Hargreaves is world class IMO, once he's fit he should be a regular.
Wasn't Nolan thinking of playing for Ireland a while back?
LOL
Before the world cup and the injuries of a few of the Bayern first teamers - he was being offered to clubs for £7million!
Wouldn't have happened under Hitzfeld.
Anyone who can be the lynchpin in a European Cup winning Bayern midfield at 20 is a shade better than the average Joe.
Owen Hargreaves moved at the age of sixteen from Calgary Foothills to FC Bayern Munich on 1 July 1997. Hargreaves played in the Under-19 team for two and a half years before spending six months with the Amateur team. Whilst with the Under 19s the team reached the Final of the German Championship in 1998. They lost in the Final to Borussia Dortmund, but only after a penalty shoot-out in Dortmund’s Rote-Erde Stadium.
On August 12, 2000, Hargreaves played in his first Bundesliga match, making an appearance as a substitute for Carsten Jancker in the 83rd minute. His first start came against SpVgg Unterhaching on September 16 of the same year. That season proved to be a triumphant one for Bayern Munich; the club were Bundesliga champions and also claimed the Champions League crown. Hargreaves's performances in the Champions League semi final against Real Madrid put him in the international spotlight as he showed he was capable of holding his own against the likes of Roberto Carlos and Luís Figo.
In the 2001/2002 season Hargreaves established himself as a first team regular, making 46 appearances in all. In spite of setbacks for the club in the form of a third place finish in the Bundesliga, a quarter final appearance in the Champions League and a Cup defeat by Schalke 04, the season proved to be a decisive one for Hargreaves as he emerged as a key player of the team.
2002/2003 saw Hargreaves celebrate another domestic success as Bayern won the Bundesliga title and the DFB Cup. On January 26 2003, Hargreaves scored his first Bundesliga goal in the game against Borussia Mönchengladbach. Unfortunately, the season also saw him out injured on three separate occasions. In September he tore a thigh muscle, then in October a calf muscle. Towards the end of the season adductor problems meant he missed a further three weeks. He racked up 25 Bundesliga appearances, 4 Cup games and 3 matches in the Champions League.
The 2003/2004 season was Hargreaves' first with Bayern without winning any silverware. After clinching the double the year before, the Munich side finished second in the Bundesliga, and were knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid. Hargreaves made a total of 38 appearances for the club in this season.
In 2004/05 he picked up another German championship and DFB Cup. He had 27 appearances in the Bundesliga (1 goal), played in 3 Cup games (2 goals)and 8 Champions League games.
In the 2005/06 season, he added another Bundesliga and Cup title. He had 15 (1 goal) league, 4 (2) cup and 3 CL appearances. His Bundesliga goal was the first of the season.In October 2005, he extended his contract at Bayern for another four years which will keep him at the club until 2010.
On 16 September 2006 he came off after 24 minutes of Bayern Munich's 2-1 league defeat to Arminia Bielefeld after colliding with an opposing player and breaking the fibula in his left leg.
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