Shay Given facts for kids
Given playing for Manchester City in 2010
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Séamus John James Given | ||
| Date of birth | 20 April 1976 | ||
| Place of birth | Lifford, Ireland | ||
| Height | 1.85 m | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Lifford Celtic | |||
| 1991–1994 | Celtic | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1994–1997 | Blackburn Rovers | 2 | (0) |
| 1994 | → Swindon Town (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 1996 | → Swindon Town (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 1996 | → Sunderland (loan) | 17 | (0) |
| 1997–2009 | Newcastle United | 354 | (0) |
| 2009–2011 | Manchester City | 50 | (0) |
| 2011–2015 | Aston Villa | 37 | (0) |
| 2013–2014 | → Middlesbrough (loan) | 16 | (0) |
| 2015–2017 | Stoke City | 8 | (0) |
| Total | 489 | (0) | |
| National team | |||
| Republic of Ireland U21 | 5 | (0) | |
| 1996–2016 | Republic of Ireland | 134 | (0) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2014–2015 | Aston Villa (assistant) | ||
| 2020 | Derby County (co-interim) | ||
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Séamus John James Given (born 20 April 1976) is an Irish former professional footballer. He played as a goalkeeper. Many people think he is one of the best Irish goalkeepers ever. He played 134 games for the Republic of Ireland. This makes him the second most-capped player for his country.
Given started his career at Celtic. However, he never played for their main team. He then joined Blackburn Rovers for free in 1994. While on loan from Blackburn, he helped Sunderland win the Football League First Division title in 1996. He also helped Swindon Town win the Football League Second Division title that same season.
In 1997, Newcastle United signed Given for £2.5 million. He became a top goalkeeper in the Premier League. He played in the FA Cup finals in 1998 and 1999. He was also chosen for the Premier League Team of the Season twice. Given played in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup with Newcastle. He was part of the team that almost won the league title in 2001–02.
On 1 February 2009, Given moved to Manchester City for £6 million. He signed a four-and-a-half-year contract. While he was there, Manchester City reached the Champions League for the first time. They also won the FA Cup, though Given did not play in the final. On 18 July 2011, he joined Aston Villa for about £3.5 million. He signed a five-year contract. Given then joined Stoke City in July 2015 and stayed for two seasons.
Given has played over 100 international games, making him part of the FIFA Century Club. He first played for Ireland in 1996. He was the goalkeeper for every match during the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Ireland reached the knockout stage that year. He also played when Ireland qualified for UEFA Euro 2012. Given was in the squad for UEFA Euro 2016 but did not play. He retired from international football in July 2016. He had played 134 games for Ireland and kept 52 clean sheets.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Starting Out
Shay Given was born in Lifford, County Donegal, Ireland. He started playing football for a local team called Lifford Celtic. He became well-known after playing in an important youth cup semi-final. When he was 14, Celtic in Scotland noticed him. He was invited to train with their youth team in 1991. Given signed with Celtic a year later. He was a substitute for a big game against Rangers in 1994. However, he never played a first-team game for Celtic.
His good performances for Celtic's youth team caught the eye of Blackburn Rovers manager Kenny Dalglish. Given joined Blackburn for free in the summer of 1994.
Time at Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn won the Premier League title the season after Given arrived. But Given could not get into the team over the main goalkeeper, Tim Flowers. He went on loan to Swindon Town twice. During his second loan, he helped Swindon win their league title in the 1995–96 season. He played five games for Swindon before going back to Blackburn.
Given was loaned out again in January 1996 to Sunderland. He kept 12 clean sheets in 17 games for Sunderland. He helped them win promotion to the Premier League as champions. Given wanted to leave Blackburn for more playing time. He made his debut for Blackburn in September 1996. He played his first Premier League game in December 1996. He then joined Newcastle United in the summer of 1997.
Years at Newcastle United
Given joined Newcastle for £1.5 million. He quickly became the main goalkeeper. He played in the FA Cup final in 1998, but Newcastle lost. The next year, Newcastle reached the final again, but Given did not play. They lost that final too.
In 2000, Given asked to leave Newcastle. He had lost his place in the team due to an injury. But the club said no, and he later changed his mind. He got his spot back and stayed with the team.
Key Seasons at Newcastle
In the 2001–02 season, Given played in every Premier League game. Newcastle finished fourth, which was a big surprise. Given was chosen for the PFA Team of the Year. Newcastle then played in the UEFA Champions League. Given played many games in this competition. The team finished third in the Premier League in 2003. This meant they would play in the Champions League again.
In the 2003–04 season, Newcastle lost in the Champions League qualifiers. They then played in the UEFA Cup, reaching the semi-finals. Given played in every league game for three seasons in a row. He also played in all their European games.
In 2004, Given played his most European matches for the club. He helped Newcastle reach the UEFA Cup quarter-final and the FA Cup semi-final. In 2005–06, he played in all league matches. He signed a new five-year contract. Given was again named in the Premier League's Team of the Season. He also captained the team for some games.
In September 2006, Given got a serious injury during a game. Doctors said it was like an injury from a car crash. He returned to play in November.
Given played his 400th game for Newcastle on 1 January 2007. He finished the 2006–07 season with 22 league games. His 2007–08 season ended early due to a groin injury. In January 2009, Given asked to leave Newcastle. He wanted to join Manchester City. Newcastle first said no, but then agreed to sell him. Given joined Manchester City on 1 February for £5.9 million.
Moving to Manchester City
Given signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with Manchester City. He said he wanted to join a club that could win trophies. He played his first game for Manchester City on 7 February, keeping a clean sheet.
Given became the number one goalkeeper for the 2009–10 season. He played his 400th league game on 5 October 2009. He saved a penalty against Birmingham City and another against Chelsea. A football writer called him the "Premier League Goalkeeper of the Noughties." His manager, Roberto Mancini, called him "one of the five best goalkeepers in the world." He dislocated his shoulder in April, ending his season.
In August 2010, Given lost his starting spot to Joe Hart. He only played a few games in the 2010–11 season.
Time at Aston Villa
On 18 July 2011, Given joined Aston Villa. He signed a five-year deal. He made his debut for Villa in a friendly game. On 13 August 2011, he played his first Premier League match for Aston Villa. In December, he got a hamstring injury.
In the 2012–13 season, Given lost his starting place to Brad Guzan. However, he played in some FA Cup and League Cup games. In April 2014, Given became a temporary assistant coach for Aston Villa. He played in all of Aston Villa's FA Cup games in 2015. Aston Villa reached the 2015 FA Cup final but lost to Arsenal.
Loan to Middlesbrough
Given joined Middlesbrough on loan in November 2013. He stayed until February 2014. While at Middlesbrough, Given kept ten clean sheets in 16 league games.
Playing for Stoke City
Given signed a two-year contract with Stoke City in July 2015. He was the backup goalkeeper to Jack Butland. He played his first game for Stoke in August 2015. He missed most of the 2015–16 season due to knee surgery.
Given started the 2016–17 season as the main goalkeeper. But he lost his place after a few games. Stoke released him at the end of the season. On 21 April 2018, the day after his 42nd birthday, Given announced he was retiring from professional football.
International Career
Given played for the Republic of Ireland youth teams. He then played five games for the under-21 team. His good performances on loan led to him being called up to the senior Republic of Ireland squad in 1996. He played his first game for Ireland on 27 March 1996 against Russia.
Given became the main goalkeeper for Ireland. He played in all of Ireland's games at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Ireland drew with Cameroon and Germany. They beat Saudi Arabia 3–0. This meant they reached the second round. They played against Spain. The game went to penalties, and Ireland lost.
Given played in most of the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying games. But Ireland did not qualify. He got his 80th cap in 2007. Given played his 100th game for Ireland in October 2009. Ireland then played a play-off against France for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. They were knocked out after a controversial goal by Thierry Henry.
Given was part of the team that qualified for UEFA Euro 2012. He played in the Euro 2012 championship. Ireland was eliminated in the group stage.
Retirement and Comeback
On 13 August 2012, Given announced he was retiring from international football. He said it was an "unforgettable experience." He held the record for the most games played for Ireland at that time.
In January 2013, Given said he was available to play for Ireland again. This was because he wasn't playing much for his club, Aston Villa. In August 2014, he was chosen for the squad again. He played his first game back for Ireland in a 2–0 win against Oman.
On 29 March 2015, Given started a key Euro 2016 qualifying game against Poland. The game ended in a 1–1 draw. In October 2015, Given got a knee injury during a game against Germany. Ireland won that game 1–0.
On 31 May 2016, Given became Ireland's longest-serving player. He had played for his country for over 20 years. He was in the squad for Euro 2016 but did not play in any matches. On 28 July 2016, Given announced his retirement from international football for good. He gave all his international playing fees to charity.
Playing Style
Shay Given was known as one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League. He is also considered one of the best Irish goalkeepers ever. He was quick, athletic, and brave. He had great reflexes and was good at stopping shots. He was also good at controlling his penalty area.
Coaching Career
In June 2018, Given became the goalkeeping coach at Derby County. He worked under manager Frank Lampard. He stayed in this role when Phillip Cocu became manager. In November 2020, Given was part of a group of coaches who took charge temporarily. This happened after Cocu was sacked. Later, Wayne Rooney became the permanent manager. Given then became a first-team coach. He left Derby when the club had financial problems.
Personal Life
Shay Given has been with Rebecca Gibson since 2013. They have two daughters together. In 2006, Given was given the Freedom of County Donegal. This is an honor in his home town of Lifford.
Given has helped raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. His mother passed away from cancer when he was four years old. Because of this, he always tries to help raise money for cancer support. In 2011, Given was very sad during a tribute for his friend and former teammate Gary Speed.
Honours
Sunderland
- Football League First Division: 1995–96
Swindon Town
- Football League Second Division: 1995–96
Newcastle United
- FA Cup: 1997–98; runner-up
- UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2006
Manchester City
- FA Cup: 2010–11
Aston Villa
- FA Cup: 2014–15; runner-up
Republic of Ireland
- Nations Cup: 2011
Individual
- PFA Team of the Year: 2001–02 Premier League, 2005–06 Premier League
- North-East FWA Player of the Year: 2002, 2006
- Newcastle United Player of the Year: 2004–05, 2005–06
- FAI Senior International Player of the Year: 2005, 2006
Images for kids
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Given playing for Manchester City in 2010
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Given stretching during a Newcastle match in 2007
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Given warming up for Newcastle in 2007
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Given playing for Manchester City in 2009
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Given playing for Ireland on 4 September 2015 against Gibraltar
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Given during an interview for the Anything Goes with James English podcast in October 2021
