Damien Duff The Biography

Irishman Damien Duff is one of the Premiership's most feared attacking players. The king of wide attacking play, he's a man of exceptional talent and frightening pace, and it's a brave defender who takes his presence lightly. Signed by Blackburn as a trainee, he was instrumental in the promotion-winning side of 2001. His subsequent appearances in the 2002 World Cup meant it wasn't long before he was picked up by a bigger club side, and in 2003 Chelsea swooped, paying GBP 17 millionthen a club record for the Blues. After an injury-plagued first season, Duff soon justified his price tag in the 2004/2005 season. He scored ten goals, including a crucial strike in a 42 win against Barcelona in the Champions League, while the team won the Premiership title and the Carling Cup, with Duff scoring what proved to be the winning goal in the semi-final against archrivals Manchester United. After a bargain GBP 5 million transfer to Newcastle United in 2006, the Geordie faithful have a player their desire for attacking soccer demands. Duff is one of the best wingers in Europe, with lightning speed, pinpoint crossing, and impressive finishing. He is considered to be one of the Premiership's major attacking threats, and has also won over 50 caps for the Republic of Ireland. This is the story of how the slight, swift lad from Dublin City made it in the toughest soccer league in the world.

Joel Miller has experience of reporting on Premiership and Football League matches as well as writing news stories and features for a variety of national newspapers and magazines. Having worked as a football statistician for ITV between 2001 and 2004 he now operates in a freelance capacity, combining both research and writing. In the 2005-06 season he travelled to Barcelona, Madrid, Milan and Paris as a member of ITV's Champions League production team and also worked on Channel 5's UEFA Cup coverage.