Darren O'Dea

For the baseball pitcher, see Darren O'Day.
Darren O'Dea

Darren O'Dea with Ireland ahead of the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying Group B game against Russia in Moscow on 6 September 2011
Personal information
Full nameDarren O'Dea[1]
Date of birth4 February 1987[1]
Place of birthDublin, Ireland
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Playing positionDefender
Club information
Current team
Blackpool
Number48
Youth career
Home Farm
2005–2006Celtic
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2006–2012Celtic49(4)
2009→ Reading (loan)8(0)
2010–2011→ Ipswich Town (loan)20(0)
2011–2012→ Leeds United (loan)35(2)
2012–2013Toronto FC26(1)
2013–2014Metalurh Donetsk16(2)
2014–Blackpool11(0)
National team‡
?-2007Republic of Ireland U19
2007–2008Republic of Ireland U2110(1)
2009–Republic of Ireland20(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:52, 29 December 2014 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 12 May 2014

Darren O'Dea (born 4 February 1987) is an Irish footballer who plays as a centre back and is currently at Blackpool.

O'Dea started his career with Celtic and broke into the first team during the 2006–07 season. Since then he has won the Scottish Premier League twice, in 2006–07 and 2007–08. He has also won both the Scottish Cup, in 2008, and Scottish League Cup, 2009, once. He moved on a six-month loan to English Championship side Reading for the first-half of the 2009–10 season, but returned to Celtic to play in the first-team and become temporary captain of the club for the second half of the season. He was then loaned out to Championship sides Ipswich Town and Leeds United for the 2010–11 and 2011–12 season respectively. He played with Toronto FC from 2012 to 2013. O'Dea spent the 2013–14 season with Metalurh Donetsk before leaving due to the conflict in Ukraine.

O'Dea has represented Ireland at under-21 level and at senior level, earning 20 caps since his 2009 debut. He was part of the team which played at Euro 2012.

Club career

Celtic

Born in Dublin,[1] O'Dea started playing for Home Farm before being signed by Celtic as a teenager. After making his way through the reserves and academy side, he made his first team debut for Celtic in the Scottish League Cup against St. Mirren in September 2006.[2] 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 Copenhagen as a substitute, replacing the injured Stephen McManus.[3]

He scored his first goal for Celtic against Dundee United on 26 December 2006.[4] He followed that with a goal on 2 January 2007, against Kilmarnock.[5]

O'Dea played an important role for Celtic in the 2006–07 season. He played more than 10 games and received an SPL winner's medal. His most notable performance was in the UEFA Champions League Last 16 tie against AC Milan in the San Siro. Celtic held Milan before Kaká scored an extra time goal for Milan. After the game, Paolo Maldini praised the young central defender's performance.[6] He impressed manager Gordon Strachan enough to be awarded a new three-year contract, with the option of a further year on 13 March 2007.[7]

On 15 March 2009, O'Dea scored in the Scottish League Cup Final victory over Old Firm rivals Rangers with a header 90 seconds into extra time before Aiden McGeady's last minute penalty made it a 2–0 win.[8][9]

O'Dea returned to Celtic from a loan period with Reading in January 2010 and was restored to the starting line-up, starting all five games that month. He was appointed as stand-in captain after Stephen McManus went on loan to Middlesbrough and Gary Caldwell left for Wigan.[10]

After spending the previous two seasons out on loan, Celtic released O'Dea at the end of his contract on 1 June 2012. Celtic had a one-year extension option but O'Dea thanked the club for not using this and allowing him to find a new club.[11]

Reading loan

On 1 September 2009, O'Dea joined Championship side Reading on loan until 1 January 2010 after being signed by Brendan Rodgers, but not before signing a three-year contract extension with Celtic.[12][13] He made his debut for the Royals on 12 September in a home draw against Doncaster Rovers. O'Dea revealed he had settled in well at Reading.[14] However, he soon found himself on the bench as Reading fought a relegation battle. However O'Dea returned to Celtic in the January transfer window after his loan spell expired and regained his place in the Celtic side under Tony Mowbray then Neil Lennon.[15]

Ipswich loan

On 17 August 2010, O'Dea joined Championship side Ipswich Town on a five-month loan deal after he was signed by manager Roy Keane.[15] After the sacking of Keane, O'Dea was left wondering if his loan would be renewed under the new manager.[16] The deal was later extended to the end of the season under new manager Paul Jewell.[17] O'Dea put in a man of the match performance in Ipswich's win against Premier League side Arsenal in the league cup.[18] After talk of a permanent move to Ipswich Town, O'Dea revealed that he wanted to return to Celtic as he was determined to make an impact at the club.[19] He revealed after his loan spell ended he wanted to be part of Celtic's starting 11 or he would be looking to move on if regular football wasn't guaranteed.[20]

Leeds United loan

O'Dea confirmed he wanted regular football at Celtic to earn a regular place for Ireland.[21] On 1 August, O'Dea revealed that his future lies away from Celtic after failing to earn a place in the first 11 at the start of the 2011–12 season.[22] Manager Neil Lennon revealed he felt the loan move to Leeds United was a good move for O'Dea to get regular football.[23] On 4 August, O'Dea officially joined Championship club Leeds United on a season long loan.[24] O'Dea was given his usual number 48 shirt for the forthcoming season,[25] and later revealed that he had a trial for the club as a 13 year old.[24] On the opening day of the season, O'Dea made his debut for Leeds in the 3–1 defeat against Southampton playing at left back.[26] O'Dea missed the League Cup game against Bradford City due to his call up for Republic of Ireland.[27] After an injury to Leigh Bromby, O'Dea played in his favoured centre back position against Hull City.[28]

O'Dea scored his first goal for Leeds on 18 October in the 1–1 draw at Elland Road against Coventry City.[29] O'Dea scored his second goal in consecutive games in the season when he scored a dramatic late winner against Peterborough United in a 3–2 win, Luciano Becchio claimed the goal but it was credited to O'Dea as his volley was judged to have crossed the line.[30] O'Dea's error against Cardiff City led to a goal from Cardiff's Joe Mason, O'Dea was later subbed after complaining of eyesight problems due to a previous head injury.[31]

O'Dea revealed he wanted to sign at Leeds permanently, and hoped that a move to Leeds would be sorted out before the end of the January transfer window or at the end of his loan spell.[32] O'Dea picked up a 2 match ban in April for receiving 10 yellow card's over the course of the season.[33] O'Dea was sent off against Blackpool on 17 April, the suspension ruled him out for the rest of the season. On 20 April, Neil Warnock announced that Leeds did not want to sign him permanently in the summer.[34]

Toronto FC

O'Dea signed for Major League Soccer club Toronto FC on 3 August 2012.[35] O'Dea made his debut for Toronto on 18 August in a 1-0 home loss to Sporting Kansas City.[36] In early September manager Paul Mariner announced that O'Dea would be given the captain's arm band in the absence of Torsten Frings, who required season ending hip surgery.[37] O'Dea scored his first goal for Toronto on 3 July 2013 in a 3-3 home draw with Canadian rivals Montreal Impact.[38]

O'Dea was released by Toronto on 13 July 2013.[39]

Metalurh Donetsk

Following O'Dea's release from Toronto, he signed a three-year contract with Ukrainian Premier League side Metalurh Donetsk in July 2013.[40] He made his debut for the team in a 1-1 draw with FC Karpaty Lviv on July 20, 2013, receiving 46 minutes of playing time before being substituted off.[41] O'Dea scored his first goal for Metalurh in his second game for the club, a 2-1 away victory over Vorskla Poltava.[42] O'Dea left the club in August 2014, agreeing to end his contract two years early due to the unrest in Ukraine.[43]

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.[44]

He was called up to the Irish under 21 international squad by manager Don Givens on 3 March 2007[45] and served as team captain. However less than a week later he was named in the full international squad for Ireland's UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group D matches on 24 and 28 March.[46][47]

On 13 May 2008, O'Dea was called into Giovanni Trapattoni's first squad as Ireland manager and was then called into the squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 8 matches against Bulgaria and Italy.[48]

On 8 September 2009, he made his debut for the senior side in the 1–0 win against South Africa in a friendly after coming on as a substitute for Paul McShane in the second half. He earned a recall to the squad for friendlies against Paraguay and Algeria at the end of May. During the Algeria match, he made his second appearance when he came on as an early substitute for the injured John O'Shea and helped keep a clean sheet in a 3–0 win.[49]

He earned his tenth cap for Ireland, coming on as a second half substitute against Croatia on 10 August 2011.[50] On 6 September that year, O'Dea started alongside Richard Dunne in the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying Group B match against Russia, a match which ended 0–0.[51]

After his form for both Leeds United and country, O'Dea was nominated for Young International player of the year at the FAI International Football Awards, with Leeds teammate Aidy White also nominated for an award.[52]

O'Dea won the Ireland Young International Player Of The Year Award during the FAI ceremony in February 2012.[53]

He scored his first senior goal for Ireland in a World Cup qualiyfing match against the Faroe Islands on 16 October 2012.

International goals

Scores and results list the Republic of Ireland' goal tally first.
N. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 16 October 2012 Tórsvøllur, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands  Faroe Islands 4–1 4–1 2014 World Cup qualifier

Honours

Celtic
International
Individual

Career statistics

As of 19 May 2014
Club Season Division League Cup League Cup/Playoffs Continental Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Celtic 2005–06 Scottish Premier League 0000000000
2006–07 142311030213
2007–08 6010002090
2008–09 101202120162
2009–10 191300010231
Total 494913180696
Reading (loan) 2009–10 Championship 800000--80
Ipswich Town (loan) 2010–11 2001040--250
Leeds United (loan) 2011–12 3521020--382
Toronto FC 2012 MLS 90----10100
2013 17100--10181
Total 261000020281
Metalurh Donetsk 2013–14 Ukrainian Premier League 16210--00172
Career Total 15491219110018511

Personal life

O'Dea attended 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, O'Dea chose to continue his career in Scotland with Celtic, ignoring the advances of Premier League sides Aston Villa, Manchester City and Liverpool.

In 2006 O'Dea met and formed a relationship with Melissa Chung.[54] The couple are married and have a daughter, Lucia Isabella O'Dea.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Mainstream Publishing. p. 316. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
  2. ↑ "Celtic 2–0 St Mirren". BBC Sport. 19 September 2006. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
  3. ↑ "Bright O'Dea is in the zone for Old Firm debut". The Scotsman. 17 December 2006. Retrieved 28 December 2006.
  4. ↑ "Celtic 2–2 Dundee Utd". BBC Sport. 26 December 2006. Retrieved 28 December 2006.
  5. ↑ "Celtic 2–0 Kilmarnock". BBC Sport. 2 January 2007. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
  6. ↑ "Shyberry to San Siro and O'Dea has hunger for more". Evening Times. 9 March 2007.
  7. ↑ "O'Dea signs new deal with Celtic". BBC Sport. 13 March 2007. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
  8. ↑ Lindsay, Clive (15 March 2009). "Celtic 2–0 Rangers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 March 2009.
  9. ↑ "Loyal O’Dea puts Cup final goal down to cramp". STV.com. 16 March 2009. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  10. ↑ Murray, Ewan (28 January 2010). "Celtic will allow manager Tony Mowbray to sign striker and defender". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
  11. ↑ "Darren O’Dea thanks Peter Lawwell for allowing him to cut ties with Celtic". STV. 1 June 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  12. ↑ "Confirmed: O'Dea signs on loan". readingfc.co.uk. 1 September 2009. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
  13. ↑ "Celtic duo eyed by English clubs". BBC Sport. 1 September 2009. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
  14. ↑ "Darren O'Dea not ready for Celtic return – yet". STV.com. 25 September 2009. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Celtic's Darren O'Dea is loaned to Ipswich Town". BBC Sport. 18 August 2010. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  16. ↑ "Uncertain future for O'Dea". Sky Sports. 10 January 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  17. ↑ "O'Dea extends Town stay". Sky Sports. 14 January 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  18. ↑ "Loan Report: Darren O'Dea". Vital Football – Celtic. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  19. ↑ "O'Dea wants Celtic return". Sky Sports. 23 March 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  20. ↑ "O'Dea waits on Celtic future". Sky Sports. 30 March 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  21. ↑ "Darren O'Dea may quit Celtic". STV.com. 30 May 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  22. ↑ "Darren O'Dea set to leave Celtic". videocelts.com. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  23. ↑ Haigh, Andrew. "Leeds United sign Darren O'Dea from Celtic". The Sun (London).
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 "Darren's Complete And Ready To Go". Leeds United. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  25. ↑ "United Boss Is Aiming High". Leeds United. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  26. ↑ "United Crash At Southampton". Leeds United. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  27. ↑ "Aidy Gets The Call To Miss Bradford Clash". Leeds United. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  28. ↑ "Sparkling Leeds Hit Hull For Four". Leeds United. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  29. ↑ "Injury time goal denies Leeds victory...". Leeds United A.F.C. 18 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  30. ↑ "Peterborough United vs Leeds". Leeds United A.F.C. 22 October 2011. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  31. ↑ "Leeds vs Cardiff". Leeds United A.F.C. 30 October 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  32. ↑ "O'Dea keen on Leeds stay". Sky Sports. 12 January 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  33. ↑ "O'dea hoping for future stay". LUFC. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  34. ↑ "O'DEA'S DAYS AT LEEDS ARE DONE – BOSS". LUFC. 20 April 2012. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
  35. ↑ "Toronto Signs Darren O’Dea | Toronto FC". Torontofc.ca. 3 August 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  36. ↑ Larry Millson (18 August 2012). "Reds Held Scoreless At Home | Toronto FC". Torontofc.ca. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  37. ↑ "Toronto FC capttain Torsten Frings to miss rest of season with hip injury". Toronto Star. 5 September 2012. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
  38. ↑ "Impact erase 2-goal deficit to salvage draw with Toronto FC". CBC. 3 July 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  39. ↑ "O'Dea's Departure Can Open New Doors | Toronto FC". Torontofc.ca. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  40. ↑ "O'Dea signs for Ukrainian side Metalurh Donetsk". thesun.ie. 18 July 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  41. ↑ http://metallurg.donetsk.ua/ru/matches/events/. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  42. ↑ "Vorskla 1 - 2 Metalurh Donetsk". Soccerway.com. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  43. ↑ Wilson, Richard (4 September 2014). "Darren O'Dea: Ex-Celtic player leaves war-torn Ukraine behind". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  44. ↑ "Staunton introduces two more newcomers for Croke Park matches". Football Association of Ireland. 15 March 2007. Retrieved 24 March 2007.
  45. ↑ "Darren O'Dea a hit for Celtic and happy to sign an extended contract". Football Association of Ireland. 14 March 2007. Retrieved 24 March 2007.
  46. ↑ "Keogh comes in for injured Folan". BBC Sport. 18 March 2007. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
  47. ↑ "Celtic goal hero Darren O'Dea called into Ireland squad". Evening Times. 16 March 2009.
  48. ↑ "Keeper Kiely in Republic return". BBC Sport. 13 May 2008. Retrieved 15 May 2008.
  49. ↑ "Ireland stun Algeria with three superb goals!". FAI. 28 May 2010.
  50. ↑ "FT: Republic of Ireland 0 Croatia 0". Sky Sports. 10 August 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  51. ↑ "Russia 0–0 Republic of Ireland". BBC Sport. 6 September 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  52. ↑ "IRISH DOUBLE ACT UP FOR AWARDS". LUFC. 22 February 2012.
  53. ↑ 53.0 53.1 "here are your winners from last night’s FAI Awards". The Score. 27 February 2012.
  54. ↑ "Melissa Cheung is a WAG star". The Scottish Sun. 5 September 2008. Retrieved 7 September 2011.

External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by
Torsten Frings		 Toronto captain
2013 		Succeeded by
Steven Caldwell