Gareth Barry

[Freddy Adu]

Gareth Barry
Personal information
Full name	Gareth Barry
Date of birth	February 23, 1981 (age 26)(1981-02-23)
Place of birth	Hastings, England
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)
Playing position	Midfielder Defender
Club information
Current club	Aston Villa
Number	6
Youth clubs
199?–1997	Brighton & Hove Albion
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1997–	Aston Villa	298 (28)
National team2
1998–2002 2007 2000–	England U21 England B England	027 0(2) 001 0(0) 014 0(0)

[Freddy Adu]

Villa's Barry so close to Spurs move - mentor

Gareth Barry's former youth coach is convinced the Aston Villa captain would have left for Tottenham if manager Martin O'Neill had not arrived last year.

Lee Rogers, Centre of Excellence coach at Brighton & Hove Albion and the man who first spotted Barry's ability, told the Sunday Mercury: "Playing for England means something to him because he thought his chance had gone.

"This is where Martin O'Neill comes in. What he has done at Villa is make his players believe they can play for England.

"I know Martin has instilled so much confidence back into Gareth.

"He would have left Villa had it not been for their manager. Spurs would have been his preferred choice but Portsmouth was also a possibility.

"But Martin got him to stay, built his squad around him and then got him back into the England squad at the age of 26.

"It's amazing to see what has happened to Gareth."

[Freddy Adu]

Barry happy at Villa Park

Aston Villa's England international midfielder Gareth Barry says he is happy at Villa Park.

The 26-year-old had been linked with a surprise move to Chelsea during the January transfer window.

However, the long-serving Villa ace says the reports were nothing to do with him and that he is hoping to remain at the club for the foreseeable future.

"Certainly (the reports) weren't from my side, trying to push a move away from Villa Park," he told Sky Sports.

"I'm obviously very happy here and I want to be part of a club that is going to try and win things.

"I want to be part of what Martin O'Neill and Randy Lerner are trying to do and that's push this club forward."

[Freddy Adu]

Villa's Barry dismisses Russia conspiracy

England midfielder Gareth Barry has dismissed the "conspiracy theories" surrounding Israel's Euro 2008 qualifier with Russia on Saturday.

There has been speculation that Russia will have an easy ride in securing the win which would effectively end England's hopes of qualifying for next summer's finals.

The Aston Villa skipper said: "You hear all the conspiracy theories but I am sure every team does their best when they get out there on the pitch and it will be no different with Israel.

"Of course, when it comes to the Israel-Russia game, there is not much I can do except pray, keep the fingers crossed and hope for the result to go in our favour.

"But I was a substitute when we drew 0-0 in Tel Aviv earlier in the group and I know it is a difficult place to go.

"On the day, Israel were well organised, proved very tough for us to break down and showed they could be dangerous in attack.

"That very experience gives me hope that Russia may also find it hard over there.

"It's a case of having your fingers crossed but by no means is everything over.

"Then, if the results over the weekend are beneficial to us, we have to make sure we make the most of being given another chance against Croatia next Wednesday."

[Freddy Adu]

Gareth BARRY and Olof MELLBERG have all been on the field for every minute of every one of Villa's league and cup games this season.

[Oscar Cardozo]

FT Aston Villa 1 - 3 Portsmouth

72'

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G. Barry (pen.)