Micah Lincoln Richards is an English professional footballer who plays for Manchester City as
a right back. On making his full England debut in November 2006, he became the youngest defender
ever to be called up to the England squad. Richards has won 13 caps for England and played
in the Great Britain squad for the 2012 Olympic football tournament.
Club career Early career
Richards was born in Birmingham, West Midlands, and grew up in the Chapeltown district of
Leeds, where he attended Archbishop Cranmer CofE Primary School and later Wetherby High
School. Richards played for the Leeds United youth system as a striker, but he was released
when he was around eight years old. He also represented Leeds Schools FA at a young age.
He later played for the Oldham Athletic youth system, moving to Manchester City as a 14-year-old,
with Oldham reputedly having a 20% sell on clause. In July 2001 Manchester City reportedly
tried to buy out the clause, but Oldham refused. He also attended the Brazilian Soccer Schools
scheme and retains strong links with the programme, with his father Lincoln actually running a
Brazilian Soccer School in Chapeltown, Leeds. Manchester City
He made his first team debut on 22 October 2005 against Arsenal, coming on as a substitute.
In July 2006, Manchester City rejected a bid of £5 million for Richards from Tottenham
Hotspur. On 25 July 2006 he signed a new four-year contract, quashing rumours of a move away
from the City of Manchester Stadium. Throughout 2007, Richards was linked with a move away
from City, Stuart Pearce said "I am not actively looking to sell Micah because he has a great
future here. Whatever offers come in for him, it is going to take a ridiculously big offer
to get him out of this football club. I would love to see Micah stay here, captain the club,
and maybe be here for 10 years and carry the club on his back if he can. He is good enough
to do it. I have not worked with anyone so good and so young."
He captained the team for the first time on 16 September 2007 against Aston Villa in the
absence of teammate Richard Dunne, making Richards the youngest ever City first team
captain, beating the 21-year-old Steve Redmond. In February 2008, he signed an improved contract
to last until June 2013.
On 17 July 2008, Richards played his first full match back from injury in the 2–0 win
against EB/Streymur in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League. On 22 March
2009, he netted his first of the 2008–09 season with a header in a man of the match
performance giving a 1–0 victory over Sunderland at the City of Manchester Stadium. On 11 July
2009 Eurosport reported he had been diagnosed with swine flu while on holiday in Cyprus.
He was kept in isolation after his trip to Ayia Napa.
Manchester City won the Premier League in 2011-12, with Richards nominated as Manchester
City's player of the year. Richards finished the season with five assists - the most of
any defender in the Premier League. City won the league again in 2013-14, but with Richards
having lost his place in the side to Pablo Zabaleta he made only two league appearances
and ten appearances in total, including three in the UEFA Champions League.
International career England
In November 2006, Richards received a call-up to the England squad for a friendly against
the Netherlands after playing only 28 professional club matches. He had previously won three
caps for the England under-21 team, and was chosen to start the game on 15 November 2006
against the Netherlands after regular right back Gary Neville withdrew through injury.
It made him England's youngest-ever defender, breaking the record previously held by Rio
Ferdinand. He scored his first international goal in the Euro 2008 qualifier against Israel
on 8 September 2007 at Wembley Stadium. Richards played regularly during Steve McClaren's time
as England manager, making 11 appearances. However, following McClaren's sacking in November
2007, Richards fell out of favour. In Fabio Capello's four years in charge of the England
team, Richards played only once, as a substitute against France in November 2010. Upon Capello's
resignation in February 2012, Richards spoke of his frustration: "To be frozen out of your
international side is hard to take sometimes. Everyone wants to play for their international
team, especially when you're playing in a team that's doing so well. I didn't get a
chance under Capello. I don't know why. I always asked the question, but I never got
an answer." 2009 European Under-21 Championships
For most of his exile from the senior team, Richards was still young enough to be eligible
for the under-21s, and played regularly. He was called up for the UEFA Under-21 Championship
held in Sweden, where he scored the winning goal against Finland as England went through
the group stages undefeated. England reached the final of the competition, but lost 4–0
to Germany. Richards played in four of England's five matches, including the final. During
qualifying for the 2011 tournament, Richards captained the side. However, he had to withdraw
from the squad for the finals due to injury. After Capello
Following Capello's resignation in February 2012, Richards gained an immediate recall
to the England team. Caretaker coach Stuart Pearce had coached Richards at both Manchester
City and for the under-21s, and selected him to play against the Netherlands. However,
when new coach Roy Hodgson named his squad for Euro 2012, Richards was omitted. Hodgson
explained his decision by saying "It was going to be one of Phil Jones or Micah Richards
and I chose Jones." Great Britain Olympic football team
On 28 June 2012, Richards was confirmed as one of the three over-aged players selected
for Great Britain to compete at 2012 Summer Olympics alongside Craig Bellamy and Ryan
Giggs by manager Stuart Pearce. Honours
Manchester City Premier League: 2011–12
Manchester City: 2011–12 Etihad Player of the Year nominee
FA Cup: 2010–11 Premier League: 2007–08 Barclays player
of the month award Premier League: 2007–08 PFA Young Player
of the Year Award nominee Premier League: 2006–07 PFA Young Player
of the Year Award nominee Manchester City: 2005–06 Manchester City
Young Player of the Year England
England: 2006–07 Youngest-ever defender at England senior level
England Under-21 England Under-21s: 2008–09 European Under-21
Football Championship runner-up Career statistics
Club As of match played 9 March 2014.
International As of match played 9 February 2012.
References
External links Official website
Micah Richards profile at Manchester City F.C.
Micah Richards career stats at Soccerbase Micah Richards at National-Football-Teams.com
Micah Richards England profile at Englandstats