Andrew Driver

Hearts

Driver was born in Saddleworth, Oldham, Greater Manchester, but moved to Gullane, East Lothian at the age of eleven. He began playing for Hutchison Vale AFC in Edinburgh, from where he joined the Hearts youth academy. He first made his mark on Hearts' first team during a pre-season tour of Austria in 2006, where he started all three friendlies, creating four goals in the process with his direct play and crossing ability. In August 2006 Driver signed a five-year extension to his contract with Hearts, committing him to the club until 2011. He made his home debut in the league on 26 August 2006 against Inverness Caledonian Thistle, coming on as a substitute with 15 minutes to go and scoring four minutes later. Driver also scored a free kick in a 3–1 victory over Celtic at Celtic Park on 29 April 2007. In July 2008 Driver signed an amended contract with the club for another five years committing himself to the club until 2013. Driver was the subject of two bids totalling £500,000 from Championship club Burnley in the summer of 2008, which was rejected by Hearts. Coventry City too made a £1 million bid in the 2009 January transfer window, which was also rejected. On 6 July, the BBC reported that Burnley had opened signing talks with Hearts. Joop Munsterman the FC Twente CEO reported on RVT Oost that Hearts had turned down a £3m offer for Driver. In all five clubs enquired about his availability including Chelsea. In his first appearance on his return from injury…

Driver was previously a Scotland schoolboy international, scoring a goal in a 2–1 Victory Shield defeat by England on 22 November 2002. England U21 manager Stuart Pearce called the uncapped Driver up for a friendly match against Azerbaijan. He was then called up for the 2009 European Championships. He made his debut and only appearance at the tournament in the 1–1 draw against Germany on 22 June 2009 during the group stages. He was thought to be eligible to play for the Scotland senior team because of the new residency ruling recently introduced. He was not called up by then-manager George Burley as Burley stated that it was Driver's choice to officially make himself available for selection. On 4 February 2010, Driver committed his international future to Scotland after face-to-face talks with Scotland manager Craig Levein. Only one week after opting to represent Scotland, the Scottish FA informed Driver he was not eligible to play for the national team, as he had not been schooled in Scotland for the requisite period of time. This rule was subsequently altered to allow Driver to play for Scotland, although he did not do so.

Club

Driver holds a U.S. green card which qualified him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.