Ledley celebrates his 44th birthday - and 30 years of association with Spurs!
Sat 12 October 2024, 09:30|
Tottenham Hotspur
Today, Club legend Ledley King celebrates his 44th birthday - and that now marks 30 years of association between him and Tottenham Hotspur!
Having joined us at the age of 14, it has now been an incredible three decades that Ledley has been a part of the Club - and what a ride it has been so far!.
Having gone on to sign for us as an Associated Schoolboy two years later, he then joined us full-time the following summer as a Trainee and went on to play for our Reserves later that season, going on to be named our Young Player of the Year.
Professional status quickly followed for the young centre-back, as did his first team debut in May, 1999, as he came off the bench as a half-time substitute away at Liverpool in Premier League.
In just his eighth league appearance for the Club, the defender wrote his name in the Premier League history book as he scored away at Bradford with just 9.82 seconds on the clock to register the fastest-ever goal in the competition! That was a record that stood for 19 years until Shane Long struck with just 7.69 seconds on the clock in Southampton's trip to Watford in April, 2019.
A player who were always tipped for greatness with his composure on the ball, reading of the game and passing ability, his leadership was also noted, something which saw him go onto take the captain's armband late in the 2004/05 campaign.
In that time, he led us to a Football League Cup triumph at Wembley Stadium in February, 2008, before leading us to our first-ever qualification for the UEFA Champions League in 2010. We went onto reach the quarter-finals of the competition that season before we fell to Real Madrid.
In total, 'Ledders' made 323 appearances in our colours before he was forced to retire through injury. His final game coming against QPR in April, 2012. On the international stage, he earned 21 England caps in his career, appearing at both UEFA Euro 2004 and the FIFA World Cup 2010.
Following his retirement, Ledley became a Club Ambassador and has continued to represent the Club in all our activities all over the world. During that time, he also had a spell as part of our coaching staff, becoming First Team Assistant Coach for the 2020/21 season.
Happy Birthday, Ledley!
