22 Facts About Ronnie Whelan

Ronald Andrew Whelan is an Irish former professional football player who played as a midfielder and sometimes as a defender.

Ronnie Whelan played an integral role in the dominant Liverpool side that won a wealth of titles in the 1980s.

Ronnie Whelan 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, Ronnie Whelan came in 30th.

Ronnie Whelan finished his career at Southend United, where he was player-manager.

Ronnie Whelan has managed in Greece and Cyprus, with Panionios, Olympiakos Nicosia and Apollon Limassol.

Ronnie Whelan was an important member of the Republic of Ireland national football team at one UEFA European Football Championship and appeared at two World Cups.

Ronnie Whelan played a total of 53 times for the national side between 1981 and 1995.

Ronnie Whelan was a skilful and industrious midfield player, who, after an unsuccessful trial period for Manchester United, made his League of Ireland debut for Home Farm on his 16th birthday at Tolka Park.

Ronnie Whelan scored for a League of Ireland XI against the Basque Country at the San Mames in August 1979.

Ronnie Whelan then played a major role in Liverpool's treble of League title, League Cup and European Cup of 1984, although he was injured for part of this season.

Liverpool won the League again in 1990 with Ronnie Whelan playing a central role for much of the season, although he missed the last few games due to the first of several injuries which would severely hamper the rest of his Liverpool career.

Ronnie Whelan remained a first team regular the following season, until an injury sustained in February 1991 against Everton ruled him out for the rest of the campaign.

Ronnie Whelan scored 46 league goals in fourteen consecutive seasons, 37 of them in his first seven years when he played a more attacking role.

Ronnie Whelan won six League championship title medals, three FA Cups, a European Cup and three League Cup medals in his time with the club.

Ronnie Whelan was part of the Irish side which qualified for the UEFA European Championship of 1988 in West Germany.

Ronnie Whelan came on as a substitute against Holland in his only appearance in the 1990 World Cup, and played for less than a half against Norway in his sole 1994 World Cup game.

Ronnie Whelan later worked with clubs in Greece such as Panionios and in Cyprus such as Apollon Limassol and Olympiakos Nicosia.

Ronnie Whelan is notable for his pronunciation of Germany midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger's name.

Ronnie Whelan contributed to RTE Sport's coverage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Ronnie Whelan was part of RTE Sport's studio coverage of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Ronnie Whelan was signed to be part of RTE Sport's coverage of UEFA Euro 2016, UEFA Euro 2020 and UEFA Euro 2024.