Neil Etheridge

Neil Leonard Dula Etheridge (born 7 February 1990) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for EFL Championship club Birmingham City and captains the Philippines national team.

He joined the Fulham Academy after three years as a trainee at Chelsea and made his debut for Fulham in the UEFA Europa League against Danish club Odense Boldklub, though he never played in a league match with the club. While with Fulham from 2006 until 2014 he was loaned to various lower tier clubs; Leatherhead, Charlton Athletic, Bristol Rovers, and Crewe Alexandra.

After leaving Fulham, Etheridge signed with Oldham Athletic before he was loaned to Charlton Athletic. He joined Charlton on a permanent basis in 2015 after his contract with Oldham ended. After months of being without a club, Etheridge joined Walsall, going on to make more than 90 appearances in all competitions in two seasons. He then moved on to Championship club Cardiff City in 2017. After establishing himself as Cardiff City's first choice goalkeeper, he helped the Welsh side win promotion to the Premier League. He joined Birmingham City, also of the Championship, three years later.

Etheridge has one British and one Filipino parent; in international football, he played for his native England at under-16 level, and has represented Philippines at senior level since 2008. In August 2018, while with Cardiff City, he became the first Filipino to play in the Premier League.

Club Career

Chelsea Academy

Having played for local youth sides Cuffy Chiefs and Hart Boys, Etheridge began attending the Chelsea Academy in 2003 at under-14 level, where he was also teammates with eventual Philippine internationals James and Phil Younghusband. He started out as a forward but eventually switched to playing as a goalkeeper at the suggestion of his coach.

This page also has a version in other languages :  Нил Этеридж (russian)