International Career
Although born in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, Nyatanga qualifies for Wales through parentage, having been born to a Zimbabwean father and Welsh mother. Nyatanga holds the records for being the youngest captain and youngest player ever to play for the Welsh Under-21s. On March 1, 2006, aged 17 years and 195 days, he made his full international debut for Wales in a friendly match against Paraguay in Cardiff, breaking Ryan Green's record as the youngest ever Welsh international. Despite his inexperience, with only 17 first team appearances for Derby behind him, he played "a key role" in the goalless draw. Wales' match against Trinidad and Tobago in May 2006 marked Nyatanga's second international appearance, and also saw his age record broken by 16 year old teammate Gareth Bale. He has mostly been a regular and was recalled to the U-21's to help them qualify for the 2009 European Championships but they narrowly lost 5–4 on aggregate to England in the play-offs. His most recent appearance for Wales came in a friendly against Sweden, where he replaced Gareth Bale midway through the second half.
Read more about this topic: Lewin Nyatanga
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“It is a great many years since at the outset of my career I had to think seriously what life had to offer that was worth having. I came to the conclusion that the chief good for me was freedom to learn, think, and say what I pleased, when I pleased. I have acted on that conviction... and though strongly, and perhaps wisely, warned that I should probably come to grief, I am entirely satisfied with the results of the line of action I have adopted.”
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