Darren O'Dea

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Darren O'Dea
Personal information
Full name Darren O'Dea
Date of birth February 4, 1987 (1987-02-04) (age 21)
Place of birth    Dublin, Republic of Ireland
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position Defender
Club information
Current club Celtic
Number 48
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
2005- Celtic 20 (2)   
National team2
2007-
2007-
Republic of Ireland U21
Republic of Ireland
09 (0)
00 (0)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 15:03, 8 October 2007 (UTC).
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 13 May 2008.
* Appearances (Goals)

Darren O'Dea [pronounced oh-dee] (born on 4 February 1987 in Dublin, Ireland) is a professional footballer who plays for Scottish Premier League club Celtic as a left-sided or central defender.

Contents

[edit] Personal Life

Son of John and Anne O'Dea, Darren's mother represented Ireland in basketball.

Darren attended St Aloysius College, Glasgow, before attending Clonkeen College where he played alongside former Wolves youngster Aidan Lyons and played for Home Farm, based in his hometown Dublin, at schoolboy level alongside fellow Irish underage internationals Owen Garvan, Shane Supple and Chris McCann. In 2003, Darren choose to continue his career in Scotland with Celtic, ignoring the advances of Premiership sides Aston Villa, Manchester City and Liverpool.

[edit] Club career

O'Dea made his Celtic debut in the CIS Cup against St Mirren in September 2006.[1] He made his first League appearance two months later as a substitute against Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

He made his first league starting appearance against Dunfermline Athletic in December 2006, just four days after making his Champions League debut against FC Copenhagen as a substitute, replacing the injured Stephen McManus.[2]

He scored his first goal for Celtic against Dundee United on December 26, 2006.[3] He followed that with a goal on January 2, 2007, against Kilmarnock.[4]

O'Dea played an important role for Celtic in the 2006/2007 season. He played more than 10 games and received an SPL winners medal. His most notable of performance was in the Champions League, in the final 16 tie against AC Milan in the San Siro. Celtic held AC Milan before Kaká scored an extra time wondergoal for Milan. After the game, the great Paolo Maldini praised the young central defenders performance. O'Dea currently has a boot deal with Nike.

Young O'Dea impressed so much during this season he was awarded a 3 year contract, with the option of a further year on March 13, 2007.[5]

[edit] International career

O’Dea played for the Irish under 19 and under 21 teams. He was called up to the full international squad within 12 months.[6]

He was called up to the Irish under 21 international squad by manager Don Givens on March 3, 2007[7] However less than a week later he was named in the full international squad for Irelands 2008 European Qualification matches on March 24 and March 28.[8] He is currently the Republic of Ireland under 21 captain.

On May 13th 2008 O'Dea was called into Giovanni Trapattoni's first squad as Ireland manager.[9]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Celtic 2-0 St Mirren", BBC Sport website, 2006-09-19. 
  2. ^ Bright O'Dea is in the zone for Old Firm debut MOIRA GORDON, Scotsman.com, 2006-12-17. Retrieved 2006-12-28.
  3. ^ Celtic 2-2 Dundee Utd BBC Sport Online, 2006-12-26. Retrieved 2006-12-28.
  4. ^ Celts kick-off 2007 with a win Gregor Kyle, Celtic FC - News, 2006-01-02. Retrieved 2006-01-02.
  5. ^ Darren O'Dea signs new deal Newsroom Staff, Celtic FC - News 2007-03-12. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
  6. ^ Staunton introduces two more newcomers for Croke Park matches www.fai.ie, 2007-03-15. Retrieved 2007-03-24.
  7. ^ Darren O'Dea a hit for Celtic and happy to sign an extended contract www.fai.ie, 2007-03-14. Retrieved 2007-03-24.
  8. ^ Keogh comes in for injured Folan BBC Sport Online, 2007-03-14. Retrieved 2007-03-24.
  9. ^ Keeper Kiely in Republic return BBC Sport Online. 2008-05-13. Retrieved 2008-05-15.

[edit] External links