Dessie Baker
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Desmond Baker | ||
Date of birth | 25 August 1977 | ||
Place of birth | Dublin, Republic of Ireland | ||
Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
Position(s) | Midfielder, Striker | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Edenderry Town (manager) | ||
Youth career | |||
1994–1996 | Manchester United | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1996–2004 | Shelbourne | 156 | (27) |
2003 | → University College Dublin (loan) | 1 | (0) |
2004–2007 | Longford Town | 106 | (19) |
2008–2010 | Shamrock Rovers | 59 | (11) |
2008 | → Dundalk (loan) | 10 | (2) |
2010– | Edenderry Town | ||
International career | |||
1997 |
Republic of Ireland B | 1 | (0) |
1997–1999 | Republic of Ireland U21 | 3 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Desmond "Dessie" Baker (born 25 August 1977 in Dublin) is an Irish footballer who plays for Leinster Senior League side Edenderry Town. He has three children.
Early career
From
League of Ireland career
He made his League of Ireland debut at UCD on 15 December 1995 and would remain a fixture in the Shels line-up for the remainder of the decade, but rose to wider prominence as a member of Brian Kerr's Republic of Ireland squad which placed third at the 1997 FIFA Under-20 World Cup. Baker famously headed the opening goal of Ireland's 2–1 victory over Ghana in the third/fourth place play-off after less than a minute of play had elapsed [3].
He had already represented his country at U16 and U18 levels.
Baker (who scored another memorable goal against
Another league title followed in 2001–02, but this time Shels were crowned champions under contentious and unsatisfactory circumstances, while Baker himself hardly muddied his boots all season. Keely, bemoaning the pressures of full-time football management, vacated his position, and his successor Pat Fenlon consigned Baker almost permanently to the substitutes' bench.
Baker served out the remainder of his contract during two frustrating and largely inactive seasons under Fenlon (incorporating a brief loan spell at
Despite participation in the
Baker signed for Shamrock Rovers in December 2007.
Baker returned to Shamrock Rovers for the 2009 season and his faltering Rovers career was given a new lease of life by new manager
In 2010, numerous injuries hampered Baker over the course of the season resulting in him announcing his intention to retire from football at the end of the season.
In his time at the Hoops, Baker scored a total of 19 goals in 75 total appearances.
Honours
Club
- 2003
- FAI Cup: 1997, 2000
- 2010
- 2008
International
- FIFA World Youth Championship: Third Place 1997
References
- ^ RTÉ Sport: Longford sign Dessie Baker
- ^ [1][permanent dead link]
- ^ "Shamrock Rovers F.C. –". Archived from the original on 12 March 2008. Retrieved 12 March 2008.
- ^ "Shamrock Rovers F.C. –". Archived from the original on 26 March 2008. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
- ^ Kildare County 1–6 Dundalk Archived 21 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine www.rte.ie
- ^ "Report – Rovers 0 Real Madrid 1". Archived from the original on 9 September 2012. Retrieved 21 July 2009.
- ^ Baker bidding to bow out on high www.herald.ie
- ^ Bray Wanderers 2–2 Shamrock Rovers Archived 30 October 2010 at the Wayback Machine www.rte.ie