Brendan Place (born 13 December 1965, in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

) is an Irish former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player and manager.

Playing career

A central defender like his father, Brendan Place Sr., himself a colourful leading player on the League of Ireland scene, Brendan Jr. began his football career with the Dublin youth club Home Farm. In 1983, he graduated to their senior team, then playing at the top level of domestic football in Ireland. He made his debut against Derry City at the Brandywell, in Derry's first game in the

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally us ...

. After catching the eye of cross channel scouts with his subsequent displays for

Longford Town Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 10,008 according to the 2016 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meet ...

and

Athlone Town Athlone Town Association Football Club () is an Irish football club from Athlone who are playing in the League of Ireland. The club is the oldest in the League as it was founded in 1887. First elected to the League of Ireland in 1922, they pl ...

, Place was signed by Damien Richardson for Gillingham on 21 October 1989. He made his debut two days later against

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

, but a promising career with the English third division club was cut short when he incurred a serious neck injury, which kept out of the game for six years. He eventually recovered to full fitness and returned to his roots to play for Home Farm, playing at the time as Home Farm Everton. In his first season back he was awarded the club's Player of the Season. In the 2000s, after spells with

Bohemians Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

, Shelbourne, Home Farm Fingal and as player manager for Malahide United, he brought his playing career to an end. Place then returned to the top tier of Irish domestic football at 37 years of age with

Monaghan United Monaghan United F.C. ( ga, Cumann Peile Mhuineacháin Aontaithe) is an Irish association football club based in Monaghan currently playing in the Ulster Senior League. The club joined the League of Ireland in 1983 and subsequently went on to pl ...

Managing career

As a coach, he has a comprehensive background, starting as development coach with the LOI/ FAI Soccer Academy in Dublin between 1999 and 2002. As a part of that time he coached the Republic of Ireland U17 that finished third in Japan in August 2004 and went on to work with the Republic of Ireland U19 that qualified for the elite Stage of the UEFA championship in

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

later that year. He also spent three years as high performance coach with the Elite Irish women's squad and had a spell as player-coach with

reserve squad. Having brought non-League Malahide United to promotion as player manager, Place was then appointed development youth coach for Home Farm Schoolboys before becoming player coach at Loughshinny Utd in 2005, bringing his team to the final of the Gilligan Cup. In 2008, he took over as manager at

. One of his first signings was his brother Stephen. Place left in 2010 to concentrate on completing his UEFA pro licence. He already held a UEFA A licence and completed a sports psychology diploma. Place coached Crumlin United schoolboys and after a successful treble winning season at U16 level returned to Home Farm as head coach of U17s team for the 2012–13 season.. In 2013, Place was appointed head coach for Bohemians FC under 19s Eircom League. A return to Eircom league followed for Place in 2015-16, with Tommy Dunne and newly promoted Galway United as opposition / match analysis scout. In July 2016 Place was appointed U19s head coach at Hibernians FC .

Honours

League of Ireland First Division The League of Ireland First Division ( ga, Céad Roinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League First Division, is the second level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland football league system. Th ...

: 1 **

; 1987–88 * Leinster Senior Cup: 1 **

; 1988 *

: 1 ** Home Farm Everton; 1997–98

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Place, Brendan 1965 births Living people Republic of Ireland association footballers Republic of Ireland expatriate association footballers Republic of Ireland football managers Association footballers from Dublin (city) Home Farm F.C. players Longford Town F.C. players Athlone Town A.F.C. players League of Ireland players Gillingham F.C. players English Football League players Bohemian F.C. players Monaghan United F.C. players Shelbourne F.C. players Athlone Town A.F.C. managers League of Ireland managers Association football defenders Malahide United F.C. players