Paul Leeman (born 21 January 1978) is a Northern Irish football coach and former footballer who is currently first team coach at Crusaders. He notably played for Glentoran for 15 years and captained the side to Irish League and cup titles, playing 597 times for the team, before being released in 2011. He moved to Crusaders in 2011, where he spent 4 years, winning another league title, Setanta Cup and

Irish League Cup The Northern Ireland Football League Cup (BetMcLean League Cup for sponsorship purposes), also known colloquially as the Irish League Cup, is a national football knock-out cup competition in Northern Ireland open to all member clubs of the Nort ...

. He began coaching at Glentoran in 2018, becoming assistant manager in January 2019, before returning to his coaching role when

Mick McDermott Michael McDermott (born 1974 in Belfast) is a Northern Irish former professional football player, and is currently the assistant manager to Carlos Queiroz at the Qatar national team. Dermott has held various coaching roles in professional footbal ...

arrived at the club. Leeman left Glentoran in the summer of 2019.

Playing career

Glentoran

After playing for Dungoyne Boys, Leeman joined Glentoran as a schoolboy in 1993. Two years later he made his first-team debut. Initially playing in midfield and at right back, he switched to centre-back. He was named as the

Ulster Footballer of the Year The Ulster Footballer of the Year is the older of two association football player of the year awards in Northern Ireland. (The other is the Northern Ireland Football Writers' Association award.) It is awarded by Castlereagh Glentoran Supporters ...

for the 2004/05 season. Leeman missed almost all of the 2005–06 season. He brought his children out with him to lift the Irish Premier League trophy after Glentoran had beaten Cliftonville to see off the challenge of Linfield who had beaten Crusaders 5–0 at

Seaview Seaview or Sea View may refer to: Places * Clifton Beach, Karachi, also known as Sea View, a beach in Pakistan * Sea View, Dorset, a suburb in England * Seaview, Isle of Wight, a small village in England * Seaview, Lower Hutt, an industrial suburb ...

. He had his testimonial against

Roy Keane Roy Maurice Keane (born 10 August 1971) is an Irish football pundit, coach and former professional player. He is the joint most successful Irish footballer of all time, having won 19 major trophies in his club career, 17 of which came during ...

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 ...

, a 3–1 defeat. He was the fourth generation of his family to play for Glentoran.

Crusaders

Leeman joined fellow Belfast side Crusaders in June 2011, linking up with former Glens team-mate Michael Halliday. He scored his first Crusaders goal in a 5-1 league victory over

Carrick Rangers Carrick Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional Northern Irish football club playing in NIFL Premiership. The club, founded in 1939, hails from Carrickfergus, County Antrim and plays its home matches at Taylors Avenue which is known as ...

on 29 October 2011.

Coaching career

Leeman returned to Glentoran as a coach on 24 May 2018 alongside former team-mate

Gary Smyth Gary Smyth (born 20 December 1969 in Belfast), nicknamed Smickers is a Northern Irish former footballer and manager. He played as a centre back for Glentoran, Glenavon, Ballymena and Crusaders. He previously managed Glentoran in 2019 and had two ...

. He became assistant manager on 3 January 2019, in a role he held until 31 March 2019. Following the sale of Glentoran, Leeman left the team in controversial circumstances on 23 May 2019, two days after Smyth. He returned to Crusaders in July 2019, filling the post of first team coach vacated by the long-serving Charlie Murphy.

Honours

Glentoran * Irish Premier League (4): 1998-99, 2002-03, 2004-05, 2008-09 * Irish Cup (4): 1997–98, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2003–04 * Gold Cup (3): 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000 *

(5): 2000–01, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2006–07, 2009–10 * County Antrim Shield (6): 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2007–08 Crusaders * NIFL Premiership (1): 2014–15 *

(1): 2011–12 * Setanta Cup (1):

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 ...

References

External links

Official Glentoran websiteGlentoran captain could miss rest of seasonLeeman ready for Glentoran returnGlentoran clinch Premiership titleLeeman starts despite virusLeeman could miss Premier openerLeeman on target for Glentoran
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leeman, Paul Association footballers from Belfast 1978 births Living people Crusaders F.C. players Glentoran F.C. players Association footballers from Northern Ireland Ulster Footballers of the Year NIFL Premiership players Association football defenders