BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY Raheem Shaquille Sterling (born 8 December 1994) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger for Premier League club Liverpool and the England national team. He began his career at Queens Park Rangers before signing for Liverpool in 2010. He represented England at under-16, under-17 and under-21 level before being capped at full level by the national side in 2012.
Club career
Sterling was signed by Liverpool from the Academy at Queens Park Rangers in February 2010 byRafael Benítez for an initial fee of £600,000, which could rise to £5 million depending on how many appearances he makes for the first team.[3][4] He made his first appearance for the first team in a pre-season friendly against Borussia Mönchengladbach in Germany on 1 August 2010.
Sterling played in the youth team, scoring his first goal in a friendly against Hibernian in a 2–2 draw. His first Premier Academy League match was a 2–2 draw against Aston Villa, his first win coming at home to Bristol City a week later. On 15 December, Sterling scored in the FA Youth Cup in a 4–0 win over Notts County. On 14 February 2011, Sterling scored five goals in a 9–0 win over Southend United.[5]
On 24 March 2012, Sterling made his senior Liverpool debut as a substitute in a league match against Wigan Athletic, aged 17 years and 107 days, becoming the second-youngest player ever to play for the club in the process.[6] On 1 May he made his second appearance, again as a substitute, against Fulham.[7] On the final home game of the season, he made another substitute appearance in a 4–1 win against Chelsea.[8]
In August 2012, he made his European debut for the club, coming on as a substitute in a UEFA Europa League qualifying match against Gomel, replacing Joe Cole in a 1–0 win.[9] The following week, Sterling scored his first goal for the senior team with a first-half strike in a friendly againstBayer Leverkusen. On 23 August 2012, he started his first game for Liverpool in a Europa League qualifying match away to Hearts in a 1–0 win.[10] He was given his first start in the league three days later in a 2–2 draw at Anfield to Manchester City.[11] He played the full 90 minutes in the loss to Arsenal on 2 September, and the draw with Sunderland on 15 September, where he registered one assist and was named man of the match. On 19 September, Sterling was one of the group of teenagers that traveled to Switzerland to play Young Boys in a Europa League group game. He replaced Stewart Downing in the second half as Liverpool won 5–3.[12] On 20 October, Sterling scored his first senior competitive goal for Liverpool in the 29th minute in a 1–0 league win against Reading with a strike from the edge of the box. As a result he became the second-youngest player ever to score in a competitive fixture for Liverpool, behind only Michael Owen.[13]
On 21 December 2012, Sterling signed a contract extension, committing his future to Liverpool.[14] He scored his second league goal for the club on 2 January 2013, opening the scoring in a 3–0 win against Sunderland with a lob over goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.[15]
On 27 August 2013, he scored his first goal of the 2013–14 season, the opening goal against Notts County in a 4–2 win in the League Cup.[16] On 4 December, Sterling scored his first Premier League goal of the season for Liverpool in a 5–1 win over Norwich City. His form in December saw him score two further goals in wins against Tottenham Hotspur (5–0) and Cardiff City (3–1).[17][18] On 8 February 2014, he scored twice in a 5–1 win against Arsenal at Anfield.[19] On 13 April, he scored Liverpool's opening goal in a 3–2 win over Manchester City.[20] A week later, he scored two goals and assisted another as Liverpool won 3–2 against Norwich City at Carrow Road.[21]
On 18 April, he was named as one of the six players on the shortlist for the PFA Young Player of the Year award.[22]
International career
Despite living in England since the age of five, Sterling was initially only eligible to represent Jamaica at international level. It was not until September 2009 that FIFA agreed to the proposals by the English, Northern Irish, Scottish and Welsh Football Associations to update the "home nations agreement", allowing players who were educated in their nation for five years or more to become eligible for their national team.[23] Sterling first represented England at under-16 level in November 2009 in a match against Northern Ireland.[24] When speaking of the possibility of playing for Jamaica, Sterling said: "When it comes to that decision, that is when I will decide, but if Jamaica calls for me, why not?"[25]
Sterling was selected to play for England for the 2011 U-17 World Cup. He scored a long-range goal in England's opening 2–0 win against Rwanda in Pachuca.[26] He also scored against Argentina in the second round in a game where England won 4–2 on penalties.[27] On 10 September 2012, Sterling was called up to the senior England squad for the first time for a 2014 World Cup qualifying match against Ukraine, where he was an unused substitute.[28][29] In early October he was called up for the first time to the England under-21squad and made his debut as a substitute during a match against Serbia on 16 October.[30][31] He scored his first goal for England U21 on 13 August 2013, in a 6–0 win againstScotland.[32]
Senior team
He made his senior debut for England on 14 November 2012, starting in a friendly away to Sweden.[33] On 5 March 2014, Sterling earned his second cap and was named man of the match as England beat Denmark 1–0 in a friendly match at Wembley Stadium.[34][35]
2014 FIFA World Cup
On 12 May 2014, Sterling was named in England's 23-man squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.[36] In a pre-tournament friendly on 4 June, against Ecuador in Miami on his fourth cap, Sterling slid into Antonio Valencia, who reacted by grabbing Sterling's neck; both received red cards for their actions.[37][38] Valencia latter apologized for his reaction. [39][40]
Personal life
Sterling grew up in the Maverley area of Kingston, Jamaica and was raised by his grandmother.[41] At the age of five he emigrated to London, England with his mother.[25] Once arrived, he attended Copland High School in Wembley, North West London.[42] He has one daughter born in 2012 after a brief relationship.[43]
On 8 August 2013, Sterling was arrested for an alleged assault on his model girlfriend. He was found not guilty at Liverpool Magistrates Court on 20 September.[44][45] Sterling had previously gone to trial for another assault on a woman, but the case was abandoned after alleged witnesses did not appear. Sterling's legal fees were paid for by the taxpayer as he was considered eligible for legal aid, despite reportedly earning a salary of £30,000 per week.[46]
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Sterling stated that he is a Christian and the faith is an important thing for him.[47]
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