John O'Shea
John Francis O'Shea (/oʊˈʃeɪ/; born 30 April 1981) is an Irish professional football coach and former player. He was known for his versatility in playing several defensive and midfield positions on either side of the pitch or the centre. O'Shea spent the majority of his playing career at Manchester United, where he won five Premier League titles, one FA Cup, two Football League Cups, four FA Community Shields, the FIFA Club World Cup and the UEFA Champions League. With 14 winners' medals, he is one of the most decorated Irish footballers of all time; only Denis Irwin, Roy Keane, Steve Heighway and Ronnie Whelan have accrued more honours. He is the current interim manager of the Republic of Ireland national football team.
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O'Shea lining up for the Republic of Ireland in 2013 | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
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| Full name | John Francis O'Shea | |||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 30 April 1981 | |||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Waterford, Ireland | |||||||||||||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | |||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Defender, defensive midfielder | |||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||
| 1989–1995 | Ferrybank AFC | |||||||||||||
| 1995–1998 | Waterford Bohemians | |||||||||||||
| 1998–1999 | Manchester United | |||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||
| 1999–2011 | Manchester United | 256 | (10) | |||||||||||
| 2000 | → AFC Bournemouth (loan) | 10 | (1) | |||||||||||
| 2001 | → Royal Antwerp (loan) | 14 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2011–2018 | Sunderland | 226 | (4) | |||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | Reading | 9 | (0) | |||||||||||
| Total | 515 | (15) | ||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||
| 1998 | Republic of Ireland U16 | |||||||||||||
| 2000–2002 | Republic of Ireland U21 | 13 | (1) | |||||||||||
| 2001–2018 | Republic of Ireland | 118 | (3) | |||||||||||
| Managerial career | ||||||||||||||
| 2019–2021 | Reading (coach) | |||||||||||||
| 2020–2023 | Republic of Ireland U21 (assistant) | |||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | Stoke City (coach) | |||||||||||||
| 2023 | Republic of Ireland (assistant) | |||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | Birmingham City (coach) | |||||||||||||
| 2024– | Republic of Ireland (interim manager) | |||||||||||||
Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||
Born in Waterford, O'Shea joined Manchester United when he was 17. He spent loan spells at AFC Bournemouth and Royal Antwerp before establishing himself in the Manchester United first team, going on to make 393 appearances and scoring 15 times in all competitions across 12 seasons. He joined Sunderland in July 2011. Having played 256 times for the Wearside club and scoring four goals, he signed for Championship side Reading in July 2018. Retiring in May 2019, he joined that club's coaching staff that summer, before leaving in the summer of 2021. He then coached Stoke City and Birmingham City.
O'Shea made his Republic of Ireland debut in 2001 against Croatia and made 118 appearances for his national team over the next 17 years, scoring three goals, his first in 2003 against Australia. He was part of the team that controversially lost to France in a play-off for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and went on to play in UEFA Euro 2012 and UEFA Euro 2016. He then served as assistant manager on the under-21 and senior teams, as well as interim manager of the latter in 2024.