Player Profile

Lucas Neill

Date of Birth

09 Mar 1978

Place of Birth

Sydney

Height

183

Weight

Current Club

Galatasaray (Turkey)

Previous Clubs

1995-2002 Millwall (England)
2002-2007 Blackburn Rovers (England)
2007-2009 West Ham
2009 - Everton

Junior Clubs

Wakehurst Tigers (NSW), Manly Warringah Reps (NSW)

Institutes & Academies

Australian Institute of Sport (1994-95)

Major Honours Achieved

1997 World Youth Championship (Malaysia)
2000 Olympic Games (Sydney)
2005 FIFA Confederations Cup (Germany)
2006 FIFA World Cup Finals (Germany)
2007 Asian Cup Finals

Qantas Socceroos

Playing Position

Defender

Appearances

Debut Match

v Saudi Arabia (D0-0), Friendly, Riyadh (KSA), October 1996

Last Match

v Oman, (W 2-1), Asian Cup qualifier, Muscat (OMN), November 2009

Qantas Under 23s

Playing Position

Defender

Appearances

Debut Match

v Japan (W1-0), Friendly, Japan, May 1999

Last Match

v Honduras (L1-2), Olympic Games, Sydney (AUS), September 2000

Qantas Young Socceroos

Playing Position

Defender

Appearances

Goals

Debut Match

v Fiji (W10-0), World Cup qualifying, Tahiti, January 1997

Last Match

v Argentina (W4-3), World Cup, Malaysia, June 1997

Biography

Qantas Socceroos

After serving his apprenticeship over seven seasons with Millwall in the English lower divisions, he earned his dream contract of playing in the English Premier League when Blackburn came in for him in 2001. Since then he has never looked back, being an automatic selection for Blackburn and more recently for the Qantas Socceroos. He is very strong in the tackle, good in the air and links well in attack. His best attribute is his versatility across the backline, which he proved in the matches against Uruguay that got Australia to the 2006 World Cup. At the World Cup he formed a terrific partnership with Craig Moore and led the backline superbly with assured displays. Unfortunately these performances will be overshadowed by the disappointment in conceding the controversial penalty that led to Italy's last minute winner in the second round. He showed his terrific character in the aftermath to that incident, with calling for him to be annointed the next captain of the Socceroos. Neill had a frustrating tournament at the 2007 Asian Cup finals, earning a red card against Iraq. Left Blackburn Rovers for a big money move to West Ham United, where he was captain. Was chosen by Pim Verbeek to lead the Qantas Socceroos during the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign and proved an inspirational choice in guiding the team around the park to successfully qualifying for the 2010 finals. Moved to Everton during the 2009/10 EPL season before a quick switch to join Australian team-mate Harry Kewell at Galatasaray.