John O'Shea

Manchester United

1999–2006

Before joining the Manchester United academy, O'Shea played for Ferrybank AFC and Waterford Bohemians. He signed professional forms at the age of 17 and made his professional debut on 13 October 1999 against Aston Villa at Villa Park in a 3–0 Football League Cup defeat. In January 2000, O'Shea was loaned to AFC Bournemouth in the Football League Second Division. He played 11 total games for the Cherries and scored once in the third minute of a 3–1 loss at Millwall on 19 February. After a loan to Belgian side Royal Antwerp, he returned to Manchester and began to feature in the United first team in the 2002–03 season, demonstrating versatility by playing at left-back, right-back, centre-back and central midfield during the successful 2002–03 Premier League campaign. In 2003–04, United were without Rio Ferdinand after he began a suspension for missing a drugs test in January, and O'Shea took over from Ferdinand in central defence, helping United reach the FA Cup final where they triumphed 3–0 over Millwall. He displayed indifferent form in the 2004–05 season and was linked with a move away from Manchester, with Newcastle United 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 Manuel Almunia from the edge of the 18-yard box. An injury to…

O'Shea earned his first senior cap for the Republic of Ireland on 15 August 2001, when manager Mick McCarthy sent him on as an 84th-minute substitute for Gary Kelly in a friendly against Croatia at Lansdowne Road. He gave away a penalty for handball in injury time, which was scored by Davor Šuker for a 2–2 draw. He was not included in the Irish squad for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. On 19 August 2003, O'Shea scored his first international goal as he headed in Ireland's first in a 2–1 home friendly victory over Australia. During the 2010 World Cup qualifying, O'Shea was ever present in the starting line-up for eight of the 10 games. On 1 April 2009, in the game against Italy, he was elbowed in the forehead by Giampaolo Pazzini, who earned the record for the fastest sending off in Italian football history. After receiving treatment for the bleeding, O'Shea continued playing all 90 minutes.

Including the second leg of their play-off victory over Estonia, made nine appearances in UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying, as Ireland reached the continental tournament for the first time since 1988. He played every minute of their finals campaign, a group stage elimination after three defeats. On 15 August 2012, his 80th cap, O'Shea captained Ireland for the first time, in a goalless friendly draw against Serbia at the Red Star Stadium in Belgrade. On 15 October 2013, he opened a 3–1 World Cup qualifying victory over Kazakhstan at the Aviva Stadium, his second international goal and the first in…

In April 2020, O'Shea was named as assistant manager of the Republic of Ireland under-21 team under manager Jim Crawford. On 22 July 2022, O'Shea joined Stoke City as first-team coach. He was one of 20 coaches who successfully completed their UEFA Pro Licence course with the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) in December 2022. O'Shea left his role at Stoke on 12 May 2023. On 22 February 2023, O'Shea was named assistant manager of the Republic of Ireland senior team, under manager Stephen Kenny. He left in November after Kenny's contract ended. When Wayne Rooney was appointed manager of EFL Championship club Birmingham City in October 2023, O'Shea joined his staff as a first-team coach. He left by mutual consent at his own request a few days after Rooney's sacking in January 2024. On 28 February 2024, O'Shea was named as interim manager of the senior Republic of Ireland team for the March friendlies against Belgium and Switzerland, while the Football Association of Ireland continued their search for a permanent manager. He continued as interim manager for the friendlies against Hungary and Portugal in June. His debut on 23 March was a goalless draw at home to Belgium, with Evan Ferguson missing a penalty. In August 2024, O'Shea returned to his role as assistant coach of the Republic of Ireland team under new manager Heimir Hallgrímsson.

O'Shea married his long-term partner, Yvonne Manning, in the Lady Chapel in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland on 8 June 2010. They have a son and a daughter.