Antony Nigel Martyn was born on 11 August 1966 and is an English football coach and former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
17 Facts About Nigel Martyn
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Nigel Martyn notably played in the Premier League for Crystal Palace, Leeds United and Everton, having initially played in the Football League with Bristol Rovers.
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Nigel Martyn won 23 England caps between 1992 and 2002 and was a member of the national squad at four major tournaments.
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Nigel Martyn started his career as a midfielder until invited to play as a goalkeeper for his brother's works team when he was 17.
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Nigel Martyn started by playing amateur football for Cornish sides Heavy Transport FC, Bugle and St Blazey while working in a plastics factory and for a coal merchant, before beginning his professional career with Bristol Rovers in 1987 after apparently having been "spotted" by Rovers' tea lady Vi Harris, whilst she was on holiday.
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Nigel Martyn remained at Palace for seven seasons, appearing 349 times for his club, including the 1990 FA Cup Final, where Palace were beaten by Manchester United in a replay, and the 1991 Full Members' Cup final, where Palace beat Everton.
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Nigel Martyn was a huge part of the squad that eliminated illustrious clubs such as Barcelona, Lazio and Deportivo La Coruna in the following season's UEFA Champions League campaign, leading them to the last four.
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Nigel Martyn is still well regarded by the Leeds United fans and was involved in the "Back the Bid Leeds" campaign for Leeds to be one of the host cities in England's World Cup 2018 bid.
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Nigel Martyn chose to move to Everton, and six games into the season, an injury to Wright gave him his Everton debut.
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Nigel Martyn produced some of the best form of his career, despite being 38 years of age, to the delight of the Everton fans, with whom he remains a favourite.
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Nigel Martyn was nicknamed "Big Nige" by Everton fans, a play on Neville Southall's "Big Nev" nickname.
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On 8 June 2006, Nigel Martyn announced his retirement from football due to a stress fracture in his ankle that had sidelined him since January and failed to heal properly.
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David Moyes said that he would miss Nigel Martyn and described him as his "greatest ever signing".
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Nigel Martyn made his debut for the England national side against the Commonwealth of Independent States in Moscow in 1992, becoming one of the few Cornishmen to play for England.
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Nigel Martyn earned 23 caps for his national side, spending the peak of his career as second-choice goalkeeper behind David Seaman.
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Nigel Martyn was selected for the England squad at both the 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cups, remaining second choice behind Arsenal's David Seaman at both tournaments.
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Nigel Martyn spent time as goalkeeping coach at Bradford City, a role he started in March 2007 as a favour for former Leeds United teammate David Wetherall, who was then caretaker manager at Bradford.