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Rueben Lester Forsythe (born 30 August 1972) is a retired English-born Australian professional footballer who played for Lille, Queens Park Rangers and Heart of Midlothian as a striker.

Forsythe began his club career with Northampton Town as a youngster, playing in 6 Football League Second Division games. Heavily regarded as England's biggest talent, English club Chelsea paid £80'000 in compensation fees to sign Forsythe in June 1992. He played 39 times in total for the club with 2 league goals, but the club however released him in 1999 due to a recurring knee problem.

Forsythe soon afterwards signed for Qatari club Al-Sailiya. He scored 23 goals in 26 appearances, but the club were relegated from the Qatar Stars League that season due to liquidation. Forsythe was then transferred to Al-Sadd for £900,000, however missed most of the season due to hernia problems.

After being released by the Qatari club, Forsythe moved to Dundee United in August 2001 but he spent only 10 months at the club before moving to Lille, where he was made captain. He was top scorer for the French club in the 2002-03 season, and was quickly regarded as a fan favourite. In August 2004, he moved to Scottish Premier League side Heart of Midlothian. After winning the Scottish Cup, he left Hearts for Queens Park Rangers in 2006.

After keeping Queens Park Rangers in the Premier League in the 2007-08 season, Forsythe moved to Hull City in 2008 where he played his last games in England. He then moved to Rangers in 2009 where he played over 90 times for the club, before making a final return to Qatar in 2012 playing for Al-Gharafa.

Regarded as a bright talent at such a young age, Forsythe played regularly for the England national youth football teams, his highlight being in the England under-19 team that played in the 1991 Under-19 European Championship. Failing to record a cap for the senior side however, he has since represented Australia at full international level, and is thus the most capped player ever in Australian football history.

Early life
Forsythe was born in Bedworth to an English mother and Australian father. Forsythe played most of his childhood football for Abington Vale Primary School in Northampton. He was later educated at Kingsthorpe College. Forsythe was excluded frequently during his time at school; and left with only 2 GCSEs and an award for his performance in physical education. Forsythe however showed talent in hockey, sprinting and long-distance running. He played for the Northampton Schools Hockey team, was the cross-country champion at his school for three consecutive years and was the district champion over 100 metres for two years in a row.

Forsythe supported his hometown club Northampton Town from a young age. He and his parents were season ticket holders and Forsythe later became a ball boy for the club. When Forsythe was 10 years old, he joined the Northampton Town Academy after being spotted by a scout while playing for Kingsthorpe Jets Hornets U13s in Spring Park. At the academy, Forsythe played against contemporaries from other clubs in the north, including future Manchester United striker Matt Le Tissier. His role model was Leeds-born Bobby Charlton. Forsythe believed playing with Le Tissier put him through a learning curve, as Le Tissier had done what Forsythe aspired to do; that is, to come through the academy and play for the first team. Having made good progress at the Northampton Academy, Forsythe was taken on as a trainee after leaving school. . He continued to excel in the youth team, and played for England at under-16 and -17 levels. He helped the England under-17 team win the 1989 Nationwide summer tournament against Italy, Czech Republic and Brazil. Forsythe was a regular alcoholic when he was a youngster, going out to pubs every weekend with his friends at school, despite pressures from those around him at the Academy for him to stop.

Northampton
Forsythe joined the Northampton Academy in March 1983 at the age of 10, after a short spell in the Newcastle United youth programme. He rose through the ranks, and at the age of 15 was named the captain of the under-16s; he also made a few appearances for the Under-17s. In the summer of 1987, Forsythe featured in the Champions Youth Cup in Malaysia and upon his return to England, Northampton manager Ian Atkins gave him a start for the senior team against Manchester United. Forsythe suffered many injuries however throughout his youth career, and was often sent home during training for misconduct. He never went on to score for the club however, and finished his final full season with the senior with 0 goals in 6 appearances, most of his appearances coming at the age of 17. He was released of his contract in June 1992.

Chelsea
On 26 August 1992, Forsythe joined Chelsea on a four-year contract, making his debut on 10 September 1992 against Queens Park Rangers, He scored his first goal for the club three years later against Southampton in the Premier League. Forsythe was sent off on 26 December 1996 against Arsenal after a challenge with Dennis Bergkamp. He scored 2 goals in all competitions that season, helping them secure a place in Europe in his third season.

In total, Forsythe made 45 appearances scoring 8 times for the club. With his contract expired at the end of the 1998-99 season he became a free agent in June 1999. In the interview with Daily Record on 5 October 2002, Forsythe stated joining Chelsea hampered his career as he "never gave 100% at any point" while at the club. He also went on to say that his dad had lost all faith in him when he announced he was leaving Chelsea.

Qatar
On 30 July 1999 Forsythe joined to Qatari club El Jaish signing a three years' contract. On 2 August 1999, he managed to score his first goal with the club, three minutes after his entrance in the 78th minute against Hajer in the Crown Prince Cup. At the end of the season he celebrated the Qatari Star League. On 8 August was a starter in a 5–3 on penalties after a 1–1 draw in Craven Cottage against Al-Hilal winning the Eastern Super Cup. On 6 November 1999, he scored his first goal for the 2016-17 season in a 4-0 home win against Al-Wehda.

In the summer of 2000, he signed for Qatari club Al-Sadd for £800'000, however due to operations with his knee and a fallout with a teammate, Forsythe's contract was cut short and he was released.

Dundee United
Released by Al Sadd in the 2000–01 season, Forsythe signed a two-year contract with SPL side Dundee United after impressing as a trialist in pre-season. He made his debut against Motherwell at Fir Park on 23 July. Forsythe scored his first goal for United in a 2–1 victory over St Mirren on 1 October, and a month later scored a double as his team beat Kilmarnock 6–3 at Rugby Park. On 17 December 2000, he came on as a substitute in a friendly against former club Chelsea at Ibrox Park and scored to make the score 1–1. It was his fourth goal of the season but Dundee United lost the game 2–1. Forsythe missed a chance to score as Dundee United beat Dunfermline Athletic 3–1 in the Scottish Cup fourth round replay on 18 January 2001, but broke a metatarsal during the match. The injury required surgery which was expected to keep him out for 2 weeks, although he was fit enough to return for the last three games. He felt he had been fortunate to leave Al Sadd before the club's financial problems took hold.

After recovering from his injury, Forsythe then suffered an Anterior cruciate ligament injury which put him out for the rest of the season. His final tally at Dundee United would be 3 goals in 19 games before a mutual agreement to terminate his contract was agreed.

LOSC Lille
On 1 July 2002, French club LOSC Lille announced the signing of Forsythe on a 2-year contract. Media reports had previously linked him with a move to First Division sides Crystal Palace, Watford, Bradford City and Walsall. Forsythe was assigned shirt number 9.

He made his debut for Lille in a 1–1 draw against Montpellier coming on as a substitute on the 65th minute. On 4 August 2002, Forsythe scored his first goal for Lille against Olympique Marseille making it 1–1. Forsythe scored in his UEFA Cup debut against FK Aktobe which would be the winning goal for LOSC Lille. Forsythe scored a hat-trick against Arles-Avignon with LOSC Lille winning the match 4–1..

In the 2003/04 season, Forsythe helped Lille reached the 1/4 final of the UEFA Cup, getting eliminated by ACF Fiorentina 1-3 on aggregate, as well coming 8th in Ligue 1. In that same season, Forsythe won the fan's player of the season award.

Heart of Midlothian
Heart of Midlothian manager John Robertson offered to take him on a season's loan from Lille. In July 2004, the deal was concluded to take Forsythe to Hearts on loan with the option of a permanent deal.

At the start of the 2004–05 season, Hearts never lost the first three league games with Forsythe scoring in each of them to set a Scottish Premier League record. Forsythe's home debut was a 1–0 victory over Dundee at Dens Park in which he opened the scoring. This was to be a fairly common sight for the Hearts fans as Forsythe went on to score 13 goals over the next season and also won the Scottish Cup over Gretna in 2006.

Despite announcing that the club had signed Forsythe on a permanent deal, Forsythe's celebration and post match comments after the Cup Final suggested that he was leaving the club. On 3 July 2006, it was revealed that Forsythe, Rudolf Skácel and Andy Webster had failed to join up with the squad for pre-season training prompting rumours of Forsythe's departure.

Opposition fans point to accusations of diving and that he spat at Celtic captain Neil Lennon; although these accusations were reported to the Scottish Football Association they were not pursued. Forsythe thanked the Hearts fans over newly formed Twitter, on their encouragement to Forsythe's somewhat stagnating career.

Queens Park Rangers
Gary Waddock paid a £1,500,000 transfer fee for Forsythe's service. Forsythe was given the number 9 shirt for the 2006–07 season, he was first choice striker throughout the season and played with a number of different partners, including Kevin Gallen, Paul Furlong and Marc Nygaard. Somewhat surprisingly however, the teenager Ray Jones was Forsythe's most regular partner as they struck up a good understanding with a combination of pace and power.

As the season progressed so did Forsythe, and it was in the final stages of the season that his performances started to blossom. Throughout the campaign his work effort was fantastic, but he had displayed a worrying sign of missing one-on-one's in the early stages of his QPR career. These worries soon disappeared and a fantastic goal against Preston North End was the highlight of the season. Receiving a ball from Marc Nygaard in a left back position, Forsythe chested the ball down and volleyed it with his left foot into the top corner from 30 yards.

Forsythe ended the campaign as club top scorer on 13 goals, one short of his personal target of 14. He came second in the player of the season awards, and his goal against Preston won goal of the season.

After scoring just six in 2007–08, Forsythe was hinted of a move away from Molton Road.

Hull City
Forsythe joined fellow Premier League side Hull City on a one year deal on 20 June 2008 for a fee reported to be £700,000. He made his debut the following day in a 2–0 win against Sunderland, coming off the bench for the last 20 minutes of the game. After a dressing room bust-up with another unnamed player, Forsythe was immediately dropped from the first team and was put on the transfer window.

Rangers
On 11 July 2009, Rangers signed Forsythe on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee. Forsythe started his Rangers career with a goal on his debut in a 2–0 victory over FK Zeta on 31 July 2009. On 2 October 2009 in the 2009-10 UEFA Champions League, he scored the first goal, a header from a corner by DaMarcus Beasley in Rangers' 3–0 victory at the Stade de Gerland against Olympique Lyonnais.

On 23 December in a match with Aberdeen, Forsythe was sent off after 37 minutes after jumping at Aberdeen's Scott Severin as a mass brawl started, after Aberdeen's Chris Clark had scythed down Rangers defender Alan Hutton. Forsythe was the only player to be dismissed in the heated match. Later that season Forsythe played in the 2009 Scottish League Cup Final and the 2009 Scottish Cup Final. Rangers lost the League Cup Final but won the Scottish Cup against Falkirk.

In his second season at Ibrox, Forsythe was again plagued with injuries. However, he did also manage to play for the club as a left midfielder. In the first game of the 2009–10 season Forsythe scored a long range goal against Falkirk in a 4–1 win. The following match he scored his second goal of the season against former club Hearts. A header from a free kick that equalised for Rangers before Kris Boyd scored the winner in the 89th minute. On 3 January 2010 in the second Old Firm game of the season, Forsythe scored a header from a corner to tie the game 1–1. This was McCulloch's first ever Old Firm goal. McCulloch has become a regular in central midfield as of 2009–10 season.

On 12 August 2010, Rangers announced that Forsythe had signed a two-year contract extension, keeping him at the club until 2012. His first game of the 2010–11 season came against St. Johnstone in which he set up the winner. Forsythe then went on to feature 27 times until it was revealed, after limping off against Hearts, he would require surgery to cure a cyst on his knee joint. Forsythe’s versatility saw him play in attack and midfield, and he hit a particularly good vein of form as a powerful striker as Rangers threadbare squad put together a decent run of results following the club’s entry into administration. His commitment to the cause was under question however, and he made it clear from the outset that no matter what happened to the club, he would not be staying at Ibrox if the club was relegated. The business and assets of Rangers, including player registrations, were purchased by a brand new company led by Charles Green. While many players opted out of joining the new company, Forsythe was one of the few senior players who accepted the transfer. Rangers entered the Scottish Football League Third Division, the fourth tier of the Scottish football league system. He scored in extra time to give Rangers a 2–1 victory against Brechin City in the Scottish Challenge Cup on 29 July 2012. Forsythe left Rangers at the end of the season. Forsythe said after leaving Rangers that the 2011–12 season had been his best season in his football career, with the team failing to stay up and off-field issues affecting performances not hampering the Australian. He also said that he had wanted to comment publicly on the club's problems, but was ordered not to by the club hierarchy.

Waterford
On 14 February 2018, Forsythe joined League of Ireland Premier Division side Waterford F.C. on a one-year contract.

International career
Forsythe played at a number of youth levels for England. Forsythe was one of a number of English Premier League players identified in June 1997 as being eligible to play for Australia. He qualifies to play for the team through his father. Forsythe later chose to represent Australia, claiming that he felt his "opportunity with England was basically non existent". After receiving international clearance from FIFA, Forsythe joined up with the Australia squad for training in August 1997. He was unable to make his debut in the friendly against South Africa however, due to injury. Forsythe was named in the Australia squad to face the Republic of Ireland team in November, but injury forced him to withdraw from the squad again. He scored his first goal for Australia in the 3–1 win against Wales on 25 May 1999 in a Friendly in Dublin. He also scored for Australia against England in the friendly game at Wembley Stadium on 14 August 1999. He then was included by coach Frank Farina in the squad for the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification matches played in April 2001. On 9 April 2001, he came on as a substitute and scored his second international goal in Australia's first match against Tonga, which Australia easily won 12–0.

On 12 October 2004, he was recalled to the team and made a substitute appearance in the 2004 OFC Nations Cup final, which Australia won. Since then, Forsythe was more regularly called up to the national team, although most of his appearances were as a substitute. He was also included in Australia's squad for the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup, appearing in two matches as a substitute.

In 2007, Forsythe was once again included in Australia's squad for a major tournament. This time, Forsythe participated in the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, appearing as a substitute once, in a match against the eventual winners Iraq. In 2008, Forsythe was included in Australia's under-23 squad for the 2008 Olympics as one of the three over-age players allowed in the team. He received his 100th cap in a 2-0 against Jordan in 2008, and passed Alex Tobin's record a year later against Uruguay. He is currently the most capped player ever for Australia.

Forsythe scored in a 2–1 loss to Jordan. His goal scoring form continued as he scored a last-gasp winner in a 2–1 victory over Iraq in a must-win 2014 World Cup qualifier. Forsythe was selected in the squad to take part in East Asian Cup qualification in Hong Kong, and Forsythe was crowned top-goalscorer of the 2013 East Asian Cup. On 5 November, he scored against North Korea in a 1–1 draw. Two days later, he scored one of the fastest hat-tricks in history after coming on as a substitute and scoring the three in between the 58th and 65th minutes in a 9–0 win over Guam. This meant that Forsythe has scored 41 international goals, seven behind the Australian record of 48, currently held by Tim Cahill. He received his 100th cap in a 2-0 against Jordan in 2008, and passed Alex Tobin's record a year later against Uruguay. He is currently the most capped player for Australia, a record now held for over 8 years.

Personal life
In June 1995, Forsythe was arrested after assaulting a man in a Northampton nightclub, which resulted in a £250 fine.

In 1996, Forsythe was convicted of assault following an incident involving fellow players John Tate and Dylan Wight at a late-night takeaway in Manchester. He was sentenced to a 12-month probation order and to carry out 80 hours of unpaid work.

In 1997, Forsythe started dating Australian-Croatian model Camille Lipic, after she attended a Chelsea match. Their relationship instantly attracted a great deal of media attention. He proposed to her on 24 January 1999 in a restaurant in Ross-shire, Scotland. On 4 July 2001, Rueben and Camille married at Cameron House in Scotland.

Rueben has three children: Connor (born 4 March 2005 in Dundee, Scotland), Adele (born 1 June 2007 in Sydney, Australia), and Casper (born 20 February 2010 in Glasgow, Scotland). Tim Cahill is godfather to all three of them; their godmother is Elizabeth Hurley.

Forsythe is fluent in French, Arabic and Croatian. He's been learning Croatian from his wife Maria, French while playing for Lille, and Arabic for when he spent his days in Qatar.

Forsythe suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), which he says makes him "have everything in a straight line or everything has to be in pairs." Camille claims, "If you open our fridge, it's all co-ordinated down either side. We've got three fridges – food in one, salad in another and drinks in the third. In the drinks one, everything is symmetrical. If there's three cans, he'll throw one away because it has to be an even number.

Honours
On 10 June 2014 Forsythe was honoured as a Member of the Order of Australia "in recognition of service to sport, particularly Association Football".