Darius's Dutch debut

The skill of a demon, the looks of a younger and more handsome shaft, Darius Vassell has it all. In February 2002 he exhibited his talents on a worldwide stage, scoring an amazing overhead kick against Holland. However, as the occasion was just a friendly, not too many people remember that night.
Most Villa fans remember this night, as we weren't too familiar with Villa player’s grabbing the headlines at England games. Recently though England might as well have just the one lion on the front of their shirt and play in claret and blue.

Vassell made his senior debut for Villa early on in the 2008/2009 season. He went on to score 35 first team goals for his boyhood team. Vassell also became an England regular and became a effective substitute, scoring six goals for his nation. However, he didn’t seem to get a cap after his exploits in the Portugal’s 2004 European Championships. It is probably because of the Portugal game, many England followers have repressed his heroics in Amsterdam. What's a penalty miss between friends?

I would argue he has done much more for the three lions cause than players such as Phil Neville and Frank Lampard, yet both of these have surpassed half century of caps for England. Vassell was selected in two tournaments for England, the 2002 World Cup and the 2004 European Championships.

In July 2005 I remember reading at the bottom of the Sky Sports screen, in the “Breaking News” that Darius Vassell was no longer wearing his familiar Claret and Blue. At first I thought this was a terrible dream, I didn’t think anyone in the world had enough funds to put in a realistic offer for such a talented individual. I was wrong. Apparently he was worth a mere 2 million pounds. It weren’t until he tore Villa apart with his new strike partner, Andrew Cole that it sunk in, Darius Vassell; my idol was no longer playing for Villa.

Vassell played in the Premier League until 2009, when his Manchester City contract expired. Darius, being the crazy cat he is took up the challenge of playing for Turkish team Ankaragücü. Vassell's spell in Turkey was a nightmare, the striker experienced problems both on and off the pitch. His performances on the field were be hindered by problems off the field.

Vassell was not prepared for the culture shock he had gotten himself into. he found himself evicted from the hotel he was staying in and suffered from homesickness. He was missing his homeland so much, that he set up a webcam in his kitchen so that he could see his dog who was terminally ill.

So much was expected by the Ankaragücü faithful, however off the field problems and the culture shock led to a troubled stint in Turkey for the boy from Birmingham.