Tom Huddlestone, a professional English footballer, was born on December 28, 1986 in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire. He grew up in Nottingham and went to Greenwood Dale School in Sneinton, Nottingham. Nicknamed “The Hud” in the football circuit, he plays as a defensive midfielder. Tom Huddlestone is well-known for his large stature, which makes him prominent in the midfield and in addition, his excellent passing range has won him comparisons with Michael Carrick, a former team-mate, and Glenn Hoddle, a Tottenham legend.
Tom Huddlestone was included in the England Under-21 football team in 2005 and since then he has been a regular player for the team. He represented the U-21 national team twice at the 2007 Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Under-21 Championship and played twenty eight matches for the team, netting thrice. He also received a call-up to the England national football team by Fabio Capello, the English coach, to play friendly matches against the United States and Trinidad and Tobago.
Tom Huddlestone started his club career by joining Derby County in 2002 and on the first day of 2003-04season, he made his maiden appearance for the club in a match against Stoke City. Despite the fact that Derby was defeated, Tom Huddlestone was named the ‘Man of the Match’. After playing 88 games for Derby County, he signed a contract with the Tottenham Hotspur football club in January 2005 and went on a loan to Wolverhampton Wanderers the same season. Tom Huddlestone scored his first league goal in a match against Derby County, following which he returned to Tottenham Hotspur and on January 31, 2006, he played his first match for the club by coming on as a substitute in a match against Fulham.
On September 14, 2006 Tom Huddlestone found his place in the starting line-up in an away match against Slavia Prague at the UEFA Cup when the match resulted in a 1-0 win for Tottenham Hotspur. On November 8, 2006 he netted his first goal for Tottenham in the fourth Round match against Port Vale at the Carling Cup. Tom Huddlestone followed it up with another vital goal, which helped Tottenham qualify to the quarterfinals of the Carling Cup. His first league goal, an excellent half-volley, for Tottenham came on December 17, 2006 in a match against Manchester United before which, he assisted Calum Davenport, a team-mate, in scoring a goal.
At the end of the 2006-07 season, Tom Huddlestone was one of the most promising, young, English central midfielders in the Premiership and his ferocious shot power, playmaking abilities and versatility earned him comparisons from Martin Jol, the head coach, with Franz Beckenbauer, a German legend. During the 2007-08 season, he represented the Tottenham Hotspur football club at the Carling Cup and helped the Spurs emerge winners. On June 30, 2008, Tom Huddlestone signed a five-year deal with Tottenham Hotspur extending his tenure to 2013 and as of September 2008, he has played fifty six matches, netting four times.
