46 Facts About Gary Cahill

1.

Gary James Cahill was born on 19 December 1985 and is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.

2.

Gary Cahill performed well for Bolton through the years, cementing a place in the first team.

3.

Gary Cahill made 130 league appearances and scored 13 league goals for Bolton.

4.

Gary Cahill won the UEFA Champions League in his debut season at Chelsea, and went on to win the UEFA Europa League twice, the Premier League twice, the FA Cup and the League Cup.

5.

Gary Cahill left the club after two seasons in 2021.

6.

Gary Cahill is a former England international with over 60 caps, and represented the nation in England tournament squads for the FIFA World Cups of 2014 and 2018, and the UEFA European Championship in 2012 and 2016, though he withdrew injured from the 2012 event.

7.

Gary Cahill was eligible to play for either England or the Republic of Ireland, but chose to play for England.

8.

In June 2009, Gary Cahill was called up to the England squad for the match against Kazakhstan; however, he only made his debut on 3 September 2010, coming on as a substitute against Bulgaria.

9.

Gary Cahill made his first start for the national team on 29 March 2011, in the friendly against Ghana.

10.

Gary Cahill scored his first international goal against Bulgaria, in a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifier.

11.

Gary Cahill was born and raised in Dronfield, Derbyshire, and attended Dronfield Henry Fanshawe School.

12.

Gary Cahill began his career with AFC Dronfield, a Sunday league team, where he played until he was 15.

13.

Gary Cahill started his career as central midfielder, but moved to centre-back after rapidly increasing in height within the space of a year when he was about 15 or 16, just when he was looking to get his first YTS contract.

14.

Gary Cahill made 32 appearances on loan, 27 of which were in the league, scoring once on 3 January 2005, the only goal against Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium.

15.

Eighteen-year-old Gary Cahill was handed the accolades of Burnley's Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year.

16.

On 19 September 2007, Gary Cahill joined Championship team Sheffield United on a three-month loan deal.

17.

Under the terms of his loan agreement, Gary Cahill returned to Villa Park in mid-December 2007 having made 16 appearances and scoring two goals.

18.

Gary Cahill suffered a blood clot in his left arm after a training injury which forced him to pull out of the home match against Fulham on 6 February 2010; he spent the weekend in hospital.

19.

Two days after that, Coyle said that Gary Cahill was not going to play in their FA Cup clash against Macclesfield Town, as it would leave him cup-tied for Chelsea.

20.

Gary Cahill scored when he rose above Wes Morgan to head the ball from six yards from a Juan Mata corner, before unveiling the word's "PRAY 4 MUAMBA" on his inner T-shirt, in support of his former Bolton teammate Fabrice Muamba, who had collapsed in a match the day before.

21.

Gary Cahill started Chelsea's UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg against Barcelona because of the injury picked up by David Luiz in the FA Cup semi-final.

22.

Gary Cahill received praise for his performance especially, as he was still suffering from the injury sustained during the semi-final's second leg.

23.

In January 2013, Gary Cahill did not feature in the league match against Stoke City due to the birth of his son, Leo.

24.

Gary Cahill won the Premier League title with Chelsea that season, as they finished first with 87 points.

25.

On 2 December 2015, Gary Cahill signed a new four-year deal at Chelsea, keeping him at the club until 2019.

26.

Under new management in Antonio Conte, Gary Cahill continued his partnership with John Terry in defence at the start of the season.

27.

On 23 October 2016, Gary Cahill continued to serve as captain with Terry on the bench.

28.

On 20 April 2017, Gary Cahill was named in the PFA Team of the Year for the third time in his career.

29.

Gary Cahill was suspended for Chelsea's league matches against rivals Tottenham Hotspur, Everton and Leicester City.

30.

Gary Cahill signed for Premier League club Crystal Palace on 5 August 2019 on a two-year contract, re-uniting him with his former England manager Roy Hodgson.

31.

On 1 August 2021, Gary Cahill announced via social media that he had left the club following the expiration of his contract.

32.

Gary Cahill made 45 league appearances across two seasons for the club, scoring once.

33.

Gary Cahill signed for Championship club AFC Bournemouth on 20 August 2021 on a one-year contract.

34.

Gary Cahill was part of a backline conceding just twice in September 2021, winning him the club's player of the month award.

35.

Gary Cahill announced his retirement from football on 16 November 2022.

36.

Until Gary Cahill played for England, he was eligible to play for the Republic of Ireland through an Irish grandparent.

37.

However, his manager at Bolton and former Ireland international, Owen Coyle, said that Gary Cahill only wanted to represent England.

38.

On 2 September 2011, in his first competitive start, Gary Cahill scored his first international goal for England against Bulgaria in the qualifying rounds of UEFA Euro 2012 in the 13th minute.

39.

In netting the opening goal, Gary Cahill became the first Bolton player to score for England since Ray Parry against Northern Ireland in 1959.

40.

On 12 May 2014, Gary Cahill was named in the 23-man England squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

41.

Gary Cahill started all three matches as England were eliminated at the group stage.

42.

Gary Cahill was called up to the 23-man cohort for UEFA Euro 2016.

43.

Gary Cahill played every minute of their campaign, skippering the side in the final Group B match, against Slovakia.

44.

Gary Cahill was named in the 23-man England squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

45.

On 28 August 2018, Gary Cahill "stepped aside" from the England national team, telling manager Gareth Southgate that he did not want to be considered for selection unless there was an injury crisis.

46.

Gary Cahill was known for his technical ability, powerful heading in defence and attack, volleying, and good tackling.