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James Lawrence (footballer)

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James Lawrence
Lawrence playing for Wales in 2021
Personal information
Full name James Alexander Lawrence[1]
Date of birth (1992-08-22) 22 August 1992 (age 32)
Place of birth Henley-on-Thames, England
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[2]
Position(s) Centre back, defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Almere City
Number 15
Youth career
2001–2003 Arsenal
2005–2006 Queens Park Rangers
2008–2009 HFC Haarlem
2009–2011 Ajax
2011–2012 Sparta Rotterdam
2012–2014 RKC Waalwijk
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2018 AS Trenčín 86 (5)
2018–2020 Anderlecht 23 (0)
2019–2020 → St. Pauli (loan) 14 (1)
2020–2022 St. Pauli 37 (0)
2022–2024 Nürnberg 24 (0)
2024– Almere City 5 (0)
International career‡
2018– Wales 11 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:30, 11 November 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:15, 5 September 2021 (UTC)

James Alexander Lawrence (born 22 August 1992) is a Wales international footballer who plays for Dutch Eredivisie club Almere City.

Lawrence has previously played for St. Pauli, Anderlecht, AS Trenčín and youth teams at Arsenal, Queens Park Rangers, Sparta Rotterdam and Ajax.[3]

Club career

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Early career

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Lawrence's early youth career included London clubs Enfield, Arsenal and Queens Park Rangers. In 2008 his family moved to the Netherlands where he joined HFC Haarlem.[4] In 2009 Lawrence left Haarlem to join Ajax with whom he won the Netherlands U19 First Division Championship in 2010–11 and was coached by Arsenal legend Dennis Bergkamp.[4] Lawrence then had spells with Jong Sparta Rotterdam and Jong RKC Waalwijk whilst he was enrolled at the Johan Cruyff Institute in Amsterdam.[5]

AS Trenčín

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Lawrence transferred to AS Trenčín on 13 August 2014 aged 21 and scored on his debut the same day in a Slovak Cup match against ŠK Strážske.[6] Four days later, Lawrence made his Fortuna Liga debut in a 4–2 win against Košice. On 1 May 2015, Lawrence helped AS Trenčín to a maiden Slovak Cup, beating Senica in the final in Poprad.[7] In May 2015 AS Trenčín became Fortuna Liga Champions for the first time[8] with Lawrence thus achieving the league and cup double in his first senior season.[9]

Lawrence with the Slovak Cup, Poprad 2015

The AS Trenčín champions of 2014–15, with an average age of 21.74, were recognised as having been the youngest champions across 31 top division European leagues from 2009 to 2017 by the CIES Football Observatory.[10]

Lawrence missed the end of the 2014–15 season and the beginning of the 2015–16 season due to an injury sustained in the 2015 Cup Final, returning on 13 October 2015 when he scored in a 3–0 win over Blava Jaslovské Bohunice in the 4th round of the Slovak Cup. A 3–1 win over Slovan Bratislava in the Slovak Cup Final on 29 April 2016 secured a second Slovak Cup for Lawrence and AS Trenčín. On 8 May 2016, AS Trenčín beat Slovan Bratislava 4–0 to become Fortuna Liga Champions for the second year in succession.[11] Two seasons later, on 16 August 2018, Lawrence's role in the elimination of Feyenoord from the UEFA Europa League qualifying round brought him to the attention of Anderlecht who went on to negotiate his transfer from Trenčín in just 13 days later.[12]

Anderlecht

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On 29 August 2018, Lawrence joined Anderlecht, Belgium's most successful league club.[13] Lawrence played 23 league matches for Anderlecht during the 2018–19 season with Anderlecht finishing in fourth place in the Jupiler Pro League and in sixth place in the play-offs.[14]

FC St. Pauli

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On 22 August 2019, Lawrence joined 2. Bundesliga side St. Pauli on loan from Anderlecht until the end of the 2019–20 season.[15][16] He made his debut for St. Pauli on 26 August 2019, scoring in a 2–1 win over Holstein Kiel.

On 1 October 2020, Lawrence made a permanent transfer from Anderlecht to St. Pauli.[17][18] On 6 March 2021 Lawrence captained St. Pauli for the first time in a 0-0 draw away at Karlsruher SC[19] and on 21 July 2021 he was named vice-captain of St. Pauli for the 2021–22 season.[20] On 18 January 2022, Lawrence captained St. Pauli in a 2–1 win at home against cup holders Borussia Dortmund in the DFB-Pokal which put St. Pauli into the cup quarter-finals for the first time in 16 years.[21] St. Pauli ended the 2021-22 season in fifth place in 2. Bundesliga.

1. FC Nürnberg

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On 22 July 2022, Lawrence joined 2. Bundesliga side 1. FC Nürnberg.[22]

Almere City

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On 25 August 2024, Lawrence signed a two-season contract with Almere City in the Netherlands.[23]

International career

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On 5 November 2018, Lawrence was called up for the Wales squad by Ryan Giggs and he started his first game for the national side in a friendly against Albania on 20 November 2018.[24] His first competitive game for Wales was in a 1–0 win against Slovakia at Cardiff City Stadium on 24 March 2019.[25] On 18 November 2020, Lawrence was in the starting line-up as Wales became UEFA Nations League, Group H, winners, beating Finland 3–1, ensuring a place in the Nations League top tier for 2022 and a fall-back play-off spot for 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification.[26] Lawrence was named in the Wales squad for the UEFA Euro 2020 competition on 30 May 2021 but had to withdraw on the day of the announcement following injury in the previous day's training session.[27] Lawrence's competitive matches for Wales included four wins; against Slovakia, Finland, Czech Republic and Belarus, and losses away to Croatia, Hungary and Belgium in the period in which Wales gained promotion in the Nations League and qualification for the 2022 World Cup.

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 10 November 2024[2]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
AS Trenčín 2014–15 Slovak Super Liga 18 0 7 1 0 0 25 1
2015–16 Slovak Super Liga 15 1 5 1 0 0 20 2
2016–17 Slovak Super Liga 25 3 4 1 5 2 34 6
2017–18 Slovak Super Liga 25 1 2 0 2 0 29 1
2018–19 Slovak Super Liga 3 0 0 0 6 1 9 1
Total 86 5 18 3 13 3 117 11
Anderlecht 2018–19 Belgian First Division A 23 0 0 0 3 0 26 0
FC St. Pauli (loan) 2019–20 2. Bundesliga 14 1 0 0 – 14 1
FC St. Pauli 2020–21 2. Bundesliga 19 0 0 0 – 19 0
2021–22 2. Bundesliga 18 0 3 0 – 21 0
Total 37 0 3 0 0 0 40 0
1. FC Nürnberg 2022–23 2. Bundesliga 21 0 3 0 – 24 0
2023–24 2. Bundesliga 3 0 1 0 – 4 0
Total 24 0 4 0 – 28 0
Almere City FC 2024–25 Eredivisie 5 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
Career total 189 6 25 3 16 3 230 12

International

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As of 11 October 2021[2]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Wales 2018 1 0
2019 4 0
2020 2 0
2021 4 0
Total 11 0

Honours

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AS Trenčín

References

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  1. ^ "European Championship 2020: Booking List before Qualifying Round Matchday 10" (PDF). UEFA. 17 November 2019. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  2. ^ a b c James Lawrence at Soccerway
  3. ^ "Welcome James Alexander Lawrence!". RSC Anderlecht. 29 August 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Who is James Lawrence? His heart scare at Ajax and life in Slovakia". Sky Sports. 5 November 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  5. ^ "The curious tale of the football international nobody ever heard of (because he was born in the wrong month)". De Correspondent. 14 April 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  6. ^ "www.futbalnet.sk". Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  7. ^ "AS Trenčín win maiden Slovak Cup". Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  8. ^ "Trenčín seal historic Slovakian double". Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  9. ^ Jackson, Jamie (30 April 2015). "Jamie Lawrence has eyes on Slovakian double after mastering his own destiny". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  10. ^ "Reports – CIES". CIES. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  11. ^ "Trenčín ... take title". Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  12. ^ "Feyenoord eliminated by Trencin after frustrating evening", ad.nl, 16 August 2018, retrieved 12 April 2021
  13. ^ "WELKOM JAMES ALEXANDER LAWRENCE!". Anderlecht. 29 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  14. ^ "Anderlecht miss out on Europe ahead of Kompany arrival". Reuters. 19 May 2019. Archived from the original on 24 August 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  15. ^ "James Lawrence: Anderlecht defender joins Bundesliga 2 side St Pauli". BBC. 22 August 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  16. ^ "Der FC St. Pauli leiht Innenverteidiger James Lawrence vom Anderlecht aus" (in German). FC St. Pauli. 22 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  17. ^ "FC St. Pauli sign James Lawrence". C St. Pauli. 1 October 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  18. ^ "Verpflichtung von James Lawrence doch noch gelungen". kicker (in German). 1 October 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  19. ^ "2nd Bundesliga 2020/21, 24th matchday". kicker.de. 6 March 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  20. ^ "Ziereis new captain - Lawrence vice-captain". stpauli.com. 21 July 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  21. ^ "Bundesliga 2 leaders St. Pauli knock out DFB Cup holders Borussia Dortmund". bundesliga.com. 19 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  22. ^ "James Lawrence: Wales defender joins FC Nuremberg=BBC". BBC Sport. 22 July 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  23. ^ "Almere City FC haalt ervaren verdediger" [Almere City FC signs experienced defender] (in Dutch). Almere City. 25 August 2024. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  24. ^ "Mixed feelings for Wales debutant Lawrence". BBC Sport. 21 November 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  25. ^ "Line-ups". UEFA. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  26. ^ "A polished Wales overcame Finland's stubborn 10 men to win their Nations League group and clinch promotion to the competition's top flight", BBC.co.uk, 18 November 2019, retrieved 12 April 2021
  27. ^ "Wales defender James Lawrence ruled out of Euro 2020 with injury". ITV. 31 May 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  28. ^ a b "Brits Abroad: 8 Lesser Known Stars Making a Success of Their Footballing Careers Overseas". 90 Min. 15 September 2018. Archived from the original on 1 October 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
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