 Riggott playing forMiddlesbrough in 2008 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Christopher Mark Riggott[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1980-09-01)1 September 1980 (age 45) | ||
| Place of birth | Derby, England | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1999–2003 | Derby County | 91 | (5) |
| 2003–2010 | Middlesbrough | 104 | (5) |
| 2008 | →Stoke City (loan) | 9 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | Cardiff City | 2 | (0) |
| 2011–2012 | Derby County | 0 | (0) |
| 2012 | Burton Albion | 0 | (0) |
| Total | 206 | (10) | |
| International career | |||
| 2000–2001 | England U21 | 9 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Christopher Mark Riggott (born 1 September 1980) is an English former professionalfootballer who played as adefender. He began his career atDerby County, before moving toMiddlesbrough, with whom he won theLeague Cup in2004. He also had spells withStoke City,Cardiff City andBurton Albion and represented England nine times atunder-21 level.
Born inDerby, Riggott played atDerby County where he came through the youth system, whilst studying atSt Benedict's RC Secondary School in Derby.[citation needed] Whilst at Derby he was coached by future England managerSteve McClaren and Middlesbrough coachesSteve Round andBill Beswick. He made his debut for the club on 14 May 2000 as a substitute in place ofSteve Elliott during a 4–0 defeat toChelsea. He went on to make 100 appearances for Derby in all competitions and scored 7 goals during his spell at the club. At the end of the 2000–01 season he was named Derby's Player of the Year.
After being strongly linked withLiverpool in the 2001–02 season,[2] he eventually joinedMiddlesbrough, along withMalcolm Christie for a combined fee of 3 million pounds in January 2003,[3] with the potential to rise to 5 million.
Riggott immediately became popular among the fans, scoring twice on his second appearance in theTees-Wear derby againstSunderland at theStadium of Light, which Middlesbrough won 3–1.[4] He was also part of the 2004League Cup final squad but did not play in the final. In the 2004–05 season he made 32 appearances, mostly covering for the much injuredUgo Ehiogu, contributing to the team's most successful season since the Premier League was established.
In the 2005–06 season, Riggott became the first choice central defensive partner forGareth Southgate, in a successful season which saw the club reach theUEFA Cup final he stood out and was generally regarded as being one of the outstanding players for Middlesbrough during the season. In the UEFA Cup semi final against Steaua Bucharest, Boro found themselves 3–0 down on aggregate and needing four goals to get through to the final. Riggott crucially scored the third of the four needed as Middlesbrough miraculously reached the final.[5]
The next season, new manager Southgate strengthened his defence by signingEngland andGermany internationalsJonathan Woodgate andRobert Huth, fromReal Madrid andChelsea respectively. This cast into doubt Riggot's place in the starting line up, and a series of injuries and the form of Middlesbrough's new defensive partnership of Woodgate and player of the yearEmanuel Pogatetz limited his appearances that season. At some points he was even relegated to fourth choice centre-back, behind new signing Huth, who himself had injury problems. During the close season he was linked with a move to former club Derby, who had been promoted to the Premiership the previous season, but the rumours proved unfounded and he remained at Middlesbrough. Riggott joinedStoke City on loan on 29 February 2008, until the end of the season, in the hope of assisting the Potters in their promotion race, which he succeeded in doing. He returned to Middlesbrough on 2 May.[6]
Riggott decided against signing a new deal with the club, turning down a new contract.[7] Middlesbrough managerGordon Strachan later stated: "He wants to change his whole lift in terms of life, the club and the area he lives in. He's got great experience and he's had a rough time with injuries."[3] Riggott spent time on trial at his former club Derby County but eventually joinedCardiff City on 17 September following a rigorous fitness test. On 26 December, Riggot made his long-awaited Cardiff City debut against Coventry City before coming off in the second half in his bid to regain full fitness. Cardiff City won the game 2–0.[8] On 1 February, his contract at Cardiff was cancelled by mutual consent due to ongoing injuries.[9]
Ahead of the 2011–12 season, Riggott has been training with his hometown club Derby County in an attempt to regain fitness.[10] He scored the only goal in a 2–1 pre-season friendly defeat atCrewe Alexandra, a game which was his sole appearance during his trial period.[11] As was anticipated for much of pre-season, particularly after undergoing a back operation at Derby County's expense, Riggott signed a one-year contract with the club on 10 August 2011.[12] However, he fell victim to his recurring injuries and didn't play football again until mid-November, when he appeared in a reserve fixture againstSheffield United.[13] On 22 December 2011, Riggott left Derby as his contract was cancelled by mutual consent, the contract was formally terminated on 1 January 2012.[14]
After training with them for a week, Riggott joined Burton Albion on 9 February 2012 on a short-term deal. The contract ran until the end of the 2011–12 season.[15] However, he never made an appearance for the club and was forced to retire from the game on 20 March 2012, after failing to overcome a persistent back injury.[16]
Source:[17]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Derby County | 1999–2000[18] | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
| 2000–01[19] | Premier League | 31 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | — | 36 | 5 | ||
| 2001–02[20] | Premier League | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 39 | 0 | ||
| 2002–03[21] | First Division | 22 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 24 | 2 | ||
| Total | 91 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 1 | — | 100 | 7 | |||
| Middlesbrough | 2002–03[21] | Premier League | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 2 | |
| 2003–04[22] | Premier League | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 24 | 0 | ||
| 2004–05[23] | Premier League | 21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8[a] | 1 | 32 | 3 | |
| 2005–06[24] | Premier League | 22 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 13[a] | 1 | 42 | 2 | |
| 2006–07[25] | Premier League | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | ||
| 2007–08[26] | Premier League | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 11 | 1 | ||
| 2008–09[27] | Premier League | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 20 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10[28] | Championship | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | ||
| Total | 104 | 5 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 21 | 2 | 148 | 8 | ||
| Stoke City (loan) | 2007–08[26] | Championship | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | |
| Cardiff City | 2010–11[29] | Championship | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |
| Derby County | 2011–12[30] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| Burton Albion | 2011–12[30] | League Two | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career total | 206 | 10 | 13 | 2 | 19 | 1 | 21 | 2 | 259 | 15 | ||
Middlesbrough
