Stephen Gerard O'Donnell (born 11 May 1992) is a Scottish 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 plays as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...

and the Scotland national team. He has previously played for

Partick Thistle Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland. Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908. ...

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

and

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

, and was

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...

once by the Scotland under-21 team in 2013.

Club career

Early career

A pupil at St Aidan's High School in

Wishaw Wishaw ( sco, Wishae or Wisha ; gd, Camas Neachdain) is a large town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, on the edge of the Clyde Valley, south-east of Glasgow city centre. The Burgh of Wishaw was formed in 1855 within Lanarkshire. it formed ...

, O'Donnell began his career as a youth player with Wishaw Wycombe Wanderers and captained the

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

under-17 team. He then joined

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

, where he was part of the team that won the

Scottish Youth Cup The Scottish Youth Cup (also known as the SFA Youth Cup) is an annual Scottish football competition run by the Scottish Football Association for under-18 teams,

and under-19 league title in 2010–11.

Partick Thistle

O'Donnell was released by Celtic in 2011 and on 23 August 2011 signed for

on a one-year contract after impressing on

trial In law, a trial is a coming together of Party (law), parties to a :wikt:dispute, dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence (law), evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to Adjudication, adjudicate claims or d ...

. He went on to make his debut on 17 September as a substitute in a 4–0 win at home to

Ayr United Ayr United Football Club are a football club in Ayr, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League. Formed in 1910 by the merger of Ayr Parkhouse and Ayr F.C., their nickname is ...

. In 2012–13, O'Donnell played in 38 matches as Partick Thistle won

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

to the

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish ...

and reached the final of the

Scottish Challenge Cup The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup,PFA Scotland First Division Team of the Year as a result of his performances. SOD vs Limassol

On 27 January 2015,

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

club

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

upped an initial offer of £50,000 for O'Donnell to £125,000. This offer was accepted by Partick Thistle, however, O'Donnell rejected the personal terms on offer at Blackpool in favour of seeing the remaining six months of his contract. He left Partick Thistle upon the expiry of his contract at the end of the 2014–15 season, having made 139 appearances for the club.

Luton Town

On 22 June 2015, O'Donnell signed a two-year contract with

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

club

. He made his Luton debut in a 3–1 win at home to newly promoted Championship club

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

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 ...

on 11 August. O'Donnell's first goal for the club was a 90th-minute winner in a 2–1 win at home to

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a professio ...

in the

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Leag ...

on 1 September. He finished the 2015–16 season with 33 appearances and one goal. O'Donnell netted his second Luton goal in 2016–17 from a 25-yard shot in a 1–1 draw at home to

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town L.F.C. Bridgwater United Women's Football Club are an English women's association football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset who wer ...

on 13 August 2016. However, a loss of form saw O'Donnell lose his place in the team to academy graduate James Justin after a 2–0 defeat away to

Crawley Town Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The club was founded as Crawley Football Club in 1896, changed its name to Crawley Town Football Club in 1958. The team co ...

on 17 September. He regained his place in the team to make his first league start in five matches after Justin suffered a calf injury in the warm up before Luton's 2–1 win away to Leyton Orient on 15 October. O'Donnell lost his place once more when Justin returned from injury for Luton's 3–1 win away to

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

on 5 November, but a

half-time In several team sports, matches are played in two halves. Half-time (also written halftime or half time) is the name given to the interval between the two halves of the match. Typically, after half-time, teams swap ends of the field of play in or ...

substitute appearance in the next round at home to

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

club

Solihull Moors Solihull Moors Football Club is a professional football club based in Solihull, England. The club currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system, after achieving promotion from the National Leag ...

on 3 December saw him score twice as Luton overturned a 2–0 deficit to win 6–2. He was then recalled to the

starting lineup In sports, a starting lineup is an official list of the set of players who will participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as ''starters'', whereas the others are ''substitutes'' o ...

by manager Nathan Jones for the subsequent league match at home to

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...

, which resulted in a 1–1 draw. O'Donnell was released when his contract expired at the end of 2016–17.

Kilmarnock

O'Donnell signed a three-year contract with Scottish Premiership club

on 4 July 2017. O'Donnell performed well following the appointment of Steve Clarke as Kilmarnock manager, and he was selected for the

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

squad in May 2018. Kilmarnock offered O'Donnell a new three-year contract in August 2019, but he opted to evaluate his contract situation at the end of the season. During January 2020

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and t ...

made an offer for O'Donnell, but a deal was not completed before the closure of the transfer window. He rejected a new contract with Kilmarnock at the end of the 2019–20 season.

Motherwell

On 13 August 2020,

announced the signing of O'Donnell on a contract until the next transfer window. On 1 February 2021, he agreed a new contract with Motherwell until the end of the season. On 13 April 2021, O'Donnell signed a new two-year contract with Motherwell, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2023.

International career

O'Donnell made one appearance for the Scotland under-21 team in February 2013. He received his first call-up to the Scotland national team in May 2018, for friendly matches against

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. O'Donnell made his full Scotland debut on 29 May 2018, in a 2–0 defeat to Peru. He retained his place in the squad for the matches in September 2018, and "excelled" in the 2–0 win against

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

on 10 September. O'Donnell was selected in the Scotland squad for

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

and played in all three of their matches at the tournament. His performance in the opening game against the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

was criticised, but was then praised after the goalless draw against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in the second match. In September 2021 he gained his 23rd cap overall and 12th as a Motherwell player in a 1–0 away win over

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

during 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification; as well as being praised for aspects of his performance against the highly regarded

David Alaba David Olatukunbo Alaba (born 24 June 1992) is an Austrian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or left-back for La Liga club Real Madrid and captains the Austria national team. Alaba started out in Bayern's youth system before b ...

, he also equalled a long-standing Motherwell club caps record set by George Stevenson in the 1930s.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Partick Thistle *

Scottish First Division The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. History The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 to replace the old Scottish Football League Division Two, as t ...

: 2012–13 *

Scottish Challenge Cup The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup,2012–13 Individual *

PFA Scotland Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Scotland Team of the Year (often called the PFA Scotland Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 44 footballers in the four national tiers of the Scottish foot ...

2012–13 Scottish First Division The 2012–13 Scottish Football League First Division, also known as the 2012–13 Irn Bru Scottish Football League First Division for sponsorship reasons, was the 18th season of the Scottish Football League First Division and the 107th season of a ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:ODonnell, Stephen 1992 births Living people Footballers from Bellshill Scottish footballers Scotland under-21 international footballers Scotland international footballers Association football fullbacks Association football utility players Aberdeen F.C. players Celtic F.C. players Partick Thistle F.C. players Luton Town F.C. players Kilmarnock F.C. players Motherwell F.C. players Scottish Football League players Scottish Professional Football League players English Football League players UEFA Euro 2020 players