Siobhan Rebecca Chamberlain (born 15 August 1983) is an English sports pundit, commentator, and former professional footballer who last played as a goalkeeper.
She joined Manchester United in 2018 after playing for Liverpool. Before joining Liverpool in December 2015, she had been at Notts County on loan from Arsenal. Chamberlain previously played at the top club level for Chelsea, Fulham, Birmingham City and Bristol Academy, as well as for North American W-League club Vancouver Whitecaps. She has represented the England women's national football team on 50 occasions since her debut in 2004. This included being part of the squad at three FIFA Women's World Cups and three UEFA Women's Championships.
Club career
Early career
A childhood gymnast, Chamberlain took up goalkeeping at the age of 14 and was spotted by Chelsea. In 2003, she left Chelsea for Fulham, who had lost their professional status and Norwegian international goalkeeper Astrid Johannessen. Chamberlain played for Fulham in the UEFA Women's Cup, but moved on to Birmingham City at the end of the season. At Birmingham City Chamberlain provided competition for Jo Fletcher during the 2004–05 season. Chamberlain then played for Bristol Academy for two seasons, leaving to rejoin Chelsea in the 2007 close season. On 26 May 2010, she left Chelsea and signed for Canadian W-League Vancouver Whitecaps.
Bristol Academy
In October 2010, Chamberlain returned to Bristol Academy ahead of their inaugural FA WSL campaign. She helped Bristol reach the FA Women's Cup final, played in the UEFA Women's Champions League and was named in the WSL team of the season. In April 2012 she was appointed as one of eight digital media ambassadors, one from each team, who wear their Twitter account name on their shirt sleeves to raise the profile of the WSL.
Arsenal
In December 2013, Chamberlain quit Bristol Academy to sign a two-year contract with Arsenal, where she would rival the incumbent goalkeeper Emma Byrne for a starting position. Chamberlain had played every minute of every game in her three seasons back at Bristol, but craved a new challenge: "My ambition is to be England's number one so the added competition at Arsenal is what I need at this point in my career."
Loan to Notts County
On 9 July 2015, Chamberlain moved to Notts County on loan until the end of the season following injury to England teammate Carly Telford. She was ineligible for the 2015 FA Women's Cup Final and The Football Association refused Notts County's request for dispensation to sign another goalkeeper, so Telford played in the team's 1–0 defeat despite a shoulder injury.
Liverpool
Chamberlain failed to dislodge Byrne from Arsenal's starting line-up and was mainly used in cup matches. She was pushed further down the pecking order by the signing of Sari van Veenendaal. In December 2015, Liverpool announced their signing of Chamberlain on a one-year contract. When Liverpool decided not to renew 34-year-old Chamberlain's contract in May 2018, she criticised the club for a lack of ambition.
Manchester United
On 13 July 2018, it was announced that Chamberlain would join Manchester United for their inaugural season playing in the FA Women's Championship. During a pre-season friendly against her former club Liverpool on 17 July 2018, Chamberlain suffered a suspected serious neck injury and was rushed to hospital; however, checks revealed that the injury was not as serious as first thought. She recovered in time for the start of the season and made her competitive debut for Manchester United in a 1–0 League Cup victory against Liverpool on 19 August. On 9 September, she made her Championship debut in a 12–0 win against Aston Villa. Chamberlain did not concede a league goal until United's sixth game, with Angela Addison's 82nd minute consolation goal in United's 4–1 win ending a streak of 531 minutes without conceding. United clinched the Championship title on 20 April 2019 with a 7–0 win over Crystal Palace with Chamberlain having played in all 18 league matches, conceding seven goals in that time. She subsequently missed the final two games of the season with a foot injury, collecting her winners medal on the last day of the season in an aircast. In May 2019, she was named PFA Community Champion of the Year for her work with the Manchester United Foundation.