Richard Stearman

Richard Stearman in the jersey of Leicester City (2007)

Richard James Michael Stearman ( born August 19, 1987 in Wolverhampton) is an English football player and is currently the Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers under contract. About the detour Leicester City led the way of the defender in 2008 in his native city, where he is active for the Wolves since.

Sports career

Richard Stearman was born in Wolverhampton, but grew up in the county of Leicestershire. In a game for the small club Harborough Town he fell to the talent scouts of Leicester City who convinced him to join the club's academy. There he was trained as a defender and demonstrated particular strengths on the positions of the inner - and right-back. He received after the 2003/04 season the club house award for best "Young Player of the Year " and signed in the same year 2004, the " foxes " his first professional contract.

At the age of 17 years Stearman graduated on 30 October 2004 against Cardiff City goalless draw his first second-division game and finished the season 2004/ 05 with a total of eight missions. A year later, he was already a regular player and received a serious offer from the Premier League in the form of Sunderland AFC, which, however, rejected the then coach Rob Kelly's statement that he was not willing to give perspective players. By 2008, the talent did in Leicester and won at the end of the award for best professional club last season in two categories. Nevertheless, he suffered with Leicester City to relegation to the third-rate Football League One.

Since Stearman had grown into a nationally acclaimed talent, he could no longer be held by the third division, and so he moved on 25 June 2008 to the former second division rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers, where he signed a four year contract. He celebrated on August 9, 2008 on the occasion of the first matchday his debut in a 2-2 draw against Plymouth Argyle and formed in late 2008 with the loan from Chelsea FC Michael Mancienne an effective Abwehrduo, which is also in the English U-21 national came to the course. When the promotion battle went into the decisive phase, coach Mick McCarthy made ​​him more often on the bench and trusted the experienced Jody Craddock due to a form of weakness. On 3 May 2009, he scored in stoppage time the decisive goal in a 1-0 victory against Doncaster Rovers, the same was Stearman first goal for the " Wolves ".

National

After Stearman had already been active for the U -17 and U-18 selection in England, he received his first nomination for the U-21 national team in November 2007. He came there but not initially used, which later was also repeated in his next nomination occasion of the qualifying game for U-21 European Championship in 2009 against the Portuguese junior in September 2008 as also a month against Wales. His debut followed ultimately in the 2-0 friendly victory against the Czech Republic. Coach Stuart Pearce nominated him for the U- 21 Championship in Sweden, where he but only in England for relatively unimportant final group game against Germany in a " B team " his only finals game completed.