Hector Sam

Personal information
Full name	Hector McLeod Sam
Date of birth	25 February 1978 (1978-02-25) (age 32)
Place of birth	Mount Hope, Trinidad & Tobago
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Playing position	Forward
Club information
Current club	San Juan Jabloteh
Youth career
1995	Superstar Rangers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1996–2000	San Juan Jabloteh
2000–2005	Wrexham	150	(35)
2005–2006	Port Vale	4	(0)
2006–2007	Walsall	42	(7)
2007–2008	Notts County	20	(1)
2009–	San Juan Jabloteh	6	(2)
National team
1999–2005	Trinidad and Tobago	20	(2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 5 March 2008. † Appearances (Goals).

Hector McLeod Sam (born 25 February 1978 in Mount Hope) is a Trinidadian international footballer who plays as a striker.

Contents 1 Club career 2 International career 2.1 International goals 3 Honours 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Club career

Sam attended Queen's Royal College in Trinidad for a short stint, before beginning his career at Port of Spain based San Juan Jabloteh. He moved to the United Kingdom to play for Welsh club Wrexham in the summer of 2000. Here he teamed up with fellow Trini internationals Carlos Edwards and later Dennis Lawrence.

He made his Football League debut on 12 August 2000, playing a Second Division game at the Racecourse Ground against Bristol City, which finished in a 2-0 win for the visitors. Seven days later he scored his first goal for the club, in a visit to Gigg Lane, Sam scored the second of a 4-1 hammering of Bury. He then went on to strike five times in his next five games, putting one past Wigan Athletic, Rotherham United and Colchester United, as well as a brace past Oldham Athletic. However he failed to score in the rest of his sixteen games that season.

The young international made 33 appearances in 2001–02. He scored five league goals, one each away at Wigan, Peterborough United, Cardiff City, as well as a brace upon his return to Gigg Lane. His exploits were not enough to save the club from relegation to the Third Division.

Wrexham went straight back up in 2002–03, Sam making 32 appearances and scoring another five goals. His goals came against Oxford United, Macclesfield Town, Swansea City, Hartlepool United and Carlisle United. He was transfer listed by manager Denis Smith in May 2003,^[1] despite penning a two year deal two months previous.^[2]

The 2003–04 season was one of Sam's strongest. He scored twelve times in 41 games, managing to score twice in one game on two occasions - against Blackpool and Luton Town. In January 2004 Rotherham United manager Ronnie Moore expressed an interest in signing him,^[3] though nothing came of it.

In 2004–05 he again scored twelve times, though this was not enough to save Wrexham from the drop - thanks to them being deducted ten points for entering administration. His first competitive hat-trick in the English game came on 10 August at Boundary Park, scoring all of Wrexham's goals in a 3-2 win.^[4] He also picked up his first sending off, seeing red against Huddersfield Town on 27 November at the Galpharm Stadium, he received the red just three minutes after replacing Juan Ugarte (the sending over was later overturned upon appeal^[5]). In March 2005, he scored his seventh career goal against Oldham, though accepted he was now a 'super-sub' at Wrexham.^[6] His twelve goals earned the club eleven points, they would have been saved if it were not for administration. At the end of the season he signed for Port Vale,^[7] who themselves had narrowly avoided relegation.

After three appearances in August 2005 he broke his leg^[8] and had to wait until April 2006 to take to the field again. In 2005–06 he made just five appearances, before dropping down to League Two after singing with West Midlands rivals Walsall.^[9]

He made a massive 47 appearances in 2006–07, as the club went up as champions. Sam scored a modest seven goals and was let go at the end of the season.

He was subsequently signed by Notts County in May 2007.^[10] County had a disappointing 2007–08, finishing just six points off relegated Mansfield Town - and eight points ahead of his old club Wrexham. He made 24 appearances before being dropped in January, scoring just two goals, one against Hereford United and the other against Histon in the FA Cup. He left the club by mutual agreement in March 2008.^[11]

In January 2009 he re-joined old club San Juan Jabloteh, signing in time for the start of the 2009 season.^[12]

[edit] International career

Sam was named as a backup player for the Trinidad and Tobago national team in the 2006 World Cup. He might have made the final cut if he was not recovering from a broken leg.^[13]

He made his debut for the Soca Warriors in 1999 and earned a total of twenty caps in a six year stint, scoring two goals.

[edit] International goals

Scores and results list Trinidad and Tobago's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Result	Competition
1	2003-05-31	Moi International Sports Centre, Nairobi	Kenya	1-1	Friendly
2	2004-11-17	Hasely Crawford Stadium, Trinidad and Tobago	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	2-1	2006 FIFA World Cup Qualifier

[edit] Honours

with San Juan Jabloteh

• Trinidad and Tobago FCB Cup winner: 2000

with Wrexham

• FAW Premier Cup winner: 2001, 2003 & 2004
• FAW Premier Cup runner-up: 2005
• Football League Third Division third place promotion winner: 2002–03
• Football League Trophy winner: 2005

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Hector Sam career stats at Soccerbase