Stephen Ireland

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Stephen Ireland bigraphy, stories - Irish footballer

Stephen Ireland : biography

22 August 1986 –

Stephen James Ireland (born 22 August 1986 in Cork, Ireland) is an Irish footballer who currently plays as an attacking midfielder for Premier League club Aston Villa.

Club statistics

Club Season League FA Cup League Cup OtherIncludes other competitive competitions, including the UEFA Cup. Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Manchester City 2005–06 24 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 28 0
2006–07 24 1 4 2 1 0 0 0 29 3
2007–08 33 4 3 0 3 0 0 0 39 4
2008–09 35 9 0 0 1 1 14 3 50 13
2009–10 22 2 3 0 5 1 0 0 30 3
Total 138 16 13 2 11 2 14 3 176 23
Aston Villa 2010–11 10 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 12 0
Newcastle United (loan) 2010–11 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Aston Villa 2011–12 24 1 2 0 2 0 0 0 28 1
2012–13 13 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 15 0
Total 47 1 2 0 6 0 0 0 55 1
Career total 187 17 15 2 17 2 14 3 233 24

Club career

Cobh Ramblers

Ireland started his career in Cobh, playing junior football for Cobh Ramblers, a team his father Michael had previously played for. Ireland was captain of the Cork Schoolboys League, Kennedy Cup team in 2000 and was the standout player in that tournament in Limerick in June 2000. In Cork’s first game against Wicklow, which Cork won 2–0, he played against Irish boxer Katie Taylor. As a schoolboy, Ireland had trials with a number of British clubs, though several were discouraged by his Osgood-Schlatter disease, which he suffered from in his mid-teens. He eventually chose Manchester City, where he moved in August 2001, as a fifteen year old.

Manchester City

In 2005, at the age of 18, he joined English Premiership club Manchester City. He played for the first team in a number of pre-season friendlies and made his competitive debut on 18 September 2005 against Bolton Wanderers, coming on as an 81st-minute substitute. He subsequently made his first competitive start against Doncaster Rovers on 21 September 2005. He won the Man of the Match award on his first Premier League start against Everton on 2 October 2005. He then started the next six matches for City, which won him a contract to keep him at the club until 2009. In the remainder of the season he participated in around half of Manchester City’s matches, ending the season with a total of 16 starts and 12 substitute appearances. p479 On 26 December, Ireland scored his first Premier League goal for City, a left footed volley from 20 yards. The goal proved to be the only goal in a vital 1–0 victory at Sheffield United’s Bramall Lane. Ireland’s second goal for City came against Sheffield Wednesday in the third round of FA Cup. His goal, scored just moments before the interval, was created by man of the match Joey Barton in front of 25,000 spectators at the City of Manchester Stadium. City went on to win 2–1.