Craig Forrest

Craig Forrest
Personal information
Full name	Craig Lorne Forrest
Date of birth	20 September 1967 (age 56)
Place of birth	Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada
Height	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Youth career
	Coquitlam Bel-Aire City
Senior career*
Years	Team
1985–1997	Ipswich Town
1987–1988	→ Colchester United (loan)
1997	→ Chelsea (loan)
1997–2002	West Ham United
Total
International career
1988–2002	Canada
Medal record
Representing Canada
Men's soccer
CONCACAF Gold Cup
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Craig Lorne Forrest (born 20 September 1967) is a Canadian former professional soccer player and sports

commentator

.

As a player, he was a

Football League with Colchester United. He made 56 international appearances, representing Canada. In 2012 as part of the Canadian Soccer Association's centennial celebration, he was named to the all-time Canada XI men's team.^[1]

Early life

Born and raised in British Columbia, Forrest began playing football at age 12. He first tried goalkeeping when a friend could not make it to a game and he decided to play as a replacement. He began playing with Coquitlam Bel-Aire City and also played for the BC U-16 and U-18 provincial teams. He was scouted by scouts from England and, in 1984, he travelled to England, signing a two-year apprenticeship deal with Ipswich Town at the age of 17 and soon after was training with the English national youth team.^[2]

Club career

Ipswich Town

Forrest joined English league side

Ronnie Rosenthal, Michel Vonk, Gunnar Halle, Roland Nilsson and Hans Segers.^{[citation needed]} He was the goalkeeper for what was then the heaviest Premiership defeat in history when Ipswich lost 9–0 to Manchester United at Old Trafford

in March 1995.

His goalkeeping helped Ipswich beat United (then in the early years of their period of dominance of English football) on two occasions in the first three seasons of the Premier League – a 2–1 win at Portman Road in February 1993 and a 3–2 victory there in September 1994 - as well as holding them to draws at Old Trafford in August 1992 and November 1993 - on the latter occasion he ensured that Ipswich were one of just three sides who visited United in the league without conceding a goal that season. He was voted Goalkeeper of the Month in the Premier League for October 1994, and around this time an offer of around £2million from an unnamed club for Forrest's services was rejected by Ipswich. He remained loyal to the club despite their relegation at the end of that season, and stayed there for another two seasons.^[3]

Forrest went on loan to Chelsea from Ipswich in 1997, playing in the same team with the likes of Gianluca Vialli and Gianfranco Zola under the guidance of manager Ruud Gullit. A permanent move to Chelsea was turned down by the Ipswich Board of Directors.

West Ham United

Forrest signed for West Ham United in the summer of 1997 for £500,000.^[4] Forrest played a number of first-team games in the FA Premier League in the late 1990s and early 2000s with the east Londoners, remaining at Boleyn Ground until his retirement from football in 2002. On 1 April 2000 he was again the goalkeeper for a big defeat by Manchester United. Although West Ham scored first, the game finished 7–1 to Manchester United.^[5] In 2001, Forrest was diagnosed with testicular cancer. He beat the disease, but was advised by his doctors that he would no longer be able to play, culminating in Forrest retiring in 2002.^[6]

International career

Forrest played at the 1987

2001 Confederations Cup in Japan. In 2012, Forrest was voted by the fans into the Canadian best XI in the CSA

's first 100 years.

Media career

Forrest began working as a sports analyst with

Rogers Sportsnet (now Sportsnet) upon his retirement from playing. He appears^[when?] frequently^{[clarification needed]} as a broadcaster for the men's national team and Toronto FC on Sportsnet as well as Sportsnet's Soccer Central Matchday. Forrest is now^[when?] the Canadian FIFA Ambassador for SOS Children's Villages

.