A veteran Republic of Ireland international who made his debut in 1998 and starred at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Damien Duff is fast approaching 100 caps. A tricky left-winger, he has enjoyed an impressive career in the English Premier League, playing for four clubs including Chelsea FC, with whom he won back-to-back titles.

• Joined Blackburn Rovers FC as a trainee and made his Premier League debut at 18; within a year he was a senior Republic of Ireland international, making his debut in a friendly against Czech Republic on 25 March 1998.

• Spent the next six years with Blackburn, which included relegation at the end of the 1998/99 season and promotion back to the top flight two years later; during this time his influence for Ireland grew, and he excelled at the 2002 World Cup in the Far East, scoring against Saudi Arabia and producing a virtuoso display in the last-16 match Spain.

• Left Blackburn after winning the 2002/03 League Cup and joined Chelsea for £17m; made his UEFA Champions League debut but injury denied him participation in the semi-final, which Chelsea lost to AS Monaco FC.

• Enjoyed a splendid 2004/05 season under new manager José Mourinho, capped by a Premier League winners' medal, a second League Cup triumph and a goal in a memorable 4-2 defeat of FC Barcelona; less prominent in 2005/06 as the Blues retained the title and was subsequently sold to Newcastle.

• Spent three seasons with the Tynesiders, which ended with unexpected relegation from the Premier League, prompting him to return to London to play for Fulham FC; helped the Cottagers go all the way to the UEFA Europa League final in his debut season.

• Involved in failed qualifying campaigns for the UEFA European Championships of 2000, 2004 and 2008, he came up trumps with Ireland as the team reached UEFA EURO 2012, making his 90th appearance in a pivotal 0-0 draw against Russia in Moscow; it was against the same opposition that he scored his last competitive goal for Ireland, in a UEFA EURO 2004 qualifier on 6 September 2003.

UEFA honours
UEFA Europa League: runner-up 2010
UEFA.com users' Team of the Year: 2002