Footballer Stephen Fletcher: biography and photos

Scotland's national football team is not one of the strongest, it usually does not fight for international trophies, but it is played by pretty strong players, among which you can note an attacker named Stephen Fletcher. This player was born in March 1987 and since childhood he has been fond of football. That's why he turned out to be a professional in this sport, playing for the national team of his country, and also succeeded several clubs throughout the UK. So, what is the sports biography of this player? What career path from club to club did Stephen Fletcher?

Carier start

Stephen Fletcher started his football career in the Scottish club "Hibernian", to the football academy of which he joined in 2000 at the age of 13, after he was forced to move from England to Scotland after the death of his father from cancer. In the "Hibernian" he had high hopes, and already in 2004, the 17-year-old was enrolled in the main team, as in reserve and youth squads he showed an incredible game.

He was offered a professional contract much earlier than most players who entertain him at the age of 18. Stephen Fletcher managed to play five more matches in the 2003/2004 season, in which he showed himself on the best side. Already in his first full season at the age of 18 he played 26 games, scoring five goals.

From the next season, Fletcher became the club's main player, and the next four seasons played a key role in his success: for example, in 2007, Hibernian, who had never won any trophies, was able to win the Scottish League Cup. In total for the Scottish club Fletcher held 189 matches, in which he scored 52 goals. His performances attracted the attention of other clubs, and in 2009, at the age of 22, he moved to the English "Burnley", which paid nearly 5 million euros for the attacker.

Going to Burnley

However, this club did not become the place where Stephen Fletcher could stay for a long time. The football player every year demonstrated an increasingly impressive game, so a year later the striker went on to increase. He played for Burnley only 38 games, in which he scored 12 goals, and then immediately received an offer from Wolverhampton. "Burnley" received seven million euro for the attacker, and football player Fletcher Stephen, whose biography began to go to the peak, got a new chance to prove himself in the team higher level.

Ascent in Wolverhampton

In 2010, 23-year-old young striker became a member of the main structure of "Wolves", where he spent two seasons, which became literally identical. Footballer Fletcher Stephen, photos of which began to appear on the covers of British sports magazines, in both seasons played 34 games and scored in each of them for twelve goals. That's when the player approached the highest point of his career - after all, he received an offer from the club Sunderland, from which it was simply impossible to refuse.

"Wolverhampton" received a full fifteen million euros of compensation, and football player Fletcher Stephen, whose rating among young British strikers grew continuously (unfortunately, to date his rating has fallen - he is only 2086th place among all players and 12th in the Team Scotland), retained residence in the top division - after all, his previous club took the last place and flew to the "Championship", while "Sunderland" was in the middle of the table and in subsequent seasons it was planning to grow.

The flourishing of a career in Sunderland

The first season in the new club for Fletcher was like in a fairy tale - he got a place in the base and played thirty matches, in which eleven goals scored. However, in the end of the season, he was seriously injured, because of which he missed an impressive part of the next season and was able to play only 26 games and score three goals. It became obvious that the trauma knocked down the attacker, and he could not get his previous form in any way.

In the third season, though he played 34 games, but scored only five goals. The beginning of the fourth and final season in "Sunderland" Fletcher did again not very well, having played 18 matches in which he scored four goals. The club's management decided to give the attacker a lease so that he could try to get the condition, and then it would be decided to extend the contract, which expired six months later. For six months, the forward of the lease was accepted by the French "Marcel".

Rent in Marseille

In France, unfortunately, the Scottish footballer did not get things right - he periodically went out on the field and managed to play in thirteen games, but did not excel with special results - he only hit the opponent's gate three times. Therefore, when the lease ended, "Marcel" did not want to buy out a talented and promising player. Also, Sunderland refused to renew the contract with him, so in the summer of 2016 the 29-year-old left without a club. Naturally, this was only official, because even before the completion of the contract with Sunderland, Fletcher agreed with the English club from the "Championships" called "Sheffield Wednesday", with which he signed a four-year contract.

A new beginning in Sheffield

To date, Stephen Fletcher has already managed to play five matches for the new club - in the first two he went on to replace, but in the remaining three he was already starting the game in the starting lineup. So far, the player does not think about what will happen to him in the future: will he be able to play at a higher level, return to the Premier League, or even move to another championship. At the moment, he is configured exclusively for performances for his acting club, as well as for the preservation of the place in the national team of Scotland.

National team appearances

In the national team of Scotland Stephen Fletcher was first called in March 2008, when he was still in favor of "Hibernian". In the first friendly match against the team of Croatia, he gave an assist. In total for the national team he played at the moment 29 matches, scoring 9 goals and giving three assists.

The last time Fletcher appeared on the field just recently - on September 4, 2016 in the match of the qualifying tournament for the World Cup against Malta, where he replaced Chris Martin and ten minutes later scored a goal.