Scott Parker was born and raised in Lambeth, South London and has represented England at every level from Under-15s to senior.
His talents first came to the fore when, as a 13-year-old, he
displayed his keepie-uppie skills in a TV advert for McDonalds,
before graduating from the FA's national school of excellence
at Lilleshalle.
He signed for Alan Curbishley's Charlton Athletic as a trainee
and made his senior debut against Bury in August 1997. Two months
later he was offered a professional contract by Charlton.
He enjoyed a brief loan spell with Norwich City in 2000 to gain
more experience and returned to the Valley, immediately
establishing himself as an assured first team player. He made 145
appearances for the Addicks, scoring ten times.
Scott's skills soon caught the eye of then-England manager
Sven-Goran Eriksson and he was given his international debut in
January 2003 against Denmark, when he came on as a substitute. He
joined Chelsea for £10m a year later, in January 2004, and was
named PFA Young Player of the Year at the end of the 2003/4 season.
In December 2004, Scott suffered a setback when he broke the
metatarsal bone in his foot and was sidelined for the remainder of
the season. He joined Newcastle United for £6.5 million at the
start of the 2005/6 season and scored his first goal for them at
Cheltenham in the FA Cup in January 2006 on his 200th career
appearance.
He was awarded the captaincy by Newcastle boss Glenn Roeder on the
eve of the 2006/7 season. He became Curbs' first summer signing
when he signed a £7 million five-year deal with the Hammers on
June 6th 2007.