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Steve Staunton
Personal information
Staunton in 2011
Full name	Stephen Staunton
Date of birth	(1969-01-19) 19 January 1969 (age 56)
Place of birth	Dundalk, Ireland
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position	Defender
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1985–1986	Dundalk
1986–1991	Liverpool	65	(0)
1987	→ Bradford City (loan)	8	(0)
1991–1998	Aston Villa	208	(16)
1998–2000	Liverpool	44	(0)
2000	→ Crystal Palace (loan)	6	(1)
2000–2003	Aston Villa	73	(0)
2003–2005	Coventry City	70	(4)
2005	Walsall	7	(0)
Total		481	(21)
National team
1987–1989	Republic of Ireland U21	4	(0)
1988–2002	Republic of Ireland	102	(8)
Teams managed
2006–2007	Republic of Ireland
2009–2010	Darlington
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Stephen "Steve" Staunton (born on January 19, 1969) is an Irish football manager, scout, and former professional player. He played as a defender.

Steve Staunton played for Premier League teams like Aston Villa and Liverpool. He also played for other clubs in the Football League. He earned 102 "caps" (appearances) for the Republic of Ireland national football team. He even captained his country at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. This made him a member of the FIFA Century Club.

After he stopped playing, Staunton became the coach for the Republic of Ireland national football team. He also managed Darlington for a short time. He has worked as a coach at Leeds United and Sunderland.

Steve Staunton's Early Career

Starting in Dundalk

Steve Staunton was born in Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland. He was a talented athlete in many sports. He played Gaelic football for his county's U-16 team. He also won a championship medal with his local club, Clan na Gael. He played soccer for his hometown club, Dundalk.

Joining Liverpool F.C.

Liverpool noticed Staunton when he was 17. He was playing for Dundalk in Ireland. On September 2, 1986, manager Kenny Dalglish signed him for £20,000.

Staunton spent his first two seasons playing for Liverpool's reserve team. He also went on loan to Bradford City for eight games in the 1987–88 season. He filled in for an injured player there.

His First Liverpool Games

Staunton played his first game for Liverpool on September 17, 1988. It was a 1–1 league draw against Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield. He played so well that he stayed in the team for the rest of the season. This was impressive because he was very young and the team was defending a league title.

He scored his first goal for Liverpool three days later, on September 20. However, his goal was not enough to win the Centenary Trophy semi-final. Arsenal won that game 2–1.

An injury to captain Alan Hansen moved another player, Gary Ablett, to central defense. This gave Staunton his chance to play. He became a strong and reliable player in a team full of stars.

The Hillsborough Disaster

After the Hillsborough disaster on April 15, 1989, Staunton helped comfort the families who lost loved ones. He attended many funerals. He played very well when the FA Cup semi-final was replayed. Liverpool beat Nottingham Forest 3–1.

Staunton played in the FA Cup Final at Wembley. Liverpool beat their rivals Everton 3–2. However, Liverpool lost the league title to Arsenal in the very last game of the season. Arsenal scored in the final seconds to win 2–0.

Winning the League Title

The next year, Staunton played often as Liverpool won the league title again. He scored his first goals for Liverpool in a special way on October 4, 1989. He came on as a substitute in a League Cup game against Wigan Athletic and scored three goals!

In the 1990–91 season, he scored two more goals. This was his last season with Liverpool for a while. On August 7, 1991, Aston Villa signed him for £1.1 million.

Playing for Aston Villa

Staunton in 1995.

Staunton made a great start at Aston Villa. He scored a goal in his first game on August 17, 1991. Villa beat Sheffield Wednesday 3–2. He quickly became a regular player in Villa's defense.

In the 1992–93 season, he helped the club challenge for the title in the first Premier League season. Villa finished second, behind Manchester United.

Winning the League Cup

The next season, he won a League Cup medal. Villa beat Manchester United 3–1, stopping them from winning three trophies that year. This League Cup medal meant he had won all the main domestic trophies.

In the 1995–96 season, Staunton won another League Cup medal. He was a substitute in the 3–0 win over Leeds United. However, injuries limited his playing time that year.

For the next two seasons, he played regularly in defense. He helped Villa reach the UEFA Cup quarter-finals in 1996–97. He also scored from a corner kick during his time at Villa.

Back to Anfield

On July 3, 1998, Staunton made a surprising move back to Liverpool. He joined them for free after his contract with Villa ended.

On September 27, 1999, during a game against Everton, Staunton played the last 15 minutes in goal. This happened because Liverpool's goalkeeper was sent off, and they had no more substitutes. He scored once in his second time at Liverpool.

His second period at Liverpool lasted two years. After a short loan spell at Crystal Palace, he played his last game for Liverpool on November 23, 2000. It was a 2–2 draw against Olympiakos in the UEFA Cup.

Returning to Villa Park

On December 7, 2000, he joined Aston Villa again for free. He played in 14 league games that season and then regularly for two more seasons. He scored once in his second time at Villa, in an Intertoto Cup game.

Playing for Coventry City and Walsall

Coventry City

Staunton continued his club career with Coventry City. He moved there on August 15, 2003, for free. He played his first game on August 16, 2003, a 0–0 draw against Walsall. He stayed with Coventry until 2005, playing 75 games.

Walsall F.C.

Staunton joined Walsall on August 2, 2005. He played only 10 games for Walsall. He also worked as an assistant coach there. On January 16, 2006, he became the manager of the Republic of Ireland national team. His last game as a professional footballer was on New Year's Eve 2005. Walsall beat Blackpool 2–0. This ended his 20-year playing career.

International Career Highlights

Staunton played his first game for the Republic of Ireland in a 4–0 win over Tunisia. He went to Italy with Jack Charlton's team for Ireland's first ever FIFA World Cup finals. Staunton was the youngest player. He played in every match as Ireland reached the quarter-finals, where they lost to the host nation, Italy.

He also played for the Republic of Ireland at the FIFA World Cup 1994 in the United States. He played in every game again. Ireland lost in the second round to the Netherlands.

Ireland did not qualify for Euro 96 or the 1998 World Cup. However, Staunton was still a regular player for the team.

Captain at the 2002 World Cup

The Republic of Ireland qualified for the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan and South Korea. Staunton captained the Irish team in the playoff against Iran. Coach Mick McCarthy chose him for the squad and made him captain after Roy Keane left the team.

Staunton played in every game for Ireland at the tournament. On June 5, the 1–1 draw against Germany was a special day. He became the first Irishman to play 100 games for his country. He and Gary Breen formed a strong defense in front of goalkeeper Shay Given.

Ireland's journey ended in the second round. They lost to Spain in a penalty shoot-out after a 1–1 draw. Staunton announced his retirement from international football right after. He finished with a national record of 102 appearances. He is the only player to have played in all 13 of Ireland's World Cup finals games.

He scored directly from corner kicks twice. The first was in a 2–0 win over Portugal in 1992. The second was in a 3–0 win over Northern Ireland in 1993.

Steve Staunton as a Manager

Managing the National Team

After Ireland failed to reach the 2006 FIFA World Cup, manager Brian Kerr left. The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) looked for a new manager. On January 13, 2006, Staunton was officially named as the new coach. Former England manager Sir Bobby Robson supported him as an International Consultant. This was a surprise choice because Staunton had little coaching experience.

His first game as manager was a great start. Ireland beat Sweden 3–0 on March 1, 2006. Staunton called it "a bit of a fairytale." But after this, Ireland lost two friendly games. They lost 1–0 to Chile and then 4–0 to Holland. The 4–0 loss was Ireland's worst home defeat in 40 years.

Challenges and Difficulties

Before the Holland game, a man threatened Staunton outside the team hotel. The man had an imitation gun. This was a bad moment for Staunton and the FAI. Later, the FAI made another mistake. They sent news of a player's recall to his old club instead of his new one.

Staunton's first competitive game was a 1–0 loss to Germany. Staunton was sent off for kicking a water bottle. Things got worse on October 7, 2006. Ireland lost 5–2 to Cyprus. This defeat put a lot of pressure on Staunton. Many people called for him to resign.

Ireland then drew 1–1 with the Czech Republic. This eased some of the pressure. Staunton was emotional after a 5–0 win over San Marino. This was the last game played on the old Lansdowne Road pitch. In the return game, Ireland needed a goal in injury time to beat San Marino 2–1. This close call against a low-ranked team led to more calls for Staunton to resign.

Ireland then had two 1–0 home wins against Wales and Slovakia. These wins brought them closer to qualifying for Euro 2008. They also won 4–0 against Denmark in a friendly. Staunton was happy with these results.

End of His Time as Manager

However, these wins did not last. In September, an injury-hit Ireland lost five points from two games. Their qualifying campaign effectively ended. They drew 2–2 with Slovakia after giving up a late goal. Four days later, on September 12, they lost 1–0 to the Czech Republic. This hurt their chances even more. A 0–0 draw with Germany and a 1–1 draw with Cyprus meant Ireland would not play in the 2008 European Championship.

Fans were unhappy. Many experts said Staunton's time was almost over. The FAI held a meeting on October 23 to discuss his position. Staunton refused to resign. He wanted to finish his four-year contract.

On October 23, 2007, the FAI met with Staunton in secret. After six hours of discussion, it was confirmed that Staunton's 21-month time as manager had ended. Don Givens took over temporarily. Later, Giovanni Trapattoni became the new manager.

Coaching at Leeds United

On February 4, 2008, Staunton joined Leeds United as assistant manager to Gary McAllister. In his first month, Leeds did not win a game. They finally won 1–0 against Swindon Town on March 1. When McAllister was fired in December 2008, Staunton also left the club.

Managing Darlington F.C.

Staunton then became a scout for Wolverhampton Wanderers. On October 5, 2009, he was announced as the new manager of Darlington. His contract was until the end of the season. He lost his first game 2–0. On March 21, 2010, Staunton was fired as Darlington manager. The team was at the bottom of the league and facing relegation. He had won only four of his 23 league games.

Scouting for Sunderland

Staunton then got a job as a scout at Sunderland on August 22, 2011. However, he left this role in 2013.

Honours and Achievements

Liverpool

Football League First Division: 1989–90
FA Cup: 1988–89
FA Charity Shield: 1988, 1990 (shared)

Aston Villa

Football League Cup: 1993–94, 1995–96

Individual Awards

FAI Senior International Player of the Year: 1993
FAI Young International Player of the Year: 1989

Images for kids

Staunton in 2011
Staunton in 1995