Steve Finnan

Steve Finnan
Finnan.jpg
Personal information
Full name Stephen John Finnan
Date of birth 24 April 1976 (1976-04-24) (age 33)
Place of birth    Limerick, Ireland
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Playing position Right Back
Club information
Current club Espanyol
Number 15
Youth clubs
19xx–1993 Wimbledon
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1993–1995
1995–1996
1996
1996–1998
1998–2003
2003–2008
2008–		 Welling United
Birmingham City
→ Notts County (loan)
Notts County
Fulham
Liverpool
Espanyol		 041 00(1)
015 00(1)
017 00(2)
080 00(5)
173 00(6)
145 00(1)
002 00(0)   
National team2
2000– Republic of Ireland 052 00(2)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 21:58, 12 May 2008 (UTC).
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 21:58, 9 September 2008 (UTC).
* Appearances (Goals)

Stephen John Finnan (born 24 April 1976) is an Irish international football player who currently plays for Espanyol at right back.[1] He is the only player to have played in the World Cup, Champions League, UEFA Cup, all four levels of English League football, the English Conference and La Liga.[2]

Contents

Club career

Early career

Finnan was born in the Janesboro area of Limerick City, and moved to Chelmsford, England at a young age. He began his career playing in Wimbledon's youth team,[3] but joined non-league Welling United after being released at 16. He turned professional with Birmingham City in 1995, but, after only a handful of appearances, he was soon on his way to Notts County, initially on loan, then permanently. There he established himself in the first team and attracted a considerable amount of interest from higher division teams.

Fulham

After some strong showings for County in 1997–98, Fulham paid £600,000 for his services in November 1998. He became an instant regular at Craven Cottage and a fans' favourite. With Fulham he won the old Second Division championship in 1999 and then the First Division in 2001.

Finnan had an impressive first season in the Premiership, helping Fulham qualify for the UEFA Intertoto Cup and being voted into the 2001–02 PFA team of the year by his fellow professionals. Fulham then went on to win the Intertoto Cup, giving Finnan his first taste of European football.

Liverpool

In the summer of 2003 Finnan found himself courted by many of England's top clubs and eventually joined Liverpool for a fee of £3.5m. The incumbent right back, Jamie Carragher, greeted his arrival with the warning "If Steve gets ahead of me in the team then I'll just have to find out where he lives and I'll send the boys round." [4] Finnan's first season at Anfield was disrupted by a succession of injuries. However, the campaign ended on a high as Liverpool clinched fourth place and a UEFA Champions League qualifying spot.

During the 2004–05 season with Liverpool, he established himself as the first choice right back and a firm fans' favourite. This successful season saw him play in the Carling Cup final which Liverpool lost 3–2 to Chelsea. Finnan also started in the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final against A.C. Milan, which the team went on to win. Unfortunately he picked up an injury and was substituted at half time. He had a highly successful 2005–2006 season in which at the end of the season Liverpool won the FA Cup and Finnan added another medal to his collection.

Finnan played for Liverpool as first choice right back for the 2006–07 season despite heavy competition from newly arrived team-mate Alvaro Arbeloa. The season was a very successful one for him as he was very consistent throughout the season and many fans considered him to be one of their top performers as evident through the high amounts of vote he collected in a poll in the official Liverpool website. He participated in the 2007 UEFA Champions League Final and was substituted after 88 minutes for Arbeloa. Liverpool went on to lose the game 2–1. In July 2007, Finnan agreed a new three-year contract to remain with Liverpool.[5]

In August 2007, Finnan was involved in a controversial penalty decision in which Chelsea's Florent Malouda dived to the ground. Although no Chelsea player appealed, referee Rob Styles awarded a penalty because he thought Finnan had fouled Malouda. Video replays later showed that there was no illegal contact between the players, and Styles was suspended from refereeing for a week, as well as issuing an apology to Liverpool.[6][7] The final score was Liverpool 1–1 Chelsea when Frank Lampard converted the penalty to equalise Fernando Torres' 16th-minute goal.

Finnan made it into the top 100 Liverpool appearances of all time when he came on as substitute in the 4–0 victory over Toulouse on 28 August 2007.

It was claimed by Sky Sports that Finnan's goal for Liverpool made him the only player to have scored in the five highest divisions of English football, although it was later demonstrated that it was actually a distinction he shared with Jimmy Willis.[8]

After the arrival of fullback Philipp Degen at the club from Borussia Dortmund, Finnan was linked with a move away from Anfield as part of a cash plus player deal which would see Gareth Barry moving to Liverpool.[9]

Espanyol

On transfer deadline day, 1 September 2008, Finnan joined Spanish side Espanyol signing a 2 year deal for an undisclosed fee.[10]

International career

A Republic of Ireland Under-21 international, Finnan stepped up to the senior side in 2000 against Greece, filling in for the injured Stephen Carr. Although he was raised in England, Finnan is very proud of his Irish nationality and he has alluded to this fact in many interviews.

He cemented his place in the Irish starting XI towards the end of qualification for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, supplying the cross for Jason McAteer to score the only goal in the crucial 1–0 home win against the Netherlands in September 2001. He appeared in all four of Ireland's games in South Korea and Japan, but injury disrupted his participation in the unsuccessful attempt to reach the Euro 2004 finals. He was a regular choice in the 2006 World Cup qualification games.

Finnan announced his retirement from international football on 22 January 2008 after making 50 appearances for the Republic of Ireland. [11] He returned to the fold, however, in August 2008, after the appointment of Giovanni Trapattoni to the manager's role caused him to change his mind.

Statistics

Club performance
Club Season Domestic League1 FA Cup League Cup Europe Others Total
App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals
Liverpool 2007–08 17 0 2 0 1 0 6 0 0 0 29 0
2006–07 31 0 1 0 0 0 11 0 1 0 44 0
2005–06 33 0 6 0 0 0 12 0 1 0 52 0
2004–05 33 1 0 0 5 0 14 0 0 0 52 1
2003–04 22 0 3 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 31 0
Liverpool Total 136 1 12 0 6 0 49 0 2 0 208 1
Fulham 2002–03 32 0 3 0 1 0 5 0 0 0 41 0
2001–02 38 0 6 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 47 0
2000–01 45 2 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 48 2
1999–00 35 3 4 1 6 0 0 0 0 0 45 4
1998–99 22 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 27 2
Fulham Total 172 7 18 1 12 0 5 0 1 0 208 8
Notts County 1998–99 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 0
1997–98 44 5 3 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 51 6
1996–97 23 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 26 0
Notts C Total 80 5 6 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 90 6
Birmingham City 1996–97 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
Notts County (on loan) 1995–96 17 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 20 3
Birmingham City 1995–96 12 1 0 0 4 0 0 0 3 0 19 1
Welling United 1994–95 19 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 1
1993–94 22 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 22 0
Total 461 17 36 2 26 0 54 0 9 1 589 20
1Includes Premiership, The Football League and Nationwide Conference.

Career honours

Notts County

Fulham

Liverpool

References

  1. ↑ "Finnan seals Spanish switch". Skysports.com (1 September 2008). Retrieved on 1 September, 2008.
  2. ↑ Clive Tydsley 7th September 2008
  3. ↑ "WHAT'S IN A NAME: STEVE FINNAN". Liverpoolfc.tv (2008-02-21). Retrieved on 2008-02-21.
  4. ↑ Jamie Carragher - Liverpool Football Club Player Profile from Carling Football
  5. ↑ "FINNAN AGREES NEW LIVERPOOL DEAL". Article on Liverpoolfc.tv (23 July 2007). Retrieved on July 23, 2007.
  6. ↑ Tim Rich (2007-08-20). "Penalty ignites Benitez feud with Mourinho", The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved on 2008-05-20. 
  7. ↑ Oliver Brown (2007-08-21). "Rob Styles humiliated for penalty blunder", The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved on 2008-05-20. 
  8. ↑ "Goal king Jimmy Willis in a league of his own!". Liverpool Echo (8 November 2007). Retrieved on May 12, 2008.
  9. ↑ "Finnan move clinches Barry Liverpool deal". Irish Independent (10 July 2008). Retrieved on July 11, 2008.
  10. ↑ "Finnan seals Spanish switch managed 2 games before he sustaining injury".
  11. ↑ "FINNAN ANNOUNCES INTERNATIONAL RETIREMENT". Liverpoolfc.tv (2008-01-22). Retrieved on 2008-01-22.

External links

Republic of Ireland squad – 2002 FIFA World Cup
1 Given • 2 Finnan • 3 Harte • 4 Cunningham • 5 Staunton • 6 Roy Keane • 7 McAteer • 8 Holland • 9 Duff • 10 Robbie Keane • 11 Kilbane • 12 Kinsella • 13 Connolly • 14 Breen • 15 Dunne • 16 Kiely • 17 Quinn • 18 G. Kelly • 19 Morrison • 20 O'Brien • 21 Reid • 22 Carsley • 23 A. Kelly • Coach: McCarthy
 Flag of Ireland
RCD Espanyol – current squad

1 Kameni • 2 Chica • 3 David García • 4 Lacruz • 5 Sergio Sánchez • 6 Román • 7 Valdo • 8 Callejón • 9 de la Peña • 10 Luis García • 11 Lola • 12 Béranger • 13 Javi Ruiz • 14 Ángel • 15 Finnan • 16 Pareja • 17 Nené • 18 Rufete • 19 Torrejón • 20 Coro • 21 Jarque • 22 Moisés • 23 Tamudo • 24 Jonathan Soriano • 25 Cristian Álvarez • 27 Julián • 28 Sielva • Coach: Mané
Persondata
NAME Finnan, Stephen John
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Finnan, Steve
SHORT DESCRIPTION footballer
DATE OF BIRTH 1976-4-24
PLACE OF BIRTH Limerick , Republic of Ireland
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH