Shaun Maloney
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| Shaun Maloney | ||
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Shaun Richard Maloney | |
| Date of birth | January 24, 1983 | |
| Place of birth | Malaysia | |
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | |
| Playing position | Attacking Midfielder/Winger/Striker | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Aston Villa | |
| Number | 28 | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| 1999–2001 | Celtic | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 2001–2007 2007– |
Celtic Aston Villa |
103 (26) 30 (5) |
| National team2 | ||
| 2002–2005 2005– |
Scotland U21 Scotland |
20 (6) 11 (1) |
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1 Senior club appearances and goals |
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Shaun Richard Maloney (born January 24, 1983 in Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia) is a Scottish international footballer occasionally playing for Premiership club Aston Villa F.C. He plays as an attacking midfielder or striker and occasionally as a right winger, and is known for his set-piece accuracy and confidence when shooting from a distance.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
His family moved to his mother's home-town of Aberdeen, Scotland when Maloney was 5 years old. At a young age, Maloney found a love for sport, particularly football and tennis. By the age of 10, he had joined his first football club, Kincorth Boys' Club. He played regularly for his Primary School Team, St. Joseph's. At 12, he moved to Culter Boys' Club then at 14, to Albion Boys' Club. He played a number of games for Cults Academy, where he was a student.
[edit] Club career
[edit] Celtic
After joining Celtic team as a trainee in 1999, he made his first team debut on April 29, 2001 against Rangers at Ibrox Stadium. Celtic went on to win the game 3 - 0. He spent the next few years trying to break into the first team, spending most of his time as a substitute.
In February 2004, Maloney picked up a cruciate ligament injury while playing for the Scotland U21 team. He returned from the injury late on in season 2004/2005, starting only one game in that season.
Maloney was in lethal form for Celtic in the 2005/2006 season after being moved from a striking position to the left of midfield by manager Gordon Strachan. His displays received praise from players, fans and the media throughout the year, and in recognition of his excellent season he was awarded both the SPFA Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year awards, the first time a player has won both plaudits. He also won Celtic Fans' Player of the Year, and Players Player of the Year in a season which saw him score 16 goals and contribute 28 assists from midfield.
With his contract expiring at the end of the 2006/7 season, Celtic moved to offer Maloney a new deal. However, contract negotiations continued for months, constantly breaking down due to differences between the two parties. Chief Executive Peter Lawwell asserted that Celtic "cannot keep players at any cost" [1] while Maloney warned that "In situations like this one, both parties have to be completely happy with the outcome." He also promised that the prolonged contract talks wouldn't affect his football and that he hoped he wouldn't have to consider leaving the club in the future.[2] With the realisation that Maloney would be able to leave for free by signing a pre-contract with another club in January 2007, the Celtic support feared the worst, recalling Jackie McNamara's departure.
No new contract was agreed with Celtic and eventually a £1 million transfer to Aston Villa was agreed, where Maloney would play under his old boss Martin O'Neill.
Maloney made a total of 139 appearances for the Hoops in all competitions, scoring 37 times. [3]
[edit] Aston Villa
Just before the transfer window closed on January 31, 2007, Maloney signed a pre-contract agreement with Aston Villa. But Martin O'Neill was keen to bring Maloney to Villa for the second half of the season and moments before the deadline he signed for Aston Villa for a reported fee of £1m. [4] He made his debut in the 2-0 defeat at Reading on February 10, 2007 [5] On April 28, 2007, Maloney scored his first Villa goal in a victory against Man City at the City of Manchester Stadium from a free kick which was curled around the wall into the bottom right of the goal.[6]
Maloney has had trouble settling into the club but after a somewhat lacklustre start to his Villa career, he has recently been in fine form. Maloney has acknowledged that his football had been suffering but remains optimistic about his future at the club: "Homesickness has affected my form. I haven't played well enough to play in the team and I think that has shown, so hopefully now things can change." [7] Both O'Neill and teammate Stiliyan Petrov, who were both at Celtic during Maloney's time there, have expressed their desire for Maloney to stay at the club despite reports linking him with a move back to Scotland.[8][9]
Maloney scored a brace for Aston Villa in a 4-4 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on boxing day of 2007. However since then Maloney has not played a lot of games as half of his last season appearances were substitutions, he has also said that he would like to one day come back and play inScotland.[10]
[edit] International career
Maloney made 20 appearances and netted six times for Scotland Under 21's.
Maloney has so far gained nine caps for Scotland and scored his first goal for Scotland, a free-kick in the Svangaskard Stadium in a 2-0 victory over the Faroe Islands[11]. Maloney was also eligible to play for the Republic of Ireland[citation needed].
[edit] International goals
- Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | June 6, 2007 | Svangaskard, Toftir |  Faroe Islands |
1-0 | 2-0 | UEFA Euro 2008 Qual. |
[edit] Major honours
Celtic
- Scottish Premier League (2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007)
- Scottish Cup (2001, 2004, 2005,)
- Scottish League Cup (2001, 2006)
UEFA Cup runner-up (2003)
Personal
- Scottish PFA Player of the Year (2006)
- Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year (2006)
- Celtic Fans' Player of the Year (2006)
- Scottish Players Player of the Year (2006)
[edit] References
- ^ "Celtic Warning Over Maloney Deal", BBC Sport Website, 26th October 2006.
- ^ "Maloney Contract Talks In Limbo", BBC Sport Website, 15th October 2006.
- ^ Shaun Maloney profile at official Aston Villa site.
- ^ "Villa beat clock to sign Maloney", BBC Sport Website, 31 January 2006.
- ^ Tactical Formation. Football-Lineups.com. Retrieved on February 28, 2007.
- ^ "Man City 0-2 Aston Villa", BBC Sport Website, 28 April 2007.
- ^ Sky Sports | Football | Premier League | Aston Villa | Maloney wants future sorted
- ^ "O'Neill cools Maloney Celtic Link=27 August 2007", BBC Sport Website.
- ^ Maloney Gets Petrov Backing.
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/aston_villa/7425322.stm
- ^ Maloney sets Scotland Euro target. BBC (7th June 2007).
[edit] External links
| Preceded by John Hartson Fernando Ricksen |
Scottish PFA Players' Player of the Year 2006 |
Succeeded by Shunsuke Nakamura |
| Preceded by Derek Riordan |
Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year 2006 |
Succeeded by Steven Naismith |
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