Damien Johnson
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| Damien Johnson | ||
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Damien Michael Johnson | |
| Date of birth | 18 November 1978 | |
| Place of birth | Lisburn, Northern Ireland | |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | |
| Playing position | Midfielder | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Birmingham City | |
| Number | 22 | |
| Senior career1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1997–2002 1998 2002– |
Blackburn Rovers → Nottingham Forest (loan) Birmingham City |
59 (3) 6 (0) 191 (4) |
| National team2 | ||
| 1999– | Northern Ireland | 52 (0) |
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1 Senior club appearances and goals |
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Damien Michael Johnson (born 18 November 1978 in Lisburn) is a Northern Irish international football midfielder who currently plays in England for Birmingham City.
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[edit] Club career
[edit] Blackburn Rovers
His first English team was Blackburn Rovers, for whom Johnson signed as a trainee, from Portadown F.C. in 1997, making his debut in the League Cup on 30 September 1997, a 1–0 defeat to Preston North End, in which he picked up a yellow card.
Loaned to Nottingham Forest on 28 January 1998, Johnson played in five games, and, despite accruing a yellow card in his last February appearance, performed well for the team.
[edit] Birmingham City
On 8 March 2002, Johnson moved to Birmingham City for £50,000 and in September 2004, he signed a new three-year contract.
Johnson was named the Birmingham City captain for the 2006–07 season but in one of his first games as captain, he angered fans when he first threw his captain's armband and then his shirt on the floor when he was substituted late on.
On 28 October 2006, Johnson's jaw was broken in two places after he was elbowed in the face by West Brom defender Paul Robinson during a tackle that has since drawn criticism.[1] Despite the broken jaw, Johnson played on until the final whistle.
He has since signed a new 3 year deal that will keep him at Birmingham City until 2010.
At the opening of the 2007–08 season he injured his hamstring in a pre-season friendly. Further injuries followed, and Johnson regained fitness only in December. He played his first league game on 15 December 2007, replacing the suspended Mehdi Nafti.
Currently Damien Johnson has made more appearances than any other team-mate for Birmingham City.
[edit] International career
Johnson earned his first call-up to the Northern Ireland national football team on 29 May 1999, when he came on as a substitute in the 1–0 away win against the Republic of Ireland. Further appearances as substitute followed against Finland, Luxembourg, Malta, and Hungary, before he made his first full appearance versus Yugoslavia at Windsor Park, Belfast, in August 2000. After a period when his international appearances were restricted by serious injury, Johnson made his 49th appearance for NI in the 3-0 World Cup Qualifying victory in San Marino on 11 February, 2009, when he was the BBC's "Man of the Match". Such is his value to the national team that Johnson is hugely popular with the "Green and White Army" of Northern Ireland fans, not least for his 100% effort and commitment.[citation needed]
[edit] References
- ^ "Birmingham skipper fractures jaw". BBC Sport. 29 October 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/birmingham_city/6096876.stm. Retrieved on 2007-04-10.
[edit] External links
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