Lucas Neill

Lucas Edward Neill (born 9 March 1978) is an Australian former soccer player.

Neill played as a defender, often playing as a centre back as well as a full-back.

Neill spent almost 15 years of his career playing in England.

Neill's father moved to Australia from Northern Ireland, where he had played for local football clubs Brantwood F.C., Linfield F.C., and Cliftonville F.C. Neill grew up in Manly, Sydney and was a student at Wakehurst Public School in Belrose and St Augustine's College in Brookvale, before attending the Australian Institute of Sport on a football scholarship in 1994–95.

Neill joined Millwall on a free transfer in November 1995, making his debut on 17 February against Luton Town in 1996.

In almost six years at The Den, he made 174 appearances in all competitions, scoring 13 goals.

In September 2001, Neill, by then the longest serving player at the club, submitted a transfer request and shortly after, signed for Blackburn Rovers for an initial fee of £600,000 plus up to £400,000 more depending on appearances.

Neill played his first game for Blackburn in September 2001 against Sunderland and scored his first Blackburn goal later that month against Bolton Wanderers.

Neill was well regarded by Blackburn Rovers supporters and held the right back position for over five years for the Blackburn Rovers.

Blackburn won the 2001–02 Football League Cup but Neill was cup-tied.

Neill's combative and committed style of play in the Premier League attracted criticism in 2003–04 at a time when Blackburn had been criticised routinely for their aggressive play.

He broke the leg of Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher when his trailing leg caught that of the Liverpool player in the fifth game of the 2003–04 season in a tackle at Ewood Park.

Carragher, a popular home-grown Liverpool player, was sidelined for six months and the incident sparked a war of words between Gérard Houllier and Graeme Souness after Neill and his manager did not apologise for 48 hours.

He represented Australia at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, and also the 2011 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar.

On 6 October 2006 he was named the 50th captain of the Australian national team, and by the time of his retirement, had amassed a record 61 caps as captain.

He played for Millwall, Blackburn Rovers, West Ham United, Everton, Galatasaray, Al Jazira, Al Wasl, Sydney FC, Omiya Ardija, Watford and Doncaster Rovers.

Johan Neeskens, who became assistant to Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard for the 2006–07 season, said that Neill "could play for any of the best clubs".

On 4 August 2006 he announced he would not sign a new four-year contract for Blackburn Rovers.

The player's agent, Peter Harrison, said "He has enjoyed his time [at Blackburn], he loves the club and the fans, he just feels it is time for a change."

On 30 August, Liverpool reportedly made a £2 million bid for Neill; however, this bid was rejected by Blackburn.

The club wanted Stephen Warnock in part exchange for Neill, but Liverpool were not prepared to let the left back go.

In late November, rumours emerged that Chelsea were also interested in his signature.

Neill, once a cult hero at Blackburn, left under something of a storm and became very unpopular amongst Blackburn fans.

He was booed and barracked on his return to Ewood Park in March 2007.

In January 2007 Neill turned his back on an un-confirmed bid from Liverpool in favour of West Ham United, following the successful transfer of Stephen Warnock from Liverpool to Blackburn.

Neill was accused of his primary motivating factor being money, but he later refuted these claims, stating the move was for purely footballing reasons.

Neill later alleged to the media that Liverpool had not made him feel truly wanted, and that he had not even spoken to manager Rafael Benítez.

Neill made his league debut for the Hammers in February 2007 against Watford, where he picked up a knee injury.

He captained the team for the first time during a 3–4 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur the following month and went on to play every remaining game of the season.

He became the permanent team captain following Nigel Reo-Coker's transfer to Aston Villa.

Neill made his first appearance as team captain in the 1–1 draw against Wigan Athletic on 25 August 2007.

Neill scored his only goal for West Ham in a 3–2 away defeat to West Brom in September 2008.

At the end of the 2008–09 season Neill rejected a one-year contract extension with West Ham, becoming a free agent.

On 17 September 2009, Neill joined close friend Tim Cahill at Everton on a free transfer, signing a one-year deal.

He was unveiled to the fans at half time during Everton's 4–0 Europa League win at Goodison Park against AEK Athens.

Neill played his first game for Everton on 23 September 2009 in the League Cup, coming on as a second half substitution for Leighton Baines, in their 4–0 victory over Hull City.

Neill's first start for Everton in the Premier League was on 25 October 2009 where he played a full match against Bolton Wanderers setting up two goals.

On 13 January 2010, Neill agreed to join Turkish side Galatasaray.

Neill signed a one-and-a-half-year contract with Galatasaray, linking up with Socceroo teammate Harry Kewell.

Neill made his Turkish Super Lig debut for Galatasaray on 24 January 2010 in a 1–0 home win at the Ali Sami Yen Stadium against Gaziantepspor.