John O'Shea

Team:

Sunderland

Position:

Defence

Place of Birth:

Waterford, Republic Of Ireland

Date of Birth:

30th April 1981

Height:

6'3

John O'Shea Facebook

John O'Shea is a versatile player who was on the books of Manchester United in 2010-11. He is comfortable in many roles, having occupied every position on the pitch for his club during his career, but is most often seen as a right back. John was spotted as a local youth player in Waterford and signed for United at the age of 17, making his debut soon afterwards. He went on to gain professional experience at Bournemouth and with the Reds' feeder club Antwerp, and in 2001 was handed his first international cap against Croatia. His return to Old Trafford saw his role increase from the 2002-03 season onwards, where his versatility helped him fill holes in the first choice eleven. He has continued in such a manner throughout his career and has even been used as both a stand-in striker and an emergency goalkeeper (when Edwin van der Sar was injured at Tottenham in 2007). A loyal player with well over 300 total appearances for the club, he was a very effective squad member and enjoyed the best season of his career to date in 2008-09, making over 50 appearances and nailing down a regular spot on the right side of defence, a position he has continued to feature in during his time at Old Trafford. John is also now one of the mainstays of the Republic of Ireland national team, for whom he has accumulated 70 caps. In the summer of 2011 he left United to sign for Sunderland.