Tony Hibbert comes out of retirement: Everton icon sent Goodison Park wild after his only goal | OneFootball

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·22 November 2021

Tony Hibbert comes out of retirement: Everton icon sent Goodison Park wild after his only goal

Article image:Tony Hibbert comes out of retirement: Everton icon sent Goodison Park wild after his only goal

Tony Hibbert is back in football after signing for a club in the 10th tier of French football.

According to La Nouvelle Republique, per the Daily Mail, Hibbert has been given his veterans license to play for District D2 club ES Louzy.


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Louzy's president Jerome Archambeau said: "He was looking for a small club to keep himself fit and was was already taking care of our Under 13s side.

"He was itching a bit to return and coming back to the basics of football after such a career is good for him.

"The idea is that he brings us his experience, and that he takes pleasure from what he's doing.

"We're a family club, and I think that's what he liked, namely the spirit of camaraderie rather than that of competition."

Hibbert retired from football in 2016.

Article image:Tony Hibbert comes out of retirement: Everton icon sent Goodison Park wild after his only goal

The Englishman made his debut for Everton in 2001 and went on to spend his whole career with the Merseyside club.

He was hugely popular with the club's fans. He made 328 appearances for the club but, unfortunately, never scored a competitive goal.

He did hit the back of the net in front of his own fans at Goodison Park, though.

Back on August 9, 2012, in his own testimonial against AEK Athens, Hibbert hit the back of the net from a free-kick.

Goodison Park erupted after he finally notched his first goal in an Everton shirt. View the scenes below...

What a moment. The right-back was ecstatic after finally hitting the back of the net for Everton.

He told BBC Radio Merseyside after the game: "The lads were saying to me in the changing room that it was like a fairytale.

"I'd said to Leighton Baines earlier on that I was on free-kicks. All the fans were asking me was if I was going to score, I hit it well and it went in."

The Football Terrace: Check out Terry's EXCLUSIVE interview with the one and only Sam Allardyce...

David Moyes, Everton's manager at the time, paid tribute to Hibbert after the game.

"It wasn't a goal that was made up. It wasn't as if somebody tripped in the box and got a penalty kick," he said.

"It was a genuine goal. I've been putting the wrong guy on the free-kicks for too long.

"He's been reliable, he's very rarely injured and he's a competitor. Just like Liverpool have Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher, I'd put Tony Hibbert in the same situation for us here at Everton."

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Article image:Tony Hibbert comes out of retirement: Everton icon sent Goodison Park wild after his only goal

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