Jack Butland English footballer, goalkeeper Date of Birth: 10.03.1993 Country: Great Britain

1. Biography of Jack Butland
2. Early Life and Career
3. Loan Spells and International Career
4. Senior Career and Olympic Games

Biography of Jack Butland

Jack Butland is an English footballer, goalkeeper for Birmingham City. He has also played for the British national team, mainly in the youth divisions.

Early Life and Career

Born in Bristol, Butland began his football career as a schoolboy playing for Clevedon United and the Jamie Shore Academy in Bristol. In 2007, at the age of 14, he joined Birmingham City and in 2009, Butland enrolled in the team's youth training academy. At just 16 years old, he made his debut in the club's reserve team. In March 2010, Butland signed his first professional contract, which lasted for two and a half years, shortly after his 17th birthday. He was named Birmingham City's Young Player of the Year for the 2009-2010 season, but his progress was hindered by a broken arm in October 2010. However, he returned to the field in April, just before a Premier League match.

Loan Spells and International Career

After making his debut for the England U21 team, Butland was loaned to Cheltenham Town for a month to gain experience. However, he impressed the team and his loan was extended for two more months. He returned to the England U21 team in mid-October. Butland's time at Cheltenham Town proved fruitful, with his teammates praising his focus and natural talent. In February 2012, he was loaned to Cheltenham Town again, but was quickly recalled to the Birmingham City first team after the main goalkeeper suffered an injury.

Butland made his international debut for the England U16 team on October 3, 2008. The following year, he was promoted to the U17 team and became the first-choice goalkeeper for the European Championships in that age category. He had a productive season, and was even included in the tournament's All-Star team of 22 players. In 2011, Butland played for the U19 team, but the team failed to advance past the group stage in the European Championships, with a loss to Spain. He was then called up to the England U20 team for the FIFA U20 World Cup. Butland had an impressive tournament, only conceding a single goal against Nigeria. However, England failed to advance due to not accumulating enough points in the previous matches.

Senior Career and Olympic Games

On September 1, 2011, Butland made his debut for the England U21 team. He participated in the qualifying matches for the 2013 UEFA European Championship. The team performed well in the qualifiers, although Butland had to work hard to defend the goal. In 2012, it was announced that Butland would be part of the England national team for the UEFA Euro 2012. He was included in the squad on May 25, after John Ruddy suffered a finger injury during training. It is known that at that time, at least 52 top-level club agents were closely following Butland's career. On July 2, 2012, Butland was selected for the British Olympic football team. Despite initially not expecting any Euro 2012 participants to be selected, Butland made it into the squad. The team reached the quarterfinals, but were eliminated by South Korea.