The 'Magnificent Career' of Record-Breaking Gareth Barry

 Gareth Barry considered retirement last summer, but stayed for an additional year as West Brom secured promotion. Photograph: Nick Potts/PA
Gareth Barry considered retirement last summer, but stayed for an additional year as West Brom secured promotion. Photograph: Nick Potts/PA
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The 'Magnificent Career' of Record-Breaking Gareth Barry

 Gareth Barry considered retirement last summer, but stayed for an additional year as West Brom secured promotion. Photograph: Nick Potts/PA
Gareth Barry considered retirement last summer, but stayed for an additional year as West Brom secured promotion. Photograph: Nick Potts/PA

Gareth Barry has served all four of his senior professional clubs well, and it was no surprise that each of them posted tributes when he announced his retirement on Thursday at the age of 39. All were highly complimentary, though perhaps Everton’s summed up the Premier League record holder’s 653 appearances most concisely: “Congratulations on a magnificent career.”

The midfielder’s 22 years in top-level football have certainly been that, though in addition to numerous milestones and 833 appearances in total it should not be forgotten that Barry also holds another record – no one else has collected 119 yellow cards, not to mention several dismissals.

Perhaps that is simply the midfielder’s lot these days, and as an old-fashioned ball-winner not exactly blessed with pace, Barry could scarcely avoid being late into challenges as the game sped up around him. Anyone only familiar with the later part of his career might assume he was put into the team specifically to make his muscular presence felt by putting some bite and backbone into the side, though he would not have played so regularly or clocked up so many records had he simply been a midfield enforcer.

Barry was a technically gifted player with an eye for a pass and an ability to anticipate danger. Most players would have been happy with just the Aston Villa part of his career – 365 appearances in 11 years – but towards the end of that stint Rafael Benítez tried to bring him to Liverpool and the player was keen to join. That move never happened, but had it come about Barry would probably have missed out on his most
successful period, the five years at Manchester City that brought an FA Cup win in 2011 and a league title a year later.

He was 33 when City released him yet he still went on to make 155 appearances for Everton, where he was voted player of the season in 2015-16 by both supporters and first team players. When that contract came to an end he had enough left in the locker for three years with West Brom, where typically he chose not to retire a year ago when out of the team through injury because he wanted to fight back and go out on his own terms.

Fight is a characteristic that Barry gave all his teams, including England, who handed him the first of his 53 caps way back in the Kevin Keegan era. He did not prove popular with all of the half dozen international coaches who came along after, though he retained his popularity among fans, who appreciated his desire and determined approach.

Those qualities in turn helped him outstrip Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney to claim the record for Premier League appearances, a record that should stand for some time given that James Milner is the only player in the top 10 still active. Milner is a similar player to Barry in many ways, indeed the pair played together at Villa and Manchester City, but even though Milner looks after himself and is five years younger, he is going to have to go some to appear in another 116 top-flight matches.

The Guardian Sport



Iraq Decline to Play Palestine World Cup Qualifier in Jerusalem or Jordan

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - World Cup - Asian Qualifiers - Third Round - Group B - Iraq v Palestine - Basra International Stadium, Basra, Iraq - October 10, 2024 Palestine fans inside the stadium before the match REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - World Cup - Asian Qualifiers - Third Round - Group B - Iraq v Palestine - Basra International Stadium, Basra, Iraq - October 10, 2024 Palestine fans inside the stadium before the match REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani/File Photo
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Iraq Decline to Play Palestine World Cup Qualifier in Jerusalem or Jordan

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - World Cup - Asian Qualifiers - Third Round - Group B - Iraq v Palestine - Basra International Stadium, Basra, Iraq - October 10, 2024 Palestine fans inside the stadium before the match REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - World Cup - Asian Qualifiers - Third Round - Group B - Iraq v Palestine - Basra International Stadium, Basra, Iraq - October 10, 2024 Palestine fans inside the stadium before the match REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani/File Photo

Iraq want their World Cup qualifier against Palestine next month moved from the Jordanian capital of Amman, having also knocked back a Palestinian proposal to stage the match just outside Jerusalem.
The last soccer international played in the Palestinian territories was in October 2019 and Palestine have since staged their "home" fixtures at neutral venues in Qatar, Jordan, Kuwait and Malaysia.
Palestine are due to host Iraq in a Group B match in the third round of Asian qualifying on March 25 and, after the proposal to play the match in the Palestinian territories was turned down, FIFA proposed Amman as the neutral venue.
According to Reuters, the Iraqi Football Association (IFA) said in a statement on Thursday that it had written to soccer's world governing body asking for the match to be moved to another city as playing in Amman would breach FIFA's own rules on neutral venues.
"This decision raises serious questions about the integrity and fairness of the competition, given the highly competitive nature in Group B," the IFA statement read.
"Iraq, Jordan and Palestine are direct competitors in the group and the gap between Iraq and Jordan in the standings is currently very close."
Iraq are in second place in the group with 11 points, leading Jordan in third by two points and trailing leaders South Korea by three points. The top two teams in the group progress directly to the 2026 World Cup finals in North America.
The Palestine Football Association (PFA) released a statement on Thursday regretting Iraq's decision not to allow the match to go ahead at Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium in Al-Ram, Jerusalem.
The PFA said FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) had inspected the stadium and agreed the match could be played there, but only with the agreement of the Iraqis.
"We were surprised to learn that our colleagues in the Iraqi Football Association had unilaterally decided to decline playing in Palestine and directly communicated this to the AFC and FIFA without consulting the PFA," the statement said.
"Despite this decision, we reaffirm our unwavering commitment to reclaiming our right to host matches on our home soil -- a right we have fought tirelessly to secure and uphold over the years."
The IFA said "despite our keenness to hold the match in beloved Palestine, and to stand with Palestinian sports at this time", the body had decided to refuse because of the lack of VAR technology in the stadium.
Reuters has contacted FIFA and the AFC for comment.
Palestine are bottom of Group B with three points after six matches. Neither Palestine nor Jordan have previously qualified for the World Cup finals, while Iraq lost all three games on their one appearance in Mexico in 1986.