.jpg) Gardner in 2008 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ricardo Wayne Gardner[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1978-09-25)25 September 1978 (age 47) | ||
| Place of birth | Saint Andrew Parish, Jamaica | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Left winger,left wing-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1992–1997 | Harbour View | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1997–1998 | Harbour View | 10 | (2) |
| 1998–2012 | Bolton Wanderers | 342 | (20) |
| 2011 | →Preston North End (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| Total | 356 | (22) | |
| International career | |||
| 1997–2012 | Jamaica | 111[2] | (9) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2015–2016 | Jamaica U-20 | ||
| 2015–2018 | Harbour View | ||
| 2020–2021 | Portmore United | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Ricardo Wayne Gardner (born 25 September 1978), commonly known asBibi, is a Jamaican former professionalfootballer. He works as assistant coach atPortmore United. Aleft winger, he could also play in thecentre of midfield or atleft wing-back. He last played forBolton Wanderers in May 2012, completing a 14-year spell at the club, of which 11 were spent in thePremier League. Gardner earned 111 caps for theJamaica national football team, scoring 9 goals and playing at fourCONCACAF Gold Cups and the1998 FIFA World Cup.
Born inSaint Andrew, Jamaica, Gardner began his professional career withHarbour View, where he debuted as a starter at the age of only 14 years. He also, representing Wolmer's Boys' High School, dominated the local high school football leagues and was considered outstanding.[3] His performances forJamaica during the1998 World Cup attracted EnglishFirst Division sideBolton Wanderers to offer Harbour View £1 million for his services.[4]
Gardner immediately established himself a place in the first team for Bolton. He came on as a substitute to make his debut against Hartlepool in the League Cup on 25 August 1998,[5] and made his league debut as a substitute again against West Bromwich Albion on 8 September 1998. In this game, Bolton were reduced to 10 men after the sending off ofGuðni Bergsson shortly after Gardner came on, but he scored a late winner to give his team a memorable 3–2 victory over West Brom.[6] He made 22 appearances, half of them starts, in his first year while scoring three goals. In his second season, 1999–2000, he established a place in the starting eleven, starting 23 of 26 games, that he has held on to since. Although Gardner suffered acruciate ligament injury that took him out of action at the end of the season,[citation needed] he made a full recovery, and was able to return to the starting line-up in2000–01 (scoring in the 2001 Division One Play off Final),[citation needed] playing with the promoted Bolton in the Premier League. He was votedBolton Wanderers F.C. Player of the Year for the 2005–06 season by the club's fans.[7][8] Due to a knee injury, Gardner did not make his first appearance in the 2006–07 season until December.[citation needed]
In November 2007, he scored his first goal at club level in nearly five years when he opened the scoring in Bolton's 2–2 draw against German giantsBayern Munich at theAllianz Arena in theUEFA Cup group stage.[citation needed] A year later after being moved from a wing-back role back into midfield he scored in the Wanderers 2–0 win over local rivalsManchester City.[9]
Gardner made his 400th appearance for Bolton in a 3–0 defeat toFulham on 27 April 2011.[10] On 24 May 2011, he was in discussions to extend his Bolton contract into a fourteenth year. Gardner rejected a move toWest Ham United favouring to sign a new one-year contract at Bolton,[11] which he signed on 5 August.[12] He made four league appearances at the beginning of the next season but was sent off for two bookable offences in Bolton's 3–1 defeat atSwansea City on 29 October[13] and then suffered an injury, making no further appearances that year.[citation needed]
At the close of the January 2012 transfer window, he wasn't named in Bolton's twenty five man Premier League squad for the second half of the season meaning he would play no further part in the league campaign.[14] It was later revealed that he had been omitted due to having had an operation on his knee that the Bolton medical staff could not guarantee he would recover from in time to play again that season.[15] It was announced on 18 May 2012 that Ricardo had left the club in line with the expiration of his contract.[10] At the time, Gardner was the second longest serving foreign player in Premier League history after serving fourteen years at Bolton, only beaten by his former Bolton teammateJussi Jääskeläinen.[16]
On 8 March 2011, Gardner went toPreston North End on an emergency one-month loan as cover forPhil Brown's side. Bolton managerOwen Coyle said it was a great chance for Gardner to improve his match fitness after only just recovering from injury.[17]
He made his debut the following day at the left-back position in the 2–1 loss toLeeds United and played three more games for the club.[18]
After the end of his contract with Bolton Wanderers, he spent a year training at his old club,West Ham United andBarnsley to keep up his fitness, and played in two reserve team matches for West Ham[19] but decided to leave England to seek a move to theMLS.[20] He went on an unsuccessful trial atReal Salt Lake[21] where he played for the reserves in a 1–0 win against thePortland Timbers reserves[22] and announced his official retirement in May 2014.[23]
Gardner rose to international prominence following the1998 World Cup.[citation needed]Gardner was an important player for the Jamaican national team and earned his place as the team's captain, captaining the team between 2005 and 2009.[24] He also captained the team for one game in 2012 at the2012 Caribbean Cup.
In December 2015, Gardner was appointed as coach of theJamaica U-20 team.[25] Gardner resigned as Harbour View FC Head coach in December 2018.[26] In March 2019, Gardner joined the staff ofPortmore United as assistant coach.[27] In 2021, Gardner left his role as head of Portmore United to move back to England.[28]
Gardner is aRastafarian and sportsdreadlocks.[3] He is part owner, withRobert Scarlett andIan Goodison, of arecord label, Heart of Love Production,[3] which promotesragga anddancehall music.[29] His sonChe Gardner is also a professional footballer.[30]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Bolton Wanderers | 1998–99 | First Division | 30 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | – | 3 | 0 | 37 | 3 | |
| 1999–2000 | First Division | 29 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 1 | – | – | 42 | 6 | |||
| 2000–01 | First Division | 32 | 3 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 3 | 2 | 37 | 5 | |||
| 2001–02 | Premier League | 31 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 34 | 3 | |||
| 2002–03 | Premier League | 32 | 2 | – | – | – | – | 32 | 2 | |||||
| 2003–04 | Premier League | 22 | 0 | – | 4 | 0 | – | – | 26 | 0 | ||||
| 2004–05 | Premier League | 33 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 38 | 0 | |||
| 2005–06 | Premier League | 30 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | – | 44 | 0 | ||
| 2006–07 | Premier League | 18 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | – | – | 21 | 0 | ||||
| 2007–08 | Premier League | 26 | 0 | – | – | 4 | 1 | – | 30 | 1 | ||||
| 2008–09 | Premier League | 29 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 31 | 4 | |||
| 2009–10 | Premier League | 21 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 26 | 1 | |||
| 2010–11 | Premier League | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 6 | 0 | |||
| 2011–12 | Premier League | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 6 | 0 | |||
| Total | 342 | 20 | 24 | 0 | 27 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 410 | 25 | ||
| Preston North End (loan) | 2010–11 | Championship | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 4 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 346 | 20 | 24 | 0 | 27 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 414 | 25 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jamaica | 1997 | 24 | 3 |
| 1998 | 19 | 0 | |
| 1999 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2000 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2001 | 11 | 2 | |
| 2002 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2003 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2004 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2005 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2007 | 4 | 2 | |
| 2008 | 12 | 2 | |
| 2009 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 111 | 9 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 July 1997 | Antigua Recreation Ground,St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda |  Grenada | 2–0 | 4–1 | 1997 Caribbean Cup | [33] |
| 2 | 6 August 1997 | National Stadium,Kingston, Jamaica |  Colombia | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly | [34] |
| 3 | 31 August 1997 | National Stadium, Kingston, Jamaica |  Trinidad and Tobago | – | 6–1 | Friendly | [35] |
| 4 | 25 April 2001 | National Stadium, Kingston, Jamaica |  Honduras | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification | [36] |
| 5 | 10 July 2001 | National Stadium, Kingston, Jamaica |  Cuba | 2–0 | 4–1 | Friendly | [37] |
| 6 | 18 November 2007 | National Stadium, Kingston, Jamaica |  El Salvador | 2–0 | 3–0 | Friendly | [38] |
| 7 | 3–0 | ||||||
| 8 | 3 June 2008 | National Stadium, Kingston, Jamaica |  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 5–1 | 5–1 | Friendly | [39] |
| 9 | 15 June 2008 | National Stadium, Kingston, Jamaica |  Bahamas | 1–0 | 7–0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification | [40] |
Bolton Wanderers
Jamaica
Individual
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Jamaica national football team captain 2008–2011 | Succeeded by Shavar Thomas |
Jamaica squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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