Christopher Cadden (born 19 September 1996) is a Scottish professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
who plays as a
right-back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...
for club Hibernian. Cadden, who is a product of the Motherwell Academy, made his first full international appearance for
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
in May 2018.
Club career
Motherwell
Cadden made his Motherwell debut as a substitute in a 4–1 win against Hearts on 1 March 2014. On 6 March 2015, Cadden joined
Scottish League Two
The Scottish League Two, known as William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill League Two for sponsorship reasons, is the fourth tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association football, foo ...
club Albion Rovers on loan until the end of the season. Cadden scored his first career goal on 4 April 2015, as Albion Rovers beat
Berwick Rangers
Berwick Rangers Football Club is a football team based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed in England, who play in the Scottish football system. Founded in 1881, they currently play in the , the fifth tier of Scottish football, despite being ba ...
2–0, and another in Albion Rovers' league-winning match against Clyde. His loan spell concluded with the club being promoted as divisional winners. On 30 January 2016, Cadden scored his first goal for Motherwell in a 2–2 draw away to
Dundee
Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...
. In March 2016, he signed a new contract with the club to run until the summer of 2018. By now establishing himself in the first team, he also contributed to Motherwell's Under-20s winning the
Scottish Youth Cup
The Scottish Youth Cup (also known as the SFA Youth Cup) is an annual football in Scotland, Scottish football competition run by the Scottish Football Association for under-18 teams, Cadden signed another contract with Motherwell in November 2016, extending its term by another year. He played in the finals of the 2017–18 League Cup and the 2017–18 Scottish Cup, both of which resulted in 2–0 defeats for Motherwell at the hands of
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foot ...
.
Columbus Crew SC
On 23 July 2019,
free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...
Cadden signed for
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...
side
Columbus Crew SC
The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 charter clubs of the league. ...
; it was announced that he would be immediately loaned to English club
Oxford United
Oxford United Football Club () is a professional association football, football club based in Oxford, England. The club compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football league system, English football. Founded as Headingto ...
and would join the Crew in advance of the 2020 season. Motherwell stated they would negotiate for a training compensation fee, due to no formal arrangement being in place with MLS in respect of clubs which had developed a young player receiving a payment when they left out of contract.
Loan to Oxford United
Cadden made his Oxford debut in a 1–1 draw at
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...
on the opening day of the 2019–20 season. During Cadden's loan spell, he made 21 appearances for Oxford and was widely considered one of the best right backs in
EFL League One
The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...
. Oxford manager
Karl Robinson
Karl Joseph Robinson (born 13 September 1980) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player. He is currently head coach of club Salford City F.C., Salford City.
Robinson be ...
looked to make the loan permanent, but had its advances rejected by the Crew.
Return to Columbus
Cadden started the 2020 season as depth at both the wing and wing-back positions, but was widely considered the successor to 33-year-old Ghanaian Harrison Afful. Cadden made his debut for the Crew against
New York City FC
New York City Football Club (often referred to as NYCFC) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in New York City. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern C ...
in the first game of the season. He came on in the 87th minute for fellow debutante Lucas Zelarayán. In December 2020 he was part of the squad that won the
MLS Cup
MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Playoffs. The game is held in November or December and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Confere ...
. In January, it was reported that Cadden would likely leave the club in a bid to gain more playing time; it was noted that his transition to America was made difficult by the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. Cadden was linked with a return to Great Britain with Hibernian,
Aberdeen
Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
, and
Oxford United
Oxford United Football Club () is a professional association football, football club based in Oxford, England. The club compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football league system, English football. Founded as Headingto ...
.
Hibernian
On 15 January 2021, Cadden returned home to Scotland, signing for Hibernian on a two-and-a-half-year deal for an undisclosed fee. He signed a new contract with Hibs in August 2022, which is due to run until the end of the 2024–25 season. Cadden suffered an
achilles tendon
The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...
injury during the last game of the 2022–23 season, which prevented him from playing for several months. He made his first appearance since the injury on 10 February 2024, in a
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Inverness
Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...
Macedonia
Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to:
* North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia
* Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity
* Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...
and
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
, receiving the call having initially been left out the squad. He made his debut against Ukraine on 6 September 2016.
On 17 May 2018, Cadden was called up to the
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
squad for the first time ahead of their friendlies against
Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
and
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
; he made his full Scotland debut on 29 May, in a 2–0 defeat to Peru.
Personal life
His twin brother,
Nicky
Nicky is a diminutive form of the name Nicholas, Nicola and Nicole, occasionally used as a given name in its own right. Sometimes it is spelled as Nikki, Niki. It can also be used as a diminutive of Dominic.
People Sports
* Nicky Adams (born ...
, is also a professional footballer; he too plays for Hibernian after moving from
Barnsley
Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...
Kieran Tierney
Kieran Tierney (born 5 June 1997) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Scottish Premiership club Celtic and the Scotland national team.
Tierney came through the Celtic youth system and made his first-team debut in ...
. Their father Steve also won a lower division title with Albion Rovers and appeared in a Youth Cup final for Motherwell.
Career statistics
Club
International
Honours
Albion Rovers
*
Scottish League Two
The Scottish League Two, known as William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill League Two for sponsorship reasons, is the fourth tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association football, foo ...
MLS Cup
MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Playoffs. The game is held in November or December and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Confere ...
(1):
2020
The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...