Owen Hargreaves, whose biography is of interest to many of his fans, is an English footballer, a linebacker in the game line. He played for his national team at the following championships: world in 2002 and 2006. and Europe (2004).
A family
Hargreaves Owen Lee was born on January 20th, 1981 in Canada, in the city of Calgary, where his parents emigrated from England in the early eighties. Owen was the youngest in the family, the third child. His father, Colin Hargreaves, was a soccer player and played in the Canadian League. Owen's mother's name is Margaret. There are older brothers - Neil and Darren.
The beginning of a football career
Owen's football career began in his ninety-fourth year. It was then that he first came to the Calgary Foothills Academy. He studied in it until 1997. Then he was noticed by scouts of a German club. And in the same year, Owen was invited to join Bavaria Munich.
This was his stellar chance, as he had great prospects for his future career in professional football. Owen Hargreaves accepted the offer and moved to Europe. He played in the youth for two and a half years. Then six months he played in an amateur team. In 1998, Bayern reached the final of the German Championship, but lost to Borussia in the penalty shoot-out.
First contract
In 2000, Owen was asked to sign a contract with the main team of Bavaria for the role of midfielder. For a set of a game form, Hargreaves was temporarily transferred to the reserve. His doubles were quite successful. And a year after hard training, he was already taken into the main team. As soon as Owen was in it, the coach began to attract him to the game more and more actively, giving a lot of practice.
Debut
He made his debut in the main team of Owen Hargreaves on August 12, 2000. At that time he replaced Karsten Janker in the eighty-third minute. On September 16th he was already playing the full match (ninety minutes) against Unterhaching. The 2000-2001 season was a triumph for Bavaria. The club won the Champions League. It was then that Owen's excellent play attracted world attention to him. He turned out to be a worthy opponent of such eminent masters as R. Carlos and L. Figo. Owen is one of two British footballers to have won the Champions League with a non-English club.
Approval in the basic structure of Bavaria
Hargreaves Owen, whose photo is in this article, remained a regular player in the German club during the 2000-2001 season. He played for Bayern for forty-six matches. And this season was decisive for Hargreaves, despite losing the German Cup and getting out of the quarter-finals of the League, Owen has already been approved as the main player in the backbone of this titled German team.
Injury
At the end of summer 2001, he played in the national team of Great Britain against Holland. And he became the first player to wear an English T-shirt, although he had never lived there and had not played for Britain before. But Owen could not finish the match to the end. At the fifteenth minute he was injured and was replaced.
First goal in the Bundesliga
In the 2002-2003 season, Hargreaves expected success again. Now in the domestic arena. German “Bayern” still won the cup and home championship. In January 2003, Hargreaves Owen scored his first goal in the Bundesliga. We played against Borussia.
But due to injuries, Owen missed matches three times. First, the thigh muscle was torn, then the calf muscle, and for three weeks he suffered with the adductor. But he managed to play 25 matches in the championship, 4 for the German Cup and 3 in the Champions League.
Then a few more seasons he played for the German club Bayern. He received medals, won cups and championships with the team, scored the first goal at the new “Bavarian” stadium. In 2005, the contract with the club was extended for another four years. At one of the home championships, Hargreaves was recognized as the best player in the national team.
Owen transition Manchester United
The 2006-2007 season was unsuccessful and good for Owen at the same time. At first, he was definitely out of luck. Hargreaves broke his leg during one of the matches and missed the lion's part of the season. But he managed to return to the club to help Bayern beat Real Madrid in the Champions League.
In the same season, he made an offer to move the English Manchester United. Owen did not even hide his desire to leave to play for the British club. But the contract did not expire, and the Bayern coach did not want to part with a valuable player ahead of time.
In April, Franz Beckenbauer, president of the German club, changed his mind and softened his position, allowing Hargreaves to move to Manchester United if the British pay about twenty million pounds for him. As a result, the deal took place. And a Hargreaves transfer was issued for seventeen million pounds.
"Manchester United"
On May 24, Owen Hargreaves came with his agent to the training base of the English club Manchester United to discuss the contract. As a result, it was signed for four years.
The first season at Manchester United was not very successful for Hargreaves. During the debut in the new team, the British were defeated. Then the old injuries to the knee and back were prevented from playing. Therefore, before the New Year, Owen played only ten matches. But since January, the situation began to improve. In general, during the 2007–2008 season, Hargreaves played in twenty-three games in the first team and in eleven for the double.
Owen’s game was noted as very impressive. He was able to score two goals with excellent free kicks. The balls flew into the goal of Fulham and Arsenal. Until the end of the season, Owen was able to show himself so that in absentia he won a place in the starting lineup at the final game of the Champions League. And in the match against Chelsea, he confidently took the kick during the penalty shoot-out. The victory remained for Manchester United. So, Owen has a second Champions League gold medal. He is one of the few players who during his career managed to win twice this prestigious European tournament.
Career turning point
The 2008-2009 season was a turning point and a failure for Owen. From the very beginning, previous knee injuries began to remind of themselves. Owen Hargreaves traveled to London and Sweden. But this did not produce results. In November 2008, Owen went to see Richard Steadman, a renowned surgeon from Colorado.
As a result, Hargreaves was scheduled for surgery on her right knee on November 10, 2008. In January of the following year, another knee was operated on. The operation was very complex, and it took a long recovery.
Because of this, Owen missed one hundred and thirteen matches - almost two seasons. And he entered the field only in the thirty-seventh round of the Premier League, replacing Luis Nani. He rarely played in the starting lineup. Played only twenty-seven matches. And in November he was injured again, this time with a hamstring, and left the field in the sixth minute.
In 2011, Sir Alex Ferguson, the head of Manchester United, was forced to decide not to renew the contract with Owen. In his subsequent commentary, he noted that Hargreaves was trying very hard to get in shape. Therefore, making such a decision about breaking up was very difficult.
At Manchester City: Retirement
In 2011, Owen was invited by the Manchester City club as an experienced player. They invited him only to replace the leading midfielders, if necessary. He stayed in this English team for two years, practically without playing, occasionally leaving for replacements. After that, I decided to try myself in the coaching field. So sadly Owen Hargreaves ended his career.