Kevin O'Callaghan (born 19 October 1961) is a former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

, who played as a

left winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. Born in England, he made 21 appearances for the Republic of Ireland national team scoring once.

Early years

O'Callaghan was born in Havering on the 19 October 1961 to Paddy and Barbara O'Callaghan.

Playing career

O'Callaghan enjoyed two spells at Millwall as well as stints at Portsmouth and Southend. His most successful years came after transferring to Ipswich Town for a record breaking £250,000 in 1980, joining Bobby Robson's revolution at the club. O'Callaghan contributed to Ipswich's victorious 1980-81 UEFA Cup campaign, making five appearances during the run. However he was not part of the squad for the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

itself. He also earned a call up to the Irish national team, who he represented on 21 occasions, scoring one goal. He was in the Portsmouth team that won promotion to the First Division in 1987 after nearly 30 years away, and then signed for Millwall, helping them reach the First Division in 1988 for the first time in their history. They stayed there for two years, and he stayed with them for a season after relegation. A knee injury brought his career to an abrupt end in 1993.

Coaching career

Following his playing career Kevin came into his own as a coach, at Millwall he helped plenty of talented youngsters reach their full potential including the likes of Tim Cahill.

Other Ventures

O'Callaghan appeared in the 1981 movie ''

Escape to Victory ''Escape to Victory'' (stylized as ''Victory'') is a 1981 American-British-Italian sports war film directed by John Huston and starring Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine, Max von Sydow and Pelé. The film is about Allied prisoners of wa ...

'', cast in the unfamiliar role of goalkeeper alongside

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...

Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Enzio Stallone (; born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone, ) is an American actor and filmmaker. After his beginnings as a struggling actor for a number of years upon arriving to New York City in 1969 and later Hollywood in 1974, h ...

and

Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; born 23 October 1940), known as Pelé (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FIFA, ...

. Baker, Danny & Kelly, Danny (2009) ''Classic Football Debates Settled Once and For All, Volume 1'', Ebury Press, , p. 233

Family life

O'Callaghan currently lives in Kent with his wife Mandy and daughters Kayley and Charlotte.

Honours

;

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...

Winner * 1978/79 FA Youth Cup * 1987–88

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third ti ...

;

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

Winner *

1980–81 UEFA Cup The 1980–81 UEFA Cup was won by Ipswich Town on aggregate over AZ Alkmaar. According to the 1979 UEFA decision, Fairs Cup entry criteria were finally abolished, and UEFA ranking was introduced. Albania did not join, and it ceded its place to ...

Runner up * 1980–81

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

(Level 1) * 1981–82

(Level 1) ;

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

Winner * 1986–87

References

External links

Millwall statsPortsmouth articleIpswich stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ocallaghan, Kevin 1961 births Living people Republic of Ireland association footballers Association football wingers Millwall F.C. players Ipswich Town F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players Southend United F.C. players UEFA Cup winning players Republic of Ireland international footballers Republic of Ireland under-21 international footballers English Football League players Footballers from Dagenham Association football coaches Millwall F.C. non-playing staff