Dalian Atkinson

Dalian Atkinson
Personal information

Full name	Dalian Robert Atkinson^[1]
Date of birth	(1968-03-21) 21 March 1968
Place of birth	Telford, Shropshire, England
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Playing position	Striker
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1985–1989	Ipswich Town	60	(18)
1989–1990	Sheffield Wednesday	38	(10)
1990–1991	Real Sociedad	29	(12)
1991–1995	Aston Villa	85	(23)
1995–1997	Fenerbahçe	21	(10)
1996	→ Metz (loan)	0	(0)
1996–1997	→ Manchester City (loan)	8	(2)
1997–1999	Al-Ittihad	?	(?)
2001	Daejeon Citizen	1	(0)
2001	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	4	(0)
Total		246+	(75+)
National team
1990	England B	1	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (goals)

Dalian Robert Atkinson (born 21 March 1968) is an English former footballer who played as a striker in the Football League and Premier League for Ipswich Town, Sheffield Wednesday, Aston Villa and Manchester City,^[2] in La Liga for Real Sociedad,^[3] in Ligue 1 for Metz, in the Turkish Super League for Fenerbahçe,^[1] in Saudi Arabia for Al-Ittihad, and in the K-League for Daejeon Citizen and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors.

Career

Atkinson is probably most often remembered for his magnificent solo goal against Wimbledon in a 3-2 away win on 3 October 1992, which won a BBC Match of the Day Goal of the Season competition for the 1992-93 season, the first season of the new FA Premier League, when Villa finished runners-up.^[4] Starting deep in the Aston Villa half of the pitch with a one-touch trap from a lofted ball that immediately took him away from a defending player, Atkinson then skipped past two more Wimbledon players and, pausing briefly as he reached the edge of the opposition penalty area, produced a delicately arced chip-shot that floated over the onrushing goalkeeper. He also had the distinction of scoring Villa's first Premier League goal, when he scored their 84th-minute equaliser in a 1-1 draw at Ipswich Town on the opening day of the season.^[5]

He is also fondly remembered by Aston Villa fans for his inspirational performance and crucial goal in the 1994 League Cup final win against Manchester United. He also scored twice in the semi finals against Tranmere Rovers (once in the first leg and once in the second).

Atkinson first came to prominence at Ipswich Town as a teenager, impressing seasoned experts with his speed and daring which included an incredible hat-trick against a Middlesbrough side containing Gary Pallister and future Ipswich captain Tony Mowbray at the heart of their defence in the 1987-88 season.

In 1989, manager Ron Atkinson brought him to Sheffield Wednesday for £450,000 where he formed a fine front partnership with David Hirst for a single season. He was an ever-present in the league for Sheffield Wednesday in his only season there, scoring 10 goals but being unable to prevent them from being relegated. After relegation he was sold to Real Sociedad for £1.7million.

He was the first black player in Real Sociedad's history. Nicknamed "el txipiron" (the squid) by Sociedad fans, he was part of an English trio at the Spanish club, along with Kevin Richardson and John Aldridge, during the 1990-91 season. Unfortunately, the Spanish did not have a good year, although Atkinson made a good contribution over the season, scoring 12 goals in La Liga. Nevertheless, the club's hierarchy was dissatisfied with the behaviour of Atkinson off the field, so they decided to sell him after receiving an offer from Aston Villa that was close to the money the paid the year before for the English player.

After joining Aston Villa for £1.6million in July 1991, he became one half of another impressive partnership, the so-called D-Men (AKA Deadly Duo), alongside Dean Saunders, when Saunders arrived from Liverpool a year after Atkinson arrived there from Real Sociedad. The partnership was broken up in 1995 when both players were sold to Turkish clubs - Saunders to Galatasaray and Atkinson to Fenerbahçe for £1.7 million.^[6]

However, despite an encouraging start, Atkinson failed to settle in Turkey and had loan spells with FC Metz and Manchester City before leaving in 1997 and winding down his career with spells in Saudi Arabia and South Korea, finally retiring as a player in 2001. His statistics in the K-League are below:

Daejeon Citizen - K-League Regular Season 1 match, 0 goal / K-League Cup 3 matches, 1 goal
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors - K-League Regular Season 4 matches 0 goal

References

1 2 "Player Details: Dalian Robert Atkinson". Turkish Football Federation. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
↑ "Dalian Atkinson". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
↑ "Real Sociedad - Liga BBVA Squad season 1990-1991". Liga de Futból Profesional. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
↑
↑
↑ Ridley, Ian (13 August 1995). "Club-by-club guide: The prospects, the players to watch, the arrivals and departures". The Independent. Retrieved 10 October 2010.

External links

Match of the Day's Goal of the Season Award

1970–71: Hunt 1971–72: Radford 1972–73: Osgood 1973–74: Mullery 1974–75: Walsh 1975–76: Francis 1976–77: McDermott 1977–78: Gemmill 1978–79: Kennedy 1979–80: Fashanu 1980–81: Morley 1981–82: Regis 1982–83: Dalglish 1983–84: D. Wallace 1984–85: Sharp 1985–86: Robson 1986–87: Houchen 1987–88: Aldridge 1988–89: Aldridge 1989–90: Wright 1990–91: Gascoigne 1991–92: Thomas 1992–93: Atkinson 1993–94: R. Wallace 1994–95: Le Tissier 1995–96: Yeboah 1996–97: Sinclair 1997–98: Bergkamp 1998–99: Giggs 1999–2000: Di Canio 2000–01: Bartlett 2001–02: Bergkamp 2002–03: Henry 2003–04: Hamann 2004–05: Rooney 2005–06: Gerrard 2006–07: Rooney 2007–08: Adebayor 2008–09: Johnson 2009–10: Figueroa 2010–11: Rooney 2011–12: Cissé 2012–13: Van Persie 2013–14: Wilshere 2014–15: Wilshere

Due to to a transfer of broadcast rights, the entries for the 2001–02, 2002–03 and 2003–04 seasons were decided on ITV's The Premiership.

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, April 16, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.