BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY Sulzeer Jeremiah "Sol" Campbell (born 18 September 1974) is a retired English footballer. A central defender, Campbell has played forTottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Portsmouth, Notts County and Newcastle United, as well as the English national team.
Born in east London to Jamaican parents, Campbell's professional debut was at the age of 18 for FA Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur in December 1992. Campbell spent nine years at Tottenham, scoring 10 goals in 255 appearances, and captaining the team to victory in the 1999 Football League Cup Final against Premier League side Leicester City. In 2001 he controversially joined Tottenham's North London rivalsArsenal, the first high profile free transfer within the Premier League under the Bosman ruling. In his five years and 195 appearances at Arsenal he won two Premier League winners medals and two FA Cup winners medals, encompassing the 2001–02 League and FA Cup double, and being part of the team that became known as The Invincibles for their undefeated 2003–04 Premier League campaign. Campbell was also part of the side that lost 2–1 to Barcelona in the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final, in which he scored the only goal for Arsenal. In August 2006 he joined Premier League side Portsmouth on a free transfer; his three years with the club included captaining them to success in the 2008 FA Cup Final against Championship side Cardiff City.
At the end of the 2008–09 season he made the surprise move of dropping down three levels of the English football pyramid to join League Twoside Notts County on a free transfer, signing a five-year deal at the club where his former England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson had recently become Director of Football. Campbell left the club by mutual consent in September 2009, having played just one game for the club.
Campbell gained his first full cap for the England national football team aged 21. In May 1998 Campbell became what was then England's second-youngest captain, after Bobby Moore, aged 23 years 248 days. Campbell's first and only goal for England came in the 2002 World Cupin the opening group game against Sweden. In 2006 Campbell become the only player to have represented England in six consecutive major tournaments, playing in the 1996, 2000 and 2004 European Championships, and the 1998, 2002 and 2006 World Cups, and he has a career total of 73 England caps. He was named in the official Teams of the Tournament for the 2002 World Cup and 2004 European Championship.
Campbell's other honours in the game include being in the Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year three times, in 1999, 2003and 2004.
Campbell was born in Plaistow, Newham, London, to Jamaican parents Sewell and Wihelmina. He was the youngest of twelve children, nine of whom were boys. His father Sewell was a railway worker and his mother Wihelmina was a Ford factory worker. Despite growing up in a rough neighbourhood, Campbell veered away from a life of crime due to his strict parents.
"I became a recluse within my own house. I became insular because at home there was no space to grow or to evolve, everything was tight and there was no room to breathe. People don't realise how that affects you as a kid. I wasn't allowed to speak, so my expression was football."
Campbell attended the Portway Primary School in Stratford, London and had secondary education at Lister Community School in Plaistow, London. He was a prodigious schoolboy talent and was part-educated at the FA's School of Excellence at Lilleshall, where he met table tennis player and later football agent Sky Andrew. Campbell signed for Tottenham Hotspur after a short spell with West Ham United, beginning his career as a striker.[3]
Club career
Tottenham Hotspur
Campbell made his first team debut for Tottenham in December 1992 against Chelsea, scoring a goal after coming on as a substitute for Nick Barmby, though he did not appear again that season. He played up front and in every defensive position over the course of the next two seasons before settling as a central defender. As club captain Gary Mabbutt's appearances became more limited because of injury and age, Campbell became Spurs' linchpin defender.
He was entering the last year of his contract with Spurs. Although Campbell successfully captained his side to a League Cup final win over Leicester City in 1998–99, Spurs never finished better than seventh during Campbell's time there. This denied him his wish to play at Europe's top level, the Champions League.
In the summer of 2001 Campbell's contract expired. Mindful of the Bosman ruling and what happened with Steve McManaman (Britain's first high profile Bosman related transfer), Tottenham offered him a contract which would have made him the club's highest paid player ever, but after months of negotiations and several public assurances that he would stay at Spurs, Campbell stated his need to leave the club in order to play Champions League football, with the likes of England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson advising him of such a course. Several top continental clubs expressed interest in signing him, but he joined Arsenal — Tottenham's biggest rivals — on a free transfer. Campbell had previously stated in an interview with Spurs Monthly magazine that he would never play for Arsenal.
Ever since, he has been labelled "Judas" by Spurs supporters. Years later the anger from Spurs supporters remained; in January 2009, four Tottenham Hotspur fans were banned from every football ground in England and Wales for three years after being found guilty of chanting an offensive song containing indecent language (with racist and homophobic content) aimed at Campbell.
Arsenal
In 2002–03, Campbell maintained his Arsenal and England place, but an injury he suffered towards the end of the season curtailed the Gunners' title chances, eventually finishing runner-up and he also missed their successful retention of the FA Cup, and therefore a winner's medal, due to a suspension brought on by a controversial red card against Manchester United. Campbell's performances were recognised however with a place in the Premier League team of the year.
The following season, 2003–04, saw Campbell form a new partnership with Kolo Touré, with the pair instrumental as he helped Arsenal regain the Premier League title without losing a single game. Arsenal actually won the league title on this occasion at White Hart Lane against Campbell's fomer club Tottenham.
The unbeaten run continued into the following season, reaching an all time record 49 games. Campbell was unfortunate to be involved in the incident which brought the run to an end when Manchester United's Wayne Rooney gained a penalty at Campbell's expense. The defender had in fact withdrawn from the tackle and Rooney therefore dived in order to gain the spot kick. The Gunners finished as Premier League runner-up in 2004–05, but saw Campbell collect his second FA Cup winners' medal, although Campbell was an unused substitute in the penalty shoot out victory over Manchester United in the final in Cardiff.
In the 2005–06 season, Campbell was blighted both with injuries and a loss of form. In Arsenal's 3–2 home loss to West Ham United on 1 February, Campbell was largely responsible for West Ham's first two goals, before being substituted at half-time at his own request. Unusually, he then left the stadium, not staying to watch the second half. His team-mate Robert Pirès commented that Campbell was facing a "big worry" in relation to his private life,and Campbell did not make any contact with the club for several days. However, he resumed training with his team-mates on 6 February and after 10 weeks away from first team action made his return in a draw away to Portsmouth on 13 April, although he sustained a broken nose in the process and had a short layoff while it was operated on.
He was back playing on 25 April in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final against Villarreal in Spain; a 0–0 draw on the night put the Gunners into the final. In the final at the Stade de France in Paris, Campbell scored the opening goal, a header from a free kick taken from Thierry Henry after a foul on Emmanuel Eboué. However ten-man Arsenal went on to lose 2–1 to Barcelona, although Campbell was at least involved in the best defensive run of any team in the history of the competition, with opponents failing to score against Arsenal in ten consecutive matches and a total of 995 minutes. Campbell also holds the distinction, alongside Teddy Sheringham
, Steve McManaman, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney, as one of six Englishmen to have scored in the UEFA Champions League Final.
On 8 July 2006, Arsenal announced that Campbell had parted ways with the club in order to seek "a fresh challenge". He made 197 appearances for Arsenal, scoring 11 goals, in all competitions.
In 2008 Campbell was voted 15th in the "Gunners' Greatest 50 Players" poll.
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