David James Mulligan (born 24 March 1982) is a New Zealand former

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 head coach. Born in England, he began his career at

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

, making his first-team debut in October 2001. He became a first-team regular in the 2001–02 and 2002–03 seasons, before joining Doncaster Rovers in February 2004. He helped the club to the

Third Division In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

title in the 2003–04 campaign. He was signed to

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. The side currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The tea ...

in June 2006 and won the League One title with the club in 2006–07. He was loaned out to Grimsby Town in November 2007 and took a free transfer to Port Vale in January 2008. He returned to New Zealand six months later to sign with

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

club Wellington Phoenix. He joined

New Zealand Football Championship The New Zealand Football Championship ( mi, Te Whakataetae Whutupaoro a Aotearoa) was a men's association football league at the top of the New Zealand league system. Founded in 2004, the New Zealand Football Championship was the successor to a m ...

club

Auckland City Auckland City was a territorial authority with city status covering the central isthmus of the urban area of Auckland, New Zealand. It was governed by the Auckland City Council from 1989 to 2010, and as a territory within the wider Auckland R ...

in 2010 and helped the club to two successive OFC Champions League titles, before he moved to Waitakere United in 2012, and Hawke's Bay United in 2013. He returned to Waitakere United the next year. He earned national representation at under-17,

under-20 Junior is a category of athletics in which athletes compete under the age of 20 years. Countries all around the world compete in athletics. World Junior Athletics Competitions are held every two years which contain the best junior competitors in ...

, under-23 and full international level. He was selected for two

FIFA Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, ...

competitions, and was also named in the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

squad. He earned 28 senior caps and scored three goals in World Cup qualification matches with Vanuatu. He began his coaching career as head coach at

East Coast Bays East Coast Bays is a string of small suburbs that form the northernmost part of the North Shore, part of the contiguous Auckland metropolitan area in New Zealand. The suburbs line the north-east coast of the city along the shore of the Haur ...

in October 2016.

Club career

Barnsley

Mulligan was born in Liverpool, England, but his family moved to New Zealand when he was five years old. He returned to England at the age of 16, along with Rory Fallon, to join the youth-team at

; the move had been arranged by Rory's father Kevin, who was an assistant to New Zealand head coach John Adshead. He made his professional debut for the club under Glyn Hodges's caretaker stewardship in a 3–0 defeat to

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

Oakwell Oakwell is a multi-purpose sports development in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England used primarily by Barnsley Football Club for playing their home fixtures, and those of their reserves. While the name 'Oakwell' generally refers to the main s ...

on 31 October 2001.

Steve Parkin Stephen John Parkin (born 7 November 1965) is an English former professional footballer and manager, who is assistant manager at Wrexham. He played for Mansfield Town, Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion and has been manager of Barnsley, Mansf ...

's "Tykes" were relegated out of the First Division at the end of the 2001–02 season, but Mulligan retained his place in the Second Division for the 2002–03 campaign. He scored his first senior goal in a 2–1 defeat at Oldham Athletic on 5 April 2003. However he lost his first team place under Guðjón Þórðarson early in the 2003–04 campaign and was released by Barnsley in October 2003, despite having been offered a new contract just five months earlier.

Doncaster Rovers

Mulligan had an unsuccessful trial at Sheffield United during a four-month spell without a club. He joined

leaders Doncaster Rovers in February 2004, initially on a match-to-match basis, then on a short-term contract, before he was rewarded with a two-year contract after Doncaster won promotion as champions at the end of the 2003–04 season. He quickly established himself at the Keepmoat Stadium, but again ran into trouble early into the 2004–05 season, being placed on the transfer list by "Donny" in November 2004. He went nowhere however and on 29 November he provided an assist in a 3–0 victory over Premier League side

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

in the League Cup. On 4 December, he scored two free-kicks – from 25 and 20 yards – in a 2–1 win over

Boston United Boston United Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The club participates in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The club is know ...

in the FA Cup. He remained a regular starter up until the end of the 2005–06 campaign. The utility player was offered a contract by manager Dave Penney in the summer of 2006, but the two sides failed to agree terms.

Scunthorpe United

In June 2006, Mulligan signed for League One side

, having met manager Brian Laws at a M180 motorway service station to discuss the situation at Glanford Park. He made 29 appearances throughout the 2006–07 season as Scunthorpe secured promotion as champions of League One. However he never took to the field in the Championship due to differences with manager Nigel Adkins; he had been involved in a car accident and been late to training, and also had to miss games due to international commitments. He joined League Two side Grimsby Town on a one-month loan on 30 August 2007. He made his debut for the "Mariners" on 2 September, in a 2–1 defeat at Shrewsbury Town, coming onto the pitch as a 36th-minute substitute only to be taken off after 63 minutes; he said this was typical bizarre management from Alan Buckley, who made players come to

Blundell Park Blundell Park is a football ground in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England and home to Grimsby Town Football Club. The stadium was built in 1899, but only one of the original stands remains. The current capacity of the ground is 9, ...

for sprint training on days after games.

Port Vale

He joined Port Vale on a free transfer in January 2008. He made 13 appearances in the 2007–08 season as the "Valiants" were relegated out of League One; he scored a free-kick on the last day of the season in a 1–1 draw at Southend United. His stay at Vale Park was to prove a relatively short one as manager Lee Sinnott declined to offer Mulligan a longer contract.

New Zealand

Mulligan signed a two-year contract with the Wellington Phoenix in July 2008. However he struggled to make an impact and made just three appearances for the club in two seasons before his contract was not renewed at the end of the 2009–10 season. He later commented that "I always had an idea of coming back to New Zealand. It was more of the lifestyle change, rather than football. There’s nothing better than playing football in the sun!" Mulligan soon signed on with

club

for the 2010–11 season. He made his debut in the opening round match against Waikato in which he scored two goals in the second half, to give the "Navy Blues" a 3–2 victory. He played both legs of the 2011 final of the OFC Champions League, as Auckland beat Amicale ( Vanuatu) 6–1 on aggregate. Auckland won the Champions League for a second successive season in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, and this time Mulligan scored one of the goals in a 3–1 aggregate win over AS Tefana (

French Polynesia )Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze") , anthem = , song_type = Regional anthem , song = " Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui" , image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of Frenc ...

). He switched to rivals Waitakere United in July 2012. The club won the Premiership in

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

. He moved on to Hawke's Bay United in October 2013, and helped the club to a third-place finish in 2013–14. He returned to Waitakere United for the 2014–15 season, who finished the season in fourth place.

International career

Mulligan played for NZ Under-17 at the

1999 FIFA U-17 World Championship The 1999 FIFA U-16 World Championship, the eighth edition of the tournament, was held in the cities of Auckland, Christchurch, Napier, and Dunedin in New Zealand between 10 and 27 November 1999. Players born after 1 January 1982 could participate ...

and scored two goals in their two pool matches against the United States and Poland. Mulligan played for NZ Under-23 at the

2004 Athens Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

qualification tournament for the

Oceania Football Confederation The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) is one of the six continental confederations of international association football. The OFC has 13 members, 11 of which are full members and two which are associate members not affiliated with FIFA. It ...

, however New Zealand lost out to

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and did not qualify for the Olympics. He made his debut for "All Whites" in an international friendly against Estonia on 13 October 2002, which ended in a 3–2 defeat. He was named in the

2003 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup football tournament was the sixth FIFA Confederations Cup, held in France in June 2003. France retained the title they had won in 2001, but the tournament was overshadowed by the death of Cameroon player Marc-Vivie ...

squad in France by head coach Mick Waitt. He was also in the

2004 OFC Nations Cup The 2004 OFC Nations Cup was the edition of the tournament for the OFC Nations Cup and doubled as the qualification tournament to the 2006 FIFA World Cup, except the two-legged final. A separate playoff between Australia and Solomon Islands wa ...

squad and played in the 3–0 win over the Solomon Islands. He scored in a 2–1 win at Vanuatu in a

World Cup qualifier The FIFA World Cup qualification is a competitive match that a national association football team takes in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the (men's) FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments are hel ...

on 17 November 2007 and also scored a brace in the return fixture four days later. He featured in all six games of the

2008 OFC Nations Cup The 2008 OFC Nations Cup was the eighth edition of the OFC Nations Cup and the first under a new format. It took place as a series of as a home-and-away round-robin tournament on FIFA match dates in 2007 and 2008. Doubling as the qualification to ...

, which New Zealand won ahead of

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

and Vanuatu. He was named as part of the New Zealand squad for the

2009 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup was the eighth Confederations Cup, and was held in South Africa from 14 June to 28 June 2009, as a prelude to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The draw was held on 22 November 2008 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Joh ...

in June 2009. He made two starting appearances at right-back in defeats to Spain and South Africa, as well as a substitute appearance in the 0–0 draw with Iraq. Mulligan was named in New Zealand's final 23-man squad to compete at the

in South Africa; he had been selected by head coach

Ricki Herbert Ricki Lloyd Herbert (born 10 April 1961) is a New Zealand former footballer and manager. He is the current technical director at Cambridge FC. Herbert was formerly head coach of the New Zealand national team, stepping down after the side faile ...

despite Herbert having released him at Wellington Phoenix. However he did not feature in any of the games in the tournament itself.

Style of play

Mulligan was a two-footed player, able to play in midfield or at right-back. He was an accomplished free-kick taker.

Coaching career

Mulligan was appointed as head coach at

Northern League Northern League may refer to: Sport Baseball * Northern League (baseball, 1902–71), a name used by several minor leagues that operated in the upper midwestern U.S. and Manitoba from 1902 to 1971 * Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010), an indep ...

club

in October 2016.

Personal life

He married Michelle and the couple had their first child, Eden-Lily, in February 2017.

Career statistics

Club statistics

International statistics

International goals

Honours

;New Zealand * OFC Nations Cup:

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

;Doncaster Rovers * Football League Third Division: 2003–04 ;Scunthorpe United * League One: 2006–07 ;Auckland City * OFC Champions League:

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

;Waitakere United *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mulligan, David 1982 births Living people Sportspeople from Bootle New Zealand people of English descent New Zealand association footballers New Zealand international footballers Association football defenders Barnsley F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players Scunthorpe United F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Wellington Phoenix FC players Auckland City FC players Waitakere United players English Football League players A-League Men players Expatriate footballers in England New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in England New Zealand Football Championship players 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2004 OFC Nations Cup players 2008 OFC Nations Cup players 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2010 FIFA World Cup players New Zealand association football coaches New Zealand youth international footballers New Zealand under-20 international footballers New Zealand under-23 international footballers