Kristian Denis O'Leary (born 30 August 1977) is a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

football coach and 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 ...

. He is best known for his spells both as a player and coach at

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...

. He formerly managed Welsh sides Carmarthen Town and

Neath Neath (; cy, Castell-nedd) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a po ...

, and American soccer club

Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...

Playing career

Born in

Port Talbot Port Talbot (, ) is a town and community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately from Swansea. The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which dominates the south ...

, O'Leary began his career as a trainee at

, having signed for the club as a schoolboy at the age of 14 in 1992. He made his professional debut for the club during the 1995–96 season. His favoured position is in midfield, although he has also played in central defence and at right-back. O'Leary spent part of the 2002–03 season as the club captain. O'Leary was a one club man until November 2006 when he joined

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league syst ...

on a month's loan, later turning down the chance to move to the club on a permanent basis. In August 2009, he moved to Leyton Orient on a one-month loan deal, making three appearances before returning to Swansea. Having made over 300 appearances for Swansea City in a spell lasting nearly 15 years, O'Leary left the club by mutual consent on 2 February 2010. After a spell training with

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'The ...

, on 17 March he turned out as a trialist for

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

reserves against Preston North End reserves after training with the Conference side the week before. On 26 March 2010 he signed an initial one-month contract with the club with a view to a longer deal, making his debut the following day in a 3–0 win over

Histon Histon is a village and civil parish in the South Cambridgeshire district, in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is immediately north of Cambridge – and is separated from the city – by the A14 road (England), A14 road which r ...

. On 12 July 2010, he joined

Welsh Premier League The Cymru Premier, known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons, is the national football league of Wales. It has both professional and semi-professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. Prior to 20 ...

side

. The club stated that "''Kris is invaluable to add steel and direction to a young squad in readiness for next season''".

Coaching career

On 15 November 2011, he was named caretaker manager after the departures of Neath's management team. He left the club at the end of the season following the club's liquidation. On 4 July 2012, he rejoined

, this time head coach of the newly formed U21 squad. His job at Swansea would involve coaching the young professionals as manager of the reserve team. In February 2014, he moved positions within the club to start working with the first team and he was made assistant first team coach, where he remained until December 2015. On 9 December 2015, O'Leary left his position at Swansea City, along with

Pep Clotet Josep Clotet Ruiz (born 28 April 1977) is a Spanish football coach, currently in charge of Italian Serie B club Brescia. As well as working as assistant at several clubs, he managed Cornellà, Figueres, Espanyol B, Halmstad, Málaga B, Oxfor ...

and James Beattie, following the sacking of manager

Garry Monk Garry Alan Monk (born 6 March 1979) is an English football manager and former professional player who played as a centre back, and was most recently the manager of Championship club Sheffield Wednesday. His managerial career includes spells at ...

. In March 2018, O'Leary was appointed Head Coach of the newly formed NSPL side Atlantic City FC. In November 2019 he was appointed manager of Carmarthen Town. In 2021, he returned to Swansea City as manager of the club's U23s.During the closing of the 2021-22 season, O’ Leary was regularly seen in the dugout with

and

Russell Martin (footballer) Russell Kenneth Alexander Martin (born 4 January 1986) is a professional football manager and former player. He is the head coach of Championship club Swansea City. A former defender, Martin began his playing career at Brighton & Hove Albion's ...

, he also helped out during the 2022-23, pre season trip to Penyhill Park. On July 6, 2022, O’Leary was appointed first team coach at

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

ahead of the 2022/23 season.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:OLeary, Kristian Welsh men's footballers Swansea City A.F.C. players Cheltenham Town F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Wrexham A.F.C. players 1977 births Living people Welsh people of Irish descent Sportspeople from Port Talbot English Football League players National League (English football) players Neath F.C. players Welsh football managers Cymru Premier managers Neath F.C. managers Swansea City A.F.C. non-playing staff Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders Carmarthen Town A.F.C. managers Expatriate soccer coaches in the United States