Roy Simon O'Donovan (born 10 August 1985) is an Irish-Australian 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 ...

who played as a striker for

National Premier Leagues NSW The National Premier Leagues NSW is a semi-professional soccer competition in New South Wales, Australia. The competition is conducted by Football NSW, the organising body in New South Wales (the other being the National Premier Leagues Northe ...

side the

Sydney Olympic FC Sydney Olympic Football Club is an Australian semi-professional soccer club, based in Belmore, Sydney, New South Wales, that plays in the National Premier Leagues NSW. The Club was founded as Pan-Hellenic Soccer Club in 1957 by Greek immigra ...

. He has been capped by Ireland at Under-19, Under-21 and B level. O'Donovan has previously played for

Cork City Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Ireland. It is located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster. Following an extension to the c ...

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

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 ...

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and ...

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded in 1908 as Hartl ...

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed the ...

, Hibernian,

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland L ...

DPMM FC Duli Pengiran Muda Mahkota Football Club (His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Brunei Football Club in English, commonly known as DPMM FC) is a professional football club based in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. The club played in the Brunei ...

Mitra Kukar FC Persatuan Sepakbola Mitra Kutai Kartanegara is an Indonesian association football club based in Tenggarong, Kutai Kartanegara, East Kalimantan. They currently compete in the Liga 3. History This club was founded in 1979 as NIAC Mitra. NIAC stoo ...

Central Coast Mariners Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League Men, under licence from the Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The ...

Brisbane Roar Brisbane Roar Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland and has won the domestic title on three occasions, as well as holding the longest unbeaten record of 36 league matches without defeat. Brisb ...

and

Newcastle Jets Newcastle United Jets Football Club, commonly known as Newcastle Jets, is an Australian professional soccer club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from The Australia ...

Club career

O'Donovan played schoolboy football for Blarney Street United Cork. In 2001, he signed for English

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

club

as a trainee, before being released in December 2004 at aged nineteen without making a first team appearance for the club.

Cork City

O'Donovan moved back to Republic of Ireland and joined his hometown club

in early 2005. In his first season at Cork City they captured the

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally use ...

championship after a twelve-year absence. He played mainly as a wide-right attacking midfielder after joining Cork, but was soon moved up front as a

striker Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant *Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America People wi ...

, becoming the top goalscorer in the

. He scored in a

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, cla ...

win in July 2005 versus Ekranas of Lithuania, City were eventually eliminated by Slavia Prague. The following season they competed in the Champions league qualifying phase but came up short against Red Star Belgrade (Crevena Zvezda). He was named the

eircom Eircom Limited, trading as Eir ( ; stylised eir), is a large fixed, mobile and broadband telecommunications company in Ireland. The now privatised company, which is currently incorporated in Jersey, traces its origins to the Ireland's former ...

/Soccer Writers Association of Ireland (SWAI) Player of the Month for November 2005 and won the award again in November 2006 after being switched to centre forward from midfield, he was also a nominee for the Soccer Writers Association of Ireland (SWAI) player of the year the same season. On 21 November it was reported that

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Ro ...

were interested in signing O'Donovan, but that they were denied permission to speak to him about a move by Cork City. On 7 July 2007, he scored as Cork City drew 1–1 with

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used b ...

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; en, the All-Swedish, also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan, en, the Football All-Swedish) is a Swedish professional league for men's association football clubs. It was founded in 1924 and is the top tier of the Swedish football le ...

club Hammarby in the

second round The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds eac ...

of the

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from la, Inter, 'between' + german: toto, ' betting pool'),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. often abbreviated and more known in the German-speaking world as UI Cup and originally called the International F ...

. He scored a total of 31 league goals in 74 league appearances for the club was top scorer in the 2007 Setanta Cup, as well as competing in the qualifying rounds of the Champions League in 2006 scoring 2 goals in European competitions in his time at CCFC.

Sunderland

In July 2007,

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandswo ...

agreed a fee with Cork City to sign O'Donovan, however,

Roy Keane Roy Maurice Keane (born 10 August 1971) is an Irish football pundit, coach and former professional player. He is the joint most successful Irish footballer of all time, having won 19 major trophies in his club career, 17 of which came during h ...

signed him for Sunderland on 7 August for a League of Ireland record transfer fee of €500,000, with O'Donovan saying, "''I had a choice between Fulham and Sunderland but when I spoke to the gaffer oy Keanemy mind was made up.''" The fee can increase to €1 million depending on appearances for club and country. He signed a three-year contract, He made his

debut for Sunderland as a 70th-minute substitute in the 2–2 draw with

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. Since 2011, the first te ...

at St Andrew's on 15 August. His first start of the season came on 21 October in the 3–1 defeat to

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium ...

at Upton Park, although he was substituted in the 46th minute. O'Donovan made seventeen appearances for ''the Black Cats'' in the 2007–08 season, starting just four Barclays Premier League games. His first goal for Sunderland came in a pre-season against

Portuguese Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal ...

club

Sporting Clube de Portugal Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional foo ...

on 20 July 2008.

Dundee United

On 8 August 2008, he signed a one-year loan deal with Dundee United, under then manager Craig Levein. He made his debut for ''the Tangerines'' on 11 August in a 3–1 defeat to

Hamilton Academical Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Championship, having been relegated from the 2020–21 Scottis ...

New Douglas Park New Douglas Park, currently known as the ZLX Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a football stadium in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, which serves as the home of Scottish Championship side Hamilton Academical and Scottish League One s ...

. He scored his first goal in a 2–0 home win over St Mirren on 25 October, after coming on as a 67th-minute substitute: the goal was a poignant one, coming in front of a full stadium of supporters who had turned up to commemorate the passing of the popular club chairman Eddie Thompson. On 1 November, he was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

in the 57th minute of the 0–0 draw against

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a ...

at the

Falkirk Stadium The Falkirk Stadium is a football stadium in Falkirk, central Scotland, which is the home ground of Scottish League One club Falkirk and Lowland Football League club East Stirlingshire. The stadium has a capacity of and currently consists of ...

. In late December he was one of three players along with

Michael Chopra Rocky Michael Chopra (born 23 December 1983) is an English former professional footballer who plays as a striker for West Allotment Celtic. A product of the Newcastle United youth system, he spent six years at the club without managing to sec ...

and

Anthony Stokes Anthony Christopher Stokes (born 25 July 1988) is an Irish professional footballer, who plays as a striker. He was also an Irish international, having played at the under-21, team B and Republic of Ireland national football team. He began his ...

recalled by Sunderland who were struggling with injuries.

Blackpool

On 9 January 2009, he signed for

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

on loan until the end of the season. He made his debut for ''the Seasiders'' in the 2–1 defeat to

at the

Ricoh Arena The Coventry Building Society Arena (often shortened to the CBS Arena or just simply Coventry Arena, and formerly known as the Ricoh Arena) is a complex in Coventry, England. It includes a 32,609-seater stadium which is currently home to footb ...

on 17 January. He played mainly as a right-sided midfielder. What had been a successful loan spell up to this point took a turn for the worse when on 10 March, he was taken to hospital after being taken ill with suspected

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a r ...

before Blackpool's game against

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games a ...

Bramall Lane Bramall Lane is a football stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which is the home of Sheffield United. The stadium was originally a cricket ground, built on a road named after the Bramall family of file and graver manufacturers. ...

. Two days later he had

keyhole surgery Laparoscopy () is an operation performed in the abdomen or pelvis using small incisions (usually 0.5–1.5 cm) with the aid of a camera. The laparoscope aids diagnosis or therapeutic interventions with a few small cuts in the abdomen.Medli ...

to remove his

appendix Appendix, or its plural form appendices, may refer to: __NOTOC__ In documents * Addendum, an addition made to a document by its author after its initial printing or publication * Bibliography, a systematic list of books and other works * Index (pub ...

. He returned to action just a month later on 11 April in Blackpool's 1–0

West Lancashire Derby The West Lancashire derby (sometimes also known as the '' M55 derby'') is a local rivalry in English football between Lancashire clubs Blackpool and Preston North End. The derby has taken place across all four tiers of English football, but no ...

win over

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syst ...

Deepdale Deepdale is a football stadium in the Deepdale area of Preston, England, the home of Preston North End. Deepdale is "widely recognised as being the oldest 'continuously used' football stadium in the world, though this is contested". History ...

. He retained his place in the side for the following game, a 2–2 draw against

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

Southend United

On 16 September 2009, O'Donovan joined

on a one-month emergency loan deal. He scored on his debut against Brighton & Hove Albion, in the 3–2 win. O'Donovan made a further two league appearances plus one 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 ...

before returning to Sunderland once the loan was completed.

Hartlepool United

On 23 February 2010, he joined

on loan until the end of the 2009–10 season. He made his debut for Hartlepool in their 4–1 home win over

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 Park ...

on 23 February 2010. On 6 March 2010, he scored his first goals for Hartlepool, a hat-trick against Southend, who he was with at the beginning of the season. O'Donovan went on to make 15 appearances scoring 9 goals before returning to parent club Sunderland at the end of the season.

Coventry City

O'Donovan signed a three–year deal with

on 25 June 2010 becoming new manager

Aidy Boothroyd Adrian Neil Boothroyd (born 8 February 1971) is an English former footballer who is currently the manager of Indian Super League club Jamshedpur. At club level, he was manager of Watford from 2005 to 2008. During his time with Watford, he was r ...

's third signing of the close season. He officially transferred to Coventry on 1 July 2010, five years after leaving them as an academy player. He scored his first goal for the Sky Blues against Bury FC in August 2011. O'Donovan suffered a fractured metatarsal in an nPower championship game against Barnsley in November 2011 which meant a significant period recovering on the sidelines. He signed on loan for Hibernian FC on his return to fitness on 31 January 2012 for the remainder of the season. O'Donovan returned to Coventry for the 2012–13 season and made some first team appearances under the new management of

Mark Robins Mark Gordon Robins (born 22 December 1969) is an English football manager and former player, who is the current manager of Coventry City in the EFL Championship. As a player, he was a striker and is best known for his time in the Premier League ...

, but mutually agreed to terminate his contract on 31 January 2013.

Hibernian

O'Donovan was loaned to Hibernian in January 2012 for the rest of the 2011–12 season where he scored two goals against Kilmarnock FC and a goal in the Scottish cup quarter final against Ayr United en route to the Scottish Cup Final at Hamden Park that season, O'Donovans goal versus Kilmarnock FC was a memorable one and an SPL goal of the month nominee>

Northampton Town

O'Donovan signed for

on a free transfer in January 2013. He was signed by

, who had previously signed O'Donovan for Coventry. On 13 May 2013 he played in the 3–0 play-off final defeat to Bradford City FC at Wembley Stadium, he signed a new two-year contract in July 2013 at sixfields and started the season in goal scoring form but injuries curtailed his involvement in the first team after double hernia surgery in October led to a ten-week hiatus. In January 2014 following the dismissal of manager Aidy Boothroyd, O'Donovan flew to

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics ...

for talks with Brunei DPMM FC at the invitation of the Crown Prince of Brunei. A move he later turned down.

Brunei DPMM

After previously rejecting a contract after initial talks in January, O'Donovan signed a contract with Brunei DPMM FC in February 2014 as their marquee player in the Singapore S.League. He won his first pieces of silverware in Asia when picking up the Starhub S.League Cup in July 2014 and was also voted as the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. O'Donovan finished the season with 26 goals in total and as a firm fans favourite.

Mitra Kukar

In February 2015, he was signed by Mitra Kukar of the Indonesian Super League. Having enjoyed success in Asia the previous season scoring 26 goals in 35 games in the Singapore S.League in all competitions with Brunei DPMM. He was to spend only two months in Indonesia due to the newly formed Indonesian Super League (ISL) being scrapped by FIFA regarding ongoing issues with the football association of Indonesia.

Central Coast Mariners

On 30 May 2015, the Central Coast Mariners announced that they had signed O'Donovan to a 2-season contract. He made his competitive debut for the club in an

FFA Cup The Australia Cup, formerly known as the FFA Cup until the 2021 season, is the national football knockout cup competition in Australia. This annual competition is organised by Football Australia, formerly known as Football Federation Austr ...

match against

Wellington Phoenix Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. It competes in the Australian A-League, under licence from Football Federation Australia. Phoenix entered the competition in the ...

on 12 August 2015. He missed a penalty late in the same match. In his

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competit ...

debut against

Perth Glory Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional Association football, soccer club based in Perth, Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under Professional sports league organi ...

on 10 October 2015, O'Donovan opened the scoring in the game finding the net after a shot from Fábio Ferreira was rebounded to him by the glory keeper Ante Covic. The Mariners won the match 3–2. On 31 December 2015, O'Donovan was involved in an incident in a match versus the Wellington Phoenix, where he deliberately head-butted Phoenix defender

Manny Muscat Emmanuel "Manny" Muscat (born 7 December 1984) is a former professional footballer who last played as a defensive midfielder or right back for Green Gully in the NPL Victoria. Born in Australia, he represented the Malta national team. Club ...

in retaliation for an off the ball elbow he received from the defender, O'Donovan was sanctioned during the match for the act as the referee awarded the player a yellow card. However, he was later handed an eight-match ban by the

Football Federation Australia Football Australia is the governing body of soccer, futsal, and beach soccer within Australia, headquartered in Sydney. Although the first governing body of the sport was founded in 1911, Football Australia in its current form was only estab ...

disciplinary committee for his conduct, one of the longest bans in

history. Manny Muscat also received a multiple game suspension for his elbow that triggered the incident. O'Donovan finished his first season in Australia as the club's golden boot winner as well as the winner of the Hyundai A League 'Goal of the Season'

Newcastle Jets

On 19 April 2017, O'Donovan signed a two-year contract with another A-League team, the

. He reportedly turned down offers from

Adelaide United Adelaide United Football Club is a professional soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club participates in the A-League Men under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was founded in 2003 to fil ...

Western Sydney Wanderers Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club (colloquially known as Western Sydney, or simply as Wanderers) is an Australian professional soccer club based in the Western Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premie ...

and

. In the

2018 A-League Grand Final The 2018 A-League Grand Final was the thirteenth A-League Grand Final, played on 5 May 2018. The match took place at McDonald Jones Stadium, with Newcastle Jets hosting Melbourne Victory, the first A-League grand final held outside a metropolit ...

he was sent off with a straight

red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or dia ...

after a high boot to the head of the opposing team's goal keeper while trying to score a goal in the final minute of the

. He was subsequently suspended for 10 games

Brisbane Roar

On 24 June 2019, O'Donovan signed a two-year deal with

after choosing not to re-sign with

. He scored his first goal for the club in his debut on 13 October 2019, snatching a late draw against

in the season opener. On 17 November 2019, O'Donovan secured his first

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wi ...

for Roar in a 4–3 home win against Melbourne City.

Newcastle Jets

On 2 February 2020, O'Donovan signed an 18-month contract with the Jets. In 2020, O'Donovan became an Australian citizen and counts as a local player under A-League regulations.

Sydney Olympic

On 21 October 2021, O'Donovan signed with Sydney Olympic for 2022

Seasons. He made his league debut on 5 March 2022, in a 1–0 loss against

Manly United Manly United Football Club is an Australian football club based in the northern beaches area of Sydney. The club competes in the National Premier Leagues NSW and their home ground is Cromer Park, in the suburb of Dee Why, approximately 15 minu ...

wearing the number 99. A week later, he scored his first goal for the club against

Rockdale Ilinden Rockdale Ilinden Football Club (formerly known as the Rockdale City Suns Football Club from 1992 to 2020) is an Australian Macedonian soccer club based in Sydney suburb of Rockdale. Founded in 1969, the club competes in the highest men's comp ...

. O'Donovan prolific form continued throughout the season, helping his side win the NPL Premiership and winning the golden boot. He was also named in the NPL NSW Men's Team of the Year with teammate Darcy Burgess who was named as a substitute. On 18 November 2022, O'Donovan renewed his contract and was additionally appointed as assistant coach with head coach

Labinot Haliti Labinot Haliti (born 26 October 1985) is an Australian former professional association football, footballer who played as a second striker or winger (association football), winger. Early life Haliti's was born in Pristina, and fled his home coun ...

prior to the 2023 season.

International career

In April 2008 O'Donovan was named in his first senior squad by new manager Giovanni Trapattoni for the upcoming friendly games against Serbia and Colombia. O'Donovan has played for the Republic of Ireland Under-19, Under-21 and B teams. He made his debut for the Under-21 team in August 2005 against

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...

. On 18 May, he scored as the Irish Under-21s beat

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

3–0 in a

2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship qualification Qualifying for the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Championship began in May 2006. Netherlands qualify as hosts and are exempt from qualifying. Of UEFA's 52 member countries, only the Faroe Islands chose not to compete. That left 50 nations attempt ...

preliminary round match, He went on to make eight appearances for the under-21s, scoring once. On 21 November 2007, he played for Republic of Ireland B as they drew 1–1 with

Scotland B The Scotland national football B team, controlled by the Scottish Football Association, is run occasionally as a second team for the Scotland national football team. During the period when Berti Vogts was manager of the national team, it was also ...

in a friendly international at the

Excelsior Stadium The Excelsior Stadium, is a football stadium in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the home ground of Airdrieonians of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL). Since the 2021–22 season it has also been used by Celtic for t ...

, Airdrie. In May 2007, O'Donovan expressed his surprise and disappointment at not being part of the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

squad for the end of season international matches against

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar language, Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechuan ...

and

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

, a squad in which his

teammate

Joe Gamble Joseph Finbar Gamble (born 14 January 1982) is a retired Irish footballer. Gamble's playing career spanned 16 years and saw him play for a number of teams across England and Ireland, most notably his local Cork City, as well as being capped twi ...

was included. O'Donovan said, "I'm surprised to be honest with you. I've scored 25 goals in the last 25 or 26 games so I can't do any more. I would have liked a reason why I'm not in it, but that's life."

Career statistics

:A. The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals (including substitutes) in the

. :B. The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals (including substitutes) in the

A-League Finals Series A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

Honours

*Eircom League Premier League: 2005 *Starhub Singapore League Cup: 2014

Individual

* Starhub S-league League Cup Most Valuable Player 2014 * A-League Goal of the Year: 2015–16 *

Professional Footballers Australia The Professional Footballers Australia (PFA), formerly the Australian Soccer Players' Association, is an Australian trade union affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions that represents professional male, female and elite junior s ...

Player of the Month for October 2017 *

Golden Boot 2022 *

Team of the Year 2022

References

External links

* *
Roy O'Donovan Interview

O’Donovan’s football wanderlust shows no sign of fading
{{DEFAULTSORT:Odonovan, Roy 1985 births Living people Association footballers from Cork (city) Republic of Ireland association footballers Republic of Ireland men's under-21 international footballers Republic of Ireland men's B international footballers Republic of Ireland expatriate association footballers Men's association football forwards Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Scotland Expatriate soccer players in Australia Expatriate footballers in Brunei Central Coast Mariners FC players Newcastle Jets FC players Brisbane Roar FC players Coventry City F.C. players Cork City F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Dundee United F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Southend United F.C. players Hibernian F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players League of Ireland players Premier League players English Football League players Scottish Premier League players A-League Men players Irish expatriate sportspeople in England Irish expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Irish expatriate sportspeople in Australia DPMM FC players Singapore Premier League players Naturalised soccer players of Australia