John Wilkinson (footballer, born 1979)
John Colbridge Wilkinson (born 24 August 1979) is a former footballer and pundit who last played for Tanjong Pagar United FC and the Singapore national team.[2]
 Wilkinson lining up for Singapore in 2008 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | John Colbridge Wilkinson[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 24 August 1979 | ||
| Place of birth | Exeter, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1995–2001 | Exeter City | 20 | (2) |
| 2001–2002 | Tiverton Town | ? | (?) |
| 2002–2004 | Woodlands Wellington | 73 | (26) |
| 2005 | Geylang United | 26 | (15) |
| 2006–2010 | Singapore Armed Forces | 133 | (31) |
| 2011 | Insee Police United | 8 | (0) |
| 2012 | Home United | 12 | (0) |
| 2013 | Salgaocar | 8 | (0) |
| 2013 | Tanjong Pagar United | 7 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2007–2010 | Singapore | 29 | (4) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12:54, 6 January 2018 (UTC) | |||
Club career
Born in Exeter, Wilkinson played for Exeter City, Woodlands Wellington and Geylang United before joining Singapore Armed Forces in 2006. He won 4 league titles with the club.[3]
On 1 March 2005, Wilkinson scored 4 goals on his debut for Geylang United against Home United.
After reportedly turning down a three-year deal at SAFFC, Wilkinson joined Police United of Thailand on a two-year contract in January 2012 and became the first foreign captain in the history of the Thai Premier League. However, he failed to see out his contract at the club and signed for reigning Singapore Cup champions Home United at the beginning of the 2012 S-League season. Wilkinson then went to India to sign for Salgaocar in January 2013 until the end of the 2012–13 I-League season. On 6 June 2013, he was unveiled as Tanjong Pagar United's first signing of the mid-season window and wore the number 16 jersey.
International career
Wilkinson became a Singapore citizen after marrying a Singaporean, thus allowing him to play international football for Singapore.[3]
He was called up to the national team (consisted of 32) for a series for friendly matches against North Korea, Saudi Arabia and Australia. He made his debut for Singapore on 24 June 2007 in the second half against North Korea and even got an assist. He scored his first international goal when he broke the deadlock in the 1–1 draw against the United Arab Emirates on 12 September 2007.
He also scored in the 4–0 win over Palestine in a 2010 World Cup qualifying match on 8 October 2007. On 2 June 2008, he scored in a 3–7 home defeat against Uzbekistan in the third round of qualifying.
In total, he scored 4 goals in 29 international games for Singapore.[3]
International goals
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 12 September 2007 | Singapore, Singapore |  United Arab Emirates | 1–1 | Draw | Friendly |
| 2. | 8 October 2007 | Doha, Qatar |  Palestine | 4–0 | Won | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3. | 2 June 2008 | Singapore, Singapore |  Uzbekistan | 3–7 | Lost | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 4. | 22 June 2008 | Beirut, Lebanon |  Lebanon | 2–1 | Won | 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualification |
After retirement
After retiring, Wilkinson works as a pundit in Singapore for Fox Sports Asia.[3]
References
- Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2001). The 2001–2002 Official PFA Footballers Factfile. AFS. p. 327. ISBN 9780946531349.
- Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "NFT player — National team & Club appearances: Wilkinson, John". national-football-teams.com. National Football Teams. Archived from the original on 10 January 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
- "'I played a World Cup qualifier in a nappy'". BBC Sport.
External links
- Profile at Football Association of Singapore Website at the Wayback Machine (archived 2008-06-11)
- John Wilkinson at Soccerbase
- John Wilkinson at National-Football-Teams.com