Lee Sharpe

Football player infobox
playername = Lee Sharpe


fullname = Lee Stuart Sharpe
nickname =
height = height|ft=6|in=0
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1971|5|27|df=y
cityofbirth = Halesowen
countryofbirth = England
currentclub =
clubnumber =
position = Midfielder
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1988
1988–1996
1996–1999
1998–1999
1999
1999–2002
2001
2002
2003
2004
clubs = Torquay United
Manchester United
Leeds United
→ Sampdoria (loan)
→ Bradford City (loan)
Bradford City
→ Portsmouth (loan)
Exeter City
Grindavík
Garforth Town
caps(goals) = 014 0(3)
193 (21)
030 0(5)
003 0(0) [cite web |url=http://www.footballplus.com/players/7720/Lee-Sharpe.html |title=Lee Sharpe |accessdate=2008-04-20 |publisher=Footballplus.com]
009 0(2)
047 0(2)
017 0(0)
004 0(1)
007 0(0)
00? 0(?)
nationalyears = 1989–1990
1991–1995
1992
nationalteam = England U21
England
England B
nationalcaps(goals) = 008 0(0)
008 0(0)
001 0(0)
pcupdate = 5/1/2007

Lee Stuart Sharpe (born 27 May 1971 in Halesowen, West Midlands) is a retired English football player. Predominantly a left winger, Sharpe once played for Manchester United and was a promising young player in English football, but his career went into rapid decline at an early age. He has achieved renewed fame by appearing on reality television shows.

Professional football career

An Aston Villa supporter, Sharpe began his career at Torquay United. However, in his first season with them, after only 16 games, Manchester United noted his potential and swooped to sign him in June for £200,000, a record fee at the time for a YTS player.

He soon broke into the first team, initially playing out of position at left back before replacing Ralph Milne as left-winger in the 1990–91 season. He played a key part in United's success in the European Cup Winners' Cup that season scoring a hat-trick against Arsenal at Highbury in the 1990 League Cup. United eventually won the game 6–2. Sharpe himself, cites this as one of the best memories in his footballing career. [ [http://sport.guardian.co.uk/smalltalk/story/0,,1311163,00.html Lee Sharpe | Small talk | Guardian Unlimited Sport ] ]

Having established himself as a left winger, Sharpe earned a call up to the England squad, although he was unable to replace John Barnes as first choice left winger. Unfortunately, he was then out of the game for long periods of time through injury and illness (he suffered from viral meningitis) and when his fitness recovered the form of Ryan Giggs meant he had to play out of position at left back or on the right wing, competing for a place with Andrei Kanchelskis. In total he played 265 games for the Red Devils during eight years there, scoring 36 goals.

Sharpe is well remembered on his memorable goal against FC Barcelona during the 1994-1995 Champions League season, when he spectacularly backheeled a cross from Brian McClair into the net. [ [http://www.goal.com/EN/articolo.aspx?contenutoid=666599 Barcelona - Manchester United: A Historical Look] ]

Despite his injury history, Leeds United signed him for £4.5 million in the summer of 1996, making him their record signing. Again his time at Leeds was beset by further injuries. He made 26 Premiership appearances in 1996–97, scoring five goals, but a pre-season knee injury ruled him out for the entire 1997–98 season and he was unable to regain his place in the team on recovery.

In the autumn of 1998, he was loaned to Italian Serie A strugglers Sampdoria, but soon fell out of favour and in the New Year he returned to England. He signed on loan for Bradford City in March 1999 and he helped in securing the club's promotion to the Premiership after 77 years outside the top division. He joined Bradford in a £250,000 deal during the summer and helped preserve the club's Premiership status in 1999–00.

In 2000–01, Sharpe lost his place in the Bradford team and just before Christmas went on loan to Division One Portsmouth. He returned to Bradford during the 2001–02 season but when his contract expired at the end of the season he was given a free transfer. Following a brief trial stay with Grimsby Town he signed for Exeter City before he moved to Grindavík in Iceland. In June 2003 he announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 32.

During 2003–04, Sharpe made a brief return to football in the Kidderminster Sunday League with Hoobrook Crown before signing for Northern Counties East Premier League side Garforth Town the following summer.

Sharpe was capped eight times by England between 1991 and 1995.

Sharpe has emerged as a key member of The England Legends, a squad of former internationals who play one-off games against counterparts from Italy, Germany, Ireland and Scotland.

After football

In 2004 and 2006, Sharpe was a football pundit for ESPN Star in Asia, and together with Les Ferdinand, is a celebrity host on the game show "Kickoff" where he is known as "Sharpy." Sharpe is a pundit on BBC's "Match of the Day 2" and "Football Focus", and during the 2006 World Cup presented a [http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/world-cup-2006/lee-sharpe/world cup blog] from Germany with video clips and photos for Yahoo. Sharpe appeared in one episode of the footballing drama Dream Team.

Sharpe has also developed a career in reality television. He appeared as a competitor in the 2005, ITV television show Celebrity Wrestling, under the name "Sharpe Shooter." He is best known though for appearing in "Celebrity Love Island". During his time on the Island Sharpe courted the attentions of many of the show's ladies, most notably TV presenter Jayne Middlemiss, who confessed to "never having felt like this before about someone," but Sharpe eventually dated Abi Titmuss.

On 25 August 2005 Sharpe's autobiography "My Idea of Fun" was published, describing his time as a footballer and his resulting celebrity status.

In 2007 Sharpe appeared as a contestant in ITV's Dancing On Ice. He was eliminated from the competition on 3 March 2007. He was to also appear in ITV's popular TV soap Coronation Street as an extra in the fictional pub "The Rovers Return" as a working class taxi driver from Manchester.

In November 2005 Sharpe visited York to attend a graduation ceremony at the Minster. He later dined in the popular VJ's Art Bar which has become affectionately known to locals as 'The Lee Sharpe Bar'.Fact|date=January 2008

Sharpe, alongside former Bucks Fizz singer Cheryl Baker, currently fronts a London Underground advertising campaign for Nourkrin, a baldness treatment. He is billed as "Of Celebrity Love Island fame!"

He has recently starred in Dec's team on Ant V's Dec, on Saturday Night Takeaway ITV1.

Sharpe also featured as a hider on CBBC's show Hider in the House.

Appeared in the 2008 television series Superstars on Channel Five.

Personal life

Sharpe dated Joanne Petty from 2003, and the couple lived together in Leeds. They split in 2005 after two years, shortly before he went on "Celebrity Love Island" and fell for co-star Abi Titmuss.

After he dated other women, Sharpe and Titmuss split up, but by February 2007 he was back with Petty. [ [http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/news/tm_headline=jo%2Ds-lover%2D-lee-%26method=full%26objectid=18573331%26siteid=62484-name_page.html JO'S LOVER- LEE - Sunday Mirror ] ]

On Sunday July 1 2007 Sharpe was due to play for Manchester United in the Masters Football, but had to pull out on the day.Fact|date=October 2007

Sharpe is now an after dinner speaker.

References

External links

*soccerbase|7197|Lee Sharpe
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6EpPWqPejA Lee Sharpe backheel goal video Man Utd-Barcelona 94/95]