Craig Gardner
Craig Gardner (born 25 November 1986) is an English professional football coach and former player who made 260 appearances in the Premier League and a further 67 in the Championship. He joined the coaching staff at Birmingham City in January 2021 and was appointed technical director in June.
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Gardner playing for Sunderland in 2012 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Craig Gardner | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 25 November 1986 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Solihull, England | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Central midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Birmingham City (technical director) | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| –2005 | Aston Villa | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2005–2010 | Aston Villa | 59 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | Birmingham City | 42 | (9) | ||||||||||||||
| 2011–2014 | Sunderland | 81 | (11) | ||||||||||||||
| 2014–2017 | West Bromwich Albion | 78 | (6) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017 | → Birmingham City (loan) | 20 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2020 | Birmingham City | 47 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 327 | (36) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2009 | England U21 | 14 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | Birmingham City (caretaker) | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
A versatile midfielder, Gardner was able to play in many different positions, although he preferred central midfield. He began his career at Aston Villa before spending the 2010–11 season with city rivals Birmingham City, with whom he won the 2011 League Cup. After three seasons with Sunderland, he joined West Bromwich Albion in 2014 before rejoining Birmingham City in 2017. He retired from playing in 2020 to take up a position as first-team coach at the club. He moved on to a similar role at Sheffield Wednesday in November 2020, before leaving a month later when Tony Pulis' contract was terminated and returning to Birmingham.
Internationally, Gardner represented England at under-21 level, and was a member of the team that finished as runners-up on the 2009 European Championships.