Darron Gibson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Darron Gibson | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Darron Gibson | |
| Date of birth | October 25, 1987 | |
| Place of birth | Derry, Northern Ireland | |
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | |
| Playing position | Midfielder | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Manchester United | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| ?-2004 | Institute | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 2004 2006–2007 2007–2008 |
Manchester United → Royal Antwerp (loan) → Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan) |
0 (0) 33 (1) 21 (1) |
| National team2 | ||
| 2004-? 2005 2005-2006 2005-2006 2006 2007 |
Northern Ireland U16 Republic of Ireland U17 Republic of Ireland U19 Republic of Ireland U21 Republic of Ireland B Republic of Ireland |
1 (0) 2 (0) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Darron Gibson (born 25 October 1987) is an Irish footballer who has played for Manchester United, Royal Antwerp and Wolverhampton Wanderers. In 2007, Gibson, who was born in Derry, was at the centre of a dispute between the Football Association of Ireland and the Irish Football Association, after he opted to play for the Republic of Ireland instead of Northern Ireland.[1][2] The issue was referred to FIFA and has even been discussed in the Northern Ireland Assembly.[3][4][5]
Contents |
[edit] Club career
A former pupil of St Columb's College, Gibson played junior football in the Derry and District League, and then with Institute F.C. before joining Manchester United in 2004. He made his senior debut for United on 26 October 2005 in a League Cup game against Barnet, coming on as a substitute for Lee Martin. During the 2005-06 season he played regularly for Manchester United Reserves, helping them win a treble. He made 19 appearances, scoring twice. In May 2006, he won the prestigious Jimmy Murphy Award as United's youth player of the year and then played regularly for the United senior team during their pre-season summer games.[6][7][8] Together with Dong Fangzhuo, Jonny Evans, Fraizer Campbell and Danny Simpson, he was one of several United players who spent the 2006-07 season on loan at Royal Antwerp.[9] In October 2007, he was loaned out again, this time to Wolverhampton Wanderers, where he spent the majority of the 2007-08 season.[10]
[edit] Irish international
Together with Tony Kane, Michael O'Connor and Marc Wilson, Gibson is one of several Northern Irish footballers, involved in an on going dispute between the Irish Football Association and the Football Association of Ireland over international eligibility. The dispute emerged after the Good Friday Agreement allowed people born in Northern Ireland to claim either Republic of Ireland and/or United Kingdom nationality. As a result, Gibson has been selected to represent both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland at international level.[11][12]
[edit] Northern Ireland
Gibson initially represented Northern Ireland at Under-16 level and was included in Victory Shield squads. However, he was dropped from the team after attending trials with Manchester United and subsequently switched allegiance to the Republic of Ireland.[13][14] Before Gibson made his senior international debut for the Republic of Ireland, Nigel Worthington, the Northern Ireland manager, tried in vain to persuade him to switch his allegiances back.[15]
[edit] Republic of Ireland
Gibson first represented the Republic of Ireland at under-17 level. Then during the 2005-06 season he captained both the Republic of Ireland under-19 [16] and under-21 squads [17]. On 14 November 2006, he also played for Republic of Ireland B in a 0-0 draw against Scotland B.[18] In 2007, Gibson was included in several senior Republic of Ireland squads for Euro 2008 qualifiers,[19] before he eventually made his debut in a 4-0 win against Denmark. During the away friendly, he came on as half-time substitute, replacing Andy Reid. In the 54th minute, Gibson fired a shot from outside the penalty area that the Danish keeper, Jesper Christiansen, could only palm away, allowing Shane Long to follow up and score the Republic's third goal.[20] Gibson won his second full cap on 8 September 2007 in an away game against Slovakia. The Euro 2008 qualifier, which finished as a 2-2 draw, saw him again used as substitute, this time replacing Aiden McGeady after 61 minutes.[21][22]
[edit] Statistics
| Season | Club | League | Cups | Europe | Others | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | ||
| 2005–06 | Manchester United | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2006–07 | Royal Antwerp (loan) | 31 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 1 |
| 2007–08 | Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan) | 21 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 1 |
| Total | 52 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55 | 2 | |
[edit] References
- ^ "Gibson can't play for Republic, says Wells": Stuart McKinley, Belfast Telegraph (January 31 2007). Retrieved February 2 2007.
- ^ "Republic up ante in Gibson cap row": Daily Mail (September 6 2007)
- ^ Fifa to discuss Irish player row
- ^ Fifa unable to clarify Irish row
- ^ Northern Ireland minister warns of sectarian divide
- ^ www.manutdzone.com
- ^ Darron Gibson Manchester United FC
- ^ www.fai.ie
- ^ United five go to Antwerp
- ^ Darron Gibson career stats at Soccerbase
- ^ FAI responds over NI defections
- ^ www.independent.ie
- ^ www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk
- ^ www. belfasttelegraph.co.uk
- ^ NI boss targets Republic's Gibson
- ^ Republic of Ireland U19
- ^ Republic of Ireland U21
- ^ Republic of Ireland B
- ^ "Gibson included in Republic squad", BBC Sport, 2007-01-30. Retrieved on 2007-06-25.
- ^ senior Republic of Ireland debut
- ^ Republic of Ireland v Slovakia
- ^ Republic of Ireland senior stats
