Daniel Sturridge - Football Players, Timeline and Life

Daniel Andre Sturridge was born on September 1, 1989 in Birmingham, England to footballer Michael Sturridge and his wife Grace, an educator. He has a sister named Cherelle and a brother named Leon.

He comes from a family of footballers as his uncles Dean and Simon Sturridge were successful professional footballers, while his father was signed by Sir Alf Ramsey at Birmingham City. He supported Derby County as long as his uncle Dean played there, following which he became an Arsenal fan.

Daniel Sturridge, who began playing at local club Cadbury Athletic at the age of six, was spotted by the youth academy of Aston Villa one year later. He stayed with the club for four years before moving to Coventry City and joined the youth academy of Manchester City in 2003, for which the club had to compensate Coventry.

The following season, he helped the club win the world's largest under-15 tournament, Nike Cup, as the lead scorer, and was voted player of the season. At 16, he was the youngest player in the Manchester City Youth team for their 2006 FA Youth Cup campaign, during which he scored six goals including two in the final, which they lost 3-2.

At the age of 17, Daniel Sturridge became a professional player for Manchester City and began training with their first team from the start of the 2006–07 season. He secured a bench spot for the senior team following a hat-trick in a reserve match and subsequently made his debut as a substitute against Reading in February 2007.

He suffered an injury following another substitute appearance and was sidelined for the rest of the season. On his return, he scored his first goal for the club against Sheffield United on January 27, 2008 and on his full debut against Derby County, scored his first league goal.

He had limited opportunities in the first team, but again took the youth team to the FA Youth Cup final as the leading scorer in the tournament. That season, he became the first player in history to score in the Youth FA Cup, the FA Cup and the Premier League.

In the next season, he earned praise for scoring a goal and assisting in another after coming on as a 71st-minute substitute against Blackburn Rovers when his team was down by 2-0. He ended the season with four goals from 26 appearances, and was voted the club's 'Young Player of the Year'.

In July 2009, he signed a four-year contract with Chelsea, following which he made his Premier League debut for the club as a substitute against Sunderland on August 18. He subsequently scored a hat-trick against Ipswich Town on September 16 and made his first start against Bolton Wanderers on October 28.

During the 2009-10 season, he scored his first two goals in a FA Cup third-round match against Watford on January 3rd, 2010, followed by his first league goal against Stoke City on April 25. Even though he entered the FA Cup Final as a 90th-minute substitute, he finished the tournament as the leading run scorer for the club with four goals.

In 2010-11, he scored four goals from 21 matches for Chelsea before being loaned to Bolton Wanderers for the rest of the season, and netted eight goals for his new club from 12 appearances. Due to national duty at the 2012 Olympics, he missed all preseason matches in 2012–13, and scored two goals from 12 appearances for Chelsea during the season.

On January 2, 2013, he signed a transfer deal with Liverpool and scored his first goal for the club on his debut against Mansfield Town in a FA Cup third round match on January 4th. He showed superb form throughout the season, becoming first player in four decades to score three goals in his first three appearances for Liverpool, and also registered his first career hat-trick against Fulham in May.

Showcasing his impressive goal-scoring capability, he scored 24 goals from 33 appearances in 2013-14 and was nominated for the 'PFA Players' Player of the Year' and the 'PFA Young Player of the Year' awards. He had an injury ridden season in 2014-15, but managed to score five goals from 18 appearances.

Despite being irregular in the first team during 2016-17, he showed class with double-scorers in a couple matches and helped the club break its record of maximum goals in a calendar year. He was loaned to West Bromwich Albion in January 2018, but sustained a hamstring injury in his third appearance for the club.

Daniel Sturridge has represented the English national youth team at U16, U17, U18, U19, U20 and U21 levels. While England was eliminated in the group stages of the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, he was selected to the team of the tournament.

He made his senior international debut in a friendly against Sweden in November 2011 and earned the man of the match honor in his next appearance against Netherlands. He subsequently represented Great Britain in the 2012 Summer Olympics and was named to England's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the UEFA Euro 2016 finals.

Daniel Sturridge is the youngest player ever to win the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup. He is also the only Premier League player who scored on all his debut matches for Manchester City, Chelsea, Bolton and Liverpool FC.

Daniel Sturridge has established a charitable foundation through which he helps young adults in Portmore, Jamaica develop as footballers with special focus on education. He is also the owner of the Sturr Class Entertainment record company.

He reportedly had a short-lived romance with British supermodel Jourdan Dunn after they first met at the V Festival in August 2013.

In March 2017, he was seen having a lunch date with a mystery woman at London's Cecconi restaurant.

Daniel Sturridge has credited former Bolton Wanderers manager Owen Coyle for bringing his career back on track during his six-month loan to the club in 2010-11. Coyle placed him in the first team for the first time, allowing him to showcase his skills.