Stephen James O'Donnell (born 10 July 1983) is a Scottish
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 ...
who plays as a
midfielder
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 ...
. He began his career with
Dundee United
Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...
, making his debut in 2002. He spent time on loan with Ross County before leaving Dundee United in 2005 to play briefly in England with
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 known ...
. Returning to Scottish football, O'Donnell had spells with
Clyde Clyde may refer to:
People
* Clyde (given name)
* Clyde (surname)
Places
For townships see also Clyde Township
Australia
* Clyde, New South Wales
* Clyde, Victoria
* Clyde River, New South Wales
Canada
* Clyde, Alberta
* Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...
and St Mirren before joining Dundee in 2010, where he later became club captain. He rejoined Clyde in 2014 and left the club in 2015. He was a Scotland under-20 international.
Club career
Dundee United
Born in Bellshill, O'Donnell began his career with
Dundee United
Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...
, making his first-team début in March 2002 and featuring six times in the final months of 2001–02, signing an extended contract in the process. The following season, O'Donnell featured in fourteen matches, scoring a hat-trick in the
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
and netting in the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Hibernian. Before the start of the 2003–04 season, manager Ian McCall allowed O'Donnell to join Ross County on loan, where he was reunited with
Alex Smith
Alexander Douglas Smith (born May 7, 1984) is an American former quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He played college football at Utah, where he received first-team All-American honors and won the 2 ...
, who gave him his senior début at United. Initially signing on loan for six months, the deal was extended for the duration of the season, with O'Donnell playing most matches. Failing to break back into the United first team in 2004–05, O'Donnell went on trial at English side
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 known ...
, joining in February for the rest of the season.
Clyde
After failing to win a long-term contract with Boston United, O'Donnell returned to Scotland to sign for
Clyde Clyde may refer to:
People
* Clyde (given name)
* Clyde (surname)
Places
For townships see also Clyde Township
Australia
* Clyde, New South Wales
* Clyde, Victoria
* Clyde River, New South Wales
Canada
* Clyde, Alberta
* Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...
. O'Donnell scored ten goals for the club during the 2005–06 season and was rewarded partway through with a new 18-month contract. O'Donnell scored a penalty at Ibrox against Rangers in the
Scottish League Cup
The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...
, to put Clyde 2–1 up, though they lost 5–2 after extra time. O'Donnell also got the opportunity to score against the other half of the Old Firm, Celtic, a few months later in the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Artur Boruc
Artur Boruc (; born 20 February 1980) is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
He began his career in the Polish third division with hometown club Pogoń Siedlce. He joined Ekstraklasa team Legia Warsaw in 1999 a ...
. He also took the resulting corner kick, which led to the winning Clyde goal as they pulled off a famous cup upset.
St Mirren
O'Donnell signed for St Mirren on 30 January 2007 and scored his first goal within three weeks, netting in the 1–1 draw against Hearts at Tynecastle. In December 2007, O'Donnell suffered a broken
metatarsal
The metatarsal bones, or metatarsus, are a group of five long bones in the foot, located between the tarsal bones of the hind- and mid-foot and the phalanges of the toes. Lacking individual names, the metatarsal bones are numbered from the me ...
in training, ruling him out for three months. He made his return from injury in mid-April by appearing on the bench, unused, and had played a few games towards the end of the season. At the end of the season, O'Donnell signed a one-year contract extension.
The following season, O'Donnell had made 8 appearances this 2008–09 season for St Mirren despite injury problems on his knee. By in late November, O'Donnell was soon prepared to return from injury and return to fitness following a course of injections. However, O'Donnell was injured again on the knee and needed a specialist in order to recover from his knee injuries O'Donnell shortly spoke about his injury, saying that it was the worst spell of his career due to back to back injuries. In May, O'Donnell made a recovery, and having not played for almost eight months, played in a reserves match against Aberdeen. On his return, He scored a goal in the 3–1 defeat against Motherwell on 10 May 2009.
The following season, O'Donnell recovered from injury, leading him to his return to the starting eleven. In the first round of
Scottish League Cup
The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...
, O'Donnell scored his first goal of the season in a 6–3 win over
East Stirlingshire
East Stirlingshire Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish association football club based in the town of Falkirk. The club was founded in 1881 and competes in the , in the fifth tier of the Scottish football league system. The club's origins ca ...
; he then scored his first league goal in a 2–1 loss against Rangers and two weeks later on 5 December 2009, he scored another in a 3–2 loss against
Dundee United
Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...
. On 1 May 2010, he scored an 86th-minute header against Falkirk which almost certainly secured SPL survival for the Saints. But on 10 June 2010, St Mirren announced that O'Donnell was to leave the club as he was not part of new manager
Danny Lennon
Danny Lennon (born 6 April 1969) is a Scottish football manager and former player, who was most recently the manager of Scottish League One club Clyde.
In his playing career he is best known for his spells at Raith Rovers and Partick Thistle. ...
's plans.
Dundee
On 16 July 2010, he signed a one-year deal with Dundee after being on trial. On the opening game of the season, he made his debut, coming on for
Leigh Griffiths
Leigh Griffiths (born 20 August 1990) is a Scottish professional footballer who most recently played as a striker for Australian club Mandurah City.
Griffiths started his career at Livingston where he made his debut as a sixteen-year-old. He ...
in a 77th minutes, in a 1–0 win over Queen of the South; several weeks later, he scored his first goal in a 2–0 win over Falkirk. Six month later since joining Dundee, O'Donnell spoke out about the club's recent administration which led to 25 points deducted as punishment and that, he won't forget the time when his teammates face the sack. Later in the season, O'Donnell would score two more goals against
Stirling Albion
Stirling Albion Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Stirling. The club was founded in 1945 following the demise of King's Park after World War II. The club currently competes in Scottish League Two as a member of the ...
and
Raith Rovers
Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the town of Kirkcaldy, Fife. The club was founded in 1883 and currently competes in the Scottish Championship as a member of the Scottish Professional Football Leagu ...
. He since became a regular in the first team at Dundee.
The following season, O'Donnell started his season by scoring a winning goal in extra time, and also set up a goal for
Steven Milne
Steven Milne (born 5 May 1980) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a striker for Dundee, Forfar Athletic, Plymouth Argyle, St Johnstone, Ross County and Arbroath. Milne received a runners-up medal in the 2003 Scottis ...
in a 2–1 win over Arbroath in the first round of Scottish Challenge Cup. On 10 September 2011, O'Donnell received a red card after a second bookable offence in a 1–0 win over
Raith Rovers
Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the town of Kirkcaldy, Fife. The club was founded in 1883 and currently competes in the Scottish Championship as a member of the Scottish Professional Football Leagu ...
; three-month later on 17 December 2011, he received a red card after a serious tackle on Iain Vigurs in a 1–1 draw against Ross County. After the match, the club would appeal O'Donnell's sending off The appeal was rejected – making O'Donnell miss three matches as punishment. O'Donnell made his return in a 3–0 win over Livingston on 14 January 2012 and set up the third goal in a match for Nicky Riley. On 7 April 2012, O'Donnell scored his first league goal in a 3–1 win over Falkirk and scored again in a 1–1 draw against Queen of the South the following week At the end of the season, O'Donnell signed a new deal with Dundee.
The following season, Dundee were promoted to Scottish Premier League after Rangers were demoted, and O'Donnell was appointed as a new captain at Dundee, describing being a captain as an honour. O'Donnell played against his former club Dundee United on 19 August 2012. However, during the match, O'Donnell received a straight red card, along with Johnny Russell after O'Donnell made a tackle on Russell, which led to brawl. After the match, both clubs appealed for their sending off, and the SFA said both O'Donnell and Russell's sendings off had been reduced to cautions for unsporting behaviour, leading both clubs to win the appeals, leading them to play the next game. Soon after his successful appeal, O'Donnell suffered an injury. In late December 2012, O'Donnell declared himself fit from injury. After three appearances, O'Donnell tore his cruciate ligament during a defeat by St Johnstone, causing him to miss the rest of the season. While being on the sidelines, he revealed he was suffering arthritis from a mild form of the condition in September, when he suffered a first injury of the season. While being on the sidelines, his captaincy was taken over by Gary Irvine
While on the sidelines, O'Donnell see his club being relegated back to the Scottish Championship and after a year on the sidelines despite making an appearance against
Dumbarton
Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990.
Dumbarton was the ca ...
on 29 December 2013, it announced that O'Donnell was released by the club after a four years spell.
Clyde (second spell)
On 29 August 2014, O'Donnell agreed a one-year contract at
Clyde Clyde may refer to:
People
* Clyde (given name)
* Clyde (surname)
Places
For townships see also Clyde Township
Australia
* Clyde, New South Wales
* Clyde, Victoria
* Clyde River, New South Wales
Canada
* Clyde, Alberta
* Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...
, joining the club for a second time. It was announced in May 2015 that he was to be released by the club.
International career
O'Donnell has played for his country at under-16, under-19 and under-20 level. In January 2004, O'Donnell was named in the Scotland under-21 squad to play against Hungary under-21s. but failed to add to his appearances at earlier levels.
Personal life
O'Donnell is the nephew of former Motherwell captain Phil O'Donnell, who died on the pitch on 29 December 2007. He is also a cousin of former Motherwell striker David Clarkson.