Matt Holland
Holland playing for Charlton Athletic in 2008.
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Matthew Rhys Holland | ||
| Date of birth | 11 April 1974 | ||
| Place of birth | Bury, Greater Manchester, England | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1992–1995 | West Ham United | 0 | (0) |
| 1994–1995 | → Bournemouth (loan) | 15 | (1) |
| 1995–1997 | Bournemouth | 89 | (17) |
| 1997–2003 | Ipswich Town | 258 | (38) |
| 2003–2009 | Charlton Athletic | 191 | (13) |
| Total | 553 | (69) | |
| National team | |||
| 1999–2006 | Republic of Ireland | 49 | (5) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Matthew Rhys "Matt" Holland (born 11 April 1974) is a former professional footballer, who played as a central midfielder. He began his career at West Ham United and subsequently joined Bournemouth, before spending long spells at Ipswich Town and Charlton Athletic, where he retired in 2009.
He represented the Republic of Ireland from 1999 to 2006 at international level, earning 49 caps and scoring 5 goals. He was included in their squad for the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
Since ending his football career he has worked in the media, including with the BBC, Setanta Sports, Talksport and RTÉ.
Initially rejected by Arsenal for being 'too small' he went to West Ham United where he moved up the ranks of the academy but did not play for the first team.
In order to gain first team football, he joined South Coast side Bournemouth in January 1995. He played a total of 104 games, scoring 18 goals whilst at Dean Court, and also became captain.
In the summer of 1997, Holland joined Ipswich Town for a fee of £800,000. He again became team captain and captained the club into the Premier League by winning the First Division play-offs in 2000. He captained the club to a fifth-place finish and qualification for the UEFA Cup in their first season in the Premier League in 2001. Though Ipswich were relegated in 2002 he stayed with the club after he turned down a £4.5 million move to Aston Villa. His spell at Ipswich is most remembered for the consistency he showed, after playing 223 consecutive games and only missing one league match (due to international duty) in the six years he was at Portman Road.
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