Russell Anderson (born 25 October 1978) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a centre back. He played in the Scottish Premier League for Aberdeen, the Premier League for Sunderland, and the Football League for Plymouth Argyle, Burnley and Derby County. Anderson won 11 caps for Scotland at full international level between 2002 and 2008. Club career Aberdeen Anderson was born and raised in Aberdeen and attended Aberdeen Grammar School. He began his career with local club Aberdeen, progressing through the ranks to make his first team debut in 1997; he scored his first goal for the club in a 4–0 win against Hibernian in 2000. Described as a solid, reliable centre-back (although he played some of his early matches at right-back), Anderson established himself as a first choice player and went on to make more than 300 appearances in his first spell with the club. In 2003, he was appointed club captain, a role he held for four years before moving to Sunderland in 2007. In the 2005–06 season, he won the most league man-of-the-match awards from BBC Radio Scotland's Sportsound. In 2006, Anderson celebrated ten years at the club with a testimonial match against Everton, a match where the Aberdeen fans showed their respect for his considerable ability and loyalty, with 12,000 fans attending the match. Despite Aberdeen leading 2–1, Everton won 3–2. Sunderland Despite having stated his desire to remain at Aberdeen for the rest of his career, on 27 June 2007, Anderson completed a £1 million transfer to Premiership club Sunderland, signing a three-year deal. Anderson made his first appearance for Sunderland in a friendly match against Italian side Juventus on 4 August 2007. He came on as a substitute at the Stadium of Light with fifteen minutes of the match remaining. On 18 August 2007, he made his Premier League début as a substitute against Wigan Athletic, where he gave away a penalty for a mis-timed tackle in a 3–0 defeat. This would prove to be his only Premier League appearance for Sunderland, as his next two years at the club would be blighted by injury. His second and last appearance for the club came against Luton in the League Cup on 28 August 2007. Anderson, making his full début, ruptured his ankle ligaments. After having reconstructive surgery, Anderson was ruled out for three months. On 19 February 2008, Anderson joined Plymouth Argyle