1. Stephen John Paul McPhail was born on 9 December 1979 and is an Irish former professional footballer and the sporting director of Shamrock Rovers in the League of Ireland Premier Division.
24 Facts About Stephen McPhail
1. 2.
Stephen McPhail was capped ten times for the Republic of Ireland national team, scoring one goal.
3.
Stephen McPhail was born in Westminster, London, and raised in Rush, Dublin, Ireland.
4.
Stephen McPhail started his career by coming through the youth ranks at Leeds United.
5.
Stephen McPhail's playing style led former Arsenal manager George Graham to christen him "the new Liam Brady".
6.
Stephen McPhail was rewarded with a new five-year contract at the Yorkshire club soon after.
7.
Stephen McPhail got his first Leeds goals in a league match against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on 19 December 1999.
8.
Stephen McPhail was loaned out to Millwall as a means of maintaining match fitness.
9.
Stephen McPhail left Leeds in July 2004 to sign for Barnsley on a free transfer, becoming the first international player from Ireland to sign for the club since Gary Fleming in 1990.
10.
Stephen McPhail made seventy-nine appearances for the Oakwell club in two seasons of League One football, the culmination of which coming with a victory over Swansea City in the League One Play-off final at the Millennium Stadium.
11.
On 30 November 2007, after an indifferent opening to the Bluebirds' campaign, Stephen McPhail spoke to local paper the South Wales Echo, claiming that the team's poor start was "all my fault".
12.
Stephen McPhail found the net twice within the space of two months with goals against Hull City and Blackpool in the Championship.
13.
Stephen McPhail had the honour of leading Cardiff City out at Wembley for the FA Cup final, where City were beaten by a goal to nil by Premier League side Portsmouth.
14.
Stephen McPhail was sent off in the 75th minute for a second bookable offence, as Jordi Gomez's goal won the tie for Roberto Martinez's Swansea.
15.
Stephen McPhail was dismissed when the two sides met at the same venue in the league, again for collecting two yellow cards.
16.
Cardiff manager Dave Jones publicly criticised Stephen McPhail, stating that "he probably cost us all three points", in his post-match press conference.
17.
Stephen McPhail was scheduled to be out for between six and eight weeks but, on 20 November 2009, he was diagnosed with lymphoma, the disease forcing him to miss a considerably longer period.
18.
On 19 September 2013, Stephen McPhail joined Championship side Sheffield Wednesday on a contract running until January 2014.
19.
Stephen McPhail scored on his debut in the 2014 Setanta Sports Cup and made his league debut on the opening day of the 2014 League of Ireland season.
20.
On 5 July 2014, Stephen McPhail was sent off in a derby day win against St Pat's.
21.
Stephen McPhail retired from playing in October 2016; and shortly afterwards was appointed Sporting Director of Shamrock Rovers.
22.
Stephen McPhail played in the 1996 UEFA European Under-16 Football Championship scoring the winner in a group game against Poland in May 1996 and played for the Republic of Ireland U19 national team in the 1997 UEFA European Under-18 Football Championship finals in Iceland.
23.
Stephen McPhail received his first call-up to the Republic of Ireland senior national team in May 2000 when manager Mick McCarthy selected him in the squad for a match against Scotland.
24.
Stephen McPhail earned ten caps making his last appearance in a match against Nigeria in 2004.