Aiden McGeady

Aiden McGeady

McGeady in action for Spartak Moscow
Personal information
Full name	Aiden McGeady
Date of birth	4 April 1986 (1986-04-04)
Place of birth	Glasgow, Scotland
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position	Winger / Forward
Club information
Current club	Spartak Moscow
Number	8
Youth career
2000–2001	Queen's Park
2001–2004	Celtic
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2004–2010	Celtic	185	(31)
2010–	Spartak Moscow	30	(5)
National team‡
2004–	Republic of Ireland	46	(2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20 November 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15 November 2011

Aiden McGeady (born 4 April 1986) is an Irish footballer who currently plays as a winger for Russian club Spartak Moscow. Although born and brought up in Scotland, McGeady plays internationally for the Republic of Ireland, a country he qualifies for through his grandparents. McGeady's father John McGeady was also a professional footballer.

Club career

Celtic

McGeady ascended through the ranks of the youth and reserve teams of Scottish Premier League club Celtic. He was handed his senior debut on 24 April 2004 aged 18 in a league game against Hearts at Tynecastle late in the 2003–04 season. He started the match and marked it with a goal after 17 minutes. He made his UEFA Champions League debut the next season in a game against Italian side AC Milan and made the breakthrough into the first-team that same season, with 27 appearances in the league as Celtic finished runners up in Martin O'Neill's final season with the club.

McGeady's 2005–06 season was hampered by a persistent knee injury and he struggled to get a starting place ahead of Shaun Maloney and Shunsuke Nakamura, but still managed to make 19 appearances over the course of the season as Celtic romped to the league title.

2006–07 marked the exit of Maloney to Aston Villa in January 2007, following a first half of the season plagued by injury. This opened a spot for McGeady where the player blossomed. He was a mainstay in the Celtic team that not only once again won the league at a canter but also qualified for the knockout stage of the Champions League for the first time in club history, defeating Manchester United, Benfica and Kobenhavn in the group stage before falling 1–0 to eventual champions AC Milan in extra time.

The 2007–08 season was McGeady's annus mirabilis, earning him praise from the media, fans and fellow players. One of his most memorable performances came against Aberdeen, scoring a goal and setting up three, including a second goal for striker Scott McDonald with a 360-degree turn and cross. He continued to provide goals for his team, most importantly Scott McDonald's equalising goal against rivals Rangers, a match that Celtic went on to win 3–2 which proved to be crucial in Celtic's successful defence of their title. Throughout the season, he contributed a total of eight goals and 24 assists and was awarded the SPFA Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year on 20 April 2008, only the second player ever to receive both awards in the same season (the first was Shaun Maloney in 2006), as voted by his fellow players. The club reached the knockout stages of the Champions League for a second consecutive season and won the league title for the third year in a row, overhauling Rangers with one week left and winning at Dundee United on the final day of the season to clinch the trophy.

McGeady entered in 2008–09 as Celtic's star player but thanks to injuries and disharmony behind the scenes, his performances suffered as Celtic endured a poor second half to the season having led much of the way. On 16 December 2008, after a much-publicised dressing room row between him and manager Gordon Strachan, McGeady was fined two weeks' wages and suspended for two matches, although Strachan later denied any fall-out between him and McGeady. Celtic finished runners up to Rangers on the final day of the season and Strachan resigned in the days that followed.

The 2009–10 season began well for McGeady as he scored two against Aberdeen on the opening day of the season. The team's form dipped for much of the season under new manager Tony Mowbray which led to Mowbray being sacked in March. McGeady enjoyed an improved season, staying injury free while contributing seven goals and 16 assists in 34 appearances. Former teammate Neil Lennon took over as interim manager after Mowbray's departure. Ross County knocked Celtic out of the Scottish Cup and Celtic ended the season trophyless for the first time since 2003, having finished in second place in the SPL.

Spartak Moscow

In early August 2010, Celtic accepted an offer of around £9.5 million from Russian side Spartak Moscow and McGeady travelled to Moscow for talks. On 13 August, McGeady completed his move to Spartak, signing a four-and-half-year contract. The move made McGeady the most expensive export in the history of Scottish football. On 11 September, McGeady made his league debut against Saturn in a 2–1 win. On 24 September, he scored his first goal for Spartak in a 2–2 draw at home to Amkar. In the last game of the season, McGeady was sent off for a late challenge on Marcin Kowalczyk in the derby against Dynamo Moscow. On 9 December 2010, the Russian Football Union named its list of 33 top players, placing McGeady as second best right winger despite joining the club mid-season.

International career

McGeady played for Scotland Schools while at Queen's Park. He played in an under-13 World Cup tournament in Paris. After Queen's Park he joined Celtic, who had a policy of not permitting their youths to play for their school teams due to conflicting kick off times. Scotland had a rule which would not permit a player who did not play for their school team to be considered for a call-up to Scotland Schools selects.

The Republic of Ireland had no such rule preventing a player from being selected and instructed former Celtic player Packie Bonner, who knew of McGeady's Irish heritage, to invite McGeady to play for the Republic of Ireland Under-15 Schoolboys team. McGeady qualifies for Ireland through his paternal grandparents, who hail from the Gaeltacht area of Gweedore, Co. Donegal. McGeady accepted the offer and joined the Irish youth setup. McGeady was later named in a Scotland under-16 squad, but declined, citing his experience of the Irish set up, despite attempts to persuade him to do so by Scotland head coach Berti Vogts.

McGeady made his full debut for the Republic of Ireland in July 2004 against Jamaica. He has made over 40 appearances for Ireland, being called up by manager Giovanni Trapattoni in each of his squads and featuring often. However, he lost his place in the starting line-up during the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.

On 26 March 2011, McGeady scored his first goal for Ireland in the Aviva Stadium against Macedonia in Euro 2012 qualifier, with Ireland winning 2-1.

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	26 March 2011	Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland	Macedonia	1–0	2–1	Euro 2012 qualifying
2	8 October 2011	Estadi Comunal d'Aixovall, Andorra	Andorra	2–0	2–0	Euro 2012 qualifying

Career statistics

As of 20 November 2011

Club	Season	League			Cup			League Cup			Europe			Total
		App	Goals	Assists	App	Goals	Assists	App	Goals	Assists	App	Goals	Assists	App	Goals	Assists
Celtic	2003–04	4	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	1	2
	2004–05	27	4	7	5	0	1	2	1	3	3	0	0	37	5	11
	2005–06	20	4	6	1	0	1	2	0	0	1	0	0	24	4	7
	2006–07	34	5	8	4	0	3	2	0	2	6	0	0	46	5	13
	2007–08	36	7	16	4	0	4	1	0	0	10	1	4	51	8	24
	2008–09	29	3	6	3	1	2	4	2	2	4	1	0	40	7	10
	2009–10	35	7	14	4	0	1	2	0	0	9	0	1	49	7	16
	Total	185	31	60	21	1	11	13	3	7	33	2	5	252	37	83
Spartak Moscow	2010	10	2	6	0	0	0	–			7	0	3	17	2	9
	2011–12	20	3	8	3	1	2	–			5	1	1	28	5	11
	Total	30	5	14	3	1	2	–			12	1	4	45	7	20
Career Total		215	36	74	24	1	13	13	3	7	45	3	9	297	44	103

Honours

Club

Celtic

• Scottish Premier League (3): 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08
• Scottish League Cup (2): 2005–06, 2008–09
• Scottish Cup (2): 2004–05, 2006–07

Minor

• Reserve Scottish Premier League (2002, 2003, 2004)
• Under 19 Scottish Premier League (2003, 2004)
• Scottish Youth Cup (2003)

Individual

• Celtic FC Young Player of the Year (2005, 2006, 2007)
• Celtic FC Fans Player of the Year (2008)
• Celtic FC Players' Player of the Year (2008, 2010)
• SPFA Players' Player of the Year (2008)
• SPFA Young Player of the Year (2008)
• BBC Sportsound Player of the Year (2008)
• Clydesdale Bank Young Player of the Year (2008)
• Scottish Premier League Player of the Month (5)
• Scottish Premier League Young Player of the Month (6)
• Eircom Republic of Ireland Young Player of the Year (2009)

External links

• Aiden McGeady career stats at Soccerbase