Denis Irwin
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Joseph Denis Irwin[1] | ||
Date of birth | [2] | 31 October 1965||
Place of birth | Cork, Ireland | ||
Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[3] | ||
Position(s) |
Full back[4] | ||
Youth career | |||
–1983 | Leeds United | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1983–1986 | Leeds United | 72 | (1) |
1986–1990 | Oldham Athletic | 167 | (4) |
1990–2002 | Manchester United | 368 | (22) |
2002–2004 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 75 | (2) |
Total | 682 | (29) | |
International career | |||
1986–1987 | Republic of Ireland U21 | 3 | (0) |
1989 | Republic of Ireland U23 | 1 | (1) |
1990 | Republic of Ireland B | 1 | (0) |
1990–1999 | Republic of Ireland | 56 | (4) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Joseph Denis Irwin (born 31 October 1965) is an Irish former professional footballer and sports television presenter. Irwin is the joint most successful Irish footballer in history, a record he shares with fellow Manchester United stalwart Roy Keane, having won 19 trophies in his career.[5]
As a player, he played as a
Irwin was capped by the Republic of Ireland national side 56 times, scoring four goals and featuring in the side that reached the second round (last 16) at the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
Early life
Irwin was born and raised in Cork, County Cork and was educated at Togher Boys' National School and Coláiste Chríost Rí.[8] As a schoolboy, he excelled at both Gaelic football and hurling, and played at Croke Park more than once, on one occasion marking future teammate, Niall Quinn.[9]
Club career
Early career
Irwin began his career with Leeds United in 1983, making 72 appearances in the Second Division, before moving on to Oldham Athletic on a free transfer in 1986. He helped Oldham reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup and the final of the League Cup in 1990 before he was transferred to Manchester United for a fee of £650,000.[10]
Manchester United
In 12 years at
He scored a total of 22 league goals for Manchester United, including several penalties. The first of these came on 7 September 1991 in a 3–0 home win over Norwich City in the First Division.[11]
Notable goals came on 26 December 1991, when he scored twice in a 6–3 away league win over his old club Oldham Athletic, and his late winner against Southampton in May 1995[12] which kept the league title race open until the final match.[13]
Irwin was awarded a
Irwin made his last appearance for Manchester United at Old Trafford against
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Irwin joined Wolverhampton Wanderers on a free transfer after the 2001–02 season, coincidentally joining the Black Country club at the same time as his former Manchester United teammate Paul Ince made the move to the West Midlands club, having previously been at Middlesbrough. Irwin scored twice in his first season at Wolves, against Burnley[16] and Grimsby.[17]
After Wolves won promotion to the Premier League in 2003, Irwin was applauded by the Manchester United supporters when he walked onto the pitch at Old Trafford for an early season league match which United won 1–0.[citation needed]
Wolves were relegated at the end of the 2003–04 season, and the 38-year-old Irwin then announced his retirement.[18]
International career
Irwin played for the
Irwin made his only international tournament appearance for Ireland at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States. He started at right back in the team's first two group matches; a 1–0 defeat of Italy and a 2–1 loss to Mexico. He was then suspended for Ireland's final group game (0–0 draw vs. Norway) and was an unused substitute in the 2–0 loss to the Netherlands in the Round of 16.[20]
Media career
Since 2004, Irwin has worked as a presenter on MUTV.[21] Irwin has been involved in coverage of several football tournaments on RTÉ. He is also a columnist with Ireland's Sunday World newspaper. He contributed to RTÉ Sport's coverage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.[22][23]
Career statistics
Club
Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Leeds United | 1983–84 | Second Division | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 0 | ||
1984–85 | Second Division | 41 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 45 | 1 | |||
1985–86 | Second Division | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 2[a] | 0 | 24 | 0 | ||
Total | 72 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 82 | 1 | |||
Oldham Athletic | 1986–87 | Second Division | 41 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 3[b] | 0 | 49 | 1 | |
1987–88 | Second Division | 43 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | — | 0 | 0 | 49 | 3 | ||
1988–89 | Second Division | 41 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 1[a] | 0 | 46 | 2 | ||
1989–90 | Second Division | 42 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 8 | 0 | — | 1[a] | 0 | 60 | 1 | ||
Total | 167 | 4 | 13 | 0 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 204 | 7 | ||
Manchester United | 1990–91 | First Division | 34 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 6[c] | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 52 | 0 |
1991–92 | First Division | 38 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 51 | 4 | |
1992–93 | Premier League | 40 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2[f] | 0 | — | 48 | 5 | ||
1993–94 | Premier League | 42 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 3[g] | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 62 | 4 | |
1994–95 | Premier League | 40 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 5[g] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 6 | |
1995–96 | Premier League | 31 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[f] | 0 | — | 39 | 1 | ||
1996–97 | Premier League | 31 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8[g] | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 43 | 1 | |
1997–98 | Premier League | 25 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6[g] | 2 | 1[d] | 0 | 37 | 4 | |
1998–99 | Premier League | 29 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12[g] | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 48 | 3 | |
1999–2000 | Premier League | 25 | 3 | — | 0 | 0 | 13[g] | 0 | 4[h] | 0 | 42 | 3 | ||
2000–01 | Premier League | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7[g] | 2 | 1[d] | 0 | 30 | 2 | |
2001–02 | Premier League | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10[g] | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 23 | 0 | |
Total | 368 | 22 | 43 | 7 | 31 | 0 | 75 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 529 | 33 | ||
Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2002–03 | First Division | 43 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 3[i] | 0 | 52 | 2 | |
2003–04 | Premier League | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 0 | |||
Total | 75 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | 85 | 2 | |||
Career total | 682 | 29 | 64 | 7 | 57 | 3 | 75 | 4 | 22 | 0 | 900 | 43 |
International
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Republic of Ireland | 1990 | 2 | 0 |
1991 | 6 | 0 | |
1992 | 8 | 1 | |
1993 | 8 | 0 | |
1994 | 7 | 0 | |
1995 | 8 | 0 | |
1996 | 4 | 0 | |
1997 | 4 | 1 | |
1998 | 3 | 1 | |
1999 | 6 | 1 | |
Total | 56 | 4 |
- Republic of Ireland score listed first, score column indicates score after each Irwin goal[26]
No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 29 April 1992 | Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Ireland | 10 | United States | 2–0 | 4–1 | Friendly |
[27] |
2 | 29 October 1997 | Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Ireland | 47 | Belgium | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification | [28] |
3 | 5 September 1998 | Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Ireland | 49 | Croatia | 1–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying | [29] |
4 | 10 February 1999 | Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Ireland | 51 | Paraguay | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
[30] |
Honours
Oldham Athletic
Manchester United
- Premier League: 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01[32]
- FA Cup: 1993–94,[33] 1995–96;[34] runner-up: 1994–95[35]
- Football League Cup: 1991–92;[36] runner-up: 1990–91,[37] 1993–94[38]
- UEFA Champions League: 1998–99[43]
- Intercontinental Cup: 1999[46]
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Individual
- PFA Team of the Year: 1989–90 Second Division,[48] 1993–94 Premier League,[49] 1998–99 Premier League,[50] 2002–03 First Division[51]
- PFA Team of the Century (1997–2007): 2007[52]
- English Football Hall of Fame: 2016[53]
References
- ^ "Denis Irwin". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
- ^ "Denis Irwin: Overview". ESPN. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- ^ "D. Irwin: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- ^ "Denis Irwin". Manchester United F.C. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- ^ "Most Decorated Fottballers : Ireland : Honours : Trophies". soccer-ireland.com.
- ^ Campbell, Paul (8 May 2013). "Sir Alex Ferguson: his 10 best and worst signings for Manchester United". The Guardian.
- ^ "Irwin: 2003 Play-off final winners are part of history". wolves.co.uk.
- ^ Traynor, Mikey (12 May 2015). "Just When We Thought Denis Irwin Couldn't Get Any More Amazing, We Discover A Fact Like This". Balls.ie. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
- ^ Irish Times, 9 July 2008
- ^ "TRANSFER TALES: DENIS IRWIN". Manchester United F.C. 8 June 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
- ^ "Manchester United Results 1991-1992, Division One, FA Cup, League Cup, European". Archived from the original on 15 May 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
- ^ "Manchester United need a new Denis Irwin for penalty duties". Manchester Evening News. 4 May 2015.
- ISBN 9781785314193.
- ^ "Irwin's affair turns sour". Irish Times. 17 August 2000. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
- ^ "Charlton hold Man Utd". BBC Sport. 11 May 2002. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
- ^ "Wolves 3–0 Burnley". BBC Sport. 17 August 2002. Retrieved 28 October 2009.
- ^ "Wolves 4–1 Grimsby". BBC Sport. 26 October 2002. Retrieved 28 October 2009.
- ^ "Irwin confirms retirement plans". BBC Sport. 22 August 2003. Retrieved 25 May 2008.
- ^ "Denis Irwin : Manchester United : Irish Footballer : Cork". soccer-ireland.com.
- ^ "World Cup Connections: Denis Irwin". Oldham Athletic. 12 June 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
- ^ "MUTV – – Presenters Profiles Manchester United Official Web Site". Archived from the original on 3 September 2017. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
- ^ Black, Fergus (2 June 2010). "RTÉ hopes Ossie and squad will spur fans to back home team". Irish Independent. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
- ^ O'Malley, Carl (2 June 2010). "RTÉ roll out big guns for their 56 live games". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
- ^ "Player Details: Denis Irwin". English National Football Archive. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
- ^ "Denis Irwin: Internationals". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
- ^ "Denis Irwin". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- ^ "Republic of Ireland v USA, 29 April 1992". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- ^ "Republic of Ireland v Belgium, 29 October 1997". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- ^ "Republic of Ireland v Croatia, 06 September 1998". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- ^ "Republic of Ireland v Paraguay, 10 February 1999". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- ^ "Nottingham Forest v Oldham Athletic, 29 April 1990". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- ^ "Denis Irwin: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
- ^ Ridley, Ian (15 May 1994). "Football / FA Cup Final: Cantona's Double take: Rampant United realise the dream after Chelsea pay the penalty for missed chances". The Independent. London. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- ^ "Manchester United v Liverpool, 11 May 1996". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- ^ Moore, Glenn (22 May 1995). "Limpar's three steps to heaven". The Independent. London. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- ^ "Manchester United v Nottingham Forest, 12 April 1992". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- ^ "Manchester United v Sheffield Wednesday, 21 April 1991". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- ^ Lovejoy, Joe (28 March 1994). "Football / Coca-Cola Cup Final: Saunders destroys United's dream: Aston Villa's master plan puts paid to Ferguson's malfunctioning Big Red Machine as Kanchelskis is dismissed". The Independent. London. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- ^ "Liverpool v Manchester United, 18 August 1990". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- ^ "Arsenal v Manchester United, 07 August 1993". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- ^ "Manchester United v Newcastle United, 11 August 1996". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- ^ "Charity remains at home". The Irish Times. Dublin. 4 August 1997. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- ^ "United crowned kings of Europe". BBC News. 26 May 1999. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- ^ "1990/91: United put England back on the map". UEFA. 1 June 1991. Archived from the original on 3 May 2010.
- ^ "Man. United 1–0 Crvena zvezda: Line-ups". UEFA. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- ^ "Man Utd crowned world champions". BBC News. 30 November 1999. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- ^ "Wolves back in big time". BBC Sport. 26 May 2003. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- ISBN 978-0-09-179135-3.
- ISBN 978-0-09-179135-3.
- ISBN 978-1-85291-607-7.
- ^ McKechnie, David (28 April 2003). "Henry lands PFA award". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- ^ "Team of the Century: 1997–2007 – the Premiership's finest of the last decade". Give Me Football. 5 September 2007. Archived from the original on 21 October 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
- ^ "National Football Museum Hall of Fame". April 2020.
External links
- Denis Irwin at Soccerbase
- Biography at ManUtd.com