Jack Rodwell

Jack Rodwell is an English defensive midfielder of Everton and the national team. He was born in Southport and has a ‘Rodders’ nickname.

Jack is a product of the Everton academy. He was a fan of the club since early childhood and at the age of seven the future footballer joined its youth system. Rodwell made his début for the reserve squad when he was 15.

Jack is one of the youngest Everton footballers ever to play in Euro Cups. On 20 December 2007, he came on the pitch in the match against AZ Alkmaar in the UEFA Cup (a 2-3 victory). The player was only 16 years and 284 days old then.

On 9 March 2008, Rodwell made his English Premier League début, making a sub appearance in the 87th minute of a victory over Sunderland (1-0). In a week after his first appearance, Jack signed his first senior contract with the Merseyside club. On 16 August 2008, he made his start for ‘The Toffees’ in a loss to Blackburn (2-3). A little later, in February 2009, Rodwell kicked his début goal in the match against Aston Villa in the FA Cup.

In 2009/2010 Jack became a solid regular of Everton and contributed his first league goal, when he belted the ball into the Manchester United’s net on 20 February 2010. In the summer 2010 the footballer extended the contract with ‘The Toffees’ for another five years. Rodwell made 24 Premier League appearances and scored two goals that season. The following year was not so successful, because Jack took part in 24 matches and did not manage to find the net.

On 1 October 2011, the footballer was sent off the field for a minor offense against Uruguayan forward of Liverpool Luis Suárez during the Merseyside Derby. That red card was later cancelled by the FA. On the whole, the 2011/2012 season was not bad for Jack, because he showed his great skills and wonderful performance, getting nice reviews of experts. However, a whole series of injuries soon befell upon the midfielder, so he made only 14 league appearances and skipped the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Rodwell played for the Three Lions U-16, U-17 and U-19 teams. In March 2009 he was first called up to the U-21 squad. On 8 June the same year, Jack got on the international scoresheet in the match against Azerbaijan. He took part in two European Youth Championships.

In November 2011 Jack was capped for the full Three Lions. He made his first appearance for the main national squad on 12 November, coming as a substitute in the friendly game against Spain. Four days later Rodwell made his start in the match against Sweden.