Christopher Lloyd "Chris" Smalling
(born 22 November 1989) is an English footballer who plays as a centre
back for Manchester United and the England national team.
During
his youth, Smalling played for the Millwall academy before joining
local non-league side Maidstone United. He was selected for the Kent
Schools Under 16 squad in 2005 before progressing to the Under 18's in
2007, and his performances for Kent Schools resulted in him being
selected to play for the England Schools Under-18 squad in 2008. During
this time Smalling had also established himself in the Maidstone United
first team, and his impressive displays for club and country led to him
signing a two year deal with Middlesbrough in May 2008.
Barely
a month after signing for Middlesbrough however, Smalling had his
contract with the club terminated after raising concerns with home
sickness. Shortly after, in June 2008, he signed for Premier League side
Fulham. He made his professional debut with them in May 2009 in the
final game of the 2008–09 season and helped them reach the 2010 Europa
League final the following season.
In
January 2010, Smalling signed a pre-contract agreement with Manchester
United and joined them officially on 1 July. He made his competitive
debut in the 2010 Community Shield victory over Chelsea which earned
him his first career medal. Since his debut, he has gone on to make
more than 30 appearances for the club and established himself as
first-choice backup to Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidić and has also
become a contender for the right back position.
Smalling
has represented England at various levels and is currently a member of
the England senior squad. He played for the England Schools Under-18
team in early 2008 before making his debut for the Under-20 side and the
Under-21 side in 2009. He made his debut for the England senior squad
in the 3-0 win over Bulgaria on 2 September 2011.
Early life and Maidstone United
Born
in Greenwich, London, Smalling started playing football at the age of
nine for Walderslade Boys. After a short spell at Millwall's academy, a
sixteen-year-old Smalling joined Maidstone United's youth set-up and continued his education at Chatham Grammar School for Boys.
After rising through Maidstone's youth and reserve team set-up under the tutelage of coaches Peter Nott and Tony Cornwell,
Smalling made his first team debut for 'The Stones' on 11 April 2007 in
a 4–1 loss against Tonbridge Angels in the Kent Senior Cup.
After making further appearances in the FA Trophy and Isthmian League
Cup, December 2007 saw Smalling made his league debut for the club
playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–1 draw against Harlow Town.
Smalling impressed and quickly established himself as a vital part of
Maidstone's backline, however injury and international duty restricted
him to making only 11 more appearances for the Kent side.
Smalling scored one goal for Maidstone, netting in a 4–2 win at East
Thurrock United on 24 March 2008, a game which was also his last for the
club.
Fulham
After
attracting strong interest from Fulham, Gillingham, Charlton Athletic
and Reading, Smalling signed for Middlesbrough on a two-year deal on 30
April 2008.
However soon after his contract with Boro was cancelled with Smalling
concerned about homesickness, and in June 2008 he signed for Premier
League side Fulham.
Smalling was not on a contract at Maidstone (as it would have
prohibited him from playing for England Schoolboys), and as such the
Isthmian League club were not entitled to a fee for the player, however
Fulham struck a deal which saw Maidstone given £10,000 upon the
transfer and £10,000 for every ten league games he played. He was made captain of the club's Development Squad by manager Billy McKinlay.
On
24 May 2009, Smalling made his Premier League debut for Fulham,
replacing Aaron Hughes in the 77th minute in the final game of the
2008–09 season in a 2–0 home loss to Everton Smalling made his first
start for Fulham in on 17 September, in an away tie with CSKA Sofia in
the UEFA Europa League with the match ending 1–1.
On 28 December, Smalling made his first league start for Fulham, in a
2–1 loss against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in Fulham's final game of
2009 and scored a decisive own goal in the 75th minute of the match.
Manchester United
On
27 January 2010, Manchester United announced that they had signed
Smalling, for an undisclosed fee, with the player staying at Fulham for
the remainder of the 2009–10 season before joining United for the
beginning 2010–11 campaign.
The transfer officially went through on 1 July. He made his Manchester
United debut in a 3–1 friendly win over Celtic on 16 July and conceded a
penalty which led to Celtic's goal. He scored his first goal for the
club in a 3–2 friendly defeat against Chivas Guadalajara on 30 July,
heading in a corner from Darron Gibson. Smalling scored his first goal
of the 2011–12 season in the 2011 Community Shield against United's
local rivals Manchester City, volleying home an Ashley Young free kick
from close range to reduce the deficit to 2–1. Manchester United went
on to win the game 3–2 and take the shield. The new season also saw
Smalling adapt to a new role, as early injuries to Nemanja Vidić, Rio
Ferdinand and Rafael allowed Smalling, Jonny Evans and new signing Phil
Jones to replace them. Evans and Jones played as central defenders
whereas Smalling was deployed as a right full back. Smalling scored his
first ever Premier League goal against title rivals Chelsea at Old
Trafford on the 18th September 2011, rising unmarked to place a header
into the far corner to open the scoring, in a game United went on to
win 3-1.
International career
England Youth Teams
At
the age of 17 and studying for his A Levels, Smalling was selected to
represent his county (Kent), and the Kent Schools' Football Association
then nominated him for trials for the England Schoolboy international
squad.
His trial was successful, and Smalling was selected to represent
England Schools against Australia in January 2008. England won 2-0,
and Smalling went on to play for England in the Centenary Shield,
playing all four matches which including 1–0 victory against Wales
Schools in which he scored the only goal.
Smalling
made his debut for the England Under–20 team 31 March 2009, playing 45
minutes in a 1–1 draw against Italy at Loftus Road.
On 11 August, four months after his Under-20 debut, he made his debut
for the Under–21 squad in a friendly fixture against the Netherlands,
coming on as a substitute in the 58th minute of a 0–0 away draw.
On 14 November, Smalling made first start for the Under-21's in a 2011
U21 European Championship qualifier against Portugal at Wembley Stadium
in a 1–0 win.
He scored his first goal for the Under–21's on 8 October 2010 against
Romania in England's 2011 U21 European Championship play-off first leg,
converting from inside the area after an assist from Danny Sturridge.
The goal, scored in the 83rd minute, proved to be the winner as England
won 2–1.
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