5'10"  9st.7lb.
b. Ballyboden 2 March 1979
 

Debut  11 May 1997 (18y 70d) Final Game 11 May 2003 (24y 70d)
First Goal 8 November 1997 Final Goal 11 May 2003
CAREER: Leicester Celtic;St Kevin's Boys;Lourdes Celtic;Blackburn Rovers Mar'96;Chelsea  Jul’03 (£17,000,000)[63+18-14];Newcastle United Jul’06 (£5,000,000)[60+8-4];Fulham Aug’09-Jun’14 (£5,000,000)[111+19-15];Melbourne City (Australia) Jun’14;Shamrock Rovers Jul’15-Dec’15.
INTERNATIONALS    Republic of Ireland  90 + 10 apps 8 gls  
’98 v Cze,Mex.’99 v Cro,Mtl,Yug,Par,Swe(s),NIr,Mac.’00 v Cro,Mlt(s),Tur(s),Tur(s),Sco(s).’01 v Por(s),Est(s),Cyp(s),And,Por(s),Est.’02 v Cro 1gl,Hol,Rus,Den,USA,Nig,Cam,Ger,Sau 1gl,Spa.’03 v
Fin,Rus,Swi,Geo 1gl,Alb,Nor 1gl,Alb.’04 v Aus,Rus 1gl,Tur,Swi,Can 1gl,Cze.’05 v Bul,Cyp,Swi,Fra,
Far,Cro,Por,Isr,Chn,Isr,Far.’06 v Ita,Fra,Cyp,Swe 1gl,Chl.’07 v Ger,Cyp,Cze,SaM,SaM,Wal,Svk.’08 v
Bra,Ser.’09 v Nor,Cyp,Pol,Geo,Nig,Bul.’10 v Aus,Cyp,SAf(s),Mon,Fra,Fra,Bra,Par,Alg,’11 v Arg,Nor,Wal 1gl,Mac.
’12 v Cro,Svk,Rus,And,Arm,Est,Est,Bos,Cze,Hun,Cro,Spa,Ita.
HONOURS PL Ch (Chelsea) ’05,’06. FLC win (Blackburn Rovers) ’02,(Chelsea) ’05.Inter Toto win (Newcastle United) ’07. Irish footballer of the Year ’03.
SQUAD NUMBER  32 Aug’96 - 25 Aug’97 - 12 Aug’98 - 11 Aug’00.
 

PL/FL      157 + 28 apps    27 gls    - 37 wdn                                           41 ns
FAC           13 +  5 apps      2 gls      - 6 wdn                                               6 ns
FLC            16 +  1 apps       5 gls     - 5 wdn                                              2 ns
UEFA           4 apps              1 gl        - 1 wdn
Total        190 +34 apps    35 gls    - 49 wdn  +170m -582m et 60m   49 ns  (1 gl as sub)
FAYC  10 apps 2 gls

Damien Duff- The Biography  Joel Miller John Blake Publishing Limited 2007 256 pages
ISBN 10  1844543315
ISBN 13 978-1844543311

When Kenny Dalglish was the Rovers' manager the club's Irish scout was the Bray Wanderers' manager, Pat Devlin. A legend in the country he had access to the brightest talent which was how Damien Duff ended up at Ewood. He had attended De La Salle College in Churchtown where he played rugby but started playing football with junior clubs around Dublin. Frail in appearance and looking perpetually drained he was always destined to become a major star because he possessed ball skills which are hard to defend against. So quick was his control, so fast his acceleration that he altered defensive situations in a split                                  second. Despite being double marked he eased effortlessly past defenders, twisting quickly and always having the time to pick out a target for a cross. A star of the 2002 World Cup he has the ability to disrupt any defence in the world  and is one of the few world players who can demoralise the opposition. A negative has been persistent hamstring problems that have severely curtailed his availability. With the spending power of their Russian  owner Chelsea were able to acquire his services in 2003 but despite the huge fee he proved to be a bargain as the club cemented a position among the world's elite clubs. Despite successive Premiership medals Duff was unhappy about not being an automatic choice at Chelsea and signed for Newcastle. After two seasons with the club he found  himself in  the Championship, where ironically it was his own goal on the final day of the season, that finally  condemned the club to relegation. His stay in the lower league was short lived, since after scoring on the opening day of the season, he was transferred to Fulham. A canny man who used the PFA as his agency, he looked after his money so well that he became one of the richest footballers in England.