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Hailed as the ‘next big thing’ of the women’s game , Karen Carney made the coveted no.7 England shirt her own at just 19 years old.
Karen Carney has enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame. In just two short years she has established herself in the forward line of the England team and has been earmarked as a potential star of London 2012. Earning rave reviews as a skilful right sided striker with an eye for goal, Karen was named the FA Young Player of the Year for 2 consecutive years.
At the age of 11 Karen started playing and training with a girls only team and it wasn’t long before Karen was put forward a year due to her obvious abilities. When the big clubs inevitably came knocking there was only one choice for Karen and that was her hometown Birmingham City FC.
Karen made her England debut at the age of 14 coming off the bench in a friendly against the British University to score. The Senior England call up came in October 2004 when she was only 17 years old. Karen became the youngest ever player to play for England when she made her debut against Italy in February 2005. Not to disappoint, Karen came off the bench again to score, concluding a 4-1 victory. Following this Karen went on to be selected for the England Euro 2005 Squad where she played a pivotal role in England’s opening win over Finland with a last minute goal sending England to the top of the group.
In July 2006 Karen was signed by Arsenal FC, the highlight of her career so far was scoring in the semi-final of the UEFA Cup, which Arsenal went on to win on their way to completing a historic quadruple. Karen has 48 caps including 3 appearances during England’s promising performance in the 2007 World Cup. Now 22 years old, Karen continues to be a star performer in the England side including a match winning performance in the crucial European Championships qualifier against Spain to secure England’s place in the UEFA 2009 European Championship Finals.
Karen signed for the Chicago Red Stars in 2009 and has completed a successful first season for where she gained invaluable experience and established herself as an integral member of the team. In August 09 Karen will take part in the UEFA Women’s European Championships and her long term focus is to establish herself as England’s premier player for the 2011 World Cup and London 2012 Olympics.
Achievements:
2007 Part of England’s World Cup Squad
2007 Part of quadruple winning Arsenal team (UEFA Cup, League Cup, Premier League, FA Cup)
2006 Scored in Semi-Final of UEFA Cup Final to send Arsenal to the final
2006 Earned 19th International cap as England qualified for the World Cup in China 2007
2006 Signed for Arsenal FC, the country’s leading ladies team.
2005 Became the youngest player to score a goal for England in game against Italy
2005 England Senior Debut to become youngest ever player to play for England
2005 FA Young Player of the Year
2004 FA Young Player of the Year
2001 Signed for Birmingham City FC
2001 England Junior Debut
