Matt Holland

Early career

Initially rejected by Arsenal for being 'too small', Holland went to West Ham United where he moved up the ranks of the academy but did not play for the first team. He joined Football Conference side Farnborough Town during the 1992–93 season and made twenty-one appearances.

AFC Bournemouth

In order to gain first team football, Holland joined South Coast side AFC Bournemouth in January 1995. He won the club's Player of the Year award for the 1995–96 season. He played a total of 104 games, scoring 18 goals whilst at Dean Court and also became captain.

Ipswich Town

In the summer of 1997, Holland joined Ipswich Town for a fee of £800,000. He made his debut for Ipswich on the opening day of the 1997–98 season, starting in a 0–0 draw with Queens Park Rangers. He scored his first goal for the club on 20 September 1997, netting in a 3–2 loss to Stoke City. Holland became an integral part of the side during his first season at Portman Road, starting every league and cup game as Ipswich finished 5th in the First Division, qualifying for the First Division play-offs as a result. Ipswich lost out 2–0 on aggregate over two legs to Charlton Athletic in the play-offs semi-finals. In total Holland made 59 appearances in all competitions during his first season at the club, scoring 12 goals, including a brace in a 3–0 away win over Torquay United in a League Cup second round tie. He won the club's Player of the Year award for the 1997–98 season. He…

Although born in England, Holland qualified to play for the Republic of Ireland through his grandmother who hailed from County Monaghan. He made his international debut on 9 October 1999 in an away Euro 2000 qualifier against Macedonia, playing the last five minutes as a substitute for Mark Kennedy. He made his club manager at the time, George Burley, aware of his interest and Burley spoke to the national manager Mick McCarthy. Holland's first goal for the national team came on his fifth cap, the equaliser in a 1–1 draw with Portugal on 7 October 2000 in qualification for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Holland captained the side in three internationals, the first on his 28th cap, a 2–0 friendly defeat to Scotland. He went with the Republic of Ireland to the 2002 World Cup scoring the equaliser against Cameroon in their opening game. He swapped shirts with Dietmar Hamann after the Germany game. Ireland were eliminated from this tournament in a Second Round penalty shoot-out against Spain, with Holland among those who missed. Following Ireland's failure to qualify for the 2006 World Cup, he announced his retirement from international football on 5 February 2006 having made 49 appearances and scoring five goals. Manager Steve Staunton had attempted to persuade Holland to continue.

He was one of several players and managers (including Danny Mills and Paul Jewell) who acted as summarisers for BBC Radio 5 Live during the 2006 World Cup. Holland has also appeared on the BBC television program A Question of Sport and the radio quiz Fighting Talk. Holland as a freelance pundit has appeared on nearly every media outlet covering football in the UK. He has been a pundit on ESPN & Sky Sports, appeared on BBC results service Final Score on the odd Saturday afternoon and appeared on ITV commentating on the UEFA Cup. He is also a presenter for the Eastern England edition of the BBC regional football show Late Kick Off. He has also appeared on many radio shows, he usually appears on Talksport on kick off usually on Friday nights and also appearing on Matchday Live on Saturday afternoons whenever he is not on Final Score. Holland has also appeared frequently on Absolute Radio and BBC Radio 5 Live as a co-commentator as well as Final Score, Premier Soccer Saturday or Talksport. In addition Holland previously appeared as an analyst for Setanta Sports' live matches. He also co-commentates on BT Sport on the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. Holland began work with RTÉ when he commentated alongside George Hamilton during the Rep. of Ireland and Brazil friendly. He then appeared as a member of the panel on RTÉ's Premier Soccer Saturday for a number of weeks. He commentated the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Holland is colour blind. He said that he had particular difficulty on his Charlton debut, when they wore red against Plymouth Argyle's green.