Tony McDonnell
 Tony McDonnell, receiving an award for his 250th UCD appearance | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Anthony McDonnell | ||
| Date of birth | 10 February 1976 | ||
| Place of birth | Dublin, Ireland | ||
| Position(s) | Centre Back, Central Midfield | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1994–2007 | UCD AFC | 603 | (28) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Anthony "Tony" McDonnell (born 10 February 1976, in Dublin) is a retired football player for Irish side, UCD. McDonnell would spend the entirety of his career with UCD, becoming the club's record longest serving player in history.
A former St Kevin's Boys player McDonnell made his League of Ireland debut on 27 March 1994 at Abbeycartron in a 2–1 win over Longford Town.
He went on to represent College until 2007, and is second on the all-time appearances list for the Dublin club as well as the club's sixth highest league goal scorer. He was also the club captain for the best part of a decade. He played as a right- or centre-back, but in later seasons he was deployed as a central midfielder. He made 308 league appearances for UCD, scoring 28 league goals, before deciding to call time on his career on 6 December 2007. The latter period of career was blighted by hamstring injuries, a major factor in his retirement. Asked about this in an interview, he replied that his hamstrings were "[t]ighter than a camels ass in a sand storm. They say all the lightning quick players have trouble with them……so no idea why I do!"[1]
He was a nominee for the League of Ireland player of the year in the 2005 season, and was appointed chairman of the PFAI in August 2006. He has also worked as a pundit on RTÉ's Monday Night Soccer show since retirement and still regularly attends UCD's home games.
His uncle is Maurice Swan and his cousin is Derek Swan.
Honours
[edit]Club
[edit]- Leinster Senior Cup (football)
- UCD 1995/96
- FAI Super Cup
- UCD 2000/01
Individual
[edit]See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Q&A with Tony McDonnell". Foot.ie. 2 November 2006.