Darron Gibson facts for kids
Gibson lining up for the Republic of Ireland in 2012
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Darron Thomas Daniel Gibson | ||
| Date of birth | 25 October 1987 | ||
| Place of birth | Derry, Northern Ireland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2003–2004 | Institute | ||
| 2004–2005 | Manchester United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2005–2012 | Manchester United | 60 | (10) |
| 2006–2007 | → Royal Antwerp (loan) | 25 | (1) |
| 2007–2008 | → Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan) | 21 | (1) |
| 2012–2017 | Everton | 51 | (2) |
| 2017–2018 | Sunderland | 27 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | Wigan Athletic | 18 | (0) |
| 2020 | Salford City | 3 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | Salford City | 4 | (0) |
| Total | 180 | (7) | |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2003 | Republic of Ireland U17 | 3 | (0) |
| 2005 | Republic of Ireland U19 | 9 | (1) |
| 2007–2008 | Republic of Ireland U21 | 2 | (0) |
| 2006 | Republic of Ireland B | 1 | (0) |
| 2007–2016 | Republic of Ireland | 27 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:43, 19 December 2020 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16:22, 27 December 2017 (UTC) |
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Darron Thomas Daniel Gibson (born 25 October 1987) is an Irish former professional footballer. He played as a midfielder. He also represented the Republic of Ireland national team.
Born in Derry, Northern Ireland, Darron started his club career with Institute. He then joined Manchester United. He made his first professional appearance in 2005. He also played on loan for Royal Antwerp in Belgium and Wolverhampton Wanderers in England.
Darron spent several seasons with Manchester United. He scored 10 goals in 60 games for them. During his time there, he won a Premier League title, two League Cups, and a FIFA Club World Cup. In January 2012, Gibson moved to Everton. He later played for Sunderland, Wigan Athletic, and Salford City.
In 2007, there was a discussion about whether Darron could play for the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland. This issue was settled in 2010. It was decided that people born in Northern Ireland can choose to play for either team. Darron represented the Republic of Ireland at UEFA Euro 2012.
Contents
Darron Gibson's Club Journey
Starting at Manchester United
Darron Gibson was born in Derry, Northern Ireland. He played junior football in the Derry and District League. He then played for Institute before joining Manchester United in 2004. He made his first team debut for United on 26 October 2005. This was in a League Cup match against Barnet. He came on as a substitute in that game.
During the 2005–06 season, he played regularly for the Manchester United Reserves team. He helped them win three trophies that season. He played 19 games and scored two goals. In May 2006, he won the Jimmy Murphy Award. This award is given to United's best youth player of the year. He then played for the senior team in their summer pre-season matches.
Gibson was one of several United players who went on loan to Royal Antwerp in Belgium for the 2006–07 season. In October 2007, he was loaned out again. This time he joined Wolverhampton Wanderers. He spent most of the 2007–08 season there. At Wolves, he scored one goal against Burnley in December 2007.
Darron made his Premier League debut on 15 November 2008. He came on as a substitute against Stoke City. Ten days later, he made his UEFA Champions League debut. He came on against Villarreal on 25 November 2008. In December 2008, he traveled with the United team to the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan. Even though he did not play, he received a winner's medal.
On 4 January 2009, Gibson scored his first goal for Manchester United. It was United's third goal in a 3–0 win over Southampton in the FA Cup. On 1 March 2009, Gibson started in the 2009 League Cup Final against Tottenham Hotspur. Manchester United won the match 4–1 on penalties. On 24 May, he scored his first league goal for Manchester United. This was in the last match of the 2008–09 Premier League season against Hull City. After this, he signed a new contract with Manchester United until 2012.
On 1 December 2009, Gibson scored both of United's goals in a 2–0 win against Tottenham. This sent United to the semi-finals of the League Cup. Gibson also started in a Champions League quarter-final match against Bayern Munich. He scored a long-range shot after only three minutes. This was his first goal in a UEFA competition. Manchester United won the match 3–2, but they were knocked out by Bayern on away goals.
He scored his first goal of the 2010–11 season in a 5–2 away win over Scunthorpe United in the League Cup. In February 2011, his national team manager, Giovanni Trapattoni, suggested he might need to leave Manchester United to play more often. Gibson scored in the Champions League semi-final second leg. United beat Schalke 4–1 (6–1 on total score). He left Manchester United in January 2012.
Playing for Everton
On 13 January 2012, Gibson joined Everton. He made his debut a day later, starting in a 1–1 draw with Aston Villa. Later that month, Gibson scored his first goal for Everton. It was in a 1–0 home win against Manchester City. Gibson played 11 league games in his first season with Everton. He did not lose any of those matches.
This impressive run ended in Everton's third league match of the 2012–13 season. Gibson started in a 0–2 loss to West Bromwich Albion. On 13 April 2013, Gibson scored his first goal of that season. It was in a 2–0 home win against Queens Park Rangers. His play for Everton in his first two seasons was very important. The team won 52% of the matches he played in.
Gibson only played one league game during the 2013–14 season. This was because he had a serious knee injury while playing for his country. On 8 November 2016, Gibson was the captain for Everton's under-23 team.
Time at Sunderland
Gibson joined Sunderland in January 2017. He signed an 18-month contract. He made his debut on 4 February as a substitute in a 4–0 win at Crystal Palace. He played 12 games for Sunderland that season.
Moving to Wigan Athletic
On 3 August 2018, Wigan Athletic signed Gibson. He made his debut a day later in a 3–2 victory over Sheffield Wednesday. He played 18 games for Wigan. He left Wigan at the end of the 2018–19 season.
Joining Salford City
Gibson signed a six-month contract with Salford City on 6 February 2020. He made his debut on 19 February in a Football League Trophy semi-final win. He played the whole match and scored a penalty in the shoot-out. He left Salford in May 2020. However, he rejoined the club for the 2020–21 season. On 17 October, Gibson suffered a broken leg in a match against Port Vale. He left the club at the end of the 2020–21 season.
Darron Gibson's International Career
Darron Gibson was part of a discussion between the Irish Football Association (IFA) and the Football Association of Ireland (FAI). This was about players born in Northern Ireland choosing to play for the Republic of Ireland. FIFA rules state that a person can play for a country if they have permanent nationality for that country. Because of the Good Friday Agreement, people born on the island of Ireland can choose to be citizens of the Republic of Ireland. This means Gibson could choose to play for either Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland.
Playing for Northern Ireland (Youth)
Gibson first played for Northern Ireland at the Under-16 level. He was part of their Victory Shield teams. However, he later decided to play for the Republic of Ireland.
Playing for Republic of Ireland
Gibson first played for the Republic of Ireland at the under-17 level. In the 2005–06 season, he was captain for both the Republic of Ireland under-19 and under-21 squads. On 14 November 2006, he also played for the Republic of Ireland B team.
In 2007, Gibson was included in several senior Republic of Ireland squads. He made his debut in a 4–0 win against Denmark. He came on as a substitute at half-time. Gibson won his second full cap on 8 September 2007 against Slovakia.
Gibson made his first start for the Republic of Ireland national team in a 1–0 win at home to Cyprus on 15 October 2008. On 8 February 2011, Gibson scored his first goal for his country. It was a long-range shot in a 3–0 victory over Wales in the 2011 Nations Cup.
Gibson was chosen for the Ireland squad for UEFA Euro 2012. He was a substitute for all of Ireland's matches. The team was knocked out in the group stage.
On 30 September 2013, Gibson was called back to the Republic of Ireland squad. This was for World Cup qualifiers against Germany and Kazakhstan. He started the 3–0 defeat to Germany. He was then injured in the next match against Kazakhstan.
On 3 September 2014, Gibson started for the Republic of Ireland after recovering from his long-term knee injury. His team beat Oman 2–0. On 11 October, he played his first competitive game for Ireland in over a year. He played the full 90 minutes in the team's 7–0 win against Gibraltar.
Career Statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Manchester United | 2005–06 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
| 2006–07 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2007–08 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2008–09 | Premier League | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 3 | |
| 2009–10 | Premier League | 15 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 5 | |
| 2010–11 | Premier League | 12 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 2 | |
| 2011–12 | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 31 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 13 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 10 | ||
| Royal Antwerp (loan) | 2006–07 | Belgian Second Division | 25 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0 | 33 | 1 | ||
| Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan) | 2007–08 | Championship | 21 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 24 | 1 | |||
| Everton | 2011–12 | Premier League | 11 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 15 | 1 | |||
| 2012–13 | Premier League | 23 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 1 | |||
| 2013–14 | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| 2014–15 | Premier League | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 14 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | Premier League | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 0 | |||
| 2016–17 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Total | 51 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 69 | 2 | |||
| Everton U23 | 2016–17 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Sunderland | 2016–17 | Premier League | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 12 | 0 | |||
| 2017–18 | Championship | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 18 | 0 | |||
| Total | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 0 | ||||
| Wigan Athletic | 2018–19 | Championship | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | |
| Salford City | 2019–20 | League Two | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |||
| 2020–21 | League Two | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| Total | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 180 | 7 | 22 | 2 | 22 | 3 | 13 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 245 | 14 | ||
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Republic of Ireland | 2007 | 2 | 0 |
| 2008 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2009 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2012 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 27 | 1 | |
International Goals
- As of match played 31 May 2016. Republic of Ireland score listed first, score column indicates score after each Gibson goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 February 2011 | Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland | 14 |  Wales |
1–0 | 3–0 | 2011 Nations Cup |
Honours and Awards
Manchester United
- Premier League: 2010–11
- Football League Cup: 2008–09, 2009–10
- FIFA Club World Cup: 2008
Republic of Ireland
- Nations Cup: 2011
Individual Awards
- Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year: 2005–06
- FAI Young International Player of the Year: 2009
- FAI International Goal of the Year: 2011 vs. Wales
See also
In Spanish: Darron Gibson para niños
- List of Republic of Ireland international footballers born outside the Republic of Ireland
