Gary James Cahill (born 19 December 1985) is an English footballer who plays as a central defender for Chelsea and the England national team. Although he usually plays centre back for both club and country, Cahill has been deployed as a right back, left back and defensive midfielder, because of his pace and technical ability.
Cahill began his career playing for the AFC Dronfield youth set-system in Derbyshire. In 2000, he joined the Aston Villa Academy and continued his development. In 2004 he joined Burnley on a season-long loan, where he performed well before returning to make his Aston Villa debut. Later, he signed for hometown club Sheffield United on a three-month loan deal. On 30 January 2008, he signed for Bolton Wanderers for approximately £5 million. Cahill performed well for Bolton though the years, cementing a place in the first-team and becoming vice-captain. He made 130 league appearances and scored 13 league goals for Bolton. In January 2012, Cahill signed for Chelsea for approximately £7 million.
Cahill is an English international. He was eligible to play for either England or the Republic of Ireland, but chose to play for England. On 6 February 2007, he made his under-21 debut for England, coming on as a substitute against Spain. On 4 June 2009, Cahill was called up to the England squad for the match against Kazakhstan. However, he only made his debut on 3 September 2010, coming on as a substitute against Bulgaria. On 29 March 2011, Cahill made his first start for the national team in the friendly against Ghana. He scored his first international goal against Bulgaria in a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifier.
