Barry Ferguson

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Barry Ferguson
Personal information
Full name	Barry Ferguson
Date of birth	February 2, 1978 (age 29)
Place of birth	Glasgow, Scotland
Height	178.3cm
Nickname	Bazza
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Rangers
Number	6
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1994-2003 2003–2005 2005-Present	Rangers Blackburn Rovers Rangers	144 (24) 036 0(3) 070 (10)
National team2
1999-Present	Scotland	035 0(2)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 03:16, 23 March 2007 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 11th October 2006. * Appearances (Goals)

Barry Ferguson MBE (born Hamilton, Scotland, February 2, 1978) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays in midfield. He currently plays for and captains both Scottish Premier League club Rangers and the Scotland national team.

Contents 1 Early career 2 Blackburn Rovers 3 International career 4 The Return to Ibrox 5 Honours 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Early career

Ferguson stated his love for Rangers since he was a child before joining the Rangers first team squad in 1994/95 and made his first team debut on the last day of the 1996-97 season against Hearts and was voted man of the match for his performance. He became a permanent first team fixture in the 1998/99 season under new manager Dick Advocaat.

He soon became the youngest ever captain of the team in the 2001/2 season, guiding his team to a League Cup and Scottish Cup double. This was also the first season in charge for Alex McLeish. During their second season together (2002/03), Ferguson captained the side to a domestic treble. He also won Scottish Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year and Scottish PFA Players' Player of the Year.

[edit] Blackburn Rovers

At the start of the 2003/04 season, he joined English Premiership club Blackburn Rovers for a fee of £7.5 million. With Everton also chasing Ferguson ^[1], Rangers initially denied that he was leaving ^[2].

Ferguson intially struggled to settle at Blackburn, with homesickness and the team's poor form hitting him hard. A 4-0 victory at Birmingham City in December, a match in which Ferguson scored, seemed to be a turning point but disaster struck in a win at Newcastle United, when Ferguson dislocated his kneecap and was ruled out for the rest of the season.

Graeme Souness made Ferguson captain of Blackburn in July 2004 and he seemed to be adapting well to Premiership football, despite the team still struggling and a managerial change, which saw Mark Hughes replacing Souness. However, after just 16 months at the club, Ferguson submitted a written transfer request, admitting that the draw of playing in the Premiership and a Lancashire Derby did not compare with the Old Firm match.^[3] After much discussion between the clubs, a fee of £4.5 million was agreed and Ferguson rejoined Rangers just before the close of the transfer window in January 2005.^[4]

[edit] International career

Ferguson made his international debut at the age of 21 against Bosnia Herzegovina in September 1999. However, an injury plagued season prevented him from picking up more caps. He was also appointed captain of the national side by then manager Berti Vogts following the retirement of Paul Lambert.

[edit] The Return to Ibrox

Ferguson returned for the end of the 2004/05 season and was part of the Rangers team that won the league in dramatic fashion on the last day of the season. He was not captain for this however, with McLeish not wanting to remove it mid-season from Fernando Ricksen.

For 2005/06, Ferguson was re-appointed captain. He played the last part of the season carrying an ankle injury. This was later revealed to be snapped ligaments and he confessed that he should have undergone the surgery sooner. ^[5].

Ferguson was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire MBE on 17 June 2006 ^[6], and he is also the only current Rangers player to be inducted into the Rangers F.C. Hall of Fame.

On January 1, 2007 it was announced on a Sportsound broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland that Ferguson had been stripped of the Rangers captaincy after a meeting with manager Paul Le Guen. He was also dropped from the squad for the next match. Later Le Guen claimed Ferguson was undermining him. ^[7] The match at Motherwell was won 1-0 by Rangers, and goalscorer Kris Boyd reportedly showed solidarity with the deposed skipper by holding up 6 fingers: Ferguson's shirt number. ^[8] Following the resignation of Paul Le Guen as Rangers manager on 4 January 2007 ^[9], Ferguson was re-instated to the Rangers side. New manager Walter Smith, immediately re-appointed Ferguson as captain.

[edit] Honours

• Scottish Premier League: 1998-99, 1999-00, 2002-03, 2004-05
• Scottish Cup: 1998-99, 1999-00, 2001-02, 2002-03
• Scottish League Cup: 1998-99, 2001-02, 2002-03, 2004-05

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Barry Ferguson career stats at Soccerbase
• Barry Ferguson's profile and stats

Preceded by Lorenzo Amoruso	Rangers FC captain 2002-03	Succeeded by Fernando Ricksen
Preceded by Fernando Ricksen	Rangers FC captain 2006-present	Succeeded by current captain
Preceded by Gary Naysmith	Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year 1999	Succeeded by Kenny Miller
Preceded by Henrik Larsson	Scottish Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year 2000	Succeeded by Henrik Larsson
Preceded by Paul Lambert	Scottish Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year 2003	Succeeded by Jackie McNamara
Preceded by Lorenzo Amoruso	Scottish PFA Players' Player of the Year 2003	Succeeded by Chris Sutton

Rangers F.C. - Current Squad
1 Klos | 2 Webster | 3 Weir | 4 Buffel | 5 Papac | 6 Ferguson | 7 Hemdani | 8 Thomson | 9 Pršo | 10 Novo | 11 Rae | 12 Ehiogu | 14 Sionko | 15 Boyd | 17 Burke | 18 Murray | 19 Svensson | 20 Hutton | 22 McGregor | 23 Šebo | 25 Adam | 26 Smith | 28 Ponroy | 30 N'Diaye | 34 Robinson | 41 Lowing | 42 Lennon | 45 Loy | 47 Furman | 49 McMillan | 59 Shinnie | 63 Perry | Manager: Smith