Aiden McGeady
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| Aiden McGeady | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Aiden McGeady | |
| Date of birth | 4 April 1986 | |
| Place of birth | Glasgow, Scotland | |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | |
| Playing position | Winger | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Celtic | |
| Number | 46 | |
| Youth clubs | ||
2001–2004 |
Queen's Park Celtic |
|
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 2004– | Celtic | 133 (22) |
| National team2 | ||
| 2006–2007 2004– |
Republic of Ireland U21 Republic of Ireland |
7 (1) 22 (0) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Aiden McGeady (born 4 April 1986 in Glasgow) is a professional footballer who currently plays for Celtic. Born and raised in Scotland to Irish parents, he represents the Republic of Ireland, his grandmother's country of birth, at international level. He plays as both a left and right winger.
Contents |
[edit] Club career
The Celtic support had heard exciting rumours about McGeady's potential, and he was handed his debut as an 18-year-old against Hearts at Tynecastle, late in the 2003/04 season, after progressing through the Celtic youth and reserve teams. He made his UEFA Champions League debut the next season in a game against Serie A giants AC Milan.
Since then, McGeady's career at Celtic Park has continued to improve under the current manager, Gordon Strachan. McGeady's season was hampered by a persistent knee injury, but he played a significant role in Celtic's second title winning season under Gordon Strachan, contributing 5 goals and 7 assists.
The 2007/08 season was better for McGeady earning him praise from the media.[1] This has been underlined by his some good displays throughout the season. One of his most devastating performances came against Aberdeen, scoring a goal and contributing three assists, setting up a second goal for striker Scott McDonald. He continued to provide goals for his team, most importantly Scott McDonald's equalising goal against rivals Rangers, a match that Celtic went on to win 3–2. A win which proved to be crucial in Celtic successful defence of their title.
He was awarded the SPFA Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year on 20 April 2008, only the second player ever to receive both awards in the same season, as voted by his fellow players. He contributed seven SPL goals and nineteen assists, as Celtic won the SPL, winning three titles in a row for the first time since Jock Stein was manager and was one of five players who scored a hat-trick in the 2007/08 season.
On 16 December 2008, Gordon Strachan fined McGeady two weeks' wages and suspended him for the club's next two fixtures due to a breach of club discipline.[2]
[edit] International career
McGeady played for Scotland Schools while at Queen's Park. He then joined Celtic who had recently introduced a policy of not allowing their youths to play for their school teams.[3] At the time Scotland had a rule, which has since been changed, that should a young player not play for their school team they would not be considered for a call-up to Scotland Schools selects. The Republic of Ireland, who had no such rule, instructed Packie Bonner, who knew of McGeady's Irish lineage, to invite McGeady to play for the Republic of Ireland Under-15 Schoolboys team, and he has since gone on to be a full Republic of Ireland international. Tommy Burns, Celtic's former Head of Youth Development and First team Coach, stated that McGeady's father wanted him to play for Scotland but, despite his father's urgings, McGeady still decided to play for the Republic of Ireland.[4] McGeady regularly receives racist abuse from fans over his choice to play for Ireland.
McGeady was even named in a Scotland under-16 squad but, despite attempts to persuade him to do so by the likes of then Scotland head coach Berti Vogts, the player declined to represent the Scots.[5] McGeady made his full début for the Republic of Ireland in June 2004 against Jamaica, and he has since gone on to win 22 caps for Ireland.
[edit] Statistics
[edit] Career statistics
- As of 11 December 2008.
| Club | Season | League | Scottish Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | ||
| Celtic | 2003/04 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 2004/05 | 27 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 37 | 5 | |
| 2005/06 | 20 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 4 | |
| 2006/07 | 34 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 46 | 5 | |
| 2007/08 | 36 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 51 | 8 | |
| 2008/09 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 3 | |
| Total | 132 | 22 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 24 | 2 | 179 | 26 | |
Last updated 5 October 2008
| Season | Club | Competition | Apps | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003/04 | Celtic |  Scottish Premier League |
4 | 1 | 1 |
| 2004/05 | Celtic | Scottish Premier League |
27 | 4 | 7 |
| 2005/06 | Celtic | Scottish Premier League |
20 | 4 | 5 |
| 2006/07 | Celtic | Scottish Premier League |
34 | 5 | 7 |
| 2007/08 | Celtic | Scottish Premier League |
34 | 7 | 19 |
| 2008/09 | Celtic | Scottish Premier League |
9 | 1 | 5 |
| Total | 128 | 23 | 45 | ||
[edit] Honours
[edit] Club
- Celtic
- Scottish Premier League (2006, 2007, 2008)
- Scottish League Cup (2006)
- Scottish Cup (2005, 2007)
[edit] Minor
- Reserve Scottish Premier League (2002, 2003, 2004)
- Under 19 Scottish Premier League (2003, 2004)
- Scottish Youth Cup (2003)
[edit] Individual
- Celtic FC Young Player of the Year (2005, 2006, 2007)
- Celtic FC Player of the Year (2008)
- SPFA Players Player of the Year (2008)
- SPFA Player of the Year (2008)
- BBC Sportsound Player of the Year (2008)
- Clydesdale Bank Young Player of the Year (2008)
- Scottish Premier League Player of the Month (5)
- Scottish Premier League Young Player of the Month (6)
[edit] Trivia
- His Father John McGeady played for Sheffield Utd and Newport County amongst other clubs. His father also owns the company John McGeady LTD who are Civil Engineering Contractors.
[edit] References
- ^ Chick Young's View BBC Sport, 11 February 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2008.
- ^ McGeady handed Celtic suspension BBC Sport, 16 December 2008. Retrieved 16 December 2008.
- ^ Bhoy who would be king The Times, 4 April 2004.
- ^ No U-turn for McGeady
- ^ Who’s to blame in sorry tale of the one that got away?
[edit] External links
- Aiden McGeady career stats at Soccerbase
- Aiden McGeady's Official Website at officialplayerwebsites.com
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