David Healy is a professional football player, who was born on August 5, 1979 in Killyleagh, Northern Ireland. As a young player, he improved his football skills while playing for Crossgar, Lisburn Youth and Down Academy High School in Downpatrick. David Healy is married to Emma and the couple has 2 children, Taylor and Jude.
Being a talented striker, he has played 8 matches and scored 4 goals for his country’s national team in the Under-21 level during the 1998-99 season. Before moving to the first team, he represented Northern Ireland B in a match. As a senior member, David Healy scored 2 goals in his first appearance, which was a friendly match against Luxembourg in February 2000. In the same year, he played well in a World Cup qualifying match against Malta in September and scored his first competitive goal against Denmark in October. In 2004, with David Healy in the squad, Northern Ireland marked their first goal in 1298 minutes against Norway and first victory in 16 matches against Estonia. By scoring the winning goal for Northern Ireland (1-0) against England in the 2005 World Cup qualifier, he created a memorable victory for him and his country.
David Healy has scored two brilliant hat-tricks for Northern Ireland, one against Spain and the other against Liechtenstein. Having scored 13 goals in 11 games in the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Euro 2008 qualifying Group F tournament, he became the first Northern Irish player to break a football record and the highest-ever goal scorer in a UEFA European Championship qualifying campaign. Of his 65 international appearances for his country, he has scored 64 goals and helped his team create history by beating many records.
In August 1999, David Healy began his club career in Manchester United, but was sent on a loan to play for Port Vale where he scored 3 goals in 16 matches. On December 29, 2000, he was sent on a loan spell to Preston North End, but the deal became permanent and David Healy became a regular player of the team. He played 44 league matches and scored 10 goals for Preston North End in the 2001-2002 season. Between 2001 and 2004, he played two loan spells for Norwich City in 2003 and netted 2 goals in 13 matches for the team. Having scored 43 goals for Preston North End in 136 matches, David Healy moved to Leeds United on October 29, 2004.
In Leeds United, he played for 3 seasons (2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06) and scored 31 goals in 111 matches, where he became the top scorer in all the seasons.
On July 13, 2007, David Healy joined Fulham and played 35 matches (4 goals) before moving to Sunderland in 2008. He scored the winning goal in extra time for Sunderland in his first match for the team on August 27, 2008.
For his commendable performances in the Euro 2008 qualifying games, David Healy received the Belfast Telegraph Sports Star of the Year (2007).
Recognizing his services to the sport of football and the community in Northern Ireland, the Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) was awarded to him in 2008.
