Stephen James Ireland (born 22 August 1986 in Cork, Ireland) is an Irish footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for Manchester City in the English Premier League. He was also eligible for England and Italy.
Ireland started his career in Cobh, playing junior football for Cobh Ramblers, a team his father Michael had previously played for. As a schoolboy Ireland had trials with a number of British clubs, though several were discouraged by hi...
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Stephen James Ireland (born 22 August 1986 in Cork, Ireland) is an Irish footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for Manchester City in the English Premier League. He was also eligible for England and Italy.
Ireland started his career in Cobh, playing junior football for Cobh Ramblers, a team his father Michael had previously played for. As a schoolboy Ireland had trials with a number of British clubs, though several were discouraged by his Osgood-Schlatter disease, which he suffered from in his mid-teens.
At the age of 15 he joined Manchester City. Ireland played for Manchester City's first team in a number of friendlies in the 2005 pre season, and made his competitive debut on the 18 September 2005 against Bolton Wanderers, coming on as an 81st minute substitute. He subsequently made his first competitive start against Doncaster Rovers on 21 September 2005. He won the Man of the Match award on his first Premier League start against Everton on the 2 October 2005. He then...
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