Emile Heskey Bio Send To Friend  

Initially a figure of fun for his poor finishing, Heskey has emerged as a vital player for England due to his unselfish work as a lone target man. His club career has blossomed at Aston Villa, after several years of inconsistency, and he finally looks like an international quality player.

After making his name with Leicester City, he earned a move to Liverpool and won the cup treble in 2001. His early partnership with Michael Owen had the pundits purring, but he failed to fire on a regular basis and spells at Birmingham and Wigan saw him drop out of the spotlight before Fabio Capello showed great faith in him and restored him to the forefront of the international setup.

A move to Aston Villa in January 2009 confirmed his ascent, but he has much to prove as his form at the major international tournaments (including his failure to get into the 2006 World Cup squad) has not been convincing.

Strengths: Physically powerful and good in the air, he provides others with opportunities and also has a burst of pace.

Weaknesses: His goalscoring record is poor for a striker, he is quite erratic and he does not have the best touch.

Career high: Part of the Liverpool side that won the cup treble in 2001, he bagged 23 goals that season.

Career low: Playing out of position on the left-wing at the 2002 World Cup exposed his limitations and made him the subject of criticism.

Style: Robust, powerful, unselfish, a strong target man.

Quotes: ''He has a lot of experience and a host of international caps ... He has also pulled himself round again when he may have perhaps seen his best days were behind him when he left Liverpool. He has done fantastically well to fight back, so much so that he is now well and truly in Fabio Capello's thoughts.'' Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill, January 2009.

Trivia: His middle name is Ivanhoe. After Sir Walter Scott's popular 19th Century novel.

Soccernet says: He won't score many goals, but his play makes room for others to shine and he is seen as one of the most important players in the side.