Phil O'Donnell (footballer)

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For other persons named Phil O'Donnell, see Phil O'Donnell (disambiguation).
Phil O'Donnell
Personal information
Full name Phillip O'Donnell
Date of birth 25 March 1972(1972-03-25)
Place of birth    Bellshill, Scotland
Date of death    29 December 2007 (aged 35)
Place of death    Wishaw, Scotland
Playing position Midfielder
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1990–1994
1994–1999
1999–2003
2004–2007		 Motherwell
Celtic
Sheffield Wednesday
Motherwell
Total		 112 (15)
089 (16)
020 0(1)
077 0(8)
298 (40)   
National team
1992–1993
1994		 Scotland U-21
Scotland		 008 0(?)
001 0(0)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only.
* Appearances (Goals)

Phillip "Phil" O'Donnell (25 March 1972 – 29 December 2007) was a Scottish football player. O'Donnell played for Motherwell, Celtic and Sheffield Wednesday over the course of his career. He died from a cardiac arrest after collapsing on the pitch on 29 December 2007.[1]

Contents

[edit] Career

He was born on 25 March 1972 in Bellshill, North Lanarkshire, a few miles away from Motherwell’s Fir Park ground.[2] O'Donnell began his career with his local team, making his first team debut in the 1990–91 season against St Mirren, and soon a regular first team player. He won a Scottish Cup winner's medal after scoring with a diving header in a 4–3 victory over Dundee United in the final that year. Ally McCoist commentating on the match describing him as being "brave as a lion".[3] That result earned Motherwell entry to European competition for the first time and O'Donnell became the club's youngest player in Europe, playing a tie against Polish side GKS Katowice.[4] He won the Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year Award in 1992 and 1994, and he earned one cap for the Scotland national football team, playing for 15 minutes as a substitute against Switzerland on 8 September 1993, replacing David Bowman.[5] This form made him a target for bigger clubs and he signed for Celtic in September 1994. The fee of £1.75m is the highest Motherwell have received for a player.[4]

O'Donnell scored two goals in his debut for Celtic against Partick Thistle, and went on to win another Scottish Cup in 1995. He also earned his sole league winner's medal with the club in 1998, but injuries proved to be a major concern and his appearances for the club were limited. In 1999 O'Donnell was among a number of players who failed to agree terms on a new contract with Celtic chairman Fergus McCann, and instead signed for Sheffield Wednesday.[6] He made his debut against Everton on 11 September 1999, but injuries continued to curtail his career and he played just one match during his first season (when the club were relegated from the Premier League). He went on to play just 20 times in four years for Sheffield Wednesday and was given a free transfer at the time of their relegation to Division Two in 2003.

O'Donnell returned to Scotland where former club Motherwell offered him the chance to train with them again. The Fir Park outfit re-signed him in January 2004, allowing him the chance to appear alongside his nephew, David Clarkson and earning him the club nickname, "Uncle Phil".[2] He was also the uncle of St Mirren midfielder Stephen O'Donnell and Brian Dempsie who had also played for Motherwell. In his second spell at Motherwell he appeared in another cup final, this time being on the losing side as Rangers won the 2005 Scottish League Cup 5–1. The following season he replaced Scott Leitch as club captain.

[edit] Honours

[edit] Awards

[edit] Death

On 29 December 2007, O'Donnell collapsed during a game against Dundee United just as he was about to be substituted. He was treated on the pitch for about five minutes by the Motherwell and Dundee United club doctors before being taken by ambulance to Wishaw General Hospital. However, he was pronounced dead at 17.18 hours.[7][8] He was 35 years of age, married and had four children.[2]

A postmortem examination was carried out on 1 January 2008 and it was revealed O'Donnell died of left ventricular failure.[9] His funeral was on 4 January, at St Mary's church in Hamilton.[10]

[edit] Tributes

Former Scottish First Minister Jack McConnell, MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw, was among those to pay tribute. He hailed the midfielder as a "great professional." He said, "as captain he helped transform Motherwell this season. Phil will be sadly missed by his family and by football fans but he will be mourned by the whole community."

The player was described as a "perfect gentleman" by former Scotland coach Craig Brown. He said: "It's very, very sad news, I just can't get over it. You would not get a more ideal role model for a young footballer than Phil O'Donnell. I think in his first spell at Motherwell he was probably the best box-to-box midfield player – maybe not just in Scotland but in the UK."

Motherwell and other fans laid flowers, scarves, strips and other mementos at the gates of Fir Park.[3] The club's scheduled SPL game against Hibs at Easter Road the following Wednesday was postponed along with the club's home game with Celtic the following Sunday out of respect. Scottish Premier League chairman Lex Gold said: "We understand from Phil's family that they would appreciate it if the Motherwell v Celtic game scheduled for 6 January 2008 could be postponed. Both clubs are happy to meet the request and we have called the game off."[11] On 31 December the SPL postponed the Celtic v Rangers fixture scheduled for 2 January 2008 following a request by O'Donnell's former club Celtic, which was agreed by Rangers.[12]

Players in 30 December's English Premier League matches between Derby County and Blackburn Rovers, and Manchester City and Liverpool F.C., wore black bands in his honour. Sheffield Wednesday's matches at Hull City and at home to Preston North End were preceded by a minutes applause as a mark of respect to their former player, with the Hillsborough flags flying at half mast.[13] All English Premiership ties in the New Year programme were preceded with either a minute of applause or silence in O'Donnell's memory. Everton and Scottish striker James McFadden, who played with O'Donnell at Motherwell, dedicated his goal to O'Donnell in Everton's 2–0 win at Middlesbrough by pointing solemnly to his black armband and then towards the sky.[14]

Thousands of tributes from around the world have been posted on the internet.[15] Motherwellfc.co.uk has received hundreds of written tributes from fans as far as Korea and Ukraine, as well as many emotional messages from Sevilla F.C., comparing O'Donnell's death to the similar tragedy of Antonio Puerta earlier in the season. Sevilla F.C. director of football Ramon Rodríguez Monchi said, "This is terrible news. Right now, my thoughts are with Phil's family and everybody at Motherwell. Unfortunately, with the death of Phil O'Donnell, Motherwell have suffered a similar tragedy to ours. Antonio Puerta died at the beginning of the season and I know how terrible the whole experience is. Sevilla will be available to help in any way that we are able, to heal the pain and sadness of this tragic loss."[16][17]

Motherwell announced the Main Stand at Fir Park will be renamed The Phil O'Donnell Stand as a permanent tribute[18]and Phil's team-mates will pay their own personal tribute by having his signature embroidered on their strips for the remainder of the 2007/08 season.[19]

On 25 May 2008 a benefit match was held at Celtic Park in memory of O'Donnell with the proceeds going to various charities. The match was between a Celtic F.C. side drawn from their 1998 title winning squad and a Motherwell F.C. side drawn from their 1991 Scottish Cup win. Other players such as David Clarkson and James McFadden played in the game. Henrik Larsson described the match as "a sad occasion but at the same time it's a kind of celebration for everything." The match finished 5-1, in front of 60,000. [20]

[edit] Career statistics

All-Time Club Performance
Country Club Season Domestic League FA Cup League Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Flag of Scotland Motherwell 1990–94 124 15 12 2 6 0 142 17
Flag of Scotland Celtic 1994–99 90 15 16 4 7 0 103 19
Flag of England Sheffield Wednesday 1999–04 20 0 0 0 5 1 25 1
Flag of Scotland Motherwell 2004–07 77 8 4 0 8 2 89 10
Career Totals[1] 311 38 32 6 26 3 359 47

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Scotland's O'Donnell dies after match, TSN (2007-12-30).
  2. ^ a b c Phil O'Donnell: 1972-2007, BBC News, 30 December 2007
  3. ^ a b McLeod, Keith. Grief Of Family, Fans And Stars For Phil O'Donnell, The Daily Record (2007-12-31).
  4. ^ a b Martin Hannan, A model professional, a great club ambassador, Scotland on Sunday, 30 December, 2007
  5. ^ Scottish National Teams - Match Details, SFA
  6. ^ Alan Campbell, Celtic set to lose out on Phil, Sunday Herald, 14 February, 1999
  7. ^ "Statement on Phil O'Donnell", Motherwell F.C., 2007-12-29. Retrieved on 2007-12-29. 
  8. ^ "Motherwell captain O'Donnell dies", BBC Sport, 2007-12-29. Retrieved on 2007-12-29. 
  9. ^ Footballer died of heart failure, BBC News (2008-01-01).
  10. ^ "Family and fans mourn O'Donnell", BBC News, 4 January 2008. Retrieved on 2008-01-20. 
  11. ^ Motherwell postpone Celtic match. BBC Sport (2007-12-30)
  12. ^ Old Firm match postponed by SPL BBC Sport (2007-12-31)
  13. ^ Manchester City v Liverpool match report, Manchester City official website.
  14. ^ Caulkin, George. James McFadden tears bring sense of perspective to Everton’s ascent, The Times (2008-01-02).
  15. ^ Ferguson, John.O'Donnell Tributes From Fans Around World, Daily Record (2007-12-31).
  16. ^ Halliday, Stephen. Motherwell players offered counselling to deal with tragedy, The Scotsman (2008-01-01).
  17. ^ Rose, Gareth. Scots football star dies in pitch tragedy, Scotsman (2007-12-30).
  18. ^ Main Stand renamed after Phil O'Donnell, Motherwell F.C. (2008-01-11).
  19. ^ Embroidered tribute to Phil O'Donnell, Motherwell F.C. (2008-01-11).
  20. ^ BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Celtic | Larsson takes time for O'Donnell

[edit] External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by
Eoin Jess		 Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year
1992		 Succeeded by
Eoin Jess
Preceded by
Eoin Jess		 Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year
1994		 Succeeded by
Charlie Miller