John Fleck (footballer)

Football player infobox
playername = John Fleck


fullname = John Fleck
height = height|m=1.75
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1991|8|24
cityofbirth = Glasgow
countryofbirth = Scotland
currentclub = Rangers
clubnumber = 53
position = Midfielder
years = 2006-
clubs = Rangers
caps(goals) = 1 (0)
nationalyears =
nationalteam =
nationalcaps(goals) =
pcupdate = May 22, 2008
ntupdate =

John Fleck (born August 24 1991 in Glasgow) is a Scottish football central midfielder currently playing for Rangers. He is a regular in the Rangers Under 19 team, despite being considerably younger than most players in that age bracket. His uncle Robert Fleck was a regular player for Rangers in the 1980s and played for Scotland.

On September 12 2006, Fleck captained Scotland Under 16s to an 11-0 victory over Jersey Under 17s, scoring a hat trick in the process. He was the captain of the Scotland side at the 2006 Victory Shield competition.

His youth, ability and physique has drawn similarities to Wayne Rooney in the media. In light of this, Adidas have signed Fleck on a sponsorship deal and Rangers have tied him to a professional contract.cite news|url=http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/tm_headline=i-d-love-to-be-the-scottish-wayne-rooney&method=full&objectid=18247424&siteid=66633-name_page.html|title=I'd love to be the Scottish Wayne Rooney|publisher=Daily Record|date=December 12, 2006] He played the full 90 minutes in Rangers' 5-0 Scottish Youth Cup victory over rivals Celtic on April 26 2007.cite news|url=http://www.theherald.co.uk/sport/football/display.var.1359203.0.0.php|title=Rangers U19 5 - 0 Celtic U19|publisher=The Herald|date=April 26, 2007]

On July 12 2007, Fleck was called up to take part in the full squad pre-season tour of Germany, despite being more than a month away from his sixteenth birthday.cite news|url=http://www.rangers.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/NewsDetail/0,,5~1071698,00.html|title=Trio Miss Germany Trip|publisher=Rangers official website|date=July 12, 2007] Fleck was handed his debut for the first team against SV Lippstadt 08 on July 15 2007, becoming the first 15 year old to play for the first team since Derek Fergusoncite news|url=http://www.rangers.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/NewsDetail/0,,5~1073400,00.html|title=Debut Double For McCulloch|publisher=Rangers official website|date=July 16, 2007] in 1982. Rangers won the game 4-2.

On August 25 2007, Fleck (just a day after turning 16) was included in the Rangers first team squad for a competitive match for the first time - against Kilmarnock. He made his competitive debut on the 23 January 2008 in the Scottish Cup game against East Stirling.cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_cups/7203278.stm|title=Rangers 6-0 East Stirlingshire|publisher=BBC Sport website|date=23 January, 2008]

Fleck made his league debut for the Rangers first team on the May 22 2008 in the final league game of the season against Aberdeen. Two days later, he became the youngest player to play in a British Cup final, by appearing as a substitute in the 2008 Scottish Cup Final against Queen of the South.

During Rangers' pre-season tour of Germany, Fleck impressed and scored in a 3-1 friendly victory over Sportfreunde Lotte. He is now a regurlar first team substitute for Rangers. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/r/rangers/7510493.stm]

Honours

With Rangers
* Scottish Cup: 2007-08

References

External links

*soccerbase|id=47136|name=John Fleck