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 name	Darren O'Dea
Date of birth	(1987-02-04) 4 February 1987 (age 25)
Place of birth	Dublin, Ireland
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Centre Back / Left Back
Youth career
	Home Farm
2005–2006	Celtic
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2006–2012	Celtic	49	(4)
2009	→ Reading (loan)	8	(0)
2010–2011	→ Ipswich Town (loan)	20	(0)
2011–2012	→ Leeds United (loan)	35	(2)
National team‡
?-2007	Republic of Ireland U19	?	(?)
2007–2008	Republic of Ireland U21	10	(1)
2009–	Republic of Ireland	14	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16 April 2012. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 26 May 2012

Darren O'Dea [pronounced dah-renh-oh-dee] (born 4 February 1987) is an Irish footballer who plays centre back. He is currently a free agent after his contract with Scottish Premier League club Celtic expired.

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 play in the first-team and become temporary captain of the club for the second season. Since then he has not been a part of Celtic's first team and has been loaned out to Championship sides Ipswich Town and Leeds United for the 2010–11 and 2011–12 season respectively.

O'Dea has represented Ireland at under-21 level and at senior level. He was part of the team that secured qualification for Euro 2012.

Club career[link]

Celtic[link]

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.^[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 Copenhagen as a substitute, replacing the injured Stephen McManus.^[2]

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

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.^[5] 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.^[6]

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.^[7][8]

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.^[9]

After spendind 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 ot using this and allowing him to find a new club.^[10]

Reading loan[link]

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.^[11][12] 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.^[13] 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.^[14]

Ipswich loan[link]

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.^[14] After the sacking of Keane, O'Dea was left wondering if his loan would be renewed under the new manager.^[15] The deal was later extended to the end of the season under new manager Paul Jewell.^[16] O'Dea put in a man of the match performance in Ipswich's win against Premier League side Arsenal in the league cup.^[17] 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.^[18] 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.^[19]

Leeds United loan[link]

O'Dea confirmed he wanted regular football at Celtic to earn a regular place for Ireland.^[20] 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.^[21] Manager Neil Lennon revealed he felt the loan move to Leeds United was a good move for O'Dea to get regular football.^[22] On 4 August, O'Dea officially joined Championship club Leeds United on a season long loan.^[23] O'Dea was given his usual number 48 shirt for the forthcoming season,^[24] and later revealed that he had a trial for the club as a 13 year old.^[23] 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.^[25] O'Dea missed the League Cup game against Bradford City due to his call up for Republic of Ireland.^[26] After an injury to Leigh Bromby, O'Dea played in his favoured centre back position against Hull City.^[27]

O'Dea scored his first goal for Leeds on 18 October in the 1–1 draw at Elland Road against Coventry City.^[28] 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.^[29] 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.^[30]

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.^[31] O'Dea picked up a 2 match ban in April for receiving 10 yellow card's over the course of the season.^[32] 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.^[33]

International career[link]

O'Dea played for the Irish under-19 and under-21 teams. He was called up to the full international squad within 12 months.^[34]

He was called up to the Irish under 21 international squad by manager Don Givens on 3 March 2007^[35] 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 March and 28 March.^[36][37]

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.^[38]

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.^[39]

He earned his tenth cap for Ireland, coming on as a second half substitute against Croatia on 10 August 2011.^[40] 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.^[41]

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 teamate Aidy White also nominated for an award.^[42]

O'Dea won the Ireland Young International Player Of The Year Award during the FAI ceremony in February 2012.^[43]

Honours[link]

Celtic

• Scottish Premier League; 2006–07, 2007–08
• Scottish League Cup; 2009
• Scottish Cup; 2008

Individual

• Ireland 'Young International Player Of The Year Award 2012'^[44]

Career statistics[link]

As of 30 April 2012

Personal life[link]

O'Dea attended St Aloysius' College, Glasgow, having 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.^[45] The couple had a daughter, Lucia Isabella O'Dea in December 2010.

In 2010, a gangster threatened to shoot him in the kneecaps during a row in a nightclub because his girlfriend was flirting with O'Dea.^[46]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Darren O'Dea career stats at Soccerbase
• Darren O'Dea profile Celtic FC

v t e Republic of Ireland squad – UEFA Euro 2012 1 Given 2 St Ledger 3 Ward 4 O'Shea 5 Dunne 6 Whelan 7 McGeady 8 Andrews 9 Doyle 10 Keane (c) 11 Duff 12 Kelly 13 McShane 14 Walters 15 Gibson 16 Westwood 17 Hunt 18 O'Dea 19 Long 20 Cox 21 Green 22 McClean 23 Forde Coach: Trapattoni

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2009)

Look up Darren in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Darren a masculine given name of uncertain etymological origins. Some theories state that it originated from a Gaelic surname meaning "great", or from an anglicization of the Irish firstname Darragh or Dáire meaing "oak tree". According to other theories, it is a variant of Darrell, which originated from the French surname D'Airelle meaning "of Airelle". Darren has several spelling variations including: Daren, Darin, Daryn, Darrin, and Darryn.

In the United Kingdom, its popularity peaked during the 1970s but declined sharply afterwards.^[1]

People with the given name Darren[link]

Sports[link]

• Darren Bennett, played both Australian Rules football and American football professionally
• Darren Bent English football (soccer) player currently playing for Aston Villa
• Darren Braithwaite, British sprinter
• Darren Byfield, English football (soccer) player currently playing for Solihull Moors
• Darren Campbell, retired English sprint athlete
• Darren Collins, English football (soccer) player currently playing for Brackley Town
• Darren Clarke, Irish professional golfer.
• Darren Currie, English football (soccer) player currently playing for Hendon
• Darren Drozdov, retired professional wrestler who competed in the WWF from 1998 until 1999.
• Darren Ferguson, Scottish former football (soccer) player and currently manager
• Darren Fletcher, Scottish football (soccer) player currently playing for Manchester United
• Darren Gilford, Maltese athlete specializing in both the 100 metres and the 4x100 metre relay races
• Darren Gough, English cricketer
• Darren Huckerby, English former football (soccer) player
• Darren Lockyer, Australian rugby league player
• Darren Lange, freestyle swimmer from Australia
• Darren Mackie Scottish football (soccer) player currently playing for Aberdeen
• Darren O'Dea, Irish football (soccer) player currently playing for Leeds United
• Darren Pang, Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the Chicago Blackhawks
• Darren Purse, English football (soccer) player currently playing for Plymouth Argyle
• Darren Ritchie, Scottish long jumper
• Darren Rumble, Canadian ice hockey defenseman
• Darren Sharper, American football free safety who plays for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League
• Darren Smith, Australian rugby league player
• Darren Turcotte, retired professional ice hockey player

Television, Film, Art[link]

• Darren Aronofsky, American filmmaker
• Darren Bennett (dancer), professional dancer
• Darren Bett, weatherman for the BBC
• Darren Boyd, British actor
• Darren Day, English actor, singer, and television presenter
• Darren Grant, American Film and Music Video Director
• Darren Jordon, main newsreader on BBC 1
• Darren McGavin, American actor
• James Darren, American television and film actor, television director, and singer
• Darren Osborne, character in British soap Hollyoaks
• Darren Star, American television/film producer and screenwriter
• Darren Leadfoot, also known as Shiny Wax, a character in Cars
• Darren Criss, American actor and singer, "Blaine Anderson" in "Glee"

Music[link]

• DARREN, singer-songwriter
• Darren Hayes, singer-songwriter, formerly of the group Savage Garden
• Darren Jessee, drummer for the rock group Ben Folds Five
• Darren Miller, former singer for the electronic group backandtotheleft
• Darren Robinson (musician), guitarist and background singer in the Californian band Phantom Planet
• Darren Robinson (rapper), member of the 80s rap group The Fat Boys
• Darren Wilson, drummer of the Chicago-based indie-rock group The Hush Sound

Science[link]

• Darren Naish, vertebrate palaeontologist and science writer

Writing[link]

• Darren Shan, author of the Demonata series

See also[link]

• Darron
• Derren

References[link]

1. ^ [1]

External links[link]

• Babynamesworld - Origin and Meaning of the Name Darren
• BehindtheName - Origin and History of the Name Darren

Jonathan Walters

Personal information
Full name	Jonathan Ronaldo Walters
Date of birth	(1983-09-20) 20 September 1983 (age 28)
Place of birth	Moreton, Merseyside, England
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) [1]
Playing position	Striker / Right winger
Club information
Current club	Stoke City
Number	19
Youth career
1998–2000	Blackburn Rovers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2000–2001	Blackburn Rovers	0	(0)
2001–2004	Bolton Wanderers	4	(0)
2003	→ Hull City (loan)	11	(5)
2003	→ Crewe Alexandra (loan)	0	(0)
2003–2004	→ Barnsley (loan)	8	(0)
2004–2005	Hull City	37	(2)
2005	→ Scunthorpe United (loan)	3	(0)
2005–2006	Wrexham	38	(5)
2006–2007	Chester City	26	(9)
2007–2010	Ipswich Town	136	(30)
2010–	Stoke City	74	(13)
National team‡
2003	Republic of Ireland U-21	1	(2)
2007	Republic of Ireland B	1	(0)
2010–	Republic of Ireland	6	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:06, 13 May 2012 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 26 May 2012 (UTC)

Jonathan Ronald "Jon" Walters (born 20 September 1983) is an Irish footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Stoke City and the Republic of Ireland national team.

Walters started his career at Blackburn Rovers but failed to break into the first team and joined Bolton Wanderers. Again he failed to establish himself and went out on loan to Hull City, Crewe Alexandra and Barnsley before joining Hull permanently. He then went on to play for Wrexham and Chester City before finally finding regular football at Championship side Ipswich Town. Walters spent three years at Ipswich before joining Stoke City for £2.75 million in August 2010.

Playing career[link]

Early career[link]

Walters started his career at Blackburn Rovers's youth and reserve teams where he scored prolifically but failed to break into Rovers first team. He then joined Bolton Wanderers for a fee of £50,000 following interest from numerous clubs. He played in four Premier League games for Bolton making his professional debut as an 85th minute substitute in a 2–1 defeat to Charlton Athletic,^[2] before signing for Hull City on loan in 2003.^[3] On his debut for Hull Walters scored twice in a 5–1 win over Carlisle United.^[4] Following his loan spell at Hull, Walters returned to Bolton, where he again went out on loan, this time to Crewe Alexandra^[5] however he failed to make an appearance for Crewe due to a tooth infection. In the 2003–04 season he joined Barnsley on loan and played eight league games for The Tykes.^[6]

He then signed for Hull City for a second time in 2004 this time on a permanent transfer.^[7] In February 2005 he joined Scunthorpe United on a months loan and made three appearances for The Iron.^[8] After only scoring two goals for Hull Walters was sold to Welsh side Wrexham.^[9] He spent the 2005–06 season at Wrexham before he joined their rivals Chester City in 2006.^[10]

Walters playing for Ipswich Town

It was at Chester where Walters began to show his potential. Walters scored nine goals in twenty six league games as well putting in some impressive performances which drew the attention of several championship clubs mainly Ipswich Town.

Ipswich Town[link]

Walters agreed terms with Ipswich on a deal worth £150,000 plus add-ons in mid-January 2007, having impressed in FA Cup ties between the clubs earlier in the month.^[11] He made his debut for Ipswich on 30 January 2007 in a 0–0 draw at Stoke City.^[12] Walters scored his first goal for Ipswich in their 2–1 over Queens Park Rangers at Portman Road on 3 March 2007.^[13] He scored his first ever senior hat-trick in the 6–0 win over Bristol City in November 2007 at Portman Road,^[14][15] in the same week he received a call up to the Republic of Ireland B squad.^[16] On 12 January 2008, he extended his contract with Ipswich until 2011.^[17] He went under the knife for surgery on a niggling knee problem on 19 March 2008 and returned to action against Norwich City on 13 April in half the expected time.

In the awards night for the 2007–2008 season, his outstanding season was recognised and was honoured with the Boxholders' & Corporate Sponsors' Player of The Year and Players' Player of The Year awards.^[18] In October 2008, Walters signed a contract extension keeping him at the club until the end of the 2011–12 season. He was captain for the first time in a blue shirt against Derby County on 31 October 2009, their first win of the season.

Stoke City[link]

On 18 August 2010 Walters joined Premier League side Stoke City for a initial £2.75 million fee on a four year contract.^[19] He made his City debut on the 21 August 2010 against Tottenham Hotspur.^[20] He scored his first goal on the 24 August 2010 in a 2–1 Football League Cup win over Shrewsbury Town.^[21] He scored his first Premier League goal for Stoke on 2 October 2010 in a 1–0 win over Blackburn Rovers.^[22] After the match Walters earned praise from his former manager Sam Allardyce,^[23] and City manager Tony Pulis.^[24] Walters scored twice for Stoke in a 3–0 win over West Brom the first came from the penalty spot and the other via a rebound from Scott Carson.^[25]

Walters scored twice for City in a 2–0, FA Cup third round replay win at Cardiff City.^[26] It took him until the end of March 2011 to find the back of the net in the Premier League again, scoring in a 4–0 win over Newcastle United.^[27] He scored in the next match against Chelsea and was named as man of the match.^[28] Following the match Pulis spoke of his delight at Walters improved performances.

"Jon's come from the Championship and sometimes it takes time to have the confidence and the belief to make the step up. He had an up-and-down start but he's been fantastic for us. He's certainly my type of player, he gives everything, he never stops and whatever you've paid him, you know he's earned it."

—Stoke manager Tony Pulis speaks highly of Jonathan Walters.^[29]

Walters scored twice in City's 5–0 rout over former club Bolton Wanderers in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley to help Stoke into their first FA Cup Final.^[30][31] Walters described it as the pinnacle of his career.^[32] Walters ended the 2010–11 season as joint top goalscorer with Kenwyne Jones, both having scored 12 goals.^[33] His first goal against Bolton in the semi-final won goal of the season.^[34]

Walters played in his first European match on the 28 July against Hajduk Split where he scored the only goal in a 1–0 Stoke win.^[35][36] He signed a 12-month extension on his contract in August 2011.^[37] Walters went on to play in 31 matches during the first half of the 2011–12 season scoring seven goals.^[38][39] In March 2012 Walters won the Sir Stanley Matthews Potteries Footballers of the Year award for 2012.^[40] Speaking after picking up the award Walters revealed that he would like to remain at Stoke for the rest of his career.^[41] By 21 April 2012 Walters has played in 50 of Stoke matches during the 2011–12 season and has scored just nine goals of which five are penalties. This has led to Walters being criticized by a number of Stoke supporters but he has been backed by his manager.^[42] On his 100th appearance for Stoke, Walters scored twice against his old club Bolton Wanderers in a 2–2 draw a result which relegated the "Trotters".^[43]

International career[link]

Walters qualifies to play for the Republic of Ireland national football team through his Irish-born mother and made his international debut for Republic of Ireland U-21 against Switzerland U-21 scoring twice in a 2–0 win.^[44] He also played for the Republic of Ireland B team against Scotland B team in 2007.^[16] In 2010, Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni stated that he could give Walters a call up to the national side in the future.^[45] He was called up in November 2010 for the friendly match against Norway^[46] and was brought on as a half-time substitute in that game to make his senior international début.^[47] Walters was given the nod ahead of Simon Cox in the crucial Play-off game against Estonia and Walters repaid by scoring his first international goal in the 4–0 victory over Estonia in Tallinn in the first leg of the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying play-offs.^[48]

International goals[link]

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	11 November 2011	A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia	Estonia	0–2	0–4	Euro 2012 qualifier play-off

Career statistics[link]

Club[link]