Stephen Staunton (born 19 January 1969) is an Irish football manager, scout and former professional footballer.
He played as a defender with two separate spells each with Premier League sides Aston Villa and Liverpool. He also played in the Football League for Bradford City, Crystal Palace, Coventry City and Walsall. He earned 102 caps for the Republic of Ireland national football team, captained his team to the knock-out stage of the 2002 FIFA World Cup and earned his place in the FIFA Century Club.
After retiring, he served as Republic of Ireland national team coach prior to Giovanni Trapattoni. He also spent five months as manager of Darlington in Football League Two and has worked on the coaching staff at Leeds United and Sunderland.
Career
Pre-Liverpool Born in Drogheda, County Louth, Staunton was an accomplished all-round sportsman. He grew up in Dundalk, also in County Louth, and attended the De La Salle College in the town. As well as playing soccer for his home club of Dundalk, he played Gaelic football, appearing for Louth's U-16 team and winning a Louth Senior Championship medal with Clan na Gael. He also played for his local team St Dominic's at underage level.
Liverpool Staunton was spotted by Liverpool playing in Ireland for his home club of Dundalk as a 17-year-old and was signed on 2 September 1986 by manager Kenny Dalglish for a fee of £20,000.
He spent the first two seasons in the reserves and even went on loan to Bradford City for eight games during the 1987–88 season as cover for the injured Karl Goddard. He made his Liverpool debut on 17 September 1988 in the 1–1 league draw with Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield. As a result of his impressive performance he remained in the side for the rest of the season, despite him being vastly inexperienced compared to the players around him who were defending a League championship title won the year before. Following on from his impressive debut he scored his first goal three days later on 20 September; however, his 80th-minute strike wasn't enough to prevent Arsenal winning the Centenary Trophy semi-final 2–1.
An injury to captain Alan Hansen meant that regular left back Gary Ablett had to be shifted across to the centre of defence. Staunton was therefore given his chance and proved an impressive and consistent performer in a team of strong players, playing his part as Liverpool challenged for the title again.
In the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster, which ultimately claimed the lives of 97 fans at the FA Cup semi-final on 15 April 1989, Staunton was among the players who comforted bereaved families and attended many of the funerals. He also put in an outstanding performance when the fateful FA Cup semi-final was rescheduled a month later, with Liverpool beating Nottingham Forest 3–1.
Staunton played in the FA Cup Final at Wembley – he was substituted at the start of the extra-time period – as Liverpool defeated Merseyside rivals Everton 3–2. However, the season ended with disappointment when Liverpool lost the League title in a decider against Arsenal at Anfield. The Gunners needed to win by two clear goals and were 1–0 up with just seconds remaining. With virtually the last kick of the season Michael Thomas broke through the centre of the Reds defence to score, thus stopping Liverpool gaining a second league and FA Cup double – something which no English club had yet achieved.
The following year, Staunton was a frequent presence again as Liverpool reclaimed the League title. His first goals for Liverpool came in remarkable fashion on 4 October 1989 when he came on as a substitute in a League Cup tie against Wigan Athletic and scored a hat-trick. The following season he scored twice more; against Crewe Alexandra in the League Cup and Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup. However 1990–91 was his final season with Liverpool before being astutely signed up by Aston Villa on 7 August 1991 for £1.1 million. New manager Graeme Souness was accused of misjudging the player's abilities, though the ruling for European ties possibly had a bearing, with Staunton being classed as a foreigner, of which no team was allowed to field more than four; the Bosman ruling (which included the abolishment of quotas for EU citizens on teams in member countries) was not passed until 1995.
Aston Villa
The 22-year-old Staunton made a good impression on the Villa fans by marking his debut on 17 August with a goal in the 3–2 win over Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough. He soon became a regular in Villa's defence, alongside the likes of the legendary Villan Paul McGrath, as they finished seventh during the 1991–92 season. The following year he played an important role in the club's push for the title in the first Premier League season. Villa, in the end, lost out to Manchester United and had to settle for second place.
The following season, he won a League Cup winners medal when he helped a wounded Villa gain revenge on Manchester United by beating them 3–1 (denying them a domestic treble). The League Cup medal completed his domestic medal set. In the 1994–95 season, despite the club's managerial problems, he had a fine season and regularly captained the side. The 1995–96 season was a mixed one for Staunton. He won another League Cup medal, this time as a non-playing substitute in the excellent 3–0 victory over Leeds United, but his playing time was limited due to a number of injuries.
Over the next two seasons he was once again a regular in defence, playing his part in Villa's run to the UEFA Cup quarter finals in 1996–97. He also scored from a corner during his time at Villa. Meanwhile, in the league, he helped a transitional Villa team to a fifth-place finish in 1996–97 and seventh in 1997–98.
Return to Anfield With his contract set to expire at Villa, he gained a surprise move back to Liverpool on 3 July 1998 when joint managers Roy Evans and Gérard Houllier signed him on a free transfer. On 27 September 1999, during the Merseyside derby against Everton at Anfield, Staunton played the last 15 minutes of the game in goal after Sander Westerveld had been sent off for fighting with Francis Jeffers after Liverpool had used all three substitutes. He scored once in his second spell at Liverpool, his goal coming in a League Cup tie against Hull City in September 1999.
His second spell on Merseyside lasted two years before he was told he could leave on a free transfer. After a brief loan spell at Crystal Palace, where he made six league appearances and scored once against Tranmere Rovers, he was recalled to Anfield to appear in his 148th and last game for the Reds: it came on 23 November 2000 in the 2–2 draw with Greek side Olympiakos in the UEFA Cup.
Return to Villa Park On 7 December 2000, the 31-year-old joined Aston Villa on another free transfer. He played in 14 of the club's remaining league fixtures and then featured regularly for a further two seasons. He scored once in his second spell at Villa, his goal coming in the Intertoto Cup against FC Zurich.
Coventry City Staunton continued to play club football, plying his trade with Coventry City, moving there on 15 August 2003 on another free transfer. He made his début on 16 August 2003 in the 0–0 league draw with Walsall at Highfield Road. He remained with the Sky Blues until the summer of 2005, clocking up 75 appearances.
Walsall Staunton decided not to renew his contract once it had expired, and instead joined Walsall on 2 August 2005. He played just 10 times for Walsall and also held the post of assistant coach until 16 January 2006, when he was appointed manager of the Republic of Ireland senior international side. He was captain of the Walsall side that defeated Blackpool 2–0 on New Year's Eve 2005, in what was his final game as a professional footballer at the end of a 20-year career.
International career Staunton made his debut for the Republic of Ireland in the 4–0 friendly win over Tunisia. He went to Italy with Jack Charlton's squad as the Republic of Ireland competed in their first ever FIFA World Cup finals. Staunton, the youngest member of the squad, played in every match at left back (though by now at club level he had also proved his usefulness as a central defender or midfield player) as the Republic of Ireland progressed to the quarter-finals, when they were beaten by the host nation.
He also represented the Republic of Ireland at FIFA World Cup 1994 in the United States. Again, he played in each game as the Republic of Ireland succumbed in the second round to the Netherlands.
The Republic of Ireland failed to qualify for both Euro 96 in England and the 1998 World Cup in France, though Staunton was still selected regularly for the team.
The Republic of Ireland qualified for the 2002 World Cup held in Japan and South Korea following a playoff against Iran. Staunton captained the Irish team in the second leg in Tehran. Coach Mick McCarthy, who had been Staunton's captain at the country's first World Cup 12 years earlier, selected him for the squad and named him captain following the departure of Roy Keane from the squad.
Again, Staunton played in every Republic of Ireland game of the tournament. With the 1–1 group match draw against Germany on 5 June, he became the first Irishman to make 100 appearances for his country. As of the end of Ireland's qualifying campaign for the 2010 FIFA World Cup he was still the joint record holder with former teammates Shay Given and Kevin Kilbane, though both players (along with Robbie Keane) have since emulated Staunton's appearance record.
Ireland's competition ended once more in the second round when they lost agonizingly to Spain in a penalty shoot-out after the game had finished 1–1. Staunton announced his retirement from international football immediately afterwards after setting a national record of 102 appearances. He is the only player to have played in every single one of Ireland's 13 World Cup finals games.
On two occasions he scored directly from corner-kicks. The first of which came in a 2–0 victory over Portugal on 7 June 1992, during a US Cup game in Boston and the second came in a 3–0 defeat of Northern Ireland on 31 March 1993 during a World Cup qualifier in Dublin.
Managerial career
National team Following the Republic of Ireland's failure to reach the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the tenure of manager Brian Kerr came to an end. A three-man Football Association of Ireland (FAI) subcommittee spearheaded by its former treasurer John Delaney was formed with the remit of appointing a capable successor to Kerr. Delaney assured the Irish public that a "world class" management team would be appointed to oversee Ireland's qualification campaign for the 2008 European Championship. After an initial flurry of rumours linking names of the calibre of Alex Ferguson, Terry Venables and Bobby Robson with the post, Staunton was released from his player/assistant manager role for Walsall on 12 January 2006 and was officially named as Kerr's replacement the following day, with former England manager Sir Bobby Robson supporting him in the role of International Consultant and with former Aston Villa teammate Kevin MacDonald as coach. Staunton was something of a shock appointment given the names that had been circulated and his own limited coaching and managerial experience.
His international management career enjoyed a dream start, something Staunton called "a bit of a fairytale", when he led Ireland to an impressive 3–0 victory over Sweden on 1 March 2006 with Damien Duff, Robbie Keane (captaining the Republic of Ireland for the first time) and Liam Miller getting onto the score sheet. The victory over Sweden was followed by two friendly defeats, the first a disappointing 1–0 loss against Chile on 23 May 2006 and then a 4–0 thrashing by Holland at Lansdowne Road, Ireland's worst home reverse in 40 years.