John Francis O'Shea (; born 30 April 1981) is an Irish professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach and former player who is currently assistant manager of the Republic of Ireland men's national team. He was known for his versatility in playing several defensive and midfield positions on either side of the pitch or the centre. With 14 winners' medals, he is one of the most decorated Irish footballers of all time; only Denis Irwin, Roy Keane, Steve Heighway and Ronnie Whelan have accrued more honours. Born in County

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

and growing up in Ferrybank, O'Shea joined

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

when he was 17. He spent loan spells at AFC Bournemouth and Royal Antwerp before establishing himself in the Manchester United first team, going on to make 393 appearances and scoring 15 times in all competitions across 12 seasons. He won five

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

titles, one

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, two Football League Cups, four

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s, the

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and the

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with the club. He joined

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

in July 2011. Having played 256 times for the Wearside club and scoring four goals, he signed for Championship side Reading in July 2018. Retiring in May 2019, he joined that club's coaching staff that summer, before leaving in the summer of 2021. He then coached at Stoke City and

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

. O'Shea made his Republic of Ireland debut in 2001 against

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and made 118 appearances for his national team over the next 17 years, scoring three goals, his first in 2003 against

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. He was part of the team that controversially lost to France in a play-off for the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

and went on to play in UEFA Euro 2012 and UEFA Euro 2016. He then served as assistant manager on the under-21 and senior teams, as well as interim manager of the latter in 2024.

Club career

Manchester United

1999–2006

Before joining the

academy, O'Shea played for Ferrybank AFC and Waterford Bohemians. He signed professional forms at the age of 17 and made his professional debut on 13 October 1999 against Aston Villa at Villa Park in a 3–0 Football League Cup defeat. In January 2000, O'Shea was loaned to AFC Bournemouth in the Football League Second Division. He played 11 total games for the Cherries and scored once in the third minute of a 3–1 loss at Millwall on 19 February. After a loan to Belgian side Royal Antwerp, he returned to Manchester and began to feature in the United first team in the 2002–03 season, demonstrating versatility by playing at left-back, right-back, centre-back and central midfield during the successful 2002–03 Premier League campaign. In 2003–04, United were without Rio Ferdinand after he began a suspension for missing a drugs test in January, and O'Shea took over from Ferdinand in central defence, helping United reach the

FA Cup final The FA Cup Final is the last match in the FA Cup, Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the List of sports attendance figures, most attended domestic football events in the world, with an official attendance of 89,472 ...

where they triumphed 3–0 over Millwall. He displayed indifferent form in the 2004–05 season and was linked with a move away from Manchester, with Newcastle United and

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

being linked with the Irishman. One of the highlights of Manchester United's otherwise slightly disappointing season was the 4–2 away victory against Arsenal, in which O'Shea scored the fourth goal by chipping Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia from the edge of the 18-yard box. An injury to Gary Neville in the 2005–06 season also gave O'Shea more first-team opportunities. He was criticised for his lacklustre performances that season, and was reportedly one of the players lambasted by United veteran Roy Keane in a controversial interview on the club's MUTV channel.

2007–2011

On 4 February 2007, during a league game against Tottenham Hotspur, O'Shea deputised for Edwin van der Sar in goal after Van der Sar was taken off the pitch for a broken nose, while Manchester United had already used all three substitutes. During this time, he denied his Republic of Ireland teammate Robbie Keane a goal with a save a few minutes before full-time. Following this incident, United fans chanted ''"Ireland's number one"'' in O'Shea's honour. A month later, he won over many United fans by scoring a stoppage-time winner against Liverpool at Anfield for United in the league, having come on as a substitute for Wayne Rooney. This goal was important in United going on to regain the Premier League trophy for the 2006–07 season. He also rescued his team against Everton in one of the final games of the season, when he bundled the ball into the net after Everton goalkeeper Iain Turner fumbled a Ryan Giggs corner. United went on to win 4–2. This was perhaps an even more decisive goal, as

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

were drawing with Chelsea at the same time and defeat would have let Chelsea back into the title race. He scored another goal from close range, in a 2–1 defeat away to

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

that season, this goal came during an injury-hit part of the season, where O'Shea, as a versatile player, was required to play at full-back. O'Shea had a shooting accuracy of 100% and scored with 80% of his shots in the 2006–07 season. During the 2007–08 season, Manchester United used O'Shea as an emergency striker due to injury problems. His use as a striker gave him the distinction of having played in every position for Manchester United. In November 2007, O'Shea extended his contract at Manchester United, to keep him at the club until 2012. Throughout the 2007–08 season, O'Shea came off the bench several times as United won a Premier League and Champions League double. O'Shea captained his club for the first time during a 2–0 home defeat to Coventry City in the League Cup Fourth Round. Throughout the 2008–09 season, O'Shea became a regular within the team, deputising at right-back because of injuries to Gary Neville and Wes Brown. On 20 January 2009, O'Shea scored his first goal of the season against Derby County in the second leg of the League Cup semi-final. O'Shea then started the 2009 Football League Cup final, before being replaced by Nemanja Vidić on 76 minutes, United won the game 4–1 on penalties. On 29 April 2009, O'Shea scored the only goal of the game in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final against Arsenal, this set United up to go on and win in the second leg by 4–1 on aggregate. O'Shea started and played the full 90 minutes in the 2009 Champions League final 2–0 loss to

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, and by many accounts was one of United's better performers on the night. Sir Alex Ferguson had promised O'Shea, who was an unused substitute in the 2008 Champions League final, a starting place in the 2009 final for his contribution to the team that season. O'Shea captained United for the second time against

in their first game of the 2009–10 Premier League season. On his 350th appearance he scored his first league goal in over two years against Stoke City on 29 September 2009, a header in a 2–0 win. He captained the team for the third time in the second leg of United's 2010–11 UEFA Champions League semi-final victory over Schalke 04, but was not named in the squad for the final. O'Shea made 393 total appearances for Manchester United.

Sunderland

On 7 July 2011, O'Shea signed a four-year contract with

, managed by former Manchester United captain Steve Bruce, who paid Manchester United an undisclosed fee for O'Shea. In his first appearance for Sunderland, a friendly against Arminia Bielefeld, O'Shea picked up a hamstring injury, ruling him out for the rest of pre-season and the start of the 2011–12 campaign. O'Shea made his first competitive appearance for Sunderland on 27 August 2011 in a goalless draw against Swansea. O'Shea scored his first Sunderland goal at the Stadium of Light in the 2012–13 season in a 2–1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur. At the end of the 2016–17 season, which ended in Sunderland's relegation, O'Shea's contract had initially expired. However, the Irishman agreed to sign a one-year contract lasting until July 2018. O'Shea scored his first club goal for more than four years to help Sunderland clinch a 4–1 away win over Derby County to move off the bottom of the Championship table on 30 March 2018. At the end of the season, O'Shea suffered a second consecutive relegation with Sunderland as the team finished in last place.

Reading

On 6 June 2018, O'Shea agreed terms on a one-year deal with Championship club Reading. He would link up with his compatriot David Meyler who had signed for the

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

club a day earlier. O'Shea made his Reading debut on 14 August 2018, coming on as an 82nd-minute substitute for Yakou Méïté in a 2–0 home win against

in the

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

. He made his league debut for the club on 22 September in a 3–0 home victory over Hull City in a match which he received a straight red card for a foul on Chris Martin. O'Shea announced his retirement from football on 30 April 2019, his 38th birthday, and made his final career appearance five days later in a goalless draw at home to Birmingham City where he received a guard of honour from both sets of players.

International career

O'Shea earned his first senior cap for the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

on 15 August 2001, when manager Mick McCarthy sent him on as an 84th-minute substitute for Gary Kelly in a friendly against

at Lansdowne Road. He gave away a penalty for handball in injury time, which was scored by Davor Šuker for a 2–2 draw. He was not included in the Irish squad for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. On 19 August 2003, O'Shea scored his first international goal as he headed in Ireland's first in a 2–1 home friendly victory over

. During the 2010 World Cup qualifying, O'Shea was ever present in the starting line-up for eight of the 10 games. On 1 April 2009, in the game against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, he was elbowed in the forehead by Giampaolo Pazzini, who earned the record for the fastest sending off in Italian football history. After receiving treatment for the bleeding, O'Shea continued playing all 90 minutes. Gdansk PGE Arena ESP-IRE Euro 2012 11

Including the second leg of their play-off victory over

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

, made nine appearances in UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying, as Ireland reached the continental tournament for the first time since 1988. He played every minute of their finals campaign, a group stage elimination after three defeats. On 15 August 2012, his 80th cap, O'Shea captained Ireland for the first time, in a goalless friendly draw against

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

at the Red Star Stadium in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

. On 15 October 2013, he opened a 3–1 World Cup qualifying victory over

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

at the Aviva Stadium, his second international goal and the first in over a decade. O'Shea was scheduled to face

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on 11 June 2013 at

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx in New York City. It is the home field of Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. The stadium opened in April 2009, replacing the Yankee S ...

in New York, but was ruled out of the game over the sudden death of his uncle Jimmy O'Leary. On 14 October 2014, on his 100th cap, O'Shea scored the equalising goal with the last kick of the match, in a 1–1 draw against

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

at Gelsenkirchen, in a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match. In the final qualifier, a 2–1 defeat away to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

on 11 October 2015, he was sent off for a foul on

Robert Lewandowski Robert Lewandowski (; born 21 August 1988) is a Polish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for club FC Barcelona, Barcelona. Widely regarded as one of the greatest strikers of a ...

and thus missed the first leg of the Republic's play-off. O'Shea was selected in manager

Martin O'Neill Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, (born 1 March 1952) is a Northern Irish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player who played as a midfielder. After a brief early career in the Irish Leag ...

's 23-man squad for UEFA Euro 2016 in France. In the absence of Robbie Keane, he captained the Irish in their first two group matches, a 1–1 draw with

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and a 3–0 loss to

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. He was one of several players who lost their starting place for the decisive final game against Italy, as he and defensive partner

Ciaran Clark Ciaran Clark (born 26 September 1989) is a professional footballer who plays for Baller League club Trebol FC. In eleven-a-side football, he operates as a centre-back, central midfielder or left-back. Clark is a product of the Aston Villa Aca ...

made way for Shane Duffy and Richard Keogh; the game ended with a 1–0 victory. In the last 16, as Ireland lost 2–1 to the hosts at Parc Olympique Lyonnais, O'Shea entered as a 68th-minute substitute for James McClean. Over a year after his penultimate game for Ireland, O'Shea played his final of 118 matches on 2 June 2018, a 2–1 friendly win over the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

at the Aviva Stadium. After 34 minutes, he was substituted to widespread applause as debutant Darragh Lenihan came onto the pitch. Before the game, he was congratulated by the

President of Ireland The president of Ireland () is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The presidency is a predominantly figurehead, ceremonial institution, serving as ...

, Michael D. Higgins, who called him "one of the most inspirational, committed and admired members of our national teams".

Coaching career

In April 2020, O'Shea was named as assistant manager of the Republic of Ireland under-21 team under manager Jim Crawford. On 22 July 2022, O'Shea joined Stoke City as first-team coach. He was one of 20 coaches who successfully completed their

UEFA Pro Licence The UEFA coaching licences are documents testifying credentials of manager (association football), managers/ coach (sport), coaches among members of UEFA. The governing body for association football, football in Europe mandates several licences, e ...

course with the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) in December 2022. O'Shea left his role at Stoke on 12 May 2023. On 22 February 2023, O'Shea was named assistant manager of the Republic of Ireland senior team, under manager Stephen Kenny. He left in November after Kenny's contract ended. When Wayne Rooney was appointed manager of EFL Championship club

in October 2023, O'Shea joined his staff as a first-team coach. He left by mutual consent at his own request a few days after Rooney's sacking in January 2024. On 28 February 2024, O'Shea was named as interim manager of the senior Republic of Ireland team for the March friendlies against

and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, while the Football Association of Ireland continued their search for a permanent manager. He continued as interim manager for the friendlies against

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

in June. His debut on 23 March was a goalless draw at home to Belgium, with Evan Ferguson missing a penalty. In August 2024, O'Shea returned to his role as assistant coach of the Republic of Ireland team under new manager Heimir Hallgrímsson.

Personal life

O'Shea married his long-term partner, Yvonne Manning, in the Lady Chapel in

Maynooth Maynooth (; ) is a university town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to Maynooth University (part of the National University of Ireland and also known as the National University of Ireland, Maynooth) and St Patrick's College, Maynoo ...

, County Kildare, Ireland on 8 June 2010. They have a son and a daughter.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Ireland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each O'Shea goal.''

Managerial statistics

Honours

Manchester United *

: 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11 *

: 2003–04 * Football League Cup: 2005–06, 2008–09 *

: 2003, 2007, 2008,

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

: 2007–08 *

: 2008 Sunderland *Football League Cup runner-up: 2013–14 Republic of Ireland U16 * UEFA European Under-16 Championship: 1998 Individual * Denzil Haroun Reserve Team Player of the Year: 2001–02 * FAI Senior International Player of the Year: 2014

References

External links

John O'Shea Profile
at the Manchester United F.C. website *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oshea, John 1981 births Living people Association footballers from Waterford (city) Association footballers from County Waterford Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of Ireland expatriate men's association footballers Republic of Ireland men's under-21 international footballers Republic of Ireland men's international footballers Republic of Ireland men's youth international footballers Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders Men's association football utility players Manchester United F.C. players AFC Bournemouth players Royal Antwerp F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players Belgian Pro League players Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Irish expatriate sportspeople in England Irish expatriate sportspeople in Belgium UEFA Euro 2012 players UEFA Euro 2016 players FIFA Men's Century Club UEFA Champions League–winning players Reading F.C. non-playing staff Stoke City F.C. non-playing staff Birmingham City F.C. non-playing staff Irish association football coaches 21st-century Irish sportsmen