Wayne Bridge

Wayne Michael Bridge (born 5 August 1980) is an English former professional footballer who played as a left back.

Bridge scored the winning goal in the 88th minute to send Chelsea into the semi-finals and end an 18-game winless run against Arsenal.

The goal was later voted goal of the season.

When playing for Olivers Battery F.C. he was spotted by Micky Adams, who recommended him to Southampton, who signed him as a trainee in July 1996.

He made his reserve team debut as a centre-forward against Portsmouth on 13 August 1997 and turned professional in January 1998.

A graduate of the Southampton academy, he made his debut in 1998 and would go on to make over 150 league appearances in Premier League before going on to have an extensive career with Chelsea where he won all three domestic competitions over the course of his six-year stay at Stamford Bridge.

Bridge made his first-team debut on 16 August 1998 (the opening day of the 1998–99 season) coming on as a replacement for John Beresford, who had badly damaged his knee.

Bridge made his first senior start in the next match on 22 August in a 5–0 defeat away to Charlton Athletic.

As Southampton struggled to pick up points (with only two points after the first nine games), Bridge played (on the left wing) in most of Saints' league games until early December before losing his place to Hassan Kachloul.

For the remainder of the 1998–99 Premier League season, Bridge was only used occasionally as Saints narrowly avoided relegation.

He completed his first season as a first-team player with 15 starts and eight substitute appearances.

The following season carried on in a similar vein with Bridge making occasional appearances on the left wing until injuries to Francis Benali and the poor form of his intended replacement Patrick Colleter gave Bridge the opportunity to play at left-back, where he soon became a fixture in the Saints starting line-up.

In the 1999–2000 season, he made 15 starts (plus four substitute appearances) scoring his first senior goal, with a powerful free-kick over the wall, in the final match of the season on 14 May 2000 against Wimbledon, as a result of which Wimbledon were relegated to Division 1 after 14 years in the top flight.

In the 2000–01 season, Bridge was an ever-present at left-back as Saints finished their final season at The Dell in tenth place in the Premier League table.

Bridge was rewarded by being voted the Southampton Player of the Year for the 2000–01 season.

Bridge was "fast, determined, skilful and full of youthful promise" and "his forward runs became an exciting sight at The Dell and then at St Mary's."

He was an ever-present yet again in the following season as Saints again finished their first season at their new stadium comfortably in mid-table.

His run started on 4 March 2000, from when Bridge played 10,160 consecutive minutes of Premier League football, not missing any play through injury or suspension.

Bridge made 36 appearances for the England national team between 2002 and 2009, being selected for two FIFA World Cup squads and UEFA Euro 2004.

Bridge was born in Southampton, but moved to Stanmore, Winchester at an early age.

He attended Oliver's Battery Primary and Kings' School, Winchester.

Bridge's temperament and consistency, together with a high level of fitness, enabled him to continue to play every match until 18 January 2003 when he limped off with an injury in a 1–0 defeat to Liverpool.

This brought to an end a run of 113 consecutive appearances, a Premier League record for an outfield player (since surpassed by Frank Lampard, Jr.).

By now, bigger clubs were trailing Bridge, and he was finally tempted away to join Chelsea for £7 million in the 2003 close season.

His last appearance for the club came in the 2003 FA Cup Final defeat to Arsenal.

During his five years as a Saints first-team player, he made 173 appearances, with two league goals against Wimbledon and Bolton Wanderers.

After five years with the Saints, Bridge moved to Chelsea in July 2003 for a fee of £7 million plus Graeme Le Saux, and was initially a regular starter.

His finest moment came in the Champions League quarter-final against Arsenal in 2003–04.

Bridge also scored against Beşiktaş and Portsmouth in the 2003–04 season.

Bridge started the 2004–05 season playing regularly under new manager José Mourinho, but he picked up a serious ankle injury in an FA Cup tie against Newcastle United on 20 February 2005.

This ended his season and also meant he missed the following weekend's League Cup Final.

Chelsea went on to win the Premier League in his absence but Bridge had already made enough appearances (15) to receive a winners' medal.

For the 2005–06 season, Chelsea signed Spanish left-back Asier del Horno and Bridge faced a challenge to get back into the side when he recovered from the injury that kept him out of the team in the latter stages of the 2004–05 campaign.

He only made two appearances for Chelsea that season, both in domestic cup games.

These limited first team opportunities saw him join Fulham on loan on 19 January 2006.

He made his debut in a 2–1 defeat to West Ham United at Upton Park.

The move seemed to benefit him as he managed to secure his place in the 2006 World Cup English squad for the tournament in Germany.

Chelsea won the Premier League again, but Bridge was not eligible for a medal this time as he had not made a single league appearance for them all season.

He also spent time on loan with Fulham before later in 2009 joining Manchester City, where he remained for four seasons, although his final two were spent on loan with West Ham and Sunderland as well as a spell in the EFL Championship with Brighton & Hove Albion.

He retired in 2014 following a season with Reading.