Damien Duff

Damien Anthony Duff (born 2 March 1979) is an Irish footballer who plays for Fulham and the Republic of Ireland national football team. Previously he has played for Blackburn Rovers, with whom he won the Football League Cup; Chelsea, where he won two Premier League titles and another League Cup; and Newcastle United until summer 2009.

Club career

Blackburn Rovers

Born in Ballyboden, County Dublin, Ireland, Duff joined Blackburn Rovers as a trainee in 1996 after playing for Leicester Celtic, Lourdes Celtic and St. Kevin's Boys as a schoolboy in Dublin. He made his Blackburn debut at the age of 18 against Leicester City on the final day of the 1996–97 season for which he won the Man of the match award. In his first full season (1997–98) he scored four goals. Blackburn were relegated the following season.

Duff helped Blackburn achieve promotion back to the Premier League in 2001 and then win the League Cup in 2002, beating Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 at the Millennium Stadium. Following the 2002 World Cup Duff signed a new four-year contract with Rovers, though press reports had suggested that he was to change clubs. Despite injury problems in the 2002–03 season he finished as Rovers' top goalscorer with 11 league goals, which helped his team finish 6th and qualify for the UEFA Cup.

Chelsea

In the run up to the 2003–04 season Chelsea made a series of bids for Duff, with a £17m offer eventually triggering a release clause in the player's contract. Duff chose to move to......
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