Willo Flood

Manchester City

Immediately after joining Manchester City, Flood was assigned to the academy. Having faced with an injury at his previous youth club, he had his injuries sorted by City's medical team and was grateful towards the club. saying: "If it wasn't for them I wouldn't be playing football". Having been called up to the first team in the 2003–04 season, Flood made his debut in the qualifying round of the 2003–04 UEFA Cup, in a 7–0 aggregate win over Total Network Solutions. Following this, he continued to maintain his development in City's reserve team. On 21 September 2004, Flood was called up to City's first team for a match against Barnsley in the Football League Cup and scored his first career goal, in a 7–1 win to help the club advance to the next round. Three days later, he made his Premiership debut, coming on as a 76th-minute substitute, in a 1–0 loss against Arsenal. On 1 November, Flood scored his first career league goal in his first league start, in a 1–1 draw at home to Norwich City. After the match, Kevin Keegan was impressed with Flood's display, saying he "has got the vital ingredient for someone his size and that is a big heart". Following this performance, Flood signed a new contract with City, keeping him until 2007. Flood appeared in four league matches, making three starts between 24 October and 13 November. Following an injury crisis, he appeared two times in the first team, coming against Bolton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur in March…

Flood previously represented Republic of Ireland U16, Republic of Ireland U17, Republic of Ireland U18 and Republic of Ireland U19. In January 2003, Flood was called up to the Republic of Ireland under-20 squad for the first time, but he did not play. Later in the same year, Flood was called up to the FIFA World Youth Championship in UAE. He played four times in the tournament, as Republic of Ireland U20 were eliminated in the Round of 16 against Colombia U20. In October 2003, Flood was called up for the Republic of Ireland under-21 squad. He was called up to the U21 squad for the Madeira International Tournament in February 2004. On 25 February 2004, Flood made his Republic of Ireland U21 debut against Portugal U21, as the U21 side drew 0–0. He began to feature for the U21 squad regularly between 2004 and 2006. On 7 October 2005, Flood scored his first goal for Republic of Ireland U21, in a 1–1 draw against Cyprus U21. His good performances resulted in Republic of Ireland U21 team manager Don Givens suggesting Flood could be the next captain for the U21 side. This turns out to be correctly predicted, as on 1 September 2006, he captained Republic of Ireland U21, in a 1–0 loss against Belgium U21. Flood's performance at Aberdeen caught the eye of Roy Keane, earning him a call-up to the Republic of Ireland Senior squad.

Born in Dublin, Ireland, Flood grew up on a housing estate in the Ballyfermot area of the city. He began his football career at Cherry Orchard, joining at seven years old. At the age of 14, Flood dislocated his patella playing in the All-Ireland Final, describing it the injury as "very sore". Despite the injury, Cherry Orchard won the final, resulting in Flood receiving the winners' medal, which was his only one until he won the Scottish League Cup in 2014 with Aberdeen. While at Cherry Orchard, Flood was mentored by Barry Pointon, who had known him since he was 15. Flood's performances for Cherry Orchard attracted interest from Celtic, Manchester United and Arsenal, but he opted to join Manchester City instead, due to their partnership at the time.

Flood has a brother, Shane, and grew up in a family of Celtic supporters. In June 2007, he became a first-time father when his wife Antoinette gave birth to their first child, causing his move to Dundee United put on hold for the time being. In December 2005, Flood's home in the Wythenshawe area of Manchester was the subject of a burglary in which he was threatened and taunted at knifepoint for over 20 minutes by a 29-year-old man. The ordeal left Flood with recurring nightmares, resulting in him needing counselling and being unable to live alone.