Clive Clarke

Clive Richard Luke Clarke ( born January 14, 1980 in Dublin ) is a former Irish football player who was used primarily as a left defender, but also played in the left or central midfield. He ended his career in February 2008, six months after suffering a cardiac arrest during a game.

Club career

Clarke began in his Irish hometown Newtownmountkennedy in County Wicklow in the Newtown School Boys with football game. Still a teenager, he came in 1996 to train to Stoke City, where he made ​​his debut against Oldham Athletic in the first team in May 1999. He became a regular player of the third division, with a total of 55 missions in the 1999/2000 season and 33 games in the following season. 2001 and 2002 he reached the playoffs for the second division Stoke ascent, which succeeded in the second year. Thus, Clarke played second-rate from the 2001/02 season. A total of nine years, he remained with the Potters and was at this time in a total of 262 games in all competitions on the court.

For a fee of 275,000 pounds Clarke joined late July 2005 at the request of United manager Alan Pardew to West Ham United. However, at West Ham, he came only to three stakes and moved to the 2006/07 season for Sunderland. Here he was, however, only in four games on the pitch and was loaned in October 2006 Coventry City. In Coventry, he came to twelve missions, before he returned to Sunderland, but there could not collect more match practice.

In August 2007 he was loaned from the Premier League promoted again in the Football League Championship at Leicester City. On August 28, 2007 Clarke collapsed during the Carling Cup game at Nottingham Forest. The cause was probably a two-time short cardiac arrest in the half-time break. Clarke was taken to hospital; the game was canceled. Clarke's collapse occurred just hours after the death of the three days earlier also collapsed during a football match FC Sevilla player Antonio Puerta.

Clarke was initially confident that he 'll play again. He received a pacemaker. After the incident he was neither in nor Leicester City at Sunderland, where he returned in November 2007, again for use. In February 2008, his contract with FC Sunderland mutual agreement was dissolved on the advice of his doctors.

National

Clarke first played for the U-21 National Team of Ireland and was set up in 2004 twice in the Irish A- national team in May of the year against Nigeria and in June against Jamaica.