Stephen Gleeson

Early life and club career

Gleeson was born in Dublin, an only child, and raised in Crumlin, in the south of the city. As a youngster he admired Roy Keane, and tried to model his game on that of Steven Gerrard. He played for nearby Lourdes Celtic before moving on to Cherry Orchard. In the 2002–03 season, he scored a winning goal against a title rival to win the 14 Premier League, and scored with an "excellent volley" as Cherry Orchard won the SFAI under-15 Evans Cup the following year. Recommended to Wolverhampton Wanderers by their Irish scout, Willie Byrne, Gleeson came to England as a 15-year-old for a trial, and joined their academy. He made his reserve-team debut on 24 August 2004 as a late substitute in their first home fixture of the season – three weeks after his 16th birthday – and by October 2004, he was starting. He helped Wolves' youth team reach the semifinal of that season's FA Youth Cup, but was sent off in extra time in the second leg, and Wolves lost on penalties to Southampton. He continued to appear regularly for the reserves. In 2005–06, he scored 4 goals from 16 reserve-team appearances, and at the beginning of May 2006, he signed his first professional contract, of three years. Describing him as a playmaker with "good pace [who] gets forward, with an eye for goal", academy manager Chris Evans said that Gleeson had trained with the first team "from time to time" and had impressed manager Glenn Hoddle.

First steps in senior football…

Gleeson was capped at under-15 and under-16 level, before making his debut for the Republic of Ireland under-17 team in 2004. His Football Association of Ireland (FAI) profile described his performance in the first qualifying round of the 2005 UEFA European Under-17 Championship as outstanding. Ireland finished second in their group, so progressed to the elite round. Gleeson scored as his team beat Northern Ireland 2–1, but defeats to Serbia and Montenegro and England meant they failed to reach the tournament proper. He first appeared for the under-19s at the age of 17 years 6 months – a year younger than most of his teammates – against Scotland in a friendly tournament at La Manga in February 2006. After a couple of appearances at under-18 level, Gleeson was included in the squad for that year's European Under-19 Championship elite qualification round. He started one match and played as a substitute in the other two; Ireland lost all three. He was vice-captain of the under-19 team as they reached the same stage of the 2007 competition, but withdrew from the qualifiers because of club commitments with Wolves in the Championship play-offs. Gleeson was the youngest of eleven uncapped players included by Steve Staunton in the Ireland squad for a two-match visit to the United States in May 2007. He made his senior international debut as a 79th-minute substitute in a 1–1 draw with Ecuador at Giants Stadium on 23 May, and also played in the second match, a 1–1 draw with Bolivia,…

Club

As of match played 7 October 2023

International

As of match played 1 June 2017

International goals

Scores and results list the Republic of Ireland's goal tally first.

Stockport County

Football League Two play-offs: 2008 Individual

PFA Team of the Year: 2011–12 League One