Barry Ferguson

Barry Ferguson MBE (born Glasgow, Scotland, February 2, 1978) is a Scottish professional football midfielder who currently plays for Scottish Premier League team Rangers.

Early Career

Barry Ferguson joined the Rangers Youth Setup at the age of thirteen. Ferguson joined the first team squad in 1994/5 and made his first team debut on the last day of the 1996-97 season against Hearts and was voted man of the match for his performance. He became a permanent first team fixture in the 1998/99 season under new manager Dick Advocaat.

He soon became the youngest ever captain of the team in the 2001/2 season, guiding his team to a League Cup and Scottish Cup double. This was also the first season in charge for Alex McLeish. During their second season together (2002/3), Ferguson captained the side to a domestic treble. He also won Scottish Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year and Scottish PFA Players' Player of the Year.

Blackburn Rovers

At the start of the 2003/4 season, he joined Blackburn Rovers F.C. for a fee of £7.5 million. After the success of his previous season, Ferguson was being touted as the hottest property in Scottish Football. With Everton also chasing FergusonRangers initially denied that he was leaving. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/3150791.stm There was also other reasons given for his sale: financial problems at Rangers, his ambition to play in the Premiership and Ferguson having a hard time living with his fame in Scotland.

Ferguson had limited success at the club and he was even made captain in July 2004 replacing Garry Flitcroft but he failed to convince fans of ability. After just 18 months, Ferguson submitted a written transfer request. Admitting that the draw of playing in the Premiership and the Lancashire Derby were not as good as he was told. ^*After much discussions between clubs, a fee of 4.5m was agreed and Ferguson rejoined Rangers just before the close of the transfer window in January 2005.

International Career

Ferguson made his International Debut at the age of 21 against Bosnia in September 1999. However, an injury plagued season prevented him from picking up more caps. He was also appointed captain of the national side by then manager Berti Vogts following the retirement of Paul Lambert.

The Return to Ibrox

Ferguson returned for the tail end of the 2004/5 season. It is believed that his presence spurred Rangers onto eventually winning the league, in dramatic fashion on the last day of the season after Celtic were defeated by Motherwell. He was not captain for this however, with McLeish not wanting to remove it mid-season from Fernando Ricksen.

For 2005/6, Ferguson was re-appointed Captain. He played the last part of the season carrying an ankle injury. This was later revealed to be snapped ligaments and he confessed that he should have undergone the surgery sooner. ^*

Ferguson was created a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) on 17 June 2006. ^*

Clubs

External links

Barry Ferguson's profile and stats