Straight out of Wealdstone: The non-league players who made it big
Tuesday 26 January 2010
VIEW GALLERY
Related articles
-
Chris Smalling delighted to return to central role for Manchester United
-
Silent tribute to mark 60th anniversary of Britain's worst peacetime rail disaster
-
Manchester United defender Chris Smalling relishing 'biggest derby'
-
Outside the Box: Wealdstone stake their claim for attention of old boy Pearce
Chris Smalling's career has taken off in spectacular style. Last year, the centre half was playing for Maidstone in non-league football. Currently at Fulham, he has agreed terms with Manchester United and will join the Champions in the summer.
Click here or click the image to launch our guide.
The change in Smalling's fortunes is dramatic, but he's not the first to make the move from real life and non-league football to the top of the professional game. These are some of the best to rise from obscurity to the heights.
Latest in Sport
Sport blogs
New day (slowly) rising – As Brasileirão gets underway, Brazilian football stumbles, rather than leaps into the future
The average Serie A crowd last year was 13,000 - comparable to Australia’s A-League.
by James Young
24 May 2013 04:31 PM
iBet: Mercedes and Hamilton to roar in Monaco
Monaco is a street circuit where driver ability is more important than anywhere else and if we take ...
by Gareth Purnell
24 May 2013 02:00 AM
On The Road at the Giro d’Italia: It sounds sadistic, but the team live for the mountain stages
Three weeks ago as I drove off the Eurostar, I remember thinking what a very long time it was until ...
by Martin Ayres
23 May 2013 05:29 PM
-
Why Manchester City were willing to fork out $500m on stake in MLS
-
Manchester City coach in waiting Manuel Pellegrini: Inside the mind of anti-Mancini
-
Champions League final: Biggest German invasion since the fifth century as Bayern Munich face Borussia Dortmund
-
Borussia Dortmund v Bayern Munich: 50 things you need to know about the Champions League final
-
Champions League Final: Can Jürgen Klopp's Borussia Dortmund stop the Bayern Munich machine?
- 1 What, let gays get married? We must be bonkers
- 2 Rocky Horror star Tim Curry 'suffers major stroke'
- 3 Exclusive: How MI5 blackmails British Muslims
- 4 Lord of the Sings: Sir Christopher Lee, 91, to release heavy metal album
- 5 Exclusive: Woolwich killings suspect Michael Adebolajo was inspired by cleric banned from UK after urging followers to behead enemies of Islam
Get your summer started with British Military Fitness
BMF is the UK’s biggest and best loved outdoor fitness classes
Visit York
Find out what The Independent's resident travel expert has to say about one of the most beautiful small cities in the world
Making reading fun for kids
Nook is donating eReaders to volunteers at high-need schools and participating in exclusive events throughout the campaign.
Introducing the 'Get Reading' campaign
Get the latest on The Evening Standard's campaign to get London's children reading.
Enter the latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Business videos from commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Day In a Page
Johnny Marr talks relationships and reunions
In pictures: After the flood
Death becomes her: A very modern mortician
School of chop: Learning the art of butchery
The man who's eaten everywhere
A Berliner in 1963 – but did John F Kennedy once admire Adolf Hitler?



Comments