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

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

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...

. He formerly managed Welsh sides Carmarthen Town and

Neath Neath (; ) 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 population of 19,2 ...

, and American soccer club

Atlantic City Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of the Atlantic City- Hammonton metropolitan sta ...

. He is currently first team coach at Swansea City.

Playing career

Born in

Port Talbot Port Talbot (, ) is a town and community (Wales), 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 d ...

, 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. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1887, ...

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 'Th ...

, on 17 March he turned out as a trialist for

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

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 runs eas ...

. 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. It was found ...

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

' 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 "Pep" Clotet Ruiz (born 28 April 1977) is a Spanish Association football, football coach. As well as working as assistant at several clubs, he managed UE Cornellà, Cornellà, UE Figueres, Figueres, RCD Espanyol B, Espanyol B, Halmstads B ...

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 was most recently the head coach of club Cambridge United. Monk, a centre back, began his playing career with Torquay United before joining ...

. 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 who is currently the head coach of Scottish Premiership club Rangers. Born in England, he represented Scotland at international level. ...

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

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

ahead of the 2022/23 season.

Honours

Swansea City *

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...

: 2005–06

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