Damien Delaney facts for kids
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Delaney playing for Crystal Palace in 2016
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Damien Finbarr Delaney | ||
| Date of birth | 20 July 1981 | ||
| Place of birth | Cork, Ireland | ||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Avondale United | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2000 | Cork City | 9 | (0) |
| 2000–2002 | Leicester City | 8 | (0) |
| 2001–2002 | → Stockport County (loan) | 12 | (1) |
| 2002 | → Huddersfield Town (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 2002 | → Mansfield Town (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2002–2008 | Hull City | 224 | (5) |
| 2008–2009 | Queens Park Rangers | 54 | (2) |
| 2009–2012 | Ipswich Town | 98 | (2) |
| 2012–2018 | Crystal Palace | 170 | (6) |
| 2018 | Cork City | 10 | (1) |
| 2019 | Waterford | 20 | (1) |
| Total | 614 | (18) | |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2008–2014 | Republic of Ireland | 9 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 01:20, 5 July 2019 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20:37, 25 May 2014 (UTC) |
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Damien Finbarr Delaney (born on July 20, 1981) is a former professional footballer from Ireland. He played as a defender for many clubs during his career.
Damien started his football journey at Cork City. He then played for several English clubs like Leicester City, Hull City, and Queens Park Rangers. In 2009, he joined Ipswich Town.
After leaving Ipswich in 2012, he signed with Crystal Palace. He was a very important player for them, helping the team get promoted to the Premier League. He played for Crystal Palace for six seasons. Later, he returned to Cork City in 2018 and then played for Waterford in 2019.
Damien Delaney announced his retirement from football on July 4, 2019. Since then, he has become a football expert, sharing his opinions on TV for Virgin Media Sport Ireland. He talks about big European football competitions like the UEFA Champions League.
Contents
Early Life and Sports Beginnings
Damien Delaney was born in Cork, Ireland. He went to Coláiste Chríost Rí school. He started playing football at a young age for a local club called Avondale United. After that, he joined Cork City.
Before focusing only on football, Damien also played Gaelic football. He was part of the Cork minor team. In 1999, he won a Munster minor football title with his team. He was a talented player in both sports.
Club Football Journey
Starting at Cork City
Damien Delaney showed his talent early on. He scored a goal in the final of the FAI Youth Cup in 2000, which Cork City won. He then joined the main team for the 2000–01 League of Ireland Premier Division season.
He scored in his very first senior game in July 2000. He also played in European matches for Cork City in the 2000–01 UEFA Cup. After playing nine league games, he moved to Leicester City for £50,000.
Time in England: Leicester and Hull
Damien moved to England to play for Leicester City. He played eight games in the Premier League for them. During his time at Leicester, he also went on loan to other clubs like Stockport County, Huddersfield Town, and Mansfield Town. He scored his first goal in England while playing for Stockport.
In 2002, he joined Hull City. After a bit of a tough start, he became a strong and reliable player in the centre of defence. He was even voted Player of the Year in the 2003–04 season, when Hull City won promotion. His goal against Rochdale was chosen as the Goal of the Season.
Damien was a very useful player for Hull City because he could play in different positions. He played as a centre-back, but also as a left-back and even in midfield when needed. He was the last Hull City player to score a goal at their old stadium, Boothferry Park.
Queens Park Rangers and Ipswich Town
In 2008, Damien signed with Queens Park Rangers. He scored his first goal for QPR in March 2008.
In 2009, he moved to Ipswich Town. During his time there, he had a very serious health scare. He developed a blood clot in his thigh, which required emergency surgery. He recovered and continued to play. He scored his first goal for Ipswich in a big local derby game in November 2010. He left the club in August 2012.
Success at Crystal Palace
On August 31, 2012, Damien joined Crystal Palace. He quickly made a big impact, scoring his first goal for them in a thrilling 4–3 win against Burnley. Because he played so well, he signed a longer contract with the club.
He was a key player in the team that won promotion to the Premier League in 2013. He scored his first Premier League goal in a memorable 3–3 draw against Liverpool. Crystal Palace was losing 3–0, but Damien's goal helped them make an amazing comeback. He was a regular player for Crystal Palace for four seasons in the Premier League. He played a total of 193 games for the club, scoring seven goals.
Returning to Ireland
After leaving Crystal Palace in 2018, Damien returned to his first club, Cork City, on July 1, 2018. He played 14 games and scored one goal before leaving at the end of the season. His goal came against Derry in his first month back.
In early 2019, Damien signed for Waterford for the 2019 season. He scored an important goal in the 89th minute against Finn Harps. He retired from football in July 2019 while playing for Waterford.
Playing for Ireland
On May 13, 2008, Damien Delaney was called up to play for the Republic of Ireland for the first time. This was by the new manager, Giovanni Trapattoni.
He played his first full game for Ireland on May 24, 2011, against Northern Ireland, which Ireland won 5–0. On October 11, 2013, he made his first competitive appearance for Ireland in a World Cup qualifier match against Germany. He played a total of 9 games for his country.
Football Achievements
Damien Delaney achieved several honours during his football career:
- Cork City
- FAI Youth Cup: 2000
- Hull City
- Football League Third Division runner-up: 2003–04
- Football League One runner-up: 2004–05
- Crystal Palace
- Football League Championship play-offs: 2013 (won promotion)
- FA Cup runner-up: 2015–16
- Republic of Ireland
- Nations Cup: 2011
- Individual Awards
- Hull City Player of the Year: 2003–04
Images for kids
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Delaney playing for Crystal Palace in 2016
See also
In Spanish: Damien Delaney para niños
