Danielle Murphy

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Danielle Murphy (born 4 June 1981) is a retired English footballer who played as a defender or midfielder. She played for Millwall Lionesses, Charlton Athletic, Watford and Barnet, and won 25 caps for England.

She grew up in Sevenoaks and joined Millwall Lionesses at 14 after meeting Pauline Cope, making her Premier League debut that year. She won the 1997 FA Women's Cup with Millwall, playing alongside Katie Chapman.

In 1999 she went to the University of Florida on a soccer scholarship. She played for the Florida Gators in NCAA competition and was named a 2001 All-American. She played there with Abby Wambach.

She returned to England in July 2003 to sign for Charlton Athletic Ladies. Charlton won the 2005 FA Women's Cup and the Premier League Cup in 2004 and 2006. In 2007 she spoke out against Charlton’s decision to ax the women's team.

In August 2007 she joined Watford Ladies with seven other Charlton players, and she moved to Barnet Ladies in February 2008.

Internationally, she captained England U-18 and made her senior debut at 16, becoming England’s youngest player since the FA took over the team in 1993. She earned 25 caps and was in the Euro 2001 squad. After participating in 2003 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, she retired from international play to focus on her studies in America. She was allotted FA legacy number 127.

Murphy attended Beaverwood School for Girls and earned a sociology degree from the University of Florida. She works as a firefighter, ran the London Marathon in 2006, and later played hockey for Abingdon Hockey Club.