Philip O'Donnell (25 March 1972 – 29 December 2007) was 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 lea ...
who played as a
midfielder
In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...
for
Motherwell
Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...
,
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 Foot ...
and
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system.
Formed in 1867 as an off ...
. He also earned one
international cap
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 e ...
for
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
and twice won the
PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year
The PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year, formerly known as the Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year, is named at the end of every Scottish football season. The members of the Professional Footballers' Association Scotland vote on which of its ...
award. He died after suffering cardiac arrest while playing for Motherwell against
Dundee United
Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...
on 29 December 2007, aged 35.
Career
Motherwell
O'Donnell was born on 25 March 1972 in
Bellshill
Bellshill (pronounced "Bells hill") is a town in North Lanarkshire in Scotland, southeast of Glasgow city centre and west of Edinburgh. Other nearby localities are Motherwell to the south, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton to the south ...
, North Lanarkshire, a few miles away from
Motherwell
Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...
's
Fir Park
Fir Park Stadium is a football stadium situated in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The stadium plays host to the home matches of Scottish Premiership club Motherwell and was the temporary home of Gretna for the 2007–2008 SPL season. ...
ground. O'Donnell began his career with his local team, making his first team debut in the 1990–91 season against St Mirren and soon became a regular first team player. He won a
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,4–3 victory over
Dundee United
Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...
in the final that year.
Ally McCoist
Alistair Murdoch McCoist (; born 24 September 1962) is a Scottish former association football, footballer who has since worked as a Manager (association football), manager and TV pundit.
McCoist began his playing career with Scottish club St Jo ...
commentating on the match describing him as being ''"brave as a lion"''.McLeod, Keith Grief Of Family, Fans And Stars For Phil O'Donnell The Daily Record (31 December 2007). That result earned Motherwell entry to European competition for the first time and O'Donnell became the club's youngest player in Europe, playing a tie against Polish side
GKS Katowice
GKS Katowice (; GKS stands for , ) is a Polish professional football club based in Katowice. They currently compete in the Ekstraklasa in the 2024–25 season after gaining promotion from the I liga in 2024.
History
In 1963 in Katowice a spe ...
Scotland on Sunday
''Scotland on Sunday'' is a Scottish Sunday newspaper, published in Edinburgh by National World and consequently assuming the role of Sunday sister to its daily stablemate ''The Scotsman''. It was originally printed in broadsheet format but in ...
'', 30 December 2007
He won the
PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year
The PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year, formerly known as the Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year, is named at the end of every Scottish football season. The members of the Professional Footballers' Association Scotland vote on which of its ...
award in 1992 and 1994 and earned one
cap
A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...
for the
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in men's international Association football, football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. They compete in three major professional tournaments: the FIFA World Cup, UEFA ...
, playing for 15 minutes as a substitute against
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 ...
on 8 September 1993, replacing David Bowman.Scottish National Teams – Match Details , '' SFA'' This form made him a target for bigger clubs and he moved to
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 Foot ...
in September 1994; the fee of £1.75m was the highest Motherwell had received for a player, a record that lasted until the same club signed David Turnbull in 2020.
Celtic
O'Donnell scored two goals in his debut for Celtic against
Partick Thistle
Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland and currently plays in the . Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not ...
and went on to win another Scottish Cup in 1995. He also earned his sole league winner's medal with the club in 1998, but injuries proved to be a major concern and his appearances for the club were limited. In 1999 O'Donnell was among a number of players who failed to agree terms on a new contract with Celtic chairman
Fergus McCann
Fergus John McCann (born 26 February 1941) is a Scottish–Canadian businessman and entrepreneur.
Biography
McCann's wealth stemmed initially from a golf vacation company, based in Montreal and Phoenix. He is best known for his involvement in ...
and instead moved on.
Sheffield Wednesday
After leaving Celtic as a free agent, O'Donnell signed for Sheffield Wednesday later that year. He made his debut against Everton on 11 September 1999, but injuries continued to curtail his career and he played just one match during his first season (when the club were relegated from the
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 ...
). He went on to play just 20 times in four years for
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system.
Formed in 1867 as an off ...
(scoring once in a League Cup quarter final tie against
Watford
Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne.
Initially a smal ...
O'Donnell returned to Scotland, where Motherwell offered him the chance to train with them again. The Fir Park outfit re-signed him in January 2004, allowing him the chance to appear alongside his nephew, David Clarkson and earning him the club nickname, "Uncle Phil". He was also the uncle of St Mirren midfielder Stephen O'Donnell and Brian Dempsie, who had also played for Motherwell. In his second spell at Motherwell, he appeared in another cup final, this time being on the losing side as
Rangers
A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...
defeated them 5–1 in the 2005
Scottish League Cup
The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports 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 ...
. The following season, he replaced
Scott Leitch
Donald Scott Leitch (born 6 October 1969) is a Scottish former football player and coach, who played as a midfielder. He played professionally for Dunfermline Athletic, Heart of Midlothian, Swindon Town and Motherwell, and managed Ross Count ...
as club
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
.
Death
On 29 December 2007, O'Donnell collapsed during a game against
Dundee United
Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...
just as he was about to be substituted. He was treated on the pitch for about five minutes by the Motherwell and Dundee United club doctors before being taken by ambulance to
Wishaw General Hospital
University Hospital Wishaw (formerly known as Wishaw General Hospital) is a district general hospital in Wishaw, North Lanarkshire, situated between the areas of Craigneuk to the north and Netherton, North Lanarkshire, Netherton to the south. ...
. However, he was pronounced dead at 17:18 hours. He was 35 years of age.
A
postmortem
An autopsy (also referred to as post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death; ...
examination was carried out on 1 January 2008 and it was revealed O'Donnell died of
left ventricular
A ventricle is one of two large chambers located toward the bottom of the heart that collect and expel blood towards the peripheral beds within the body and lungs. The blood pumped by a ventricle is supplied by an atrium, an adjacent chamber in t ...
failure. His funeral was on 4 January, at St Mary's Church in
Hamilton
Hamilton may refer to:
* Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States
* ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda
** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
. He was then buried in the town's Bent Cemetery.
He was survived by his wife Eileen, their daughters Megan and Olivia and sons Christopher and Luc, aged twelve, six, ten and four years respectively.
Jack McConnell
Jack Wilson McConnell, Baron McConnell of Glenscorrodale, (born 30 June 1960) is a Scottish politician who served as first minister of Scotland and leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 2001 to 2007. McConnell served as the Minister f ...
, MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw, was among those to pay tribute. He hailed the midfielder as a "great professional."
Motherwell and other fans laid flowers, scarves, strips and other mementos at the gates of Fir Park. The club's scheduled SPL game against Hibernian at
Easter Road
Easter Road is a football stadium located in the Leith area of Edinburgh, Scotland, which is the home ground of Scottish Premiership club Hibernian (Hibs). The stadium currently has an all-seated capacity of , which makes it the fifth-largest ...
the following Wednesday was postponed, along with the club's home game with Celtic the following Sunday out of respect. Scottish Premier League chairman Lex Gold said: "We understand from Phil's family that they would appreciate it if the Motherwell v Celtic game scheduled for 6 January 2008 could be postponed. Both clubs are happy to meet the request and we have called the game off." On 31 December the SPL postponed the Celtic v Rangers fixture scheduled for 2 January 2008, following a request by O'Donnell's former club Celtic, which was agreed by Rangers. These postponements contributed to fixture congestion at the end of the 2007–08 season, which required the
2007–08 Scottish Premier League
The 2007–08 Scottish Premier League season was the tenth season of the Scottish Premier League. It began on 4 August 2007 and was originally due to end on 18 May 2008. Due to the death of Phil O'Donnell and extremely poor weather causing the ...
season to be extended when Rangers reached the
2008 UEFA Cup Final
The 2008 UEFA Cup final was a football match that took place on 14 May 2008 at the City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, England. It was the 37th annual final of the UEFA Cup, UEFA's second tier club football tournament.
The match, which was ...
.
Players on 30 December in
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 ...
matches between
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system.
One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...
and
Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...
and
Manchester City
Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...
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 ...
, wore black bands in his honour. Sheffield Wednesday's matches at
Hull City
Hull City Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. They play their home ...
and at home to
Preston North End
Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...
were preceded by a minute's applause as a mark of respect to their former player, with the Hillsborough flags flying at half mast. All Premier League matches in the New Year programme were preceded with either a minute of applause or silence in O'Donnell's memory. While playing for Everton,
James McFadden
James Henry McFadden (born 14 April 1983) is a Scottish football coach and former professional player who played as a forward who now works as a football pundit.
McFadden started his playing career with Motherwell, where he came to prominence ...
, a former Motherwell player, dedicated his goal to O'Donnell in Everton's 2–0 win at Middlesbrough by pointing solemnly to his black armband and then towards the sky.
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football.
Founde ...
opted not to show their respects before their
Football League One
The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...
match with
Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football.
Huddersfield Town we ...
on New Year's Day. Forest manager
Colin Calderwood
Colin Calderwood (born 20 January 1965) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player.
As a player, he was a centre-back who played in the Premier League for Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa and in the Football League for Mansfi ...
, himself a Scottish former international with 36 caps, explained: "The fact that it was a boy in Scotland, does that make it any different to a boy in Colombia?" Calderwood later apologised for any offence caused by the comments, after he had been appointed manager of Hibernian in the SPL in November 2010.
Thousands of tributes from around the world were posted on the Internet. The club received hundreds of written tributes from fans as far as Korea and Ukraine, as well as many emotional messages from
Sevilla FC
Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, that competes in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. The club was formed on 25 January ...
, comparing O'Donnell's death to the similar fate of their player
Antonio Puerta
Antonio José Puerta Pérez (; 26 November 1984 – 28 August 2007) was a Spanish professional Association football, footballer who played solely for Sevilla FC, Sevilla.
Mainly a Midfielder#Wide midfielder, left midfielder who could also oper ...
that August. Sevilla director of football
Monchi
Ramón Rodríguez Verdejo (born 20 September 1968), known as Monchi, is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is the president of football operations at Premier League club Aston Villa.
He played solely for Sev ...
said, "This is terrible news. Right now, my thoughts are with Phil's family and everybody at Motherwell. Unfortunately, with the death of Phil O'Donnell, Motherwell have suffered a similar tragedy to ours. Antonio Puerta died at the beginning of the season and I know how terrible the whole experience is. Sevilla will be available to help in any way that we are able, to heal the pain and sadness of this tragic loss."
Motherwell announced the Main Stand at Fir Park would be renamed the "Phil O'Donnell Stand" as a permanent tribute and his team-mates paid their own personal tribute by having his signature embroidered on their strips for the remainder of the 2007–08 season. In November 2011, a permanent memorial to O'Donnell was erected on the side of the stand bearing his name.
On 25 May 2008, a benefit match was held at
Celtic Park
Celtic Park is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium and the home of Scottish Premiership team Celtic F.C., Celtic, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest List of football stadiums in Sco ...
in memory of O'Donnell with the proceeds going to various charities. The match was between a Celtic side drawn from their 1998 title-winning squad and a Motherwell side drawn from their 1991 Scottish Cup win. Other players such as David Clarkson and James McFadden played in the game.
Henrik Larsson
Edward Henrik Larsson (; born 20 September 1971) is a Swedish professional association football, football coach and former player who played many times for the Sweden men's national football team, Swedish national team. A Striker (association f ...
described the match as "a sad occasion but at the same time it's a kind of celebration for everything." The match finished 5–1, in front of 60,000.
There is an annual sponsored walk, started on 29 December 2008, to honour O'Donnell's memory. The walk starts from Fir Park and ends at Celtic Park, the homes of two of O'Donnell's former clubs. The money raised from the walk goes directly to charities such as the
British Heart Foundation
The British Heart Foundation (BHF) is a cardiovascular research charity in the United Kingdom. It funds medical research related to heart and circulatory diseases and their risk factors, and runs influencing work aimed at shaping public policy ...
and
Mary's Meals
Mary's Meals, formerly known as Scottish International Relief (SIR), is a OSCR, registered charity which sets up school feeding programmes in some of the world's poorest communities, where hunger and poverty prevent children from gaining an educ ...
.
In December 2010, a number of fellow Scottish footballers that had played alongside Phil had thought of his family announced they would trek up
Cotopaxi
Cotopaxi () is an active stratovolcano in the Andes Mountains, located near Latacunga city of Cotopaxi Province, about south of Quito, and northeast of the city of Latacunga, Ecuador. It is the second highest summit in Ecuador (after Chim ...
in Ecuador in memory of Phil to raise £100,000 for the British Heart Foundation.
Since O'Donnell's death in 2007, his nephew David Clarkson is the only player to have worn the number 10 shirt, which he had up until his departure in 2009. Since then this number, although not retired, has not been issued to any subsequent player.
Career statistics
Club
International
:Source:
Honours
Motherwell
*
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1990–91
Celtic
*Scottish Cup: 1994–95; runner-up: 1998–99
*
Scottish Premier Division
The Scottish Football League Premier Division was, from 1975 until 1998, the top division of the Scottish Football League and the entire Scottish football league system. It lay above the Scottish Football League First, Second and (from 1994) ...
PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year
The PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year, formerly known as the Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year, is named at the end of every Scottish football season. The members of the Professional Footballers' Association Scotland vote on which of its ...
: 1991–92, 1993–94
See also
*
List of association footballers who died while playing
This is a list of association footballers who died due to football-related incidents.
The primary causes of on-field deaths have evolved over time. Improvements in infection control and emergency surgery since the early days of organised socce ...