James Milner is an international footballer who was born to Peter and Lesley on January 4, 1986 in Wortley, Leeds. He was brought up in Horsforth, and he attended the Westbrook Lane School and then the Horsforth School. James Milner was a bright student who left school with 11 GCSEs (General Certificate of Secondary Education) and an award for his performance in physical education. As a schoolboy, he was also good at playing cricket, sprinting and long-distance running.
James Milner started his international career for the Republic of Ireland at Under-14 (U-14) level, but, he started representing the England team at the U-15 and U-17 levels. James Milner was a part of the English U-17 side which won the 2002 Nationwide summer tournament against Italy, Czech Republic and Brazil. He played for the U-20 side at the 2003 World Youth Championship, and immediately after that, he was called up to play for the English U-21 side. James Milner made his debut for the U-21 side against Sweden on March 30, 2004 and scored his first international goal for the national team in a qualification game for the 2007 European Under-21 Championships against Wales. He scored a winning goal for the England U-21 squad in a 3-2 win over Switzerland and helped his team secure a place in the playoff stage of the 2007 Under-21 European Championship qualifiers. James Milner also played in the semi-final of the same tournament against Netherland and scored twice in the penalty shootout. In September 2007, he set an impressive record by making his 30th appearance in the England U-21 team; it went on to have a 3-0 victory against Montenegro.
James Milner joined the Leeds United Academy at the age of 10. On November 10, 2002, when he was 16 years and 309 days old, he made his debut as a substitute for Leeds United in a game against West Ham United and made himself the second youngest player ever to play in the Premier League. He also became the second youngest player to score in the Premier League when he made a goal in the 2-1 win over Sunderland on December 26, 2002. When the club was relegated from the Premiership at the end of the 2003-04 season, James Milner left the club and joined Newcastle United (The Magpies) in July 2004 on a four-year deal. On August 18, 2004, he made his Premier League debut for the Magpies against Middlesbrough, and in the next month, he made his European debut in a Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Cup game against Bnei Sakhnin. James Milner showed good form in the Intertoto Cup for the Magpies during the 2005-06 season, however, he was loaned out to Aston Villa for the rest of the season. On September 12, 2005, played his first match for Villa in a league game against West Ham United and scored his first goal in a 1-1 draw against Tottenham Hotspur. Impressed with his performance, Villa showed interest in signing him on a permanent deal, but Newcastle United turned down the offer.
James Milner returned to Newcastle United at the end of his loan period, and since then, he was Newcastle’s regular first team player. He scored his first goal of the 2006-07 season on January 1, 2007 against Manchester United and went on to score two more during the next three weeks against Birmingham and West Ham United. During this season, the club’s manager Glenn Roeder described James Milner as the hardest-training player and awarded him with a new contract which would keep him in the club until 2011. Following the appointment of the new manager Sam Allardyce, James Milner signed another four-year contract with the club in May 2007. In October of the same year, he scored Newcastle’s 500th home Premier League goal in the 3-1 win against Tottenham Hotspur, and during the season, Sam Allardyce praised James Milner as a highly experienced Premier League player. Though he started the 2008-09 season with Newcastle, on August 29, 2008, he moved to Aston Villa on a four-year deal, and two days later, he made his debut for the Villa against Liverpool.
