Ronnie Whelan
Irish soccer player and manager / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Ronald Andrew Whelan (/ˈrɒniː ˈhwiːlən/; born 25 September 1961) is an Irish former professional footballer player who played as a midfielder and sometimes as a defender. He played an integral role in the dominant Liverpool side that won a wealth of titles in the 1980s. He was at the club from 1979 until 1994, scoring a number of vital goals. In 100 Players Who Shook The Kop, a poll of 110,000 Liverpool fans conducted by Liverpool's official website, Whelan came in 30th.
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Ronald Andrew Whelan | ||
Date of birth | (1961-09-25) 25 September 1961 (age 62) | ||
Place of birth | Dublin, Ireland | ||
Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[1] | ||
Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
Youth career | |||
Home Farm | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1977–1979 | Home Farm | 45 | (7) |
1979–1994 | Liverpool | 362 | (46) |
1994–1996 | Southend United | 34 | (1) |
Total | 441 | (54) | |
International career | |||
1979 | League of Ireland XI | 1 | (1) |
1981 | Republic of Ireland U21 | 1 | (0) |
1994 | Republic of Ireland B | 1 | (0) |
1981–1995 | Republic of Ireland | 53 | (3) |
Managerial career | |||
1995–1997 | Southend United | ||
1998–1999 | Panionios | ||
2000–2001 | Olympiakos Nicosia | ||
2002 | Apollon Limassol | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Whelan finished his career at Southend United, where he was also player-manager. He has also managed in Greece and Cyprus, with Panionios, Olympiakos Nicosia and Apollon Limassol.
Whelan was an important member of the Republic of Ireland national football team at one UEFA European Football Championship (1988) and also appeared at two World Cups (1990 and 1994). He played a total of 53 times for the national side between 1981 and 1995.
Since retirement he has begun a media career, and is a regular contributor to RTÉ Sport in Ireland.