Gareth McAuley

Gareth McAuley is a defender of West Bromwich. He was born on 5 December 1979 in Larne, Northern Ireland.

In 1996 Gareth became a senior player of Linfield, but did not take part in any matches of the team during first three years of his professional career. Only in 1999 McAuley was given an opportunity to come on the field, when he was sent on loan to Ballyclare Comrades. He performed for the temporary club during one season and made seven appearances.

In 2000 the footballer moved to Crusaders, signing a contract on permanent basis. He became the anchor player of centre defense for the first time in his career, which helped Gareth to regain self-confidence and continue gradual development of professional skills. McAuley made 64 appearances and netted three goals during two years of Crusaders performance, when Coleraine won the defender over to their side and penned a two-year deal with him in 2002. Gareth once again clinched the place of a regular, took part in 65 games and fired four goals.

In 2004 the player moved to England by signing for Lincoln City, which became the new Gareth’s home for two following years. Those years were really fruitful as McAuley always made starts and showed stellar performance by netting eight goals in 72 matches, which attracted the attention of other English squads. In 2006 the footballer ended his Lincoln spell with Leicester City move. He made 74 appearances and found the net five times during two seasons in the club.

In 2008 Ipswich Town secured the services of McAuley, who spent three successful years with ‘The Tractor Boys’. He took part in 117 games and went on to net five times, which caught English teams’ eyes. In the summer 2011, West Bromwich signed Gareth and the footballer spent 2011/2012 in the club, mainly being in the starting line-up.

From 2005 McAuley was capped 35 times and contributed two goals for the Northern Ireland national team.