Chris Kirkland, an English football goalkeeper, was born on May 2, 1981 in Barwell. He is married to Leeona and they have a daughter Lucy, who was born on November 14, 2006.
He has made eight appearances for the England Under-21 football team and has been a regular member in the senior squad since 2003. Chris Kirkland made his first appearance for it as a substitute in a friendly match against Greece in August 2006.
Chris Kirkland started his career in football by joining Coventry City and made his debut on September 22, 1999 against Tranmere Rovers in a League Cup fixture. He was a part of the team that became the runners-up at the Football Association (FA) Youth Cup during the 1998-99 season. At the start of 2001-02 season, when Chris Kirkland was only 20, he was roped in by Liverpool for £6m, making him the most expensive goalkeeper then in the history of British football transfer. He made his first appearance as a first-team member for the club in a match against Galatasaray at the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League. He was also instrumental in helping the club secure the runners-up place at the Charity Shield during 2002-03. Chris Kirkland went on to play in 14 matches, in which he kept 6 clean sheets, which made him Liverpool’s first-choice goalkeeper in the start of 2004-05 season.
Chris Kirkland went on a season-long loan to West Bromwich Albion in the summer of 2005 and kept a clean sheet in his first match for the club against Manchester City. His performances with the club also won him a call as the second-choice keeper for the England squad.
Chris Kirkland was loaned to Wigan Athletic in July 2006 for six months, at the end of which, he went on to sign a three-year deal with Wigan on October 27, 2006 and made his move permanent. In the 2007-08 season, he became the first-choice goalkeeper of Steve Bruce, Wigan’s new manager, and went on to win the club's Players' Player of the Year and Media Player of the Year awards for 2007–08. In May 2008, he signed a four-year deal, extending the contract with Wigan till 2012.
Chris Kirkland helped launch the Get Started programme, a national scheme that works towards tackling re-offending, in April 2008 with Kevin Davies and Brett Emerton, fellow professionals. This scheme is delivered by the Prince's Trust in partnership with the Premier League, the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) and the Football Foundation. Chris Kirkland, who has the nickname “Sick Note”, wants to become a firefighter after the end of his football career.
