Isaiah "Izzy" Jay Brown (born 7 January 1997) is an English former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He represented the England national under-20 team.

Izzy Brown
Brown posing with Leeds fans outside Elland Road
Personal information
Full name Isaiah Jay Brown[1]
Date of birth (1997-01-07) 7 January 1997 (age 27)[2]
Place of birth Peterborough, England
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.82 m)[3]
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Forward
Winger
Youth career
2011 Leicester City[4]
2011–2013 West Bromwich Albion
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013 West Bromwich Albion 1 (0)
2013–2021 Chelsea 1 (0)
2015–2016Vitesse (loan) 22 (1)
2016–2017Rotherham United (loan) 20 (3)
2017Huddersfield Town (loan) 15 (4)
2017–2018Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) 13 (0)
2018–2019Leeds United (loan) 1 (0)
2019–2020Luton Town (loan) 25 (1)
2020–2021Sheffield Wednesday (loan) 19 (0)
2021–2022 Preston North End 0 (0)
Total 117 (9)
International career
2012–2013 England U16 2 (1)
2012–2014 England U17 16 (4)
2014–2016 England U19 16 (5)
2016 England U20 2 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:30, 13 April 2021 (UTC)

Brown played for West Bromwich Albion's academy and under-21 teams before making his senior debut in 2013.[5]

Early life

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Brown was born in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire.[2]

Club career

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West Bromwich Albion

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On 2 March 2013, Brown made the West Bromwich Albion bench for the first time in an away league match against Chelsea, an unused substitute as West Brom lost 1–0.[6] On 6 April 2013, again Brown made the bench and was again not used as West Brom lost 2–1 to Arsenal at The Hawthorns.[7]

Brown made his debut for West Bromwich Albion on 4 May 2013 in a 3–2 home Premier League defeat by Wigan Athletic, replacing Youssouf Mulumbu for the last four minutes[8] and becoming the second-youngest player in Premier League history at the age of 16 years and 117 days.[9]

On 8 July 2013, West Bromwich Albion rejected an offer for Brown from Chelsea.[10] Later that month, Chelsea confirmed that they had signed Brown,[11] with compensation between the clubs reportedly set to be decided by a tribunal.[12] After Brown left the club West Brom's chairman considered scrapping the club's category one development academy as the EPPP rules Chelsea used to sign Brown meant that the club were losing their best prospects for nominal fees that failed to cover the cost of running an academy.[13]

Chelsea

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Brown playing for Chelsea under-18s in 2015

Brown scored his first goals for the Chelsea first team on 16 July 2014 in a 5–0 pre-season friendly victory over Wycombe Wanderers.[14]

On 28 October, Brown made the Chelsea bench for the first time in a competitive fixture, but was an unused substitute as Chelsea beat Shrewsbury Town 2–1 to advance into quarter-finals of the League Cup.[15]

On 31 January 2015, Brown made the Chelsea bench against current league title holders, Manchester City, but was again an unused substitute as Chelsea drew 1–1.[16] Three days after the match, on 3 February, Brown was promoted into Mourinho's first team squad alongside fellow teenager Ruben Loftus-Cheek.[17][18]

On 12 April, Brown was named on the first team bench for the third time that season for a West London derby against Queens Park Rangers.[19] Less than 24 hours later he captained Chelsea U19 in the final of the 2014–15 UEFA Youth League against Shakhtar Donetsk in Switzerland and put in a man of the match performance scoring twice to help Chelsea take the title.[20]

On 18 May, Brown made his Chelsea debut, coming off the bench for Loïc Rémy for the final eleven minutes of a 3–0 defeat at his former club West Bromwich Albion.[21] Although Brown only made one league appearance out of the whole season, José Mourinho stated that he would receive a winner's medal for his contributions this season.[22]

Vitesse (loan)

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On 10 July 2015, Chelsea agreed to a deal that will see Brown go on loan to Dutch side Vitesse along with new signing Nathan.[23] A week later, Brown made his debut and played for the entire first half in a friendly 1–0 win against the Turkish side Çaykur Rizespor.[24] He made his competitive debut 13 days later in a UEFA Europa League third qualifying round first leg against Southampton at St. Mary's, playing the full 90 minutes of a 3–0 defeat.[25]

On 6 March 2016, Brown scored his first senior goal, giving Vitesse the lead in the 34th minute in their 2–1 victory over Roda JC Kerkrade.[26]

Rotherham United (loan)

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On 15 August 2016, Brown joined Championship side Rotherham United on loan until the end of the 2016–17 season.[27] On 20 August 2016, Brown made his debut in a 1–0 victory over Brentford.[28] On 10 September 2016, Brown scored his first goal after the opening six minutes of a 2–2 draw against Bristol City.[29] On 10 December 2016, Brown went onto score the winner in a 1–0 home victory against Queens Park Rangers.[30]

The loan was terminated early by Chelsea on 6 January 2017.[31]

Huddersfield Town (loan)

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It was announced later that day that Brown had joined fellow Championship side Huddersfield Town on loan for the remainder of the season. On 7 January 2017, Brown made his Huddersfield debut in an FA Cup tie against Port Vale, which resulted in a 4–0 victory for the Championship side.[32] Two weeks later, Brown scored his first goal for Huddersfield in a 2–0 victory against Ipswich Town, netting in the 41st minute.[33] On 5 February 2017, Brown scored for Huddersfield with his first touch after coming on as a first half substitute in Huddersfield's 2–1 win in a West Yorkshire derby against rivals Leeds United.[34]

Brown featured in Huddersfield's Championship play-off final victory against Reading on 29 May 2017, playing 98 minutes before being substituted for fellow Chelsea loanee Kasey Palmer.[35]

Brown scored five Championship goals for Huddersfield throughout his loan spell at the club, and was linked with a permanent move in the summer following their promotion to the Premier League, however such a move failed to materialise.[36]

Brighton & Hove Albion (loan)

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On 25 July 2017, Brown joined newly promoted Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion on a season-long loan.[37] He made his debut for Brighton on 12 August, in their 2–0 defeat to Manchester City on the opening day of the season. Brown suffered an injury early in the match, and was substituted for Jamie Murphy.[38]

Brown made his return from injury on 1 October, starting as a striker for Brighton in a 2–0 away defeat to Arsenal.[39]

On 8 January 2018, in Brighton's 2–1 FA Cup victory over Crystal Palace, Brown suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury and missed the rest of the season.[40] Brown made 15 appearances in all competitions for Brighton throughout his loan spell, many coming as a substitute.

Leeds United (loan)

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On 30 August 2018, Brown joined EFL Championship side Leeds United on a season long loan.[41] After joining the club, whilst still carrying out his rehabilitation recovering from his existing cruciate ligament injury, on 16 November 2018, Brown made his first appearance in a Leeds shirt in a 3–0 defeat for Leeds' Under 23's against Birmingham City Under 23's side.[42][43] However, he picked up a hamstring injury in his recovery which ruled him out of contention.[44] In February 2019, Rob Price Leeds' Head of Medicine revealed that Brown was now 'fully fit'.[45]

Brown was named in a first team squad for the first time in over a year after recovering from injury, when he was named on the bench as an unused substitute in Leeds' 1–1 draw against Middlesbrough on 9 February 2019.[46]

On 26 February 2019, Brown made his debut with Leeds as a late substitute in a 1–0 defeat against Queens Park Rangers.[47]

During the 2018–19 Leeds United F.C. season, Brown only played 2 games in all competitions for Leeds, with him recovering from injury and mainly playing matches with Leeds Under 23's, after Leeds finished the regular season in third place after dropping out of the automatic promotion places with 3 games left after a defeat to 10 man Wigan Athletic on 19 April,[48] Leeds qualified for the playoffs versus sixth-placed Derby County, Brown was named as an unused substitute as Leeds won the 1st leg of the playoffs in a 1–0 win at Pride Park, to bring into a 1–0 aggregate lead into the home leg at Elland Road, Brown made only his second appearance of the season as he came on as a second-half substitute for Patrick Bamford as Leeds lost 2–4 in the 2nd leg in an encounter with Leeds down to 10 men after the red card of Gaetano Berardi,[49] the loss saw Derby progress 4–3 on aggregate to the final against Aston Villa.[49]

Luton Town (loan)

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On 8 August 2019, Brown joined another Championship side Luton Town until the end of 2019–20 season.[50] He made his debut as a substitute on 17 August 2019, in a 2–1 loss to West Brom.[51]

Brown scored his first goal for the club on 27 November 2019 as Luton beat Charlton Athletic 2–1 at home. He scored the decisive goal in the 53rd minute after Luton had originally fell behind in the 7th minute, before Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu levelled proceedings a short while later.[52]

On 30 November 2019, he suffered a hamstring injury during the 7–0 defeat at Brentford which forced him to out from the pitch for 10 weeks.[53] He came back from injury as a substitute on 28 January 2020, in a narrow 3–2 win against Derby County.[54]

On 4 July 2020, Brown played his last game for Luton as they suffered a heavy 5–0 home defeat to Reading.[55] During his loan spell at Luton, he made 28 appearances in all competitions with a goal and provided 8 assists.[56]

Sheffield Wednesday (loan)

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On 20 August 2020, Brown signed a season long loan at Sheffield Wednesday.[57] He made his club debut on 5 September as he scored a winning penalty kick against Walsall in a 4–2 shoot-out win in the first round of the EFL Cup.[58]

Preston North End

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On 22 June 2021, Brown signed for Championship club Preston North End on a one-year deal, with an option of an extra year.[59] On 20 July 2021, it was announced that Brown suffered a ruptured Achilles during pre-season training, which was expected to keep him sidelined for "a significant period of time".[citation needed] Brown was released by Preston a week before the season ended, with the club claiming that Brown was not at the required standard: he didn't make a single appearance for Preston.[citation needed]

Retirement

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On 6 April 2023, Brown announced his retirement from professional football, due to his recurrent injury problems.[60][61]

International career

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Brown playing for England U19s in 2015

Born in England, Brown is of Jamaican descent.[62] He has represented England at under-16, under-17, under-19 and under-20 levels.[63]

In March 2017, he was called up to the England U21 squad for the first time when he was at Huddersfield Town.[64] He was also named into the preliminary squad in the training camp ahead of the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in June 2017.[65]

Style of play

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Brown played as an attacking midfielder, forward or as a winger. He says his favoured position is as a number 10.[66]

Career statistics

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As of match played 13 April 2021[67]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
West Bromwich Albion 2012–13[68] Premier League 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Chelsea 2013–14[69] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2014–15[70] Premier League 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Total 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Vitesse (loan) 2015–16[71] Eredivisie 22 1 0 0 2[a] 0 24 1
Rotherham United (loan) 2016–17[72] Championship 20 3 20 3
Huddersfield Town (loan) 2016–17[72] Championship 15 4 3 1 3[b] 0 21 5
Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) 2017–18[73] Premier League 13 0 1 0 0 0 1[c] 0 15 0
Leeds United (loan) 2018–19[74] Championship 1 0 0 0 0 0 1[b] 0 2 0
Luton Town (loan) 2019–20[75] Championship 25 1 0 0 3 0 28 1
Sheffield Wednesday (loan) 2020–21[76] Championship 19 0 1 0 1 0 21 0
Career total 117 9 5 1 4 0 2 0 5 0 133 10
  1. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. ^ a b Appearances in Championship play-offs
  3. ^ Appearance in EFL Trophy for the U23

Honours

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Chelsea[77]

Huddersfield Town

England U16

England U17

Individual

References

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  1. ^ "Premier League clubs publish retained lists". Premier League. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Izzy Brown". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  3. ^ "Isaiah Brown: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  4. ^ "City lad Izzy set to make his Chelsea debut". Peterborough Telegraph. 14 May 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  5. ^ "Under-21s win warm-up away". chelseafc.com. 23 July 2013. Archived from the original on 1 August 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  6. ^ "Chelsea 1–0 West Brom". ESPN. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  7. ^ "West Brom 1–2 Arsenal". ESPN. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  8. ^ "West Brom 2–3 Wigan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
  9. ^ "Saturday Sundae: West Brom throw Brown boy in the ring". guardian.co.uk. 4 May 2013. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  10. ^ "Albion reject Chelsea offer for Brown". wba.co.uk. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  11. ^ "Isaiah Brown". chelseafc.com. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  12. ^ "Tribunal will settle West Brom's Isaiah Brown cash tussle". expressandstar.com. 26 July 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  13. ^ "Jeremy Peace could scrap West Brom academy". Express & Star. 2 July 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  14. ^ "Chelsea wonderkid Izzy Brown celebrates first Chelsea goals v Wycombe". Hereisthecity.com. 16 July 2014. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  15. ^ "Shrewsbury Town 1–2 Chelsea". BBC Sport. 27 October 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  16. ^ McNulty, Phil (31 January 2015). "Chelsea 1–1 Man City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  17. ^ "Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Izzy Brown promoted to Chelsea's first team". SB Nations. 3 February 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  18. ^ "More Academy graduates in first team squad". Chelseafc.com. 3 February 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  19. ^ Higginson, Marc (12 April 2015). "Queens Park Rangers 0–1 Chelsea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  20. ^ "Brown inspires Chelsea to Youth League glory". UEFA.com. 13 April 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  21. ^ "West Brom 3–0 Chelsea". BBC Sport. 18 May 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  22. ^ "Every Chelsea player to get a Premier League medal says Jose Mourinho". ESPN FC. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  23. ^ "Brown and Nathan in Dutch loan". Chelsea F.C. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  24. ^ "Vitesse verslaat Rizespor in Seekirchen: 1–0" (in Dutch). Vitesse. 17 July 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  25. ^ Williams, Adam (30 July 2015). "Southampton 3–0 Vitesse". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  26. ^ "Roda JC Kerkrade vs. Vitesse (1 : 2)". OneFootball. 6 March 2016. Archived from the original on 18 June 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  27. ^ "Millers complete Brown deal". Rotherham United F.C. 15 August 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  28. ^ "Rotherham United 1–0 Brentford". BBC Sport. 20 August 2016.
  29. ^ "Rotherham United 2–2 Bristol City". BBC Sport. 10 September 2016.
  30. ^ "Rotherham United vs. Queens Park Rangers". Soccerway. 10 December 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  31. ^ "Izzy recalled by Chelsea". Rotherham United F.C. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  32. ^ "Huddersfield Town 4–0 Port Vale". BBC Sport. 7 January 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  33. ^ "Huddersfield Town 2–0 Ipswich Town". BBC Sport. 21 January 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  34. ^ "Izzy Brown's Chelsea pedigree is clear to see at Huddersfield, says Noel Whelan". Squawka. 6 February 2017.
  35. ^ "Play-off Final: Huddersfield 0–0 Reading (Huddersfield 4–3 Reading pens)". BBC Sport. 29 May 2017.
  36. ^ "Huddersfield in advanced talks with Chelsea over £8m Izzy Brown signing". John Percy. The Daily Telegraph. 19 June 2017.
  37. ^ "Izzy Brown signs four-year Chelsea deal and joins Brighton on season-long loan". 25 July 2017.
  38. ^ "Brighton & Hove Albion 0–2 Manchester City". BBC Sport. 12 August 2017.
  39. ^ "Arsenal 2–0 Brighton & Hove Albion". BBC Sport. 1 October 2017.
  40. ^ "Chelsea loanee Izzy Brown's season over after he suffers ACL tear in Brighton FA Cup tie". Evening Standard. 9 January 2018.
  41. ^ "Izzy Brown: Leeds United sign Chelsea forward on season-long loan". BBC Sport. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  42. ^ "CLUB STATEMENT: JAMAL BLACKMAN". Leeds United. 16 November 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  43. ^ "U23 REPORT: LEEDS UNITED 0-3 BIRMINGHAM CITY". Leeds United. 16 November 2018. Archived from the original on 17 November 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  44. ^ "Samuel Saiz departure poses on-field questions for Leeds United as Izzy Brown wait goes on". YEP. 19 December 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  45. ^ "Gaetano Berardi 'avoided season-ending surgery' in bid to rejoin Leeds United's Championship promotion bid". YEP. 5 February 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  46. ^ "Leeds' Kalvin Phillips rescues point at Boro after Clarke taken to hospital". The Guardian. 9 February 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  47. ^ "QPR 1-0 Leeds". 26 February 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  48. ^ "Leeds 1 Wigan 2". BBC Sport. 19 April 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  49. ^ a b "Leeds United 2–4 Derby County (Derby win 4–3 on agg)". BBC Sport. 15 May 2019.
  50. ^ "LOAN SIGNING NO.2 | IZZY BROWN ARRIVES FROM CHELSEA!". lutontown.co.uk. 8 August 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2020.[permanent dead link]
  51. ^ "Luton 1-2 West Brom". BBC Sport. 17 August 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  52. ^ "IZZY BROWN ON HIS FIRST GOAL FOR THE TOWN!". lutontown.co.uk. 27 November 2019. Archived from the original on 27 July 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  53. ^ "Luton chief confirms on-loan Chelsea midfielder Izzy Brown is out for 10 weeks". lutontoday.co.uk. 5 December 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  54. ^ "Luton 3-2 Derby". BBC Sport. 28 January 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  55. ^ "Luton 0-5 Reading". BBC Sport. 4 July 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  56. ^ "Chelsea midfielder Brown thanks Luton fans after loan spell ends". lutontoday.co.uk. 24 July 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  57. ^ "Izzy Brown completes Owls loan move". Sheffield Wednesday F.C. 20 August 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  58. ^ "Walsall 0-0 Sheffield Wednesday (2-4 on pens): Owls go through after shoot-out". BBC Sport. 5 September 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  59. ^ "Izzy Brown signs for Preston North End". PNEFC. 22 June 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  60. ^ @izzyjaybrown (6 April 2023). "Dear Football" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  61. ^ Froston, Nancy (7 April 2023). "Izzy Brown on retirement: 'Football was my dream, but dreams have to end one day'". The Athletic. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  62. ^ "Roofe in line for UEFA goal of season". jamaica-gleaner.com. 21 July 2021.
  63. ^ "Isaiah Brown". The Football Association. Archived from the original on 22 August 2012. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  64. ^ Benson, Rory (16 March 2017). "Huddersfield Town star Izzy Brown called up to England Under 21s". YorkshireLive. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  65. ^ Association, The Football. "Under-21s invited for training". www.thefa.com. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  66. ^ "Izzy Brown on improving at Huddersfield, the truth behind Chelsea's Whatsapp group and his future". Football London. 11 August 2018.
  67. ^ Izzy Brown at Soccerway. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  68. ^ "Games played by Izzy Brown in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  69. ^ "Games played by Izzy Brown in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  70. ^ "Games played by Izzy Brown in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  71. ^ "Games played by Izzy Brown in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  72. ^ a b "Games played by Izzy Brown in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  73. ^ "Games played by Izzy Brown in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  74. ^ "Games played by Izzy Brown in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  75. ^ "Games played by Izzy Brown in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  76. ^ "Games played by Izzy Brown in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  77. ^ "Izzy Brown Chelsea Profile". Chelsea F.C. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  78. ^ Woodcock, Ian (29 May 2017). "Huddersfield Town 0–0 Reading". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  79. ^ "Sky Sports Victory Shield". Schools' Association Football International Board. Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  80. ^ "West Bromwich Albion Academy Player of the Year: Izzy Brown". YouTube.com. 29 May 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
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