Matthew Etherington is an English footballer born on August 14, 1981 in Truro, Cornwall. He plays as a midfielder in the left as well as a winger.
Matthew Etherington was a part of the England Under-20 team in the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Youth Championship held in 1999.
Matthew Etherington kicked off his football career as a youth player at Peterborough United and progressed to its senior team in 1996. He made his league debut for the club, at the age of fifteen, in its victory against Brentford in May 1997. He made it to the first team in the 1998-99 season, and represented Peterborough in 33 games and scored three goals that season. In all, he appeared in 58 matches for Peterborough, contributing six goals.
Matthew Etherington switched to Tottenham Hotspur for £500,000 in December 1999. In 2001 he went on a brief loan spell to Bradford City, for which he played 13 matches and scored a lone goal before returning to Tottenham. During his tenure with the Spurs, he appeared in 51 games, netting two goals.
Matthew Etherington moved onto West Ham United in August 2003. His brilliant performances for the club during the first season made him favorite with fans and fetched him the "Hammer of the Year" award. He scored a goal in the club’s 2-0 win over Ipswich Town in the second leg of the semi finals of the 2004 Championship play-off and helped it reach the finals.
The following year, Matthew Etherington helped the club qualify to the Premiership by assisting Bobby Zamora to score a goal in the play-off final against Preston North End. He was also a crucial part of the team that won the runner-up title in the 2006 Football Club (FA) Cup. He has been a reliable stalwart for West Ham and as of August 2008, he has made 154 appearances scoring 14 goals.
During his spare time, Matthew Etherington enjoys playing poker and has even won the first prize at the celebpoker.com Poker Classic Tournament, bagging prize money worth £17,000.
