Stephen Ireland
.jpg)
Ireland playing for Manchester City in 2009
|
|||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Stephen James Ireland | ||
| Date of birth | 22 August 1986 | ||
| Place of birth | Cork, Ireland | ||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Playing position | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
|
Current team
|
Stoke City | ||
| Number | 7 | ||
| 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– | Stoke City | 42 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2005 | Republic of Ireland U21 | 1 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | Republic of Ireland | 6 | (4) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:36, 7 May 2016 (UTC). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21:05, 4 March 2016 (UTC) |
|||
Stephen James Ireland (born 22 August 1986) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Premier League club Stoke City.
Ireland began his career with Cobh Ramblers before joining English club Manchester City in 2001. He made his professional debut in September 2005 and soon established himself as a regular at the City of Manchester Stadium and his performances saw him earn international recognition with Republic of Ireland. However, a row with Steve Staunton saw his international career come to an abrupt end.
In September 2010 Ireland was transferred to Aston Villa in a swap deal with James Milner. After a slow start to his Villa career he was loaned out to Newcastle United where he only played twice. In the 2011–12 season he improved and won the Fans Player of the Season award. However he fell out of the first team under Paul Lambert and in September 2013 he joined Stoke City on loan before making the move permanent in January 2014.
Born in Cork, County Cork, Ireland started his career in Cobh, playing junior football for Cobh Ramblers, a team his father Michael had previously played for. 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.
...
Wikipedia