David Seaman

Seaman was brought up in Rotherham where he attended Kimberworth Comprehensive School. He began his career at Leeds United, the club he supported as a boy. However (much to his disappointment), he was not wanted by then-manager Eddie Gray, who had been his favourite player. Seaman went to Division 4 club Peterborough United for a £4,000 fee in August 1982, where he began to make a name for himself.

Just over two years later, in October 1984, Second Division Birmingham City paid £100,000 for Seaman's services. They ended up winning promotion at the end of that season, but were relegated again at the end of the following season. Seaman was not to follow them back to Division Two, however.

In August 1986, Seaman moved to Queens Park Rangers for £225,000. Playing in a higher profile club on a plastic pitch, he earned his first England cap, which came under Bobby Robson in a friendly against Saudi Arabia in November 1988. Whilst at Q.P.R., Seaman was coached by Arsenal double-winner (of 1971) Bob Wilson, who was to work with him for more than a decade.

Arsenal

In 1990, long before the current transfer window system had come to English football, there was still a transfer deadline a few weeks before the end of the season. Arsenal, who had won the league in 1989, wanted to sign Seaman, but the deal involved Arsenal's keeper John Lukic heading the opposite way on loan. Lukic did not want to do this, and the deal broke down and remained unresolved when the deadline passed. As soon as the season ended and clubs were allowed to buy players again, Arsenal manager George Graham came back for Seaman, with £1.3 million (at the time a British record for a goalkeeper) being the agreed fee. Lukic, who was highly popular amongst Arsenal fans, left to rejoin Leeds.

Seaman's time at Arsenal coincided with one of the most successful periods in the club's history. The 1990–91 season saw Seaman concede only 18 goals when playing in every match of the 38-game season as Arsenal regained the league title.

Arsenal won both the FA Cup and the League Cup in 1993 and supplemented this a year later with the European Cup Winners' Cup. Shortly before the European success, Terry Venables was appointed as England manager. Venables saw Seaman as his first-choice goalkeeper and Seaman would remain a permanent member of the England team until 2002.

In 1995, George Graham was sacked, and Arsenal came close to becoming the first club to retain the Cup Winners' Cup, with Seaman earning a reputation as a penalty-saving specialist after saving Attilio Lombardo's shot in Arsenal's semi-final shoot-out against U.C. Sampdoria. However, in the final Arsenal lost in extra time to Real Zaragoza, with a spectacular last-minute goal from Nayim from 45 yards out catching Seaman off his line, it was noted that there were only seconds left of extra time when Seaman conceded.

In August 1996, Arsène Wenger became the new manager of Arsenal. Wenger rated Seaman highly and in 1998, Seaman backstopped the team to the Premier League and FA Cup double. In 1998–99, Seaman played all 38 league matches, conceded only 17 league goals as Arsenal came agonisingly close to retaining the Premier League and lost in the FA Cup semi-finals to Manchester United. The following season Seaman managed to reach the 2000 UEFA Cup Final, which Arsenal drew 0–0 with Galatasaray, but lost on penalties.

In 2002, Seaman won the Premier League and the FA Cup again to complete his second career double, although Arsenal's other goalkeepers Stuart Taylor and Richard Wright also won championship medals, due mainly to Seaman's absence through injuries.

Despite his international career ending so flatly and accusations his mobility had faded with age, the 2002–03 season—Seaman's last at Arsenal—ended on a high note. In the FA Cup, he made a spectacular save against Sheffield United's Paul Peschisolido in the semi-finals, in what former Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel, a pundit for the BBC on the day, dubbed "the best save I've ever seen". Arsenal were defending a 1–0 lead, when with less than ten minutes to go, Peschisolido had a header towards an apparently open goal from six yards out with Seaman seemingly stranded at the near post. However, the goalkeeper leaped sideways and backwards, somehow managing to stretch his right arm behind him and scoop the ball back and away from both his goal and the opposing players ready to pounce on a rebound. The match was all the more remarkable in that it was Seaman's 1,000th professional career game. Seaman went on to captain the team during the finals in the absence of injured Patrick Vieira and keep another clean sheet at the Millennium Stadium as they defeated Southampton 1–0. His final act with Arsenal was to lift the FA Cup, which was his eighth major trophy with his team. Seaman played in goal for Arsenal more times than anyone else, and is second after Ray Parlour in the all-time Premiership appearances chart for Arsenal, with 325 to his name. In June 2008 he was voted seventh in the list of 50 Gunners' Greatest Players.

Manchester City

Released by Arsenal, Seaman joined up with Kevin Keegan at Manchester City in the summer of 2003, but Seaman's career at the City of Manchester Stadium did not last long. Whilst out of action due to injury, Seaman announced his immediate retirement in January 2004 at the age of 40. His last act at City was to help Keegan select his successor in goal, David James — the man who had ousted him as England's first choice goalkeeper a little over a year earlier.

In November 2005, Paul Merson and Walsall approached Seaman, and later ex-ex-Wales goalkeeper Neville Southall and Chris Woods to perform in an FA Cup game at Merthyr Tydfil as their two first choice goalkeepers, Joe Murphy and Andy Oakes, were unavailable. However, Seaman was forced to turn this offer down, as it would have constituted a breach in the terms of his retirement insurance pay-out for his recurring shoulder injury.

Seaman made his England debut in 1988 and appeared for the side in fifteen consecutive years, a national record.

He earned his first England cap under Bobby Robson in a friendly against Saudi Arabia in November 1988. Robson selected him as England's third-choice goalkeeper behind Peter Shilton and Chris Woods at the 1990 FIFA World Cup, but after arriving in Italy he had to pull out of the squad due to injury and was replaced by Dave Beasant.

Seaman remained a member of the England squad under new manager Graham Taylor but only cemented his place as undisputed number one with the arrival of Terry Venables and played every minute of every match during Euro 96. Seaman saved two spot-kicks in the tournament; the first a penalty in normal play from Scotland's Gary McAllister in a group match, while England were 1–0 up (Paul Gascoigne scored soon after to make it 2–0). Then, after England's quarter-final against Spain ended scoreless, Seaman saved Miguel Angel Nadal's kick in the shootout to knock Spain out of the tournament. England eventually were eliminated in the semi-finals of the competition; Seaman was named alongside Golden Boot winnerAlan Shearer and winger Steve McManaman in the UEFA "Team of the Tournament". Euro 96 sponsor Philips named him "Player of the Tournament".

Seaman remained first choice under the management of Glenn Hoddle for the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France. England went out on penalties, losing against Argentina. Kevin Keeganselected him for Euro 2000, where he started against both Portugal and Germany but sustained an injury in his warm-up exercises for the third game against Romania. Nigel Martyn stepped in, and Phil Neville's clumsy foul late in the game gave Romania a penalty which Martyn could not stop. England lost the match and went out in the first round.

Seaman was part of Sven-Göran Eriksson's 2002 FIFA World Cup squad, and played every game as England reached the quarter-finals, turning back a second half offensive to shut out arch-rivals Argentina 1–0 in the group stage after English captain David Beckham scored the penalty spot kick. However, in England's quarter-final against Brazil Seaman was caught off his line by Ronaldinho's long-range free kick, as England lost 2–1; he blamed himself for the error.

The result led to a debate about whether Seaman should remain England's number one. He remained England's first choice goalkeeper until a Euro 2004 qualifier in October 2002 against Macedonia. In this match, he let in a goal directly from a corner kick by Artim Sakiri in a 2–2 draw and brought further press criticism. This was Seaman's last appearance for the England national team, as Eriksson dropped him in favour of David James.

Honours with Arsenal.

First Division Championship/FA Premier League:

• Winner: 1990-91, 1997-98, 2001-02
• Runner-up: 1998-99, 1999-2000, 2000-01, 2002-03

FA Cup:

• Winner: 1993, 1998, 2002, 2003
• Runner-up: 2001

League Cup:

• Winner: 1992-93

FA Community Shield:

• Winner: 1991 (shared), 1998, 1999, 2002
• Runner-up: 1993

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup:

• Winner: 1994
• Runner-up: 1995

UEFA Cup

• Runner-up: 2000

UEFA Super Cup

• Runner-up: 1994