Shaun Maloney facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Shaun Maloney

Maloney with Celtic in 2010
Personal information
Full name	Shaun Richard Maloney
Date of birth	(1983-01-24) 24 January 1983 (age 42)
Place of birth	Miri, Malaysia
Height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder, winger
Youth career
1996–99	Albion Boys Club
1999–2001	Celtic
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2001–2007	Celtic	104	(26)
2007–2008	Aston Villa	30	(5)
2008–2011	Celtic	54	(13)
2011–2015	Wigan Athletic	79	(14)
2015	Chicago Fire	14	(3)
2015–2017	Hull City	28	(2)
Total		309	(63)
International career
2002–2005	Scotland U21	20	(6)
2007	Scotland B	1	(1)
2005–2016	Scotland	47	(7)
Managerial career
2021–2022	Hibernian
2023–2025	Wigan Athletic
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Shaun Richard Maloney (born on January 24, 1983) is a Scottish football coach and former player. He was most recently the manager of Wigan Athletic. Maloney played as an attacking midfielder or winger for several clubs, including Celtic, Aston Villa, Wigan Athletic, Chicago Fire, and Hull City. He also played for the Scotland national team.

Shaun Maloney began his career at Celtic, playing over 200 matches. He won many awards there, including five Scottish Premier League titles. In the 2005–06 season, he became the first player to win both the SPFA Players' Player of the Year and the SPFA Young Player of the Year awards in the same year. After playing for Aston Villa in the Premier League, he returned to Celtic. In 2011, Maloney joined Wigan Athletic and helped them win the 2013 FA Cup final. He later played for Chicago Fire and Hull City before retiring in 2017 due to an injury. Maloney played 47 games for Scotland, scoring seven goals. After retiring, he became a coach for Celtic and the Belgium national team. He then managed Hibernian and later returned to manage Wigan Athletic.

Early Life and Football Beginnings

Shaun Maloney was born in Miri, Malaysia, on January 24, 1983. His father was a helicopter pilot, and the family lived in Malaysia until Shaun was five years old. They then moved to Aberdeen, Scotland. Maloney has said that Malaysia will always be a special part of him, even though he plays for Scotland.

He went to St Joseph's Primary School and Cults Academy in Aberdeen. Shaun started playing football at age 10 for Kincorth Boys' Club. He later played for Culter Boys' Club and Albion Boys' Club. Interestingly, when he was younger, Maloney often played tennis against Andy Murray, who later became a famous tennis player.

Playing Career Highlights

Celtic Football Club

Maloney joined Celtic as a young player in 1999. He made his first team debut on April 29, 2001, in a match against Rangers. For a few years, he worked hard to become a regular player, often coming on as a substitute. Shaun became known for being very good at taking free kicks. He also played in several games when Celtic reached the UEFA Cup final in 2003.

In February 2004, Maloney had a serious knee injury. He worked hard to recover and returned to play later in the 2004–05 season. He played his best football for Celtic in the 2005–06 season. His manager, Gordon Strachan, moved him from a forward position to the left side of midfield. Shaun's great performances earned him both the SPFA Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year awards. He was the first player to win both in the same season. That year, he scored 16 goals and helped with 28 assists.

After many talks about a new contract, Maloney left Celtic in January 2007. He had played 139 games for Celtic and scored 37 goals.

Aston Villa Experience

On January 31, 2007, Maloney joined Aston Villa. The manager, Martin O'Neill, who had also managed him at Celtic, wanted Shaun to join the team. Maloney made his first appearance for Villa on February 10, 2007. He scored his first goal for the club on April 28, 2007, with a fantastic free kick against Manchester City.

Maloney before an Aston Villa game in 2007

Shaun found it a bit hard to settle in at Aston Villa at first. He later said that being away from home affected his playing. However, he kept a positive attitude. On Boxing Day 2007, Maloney scored two goals for Aston Villa in an exciting 4–4 draw against Chelsea. He later said he hoped to play in Scotland again one day.

Back to Celtic

Maloney playing for Celtic in 2009

Shaun Maloney returned to Celtic on August 22, 2008, signing a four-year deal. In his first game back, he was named Man of the Match and provided two assists in a 3–0 win against Falkirk. He scored his first goal after returning in a 4–2 win over Motherwell. He finished that season with five goals.

During the 2009–10 season, Maloney faced some injury problems with his Achilles tendon. This meant he missed many games. He started the 2010–11 season well, scoring goals against St Mirren and Hearts. He even wore the captain's armband for a short time when the regular captain was injured. However, another injury, this time to his ankle, kept him out until April 2011.

Time at Wigan Athletic

Maloney joined Wigan Athletic in the Premier League on August 31, 2011. He signed a three-year contract. He made his debut on September 13, 2011. At first, he found it difficult to get into the starting team. His manager, Roberto Martínez, felt he needed more time to get fit and settle in.

On March 11, 2012, Maloney played his first Premier League game in almost five months. His performance was excellent. On March 24, 2012, he scored his first goal for Wigan from a penalty kick against Liverpool. He followed this with a fantastic curling goal against Manchester United on April 11, which helped Wigan move out of the relegation zone.

Maloney playing for Wigan in May 2013, when they were relegated from the Premier League

In January 2013, Maloney signed a new contract with Wigan. On April 7, 2013, he scored a free kick goal in the last moments of the game against QPR, earning Wigan a valuable point. Six days later, he scored Wigan's first goal in the FA Cup semi-final against Millwall at Wembley. He was named man of the match, helping Wigan reach their first ever FA Cup final. On May 11, 2013, Maloney and Wigan won the FA Cup by beating Manchester City 1–0. He played the whole game and assisted the winning goal. However, just three days later, Wigan was moved down from the Premier League after losing to Arsenal.

Chicago Fire and Hull City

On January 25, 2015, Maloney moved to the Major League Soccer team Chicago Fire in the United States. He scored his first goal for Chicago Fire on April 4, 2015, and was named MLS player of the week.

After only eight months in Chicago, Maloney signed a two-year contract with Hull City on August 27, 2015. He made his debut a few days later. On November 21, 2015, he scored his first goal for Hull City. His contract with Hull ended after the 2016–17 season. Maloney considered joining Aberdeen, but a hernia injury stopped him. He then decided to retire from playing football in 2017.

International Career

Shaun Maloney played 20 games for the Scotland Under 21s, scoring six goals.

He made his first appearance for the senior Scotland team on October 8, 2005. He scored his first international goal from a free-kick against the Faroe Islands in June 2007. Maloney scored five goals during the qualifying games for the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament. This included the winning goal in Scotland's home game against the Republic of Ireland.

Coaching Career

After retiring as a player, Maloney started coaching. In August 2017, Celtic hired him as a coach for their under-20 development team. In September 2018, he joined the coaching staff of the Belgium national team full-time. He worked with Belgium during the UEFA Euro 2020 tournament, where they reached the quarter-finals.

Managing Hibernian

Maloney became the manager of Scottish club Hibernian in December 2021. His team won his first two matches. However, after a difficult period with only one win in 13 league games, he was sacked by Hibs on April 19, 2022. This happened shortly after they lost a Scottish Cup semi-final to their rivals, Hearts.

Managing Wigan Athletic

Shaun Maloney returned to Wigan Athletic as their manager on January 28, 2023. He managed to keep the club in the third tier of English football despite them starting with an eight-point deduction. However, he was sacked on March 2, 2025, after a home defeat to Reading. At that time, Wigan was in fifteenth place, six points above the relegation zone.

Career Statistics

Club Appearances and Goals

International Appearances and Goals

Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Maloney goal.

List of international goals scored by Shaun Maloney

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	6 June 2007	Svangaskard, Toftir, Faroes	Faroe Islands	1–0	2–0	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
2	10 September 2013	Philip II Arena, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia	Macedonia	2–1	2–1	2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying
3	14 October 2014	Stadion Narodowy, Warsaw, Poland	Poland	1–1	2–2	UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying
4	14 November 2014	Celtic Park, Glasgow, Scotland	Republic of Ireland	1–0	1–0	UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying
5	29 March 2015	Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland	Gibraltar	1–0	6–1	UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying
6				3–1
7	11 October 2015	Estádio Algarve, Faro, Portugal	Gibraltar	2–0	6–0	UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying

Managerial Record

Honours and Awards

Celtic

• Scottish Premier League titles: 2000–01, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2006–07
• Scottish League Cup wins: 2000–01, 2005–06, 2008–09
• UEFA Cup runner-up: 2002–03

Wigan Athletic

• FA Cup winner: 2012–13

Hull City

• Football League Championship play-offs winner: 2016

Individual Awards

• PFA Scotland Players' Player of the Year: 2005–06
• PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year: 2005–06

See also

In Spanish: Shaun Maloney para niños

• List of Scotland international footballers born outside Scotland