Ronnie O'Brien

Club career

O'Brien's footballing career began very promisingly, when at the age of 18 he signed a contract with Middlesbrough of the FA Premier League. After two years and little playing time with Middlesbrough, O'Brien was released on a free transfer. Italian giants Juventus offered the 20-year-old O'Brien a five-year contract; however, he had trouble getting playing time on such a talented side and was loaned out to Lugano of Switzerland, Dundee United of Scotland, and lower league Italian side Lecco. After several years of disappointment and one Intertoto Cup appearance, O'Brien was released from his contract with Juventus in 2002. His solitary competitive appearance for Juventus was an Intertoto Cup match against Rostov on 4 August 1999 when he entered the match as a substitute for Zoran Mirković in the 77th minute.

MLS

In search of consistent playing time, O'Brien, made the unconventional decision to move to America to join the Dallas Burn. O'Brien made an immediate impact, scoring on his debut for the club in a US Open Cup match. He finished the 2002 season with two goals and two assists in 11 games but had proven himself one of the more dynamic players on the team. O'Brien entered the 2003 season with great expectations, but these were cut short early in the season. In the Burn's third game of the season, a tackle from D.C. United's Dema Kovalenko broke O'Brien's tibia, effectively ending his season. O'Brien returned to the team in 2004 and was…

He is now a coach of FC Dallas' youth teams.

O'Brien keeps an off-season residence in Dallas and is an avid Dallas Mavericks fan.

Time magazine stunt

In August 1999, e-mails circulated urging Irish people to vote for Ronnie O'Brien in Time's Person of the Century Internet poll, causing O'Brien to lead the poll, above those such as Albert Einstein and Martin Luther King Jr. After the poll crashed due to attracting too much traffic, Time removed O'Brien from the running, restating the rule that "whimsical candidates will not be counted."