Steve Finnan
From Liverpool FC Wiki
Stephen John Finnan (born 24 April 1976) is an Irish football player, who currently plays for Liverpool at right back.
[edit] Liverpool career
Finnan wore the no.3 shirt for Liverpool, and played for Liverpool from 2003 until 2008 after signing from Fulham for a fee of about £4.9m.
Finnan's first season at Anfield was disrupted by a succession of injuries. However, the campaign ended on a high as Liverpool clinched fourth place and a UEFA Champions League qualifying spot.
During the 2004–05 season with Liverpool, he established himself as the first choice right back and a firm fans' favourite.This successful season saw him play in the Carling Cup final which Liverpool lost 3–2 to Chelsea. Finnan also started in the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final against A.C. Milan, which the team went on to win. Unfortunately he picked up an injury and was substituted at half time. He had a highly successfully 2005–2006 season in which he was a start performer for Liverpool and was consistent throughout the season. At the end of the season Liverpool won the FA Cup and Finnan added another medal to his collection.
Finnan played for Liverpool as first choice right back for the 2006–07 season despite heavy competition from newly arrived team-mate Alvaro Arbeloa. The season was a very successful one for him as he was very consistent throughout the season and many fans considered him to be one of their top performers as evident through the high amounts of vote he collected in a poll in the official Liverpool website. He participated in the 2007 UEFA Champions League Final and was substituted after 88 minutes for Arbeloa. Liverpool went on to lose the game 2–1. On July 23, Finnan agreed a new three-year contract to remain with Liverpool.
On August 19, Finnan was involved in a controversial penalty decision in which Chelsea's Florent Malouda went to ground, not one Chelsea player appealed for a penalty, however referee Rob Styles gave a penalty because he thought Finnan had fouled him. Video replays later showed that there was no illegal contact between the players. The final score was Liverpool 1–1 Chelsea when Frank Lampard converted the penalty to level with Fernando Torres' 16th minute goal.
Finnan made it into the top 100 Liverpool appearances of all time when he came on as substitute in the 4–0 victory over Toulouse on August 28, 2007.
Finnan made 136 league appearances for Liverpool and scored 1 league goal before moving to Espanyol on 1st September 2008.
[edit] External links
- Steve Finnan career stats at Soccerbase
| Liverpool F.C. – current squad |
|---|
| 3 Finnan • 4 Hyypia • 5 Agger • 6 Riise • 7 Kewell • 8 Gerrard • 9 Torres • 10 Voronin • 11 Benayoun • 12 F. Aurelio • 14 Alonso • 15 Crouch • 16 Pennant • 17 Arbeloa • 18 Kuyt • 19 Babel • 20 Mascherano • 21 Lucas • 23 Carragher • 25 Reina • 30 Itandje • 33 Leto • 34 Spearing • 35 Putterill • 36 Flynn • 37 Skrtel • 39 Darby • 40 Martin • 42 El Zhar • 48 Insua • Manager: Benitez |
