Stephen Ireland facts for kids
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Ireland playing for Manchester City in 2009
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Stephen James Ireland | ||
| Date of birth | 22 August 1986 | ||
| Place of birth | Cork, Ireland | ||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1994–2001 | Cobh Ramblers | ||
| 2001–2005 | Manchester City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2005–2010 | Manchester City | 138 | (16) |
| 2010–2014 | Aston Villa | 47 | (1) |
| 2011 | → Newcastle United (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 2013–2014 | → Stoke City (loan) | 13 | (2) |
| 2014–2018 | Stoke City | 46 | (0) |
| 2018 | Bolton Wanderers | 0 | (0) |
| Total | 246 | (19) | |
| International career | |||
| 2005 | Republic of Ireland U21 | 1 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | Republic of Ireland | 6 | (4) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Stephen James Ireland (born on 22 August 1986) is a former professional footballer from Ireland. He played as an attacking midfielder, which is a player who helps both defend and attack.
Stephen started his football journey as a young player with Cobh Ramblers. When he was 15, in 2001, he joined the English club Manchester City. He made his first professional appearance in September 2005. Soon, he became a regular player at the City of Manchester Stadium, which is Manchester City's home ground.
In the 2008–09 season, a new group called the Abu Dhabi United Group took over Manchester City. This led the club to buy many new players, like Robinho and Vincent Kompany. Even with these new stars, Stephen Ireland was a very important player for Manchester City that season. He was even named the club's Player of the Year.
However, things changed for Stephen when manager Mark Hughes was replaced by Roberto Mancini in December 2009. Stephen didn't play as much after that. In September 2010, he moved to Aston Villa as part of a player swap deal involving James Milner. After a slow start at Villa, he was loaned to Newcastle United, but he only played two games there.
In the 2011–12 season, Stephen's performance improved a lot at Aston Villa. Fans even voted him their Player of the Season. But he later found himself out of the main team under manager Paul Lambert. In September 2013, he joined Stoke City on loan. This move became permanent in January 2014. After leaving Stoke in 2018, he had a short time at Bolton Wanderers before he stopped playing professional football.
Because he played so well for Manchester City early in his career, Stephen was called up to play for the Republic of Ireland. But his international career ended suddenly in 2007 after a disagreement with the national team manager, Steve Staunton.
Contents
Stephen Ireland's Football Journey
Starting Out in Football
Stephen Ireland was born in Cork, County Cork, Ireland. He began his football career in Cobh, playing for a junior team called Cobh Ramblers. His father, Michael, had also played for this team. As a schoolboy, Stephen had tryouts with several clubs in Britain. Some clubs were worried because he had a growth condition called Osgood-Schlatter disease when he was a teenager. In August 2001, when he was fifteen, he decided to join Manchester City.
Time at Manchester City
In 2005, at 18 years old, Stephen joined the main team at Manchester City. He played in some friendly matches before the season started. His first official game was on 18 September 2005, against Bolton Wanderers. He came into the game as a substitute in the 81st minute. A few days later, on 21 September, he made his first start in a competitive match against Doncaster Rovers.
Stephen was named the Man of the Match in his first Premier League start against Everton on 2 October. He then started the next six games for City, which earned him a new contract to stay with the club until 2009. For the rest of that season, he played in about half of Manchester City's matches. On 26 December, Stephen scored his first Premier League goal for City. It was a powerful shot from about 20 yards away. This goal was the only one in a very important 1–0 win against Sheffield United.
Stephen started the 2007–08 Premier League season well. He scored the only goal in a 1–0 home win against Sunderland. His goal celebration caused some talk because he showed off his Superman logo underpants. The Football Association (FA) decided to give him a warning. Later that season, he was sent off in a game against Tottenham Hotspur, which meant he couldn't play for three matches. He finished the 2007–08 season with four goals.
In the 2008–09 season, Stephen played very well. He helped his team win 3–0 against West Ham United by setting up two goals. He scored his first goal of the season against Sunderland. He also scored two goals in a 2–2 draw against Hull City. By scoring in a 2–1 win over Everton, Stephen reached 13 goals for the season.
On 20 May 2009, he was named Manchester City's Senior Player of the Year for the 2008–09 season. He also signed a new five-year contract, keeping him at the club until 2014. He was later named the Greater Manchester Player of the Year. He scored his first goal of the 2009–10 season in a 2–0 win against Blackburn Rovers.
In December 2009, Mark Hughes was no longer the manager. Roberto Mancini took over. With other players like Nigel de Jong, Vincent Kompany, and Patrick Vieira playing well, Stephen spent most of the second half of the season as a substitute. By the end of the 2009–10 season, he had only scored three goals. Mancini said Stephen needed to "change his head" to play more.
Moving to Aston Villa
At the start of the 2010–11 Premier League season, Stephen was part of a transfer deal to Aston Villa. This deal involved James Milner moving to Manchester City. Stephen signed a four-year contract with Aston Villa. He made his debut for the club on his 24th birthday in a game against Newcastle United. Villa lost that game 6–0. By October 2010, Stephen was not playing for Villa as much. Manager Gérard Houllier said he needed to work harder.
On 31 January 2011, Stephen joined Newcastle United on loan until the end of the season. He was already injured when he joined Newcastle and had more problems. He finally played his first game on 19 April 2011, in a 0–0 draw with Manchester United. He only played twice for Newcastle, for a total of 49 minutes, before an ankle injury ended his season. He then returned to Aston Villa.
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At the start of the 2011–12 season, Stephen wanted to stay at Aston Villa and earn his place under the new manager, Alex McLeish. He also took over the number 7 jersey from Ashley Young. On 31 December 2011, Stephen scored his first goal for Villa in a 3–1 win against Chelsea. He scored the first goal and helped with the third, earning him the man of the match award. At the end of the season, Aston Villa fans voted him their Player of the Season.
In the 2012–13 season, Stephen broke a bone in his wrist during a game against Southampton. This injury kept him out for a few weeks. Later, manager Paul Lambert left Stephen out of the team for "footballing reasons." At the end of the season, it seemed likely Stephen would leave the club.
Time at Stoke City
On 2 September 2013, Stephen joined Stoke City on loan for the 2013–14 season. This meant he would work with his former manager, Mark Hughes, again. Stephen was hopeful that this loan would help him restart his career. He said he was "dying to get back into the swing of things."
Stephen made his Stoke debut on 14 September 2013, in a 0–0 draw against his old club, Manchester City. He scored his first goal for Stoke on 25 September 2013, in a 2–0 League Cup win against Tranmere Rovers. On 14 January 2014, his move to Stoke became permanent. He signed a new three-year contract with Stoke on 15 April 2014. Stephen played 29 games in the 2013–14 season, helping Stoke finish in 9th place.
In the 2014–15 season, Stephen scored two goals in the FA Cup against Wrexham. He also scored in the next round against Rochdale. On 28 February 2015, he got a deep cut on his calf during a game, which needed 15 stitches.
Stephen didn't play much in the 2015–16 season. He made 16 appearances, but only three were starts. On 10 May 2016, he broke his leg during training, which kept him out of action for a long time. Stephen missed the entire 2016–17 season because of this injury. In July 2017, he signed a six-month contract extension to help him recover. He signed another extension in December. Stephen only played five games in the 2017–18 season, which saw Stoke get relegated to the EFL Championship. He was released by Stoke at the end of that season.
Short Spell at Bolton Wanderers
On 9 October 2018, Stephen joined EFL Championship team Bolton Wanderers. However, on 20 December 2018, Stephen left Bolton without playing any first-team games. He did play two matches for Bolton's reserve team. Stephen later said in 2020 that he regretted joining Bolton because the club was having financial problems. He believed he didn't play because his contract included bonuses for playing games.
Playing for Ireland
Early International Games
Stephen represented the Republic of Ireland at different youth levels, including under-15, under-16, and under-17. When he was called up to the under-18 team, he had a disagreement with coach Brian Kerr. Stephen was left out of a game in his hometown of Cobh and told to watch from the stands. After the team lost, Kerr suggested Stephen would play in the next game. But when Stephen was left out again, he asked to go back to his club. Kerr then told him he would never play for the Republic of Ireland while Kerr was manager.
In January 2006, Kerr was replaced by Steve Staunton as the manager of the Republic of Ireland senior team. Stephen was called up to the senior squad for the first time for a match against Sweden on 1 March. He came on as a substitute in that game, which Ireland won 3–0. He scored his first international goal on 7 October in a 5–2 loss to Cyprus. On 7 February 2007, he scored in the last few seconds of a game against San Marino, helping Ireland win 2–1.
On 24 March 2007, Stephen scored the first ever football goal in Croke Park against Wales. This was his third international goal in four matches. He also scored in a 2–2 home draw against Slovakia on 8 September.
A Difficult Situation
In September 2007, after the Slovakia game, Stephen asked to leave the team for a family emergency, saying he needed to attend a grandmother's funeral.
The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) helped him return home. However, the FAI later found out that the reason he gave was not true. Stephen then gave other reasons, which also turned out to be incorrect. On 14 September, he apologized and explained that the false claims were made by his girlfriend. She had told the manager the false reasons so that Stephen would be allowed to go home. This incident led to the end of his international career.
Not Returning to the National Team
There was talk that Stephen might return to the national team in 2009. However, when the squad was announced, his name was not on the list. The team's coaches said that Stephen had to let them know when he felt ready to play again, and he hadn't done so.
In May 2009, Stephen said he probably wouldn't return to the national team. He stated, "I don't think I'll ever go back." In August 2010, he repeated that he would not return. He said watching Ireland matches didn't make him feel like he should play again.
On 30 March 2012, Stephen suggested he might be willing to play for Ireland again after Euro 2012. In May 2014, after the Republic of Ireland manager Martin O'Neill tried to contact him several times, Stephen's agent told the FAI that he would not be available for upcoming friendly matches.
In an interview in 2019, Stephen explained that the main reason he never returned to play for the Republic of Ireland was to take care of his children.
Stephen Ireland's Life Outside Football
Stephen Ireland is married and has three children. He used to own a home in Prestbury, Cheshire, and had several custom-built cars. After his contract with Bolton Wanderers ended, he sold his home in 2019. Stephen also has many tattoos, including a large pair of angel wings on his back.
After he stopped playing football, Stephen became a football agent. He has helped young players from Cork City move to bigger clubs. For example, he helped Cathal Heffernan move to A.C. Milan and Mark O'Mahony move to Brighton & Hove Albion.
Career Statistics Summary
Stephen Ireland played a total of 246 league games in his career, scoring 19 goals. Across all competitions, he played 305 games and scored 30 goals.
International Goals
Stephen Ireland scored 4 goals for the Republic of Ireland national team.
- 1. 7 October 2006 vs. Cyprus (UEFA Euro 2008 qualification)
- 2. 7 February 2007 vs. San Marino (UEFA Euro 2008 qualification)
- 3. 24 March 2007 vs. Wales (UEFA Euro 2008 qualification)
- 4. 8 September 2007 vs. Slovakia (UEFA Euro 2008 qualification)
Awards and Achievements
Individual Awards
- FAI Young International Player of the Year: 2007
- Manchester City Player of the Season: 2009
- Aston Villa Supporters' Player of the Season: 2012
Images for kids
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Ireland training with Manchester City in 2008
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Ireland playing for Aston Villa in 2012
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Ireland playing for Stoke City in 2015
See also
In Spanish: Stephen Ireland para niños
