Owen Garvan

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Owen Garvan
Personal information
Full name Owen Garvan
Date of birth January 29, 1988 (1988-01-29) (age 20)
Place of birth    Dublin, Republic of Ireland
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current club Ipswich Town
Number 7
Youth clubs
1999-2004 Home Farm
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
2004- Ipswich Town 093 0(6)   
National team
2007 Republic of Ireland U21 004 0(0)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of March 2008.
* Appearances (Goals)

Owen Garvan (born January 29, 1988, Dublin, Republic of Ireland) is an Irish footballer who currently plays for Ipswich Town and the Republic of Ireland U21s. He previously played for the renowned Irish schoolboy team Home Farm. Garvan plays as a central midfielder and has been compared to Steven Gerrard.[1]

Contents

[edit] Family

Garvan comes from a notable Irish footballing family. His maternal grandfather, Con Martin, was an international during the 1940s and 1950s and captained both Ireland teams - the FAI XI and the IFA XI. His uncle, Mick Martin, also played for both the Republic of Ireland and Manchester United. Another uncle Con Martin Jr. and his own father, Gerry Garvan, both played in the League of Ireland.[2]

[edit] Playing career

[edit] Home Farm

As a schoolboy, Garvan was a prominent member of the Home Farm U-14s team that played in the Dublin and District Schoolboy League. The team, which was coached by his father Gerry, went unbeaten for three years between 1999 and 2002. Along the way they won the Schoolboys FAI Cup twice. [3] [4] Garvan is just one of several players in the team who have since gone on to bigger things. Darren O'Dea, Diarmuid O'Carroll, Gary Walsh and Gareth Christie were all offered contracts by Celtic, while goalkeeper Shane Supple and defender Michael Synnott, like Garvan, were recruited by Ipswich Town. Another member of the team Chris McCann signed for Burnley.[5]

[edit] Ipswich Town

Garvan turned down offers from Celtic, Fulham and Nottingham Forest before joining Ipswich Town in November 2004. He subsequently became a regular in the Town team that won the FA Youth Cup in 2005. However he missed the second leg of final against Southampton after being rushed to hospital with a virus on the eve of the game. He made his senior debut for Town against Cardiff City in August 6 2005 and during his debut season with the senior team, 2005-06, he made 31 league appearances and scored 3 goals. During the 2006-07 season he made a further 27 league appearances and scored 1 further goal.[6][7] [8]. During the 2007-08 season, Garvan formed a good partnership with Tommy Miller and scored three goals.

[edit] Irish international

Garvan made his debut for the Republic of Ireland U21s on September 7 2007 in a 2-0 defeat against Portugal U21 at Turner's Cross. This game was a European Under-21 Championship qualifier [9] He has previously represented the Republic at U15, U17 and U19 levels. Since his U21 debut he has also played in a friendly against Sweden U21 on October 12 2007, which the Republic won 3-2, and in another qualifier against England U21 on October 16 2007 which ended in 3-0 defeat. He was also included by Giovanni Trapattoni in his first senior squad as the Republic manager.

[edit] Honours

Ipswich Town

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ www.ipswich.vitalfootball.co.uk
  2. ^ ww.fai.ie
  3. ^ www.a2zsoccer.com
  4. ^ www.a2zsoccer.com
  5. ^ www.independent.ie
  6. ^ www.itfc.premiumtv.co.uk
  7. ^ www.itfc.premiumtv.co.uk
  8. ^ Pride of Anglia
  9. ^ www.fai.ie