Robert Huth

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Personal information
Robert Huth

Date of birth	August 18, 1984 (age 22)
Place of birth	Berlin, West Germany
Nickname	The Berlin Wall, Huthy, The friendly one.
Playing position	Central defender, occasional striker
Club information
Current club	Middlesbrough
Number	14
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2001-2006 2006-	Chelsea Middlesbrough	42 (0) 10 (1)
National team²
2004-	Germany	17 (2)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 10:29, 7 April 2007 (UTC). ² National team caps and goals correct as of 8 July 2006. * Appearances (Goals)

Robert Huth (born 18 August 1984 in Berlin, Germany) is a German footballer who currently plays for Middlesbrough. He was signed for Chelsea from the youth system of German club Union Berlin in 2001 by then Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri. He is often referred to as "The Unstoppable Force".

1 Club career
2 International career
3 Honours
- 3.1 Third place
4 Trivia
5 External links

[edit] Club career

Huth made his debut for Chelsea at the age of 17 in the last game of the 2001-02 season, coming on as a sub at the half-time in a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Aston Villa. From 2001 to 2005, Huth was very much a fringe player at Chelsea, serving as an understudy to John Terry, Marcel Desailly, and William Gallas.

When the 2005-06 season started, Huth's chances of becoming a first choice player at Chelsea in the near future seemed limited as there were three world class central defenders ahead of him in the Chelsea squad. Terry, Gallas, and Portuguese international centre-back Ricardo Carvalho (who had replaced Desailly) were the preferred central defenders for Chelsea manager José Mourinho, who had succeeded Ranieri in the summer of 2004. Mourinho did, however, reject a bid for Huth from leading German club Bayern Munich in the summer of 2005.

On 13 July, 2006, a proposed transfer to Middlesbrough was scuppered when Huth failed a medical. Middlesbrough continued to track Huth and 31 August that year their chief executive stated that he expected to sign him that day, reportedly for £6,000,000 on a 5-year contract. After much speculation that the transfer may not go through as a result of William Gallas' departure,and with Chelsea heavily involved in the transfer of Ashley Cole from Arsenal, there was a specualtion and also a bit of a mystery if the final paperwork would be signed on time for the transfer deadline. Eventually the transfer was confirmed.

In an interview after his unveiling, Huth admitted he was nervous about the deal not being completed, after it was revealed Peter Kenyon had not signed Chelsea's end of the deal.

[edit] International career

Huth is a viable option in dead-ball situations due to the tremendous power with which he can kick the ball. At a young age, he is already a member of the German national team. He also played at the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship. Together with Per Mertesacker, they were the first-choice central defenders for Germany at the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup.

On 29 June 2005, he scored his first goal for Germany in a 4-3 extra-time win against Mexico during the third-place play-off at the 2005 Confederations Cup. He has scored 2 goals in 16 games for Germany, as of June 2006. His second goal for Germany came in a 4-1 defeat to Italy in a friendly game played in Florence in February 2006.

[edit] Honours

FA Premier League: 2005, 2006

[edit] Third place

Confederations Cup: 2005
World Cup: 2006

[edit] Trivia

During the 2005 Confederations Cup German fans began chanting "Huuuuuuuuuuuuuth" (done as a low, rumbling sound) whenever Huth successfully resolved a situation - in later games, the chant started almost as soon as Huth came near the ball, to his own amusement. The chant originated from Huth's days at Chelsea.
This chanting has carried on at Middlesbrough, much to the delight of the supporters and Huth himself. He is proud of his loyal supporters that have followed his career, and has stated so on the Middlesbrough F.C website.
Robert and his friend Bellal Hussain, who have been friends since school, have taken part in numerous charity events to raise money for the Nick Mills fund, which provides hospitality for warthogs and polar bears in Cornwall.

[edit] External links

	Germany squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup Third Place
1 Lehmann \| 2 Jansen \| 3 Friedrich \| 4 Huth \| 5 Kehl \| 6 Nowotny \| 7 Schweinsteiger \| 8 Frings \| 9 Hanke \| 10 Neuville \| 11 Klose \| 12 Kahn \| 13 Ballack \| 14 Asamoah \| 15 Hitzlsperger \| 16 Lahm \| 17 Mertesacker \| 18 Borowski \| 19 Schneider \| 20 Podolski \| 21 Metzelder \| 22 Odonkor \| 23 Hildebrand \| Coach: Klinsmann