Although on the books as a youngster at West Ham United, Matt never played for them and in January 1995 he moved to Bournemouth. While there he became captain before in July 1997 he signed for Ipswich Town.
At one stage he played an amazing 223 games in succession for Ipswich and became a firm crowd favourite before leaving them in June 2003 to join Charlton Athletic. His leadership qualities meant he also captained Charlton.
Matt won his first Senior cap against Macedonia in October 1999 and scored a memorable goal against Cameroon in the 2002 World Cup finals when he was outstanding in central midfield as Ireland drew with Cameroon and Germany and then beat Saudi Arabia before going out in a penalty-shoot out to Spain after extra time.
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