Fabio Capello awarded caps to 35 players in ten games as England won eight, drew one and lost one. Today the spotlight falls on West Ham United defender Matthew Upson.
Age 29
Date of Birth 18.04.79
Caps in 2008 5 Goals 1
Career Caps 12 Career Goals 1
Chelsea
2008 would prove to be a year of real development for Upson, someone who had previously found it difficult to establish his place in the England side. By the end of the year he became a fixture at the heart of England's defence and crowned it with his first international goal.
Upson was a Birmingham City player when he was brought into the England squad at the end of the 2002-03 season, substituting for Rio Ferdinand against South Africa in Durban and then starting the home games with Serbia & Montenegro and Slovakia. England won all three fixtures, conceding just three goals in the process.
By the end of 2008 the player now with Zola's West Ham had only increased his caps total to twelve. But he did feature in the last four internationals of the year, indicating that he is now an established member of the squad.
Capello chose him for his first match in charge, a Wembley friendly against the Swiss in February, and he played for the whole 90 minutes in a 2-1 win.
He only came on for the last couple of minutes of England's spectacular win in Croatia but went on to start (and finish) the last three matches of the year - a 5-1 win against Kazakhstan at Wembley, 3-1 in Belarus and 2-1 in Germany.
His place in the side is down to his brave tackling and his clearing headers, but he showed that he also knew where the goal was in Berlin in November. Stewart Downing's corner evaded German 'keeper Adler on 23 minutes and Matthew stabbed the ball home to give England the lead and send 7,000 travelling fans into raptures.
Quotes
"It was a fantastic evening (against Germany) and it's just great to get off the mark with my first goal for England.
"Any win away from home is great, but especially in Germany. The history that is there means it's a fantastic result, we can savour it and move on into next year." Matthew Upson
"He has got the experience, the personality and, above all, is a very good player. I'm sure our fans will see that, and I am sure he will play a big part between now and the end of the season." (Alan Curbishley, former manager of West Ham United)