Utd Kids Wife

DEFENDER

 A highly versatile and reliable member of Uniteds squad. Has played in defence, midfield and even in goal!

Prior to joining the United academy, O’Shea played for the local youth teams in his native Waterford where he was first spotted by United scouts. He signed professional forms at the age of 17 and made his professional debut in 1999 against Aston Villa.

Following loan spells at Bournemouth and Belgian side Royal Antwerp he returned to Manchester and began to feature in the United first team in the 2002-2003 season, demonstrating versatility by playing at left-back, right-back, centre-back and central midfield during the successful 2002-2003 campaign.

In 2003-2004 United were without Rio Ferdinand after he began a suspension for missing a drugs test in January, and O’Shea took over in central defence, helping United reach the FA Cup Final where they triumphed 3–0 over Millwall.

He displayed indifferent form in the 2004-2005 season and was linked with a move away from Manchester, with Newcastle and Liverpool 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 from the edge of the 18 yard box.

An injury to Gary Neville in the 2005-2006 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 TV channel.

On 4 February 2007, during a league game against Tottenham, O’Shea deputised for Van Der Sarin goal after he 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 an injury time winner against Liverpool at Analfield (no typo) for United in the league, having come on as a substitute for Rooney. This goal was important in United going on to regain the Premiership trophy for the 2006-2007 season. He scored another goal from close range, in a 2–1 defeat away to Portsmouth that season, this goal came during an injury hit part of the season, were 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 2006-2007 season.

During the 2007-2008 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 2007–2008 season O’Shea came off the bench several times and proved important as a utility player on the way to a European Double.

Throughout the 2008-2009 season, O’Shea became a regular within the team, deputising at right back because of injuries to Neville and Brown. 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 captained United for the first time in their first game against Birmingham in the 2009–10 season. He celebrated his 350th appearance fittingly by scoring his first league goal in over two years against Stoke on 29 September 2009, firing a header in a 2–0 win.