Shaun Maloney

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Shaun Maloney
Personal information
Full name	Shaun Richard Maloney
Date of birth	24 January 1983 (1983-01-24) (age 26)
Place of birth	Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia
Height	1.71 m (5 ft 7+1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Left winger / Striker
Club information
Current club	Celtic
Number	13
Youth career
1999–2000	Celtic
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2000–2007 2007–2008 2008–	Celtic Aston Villa Celtic	104 (26) 030 0(5) 017 0(5)
National team2
2002-2005 2005-	Scotland U21 Scotland	020 0(6) 015 0(1)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 01:08, 2 April 2009 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 22:10, 19 November 2008 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Shaun Richard Maloney (born 24 January 1983 in Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia) is a Malaysian-born Scottish footballer who plays for Celtic in the Scottish Premier League and also for the Scottish national team. He plays on either wing or up front and occasionally as an attacking midfielder. Maloney is known for his set-piece accuracy and confidence when shooting and also for being the first player to claim both the SPFA Players' Player of the Year Award and the Young Player of the Year during his first spell with Celtic.

[edit] Biography

His family moved to his mother's home-town of Aberdeen, Scotland when Maloney was 5 years old.

At a young age, Maloney found a love for sport, particularly football and tennis. By the age of 10, he had joined his first football club, Kincorth Boys' Club. He played regularly for his Primary School Team, St Joseph's. At 12, he moved to Culter Boys' Club then at 14, to Albion Boys' Club. He played a number of games for Cults Academy, where he was a student

[edit] Club career

[edit] Celtic

After joining Celtic as a trainee in 1999, he made his first team debut on 29 April 2001 against Rangers at Ibrox Stadium. Celtic went on to win the game 3-0. He spent the next few years trying to break into the first team, spending most of his time as a substitute.

In February 2004, Maloney picked up a cruciate ligament injury while playing for the Scotland U21 team. He returned from the injury late on in season 2004-05, starting only one game in that season.

Maloney was in lethal form for Celtic in the 2005-06 season after being moved from a striking position to the left of midfield by manager Gordon Strachan. His displays received praise from players, fans and the media throughout the year, and in recognition of his excellent season he was awarded both the SPFA Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year awards, the first time a player has won both plaudits. He also won Celtic Fans' Player of the Year, and Players Player of the Year in a season which saw him score 16 goals and contribute 28 assists from midfield.

With his contract expiring at the end of the 2006-07 season, Celtic moved to offer Maloney a new deal. However, contract negotiations continued for months, constantly breaking down due to differences between the two parties. Chief Executive Peter Lawwell asserted that Celtic "cannot keep players at any cost" ^[1] while Maloney warned that "In situations like this one, both parties have to be completely happy with the outcome." He also promised that the prolonged contract talks wouldn't affect his football and that he hoped he wouldn't have to consider leaving the club in the future.^[2] With the realization that Maloney would be able to leave for free by signing a pre-contract with another club in January 2007, the Celtic support feared the worst, recalling Jackie McNamara's departure.

No new contract was agreed with Celtic and eventually a £1 million transfer to Aston Villa was agreed, where Maloney would play under his old boss Martin O'Neill.

In his first tenure, Maloney made a total of 139 appearances for the Hoops in all competitions, scoring 37 times. ^[3]

[edit] Aston Villa

Just before the transfer window closed on 31 January 2007, Maloney signed a pre-contract agreement with Aston Villa. Villa manager Martin O'Neill was keen to bring Maloney to Villa for the second half of the season however and moments before the deadline he signed for the Midlands club for a reported fee of £1m. ^[4] He made his debut in the 2-0 defeat at Reading on 10 February 2007 ^[5] On 28 April 2007, Maloney scored his first Villa goal in a victory against Man City at the City of Manchester Stadium from a free kick which was curled around the wall into the bottom right of the goal.^[6]

Maloney had trouble settling into the club but after a somewhat lacklustre start to his Villa career, he began to show his best form. Maloney has acknowledged that his football had been suffering but remained optimistic about his future at the club: "Homesickness has affected my form. I haven't played well enough to play in the team and I think that has shown, so hopefully now things can change." ^[7] Both O'Neill and teammate Stiliyan Petrov, who were both at Celtic during Maloney's time there, had expressed their desire for Maloney to stay at the club despite reports linking him with a move back to Scotland.^[8][9]

Maloney scored a brace for Aston Villa in a 4-4 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Boxing Day of 2007. However since then Maloney did not play a lot of games as half of his last season appearances were substitutions, he has also said that he would like to one day come back and play in Scotland.^[10]

[edit] Return to Celtic

On 22 August 2008, Celtic announced the signing of Maloney on a four year deal.^[11] The fee could rise to £2.5 million.^[12] Maloney marked his return with a Man of the Match performance and two assists in his first match, after coming off the bench for Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink in a 3-0 victory over Falkirk at Celtic Park. Maloney scored his first goal after his return to Celtic in a 4-2 away win over Motherwell and managed his second the following week in a 3-1 away win at Kilmarnock. He finished the season with five goals, taking his total Celtic goals tally to 42.

[edit] International career

Maloney made 20 appearances and netted 6 times for Scotland Under 21's.

Maloney made his international debut as a half-time substitute in Scotland's 1-0 defeat to Belarus at Hampden Park on 8 October 2005. He has so far gained 15 caps for Scotland and scored his first goal for Scotland, a free-kick in the Svangaskard Stadium in a 2-0 victory over the Faroe Islands^[13]. Maloney was also eligible to play for the Republic of Ireland^{[citation needed]}, and Malaysia.

[edit] International goals

Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	6 June 2007	Svangaskard, Toftir	Faroe Islands	1-0	2-0	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying

[edit] Statistics

Last updated 30 October 2008

Season	Club	Nat	Apps	Goals	Assists
2000/01	Celtic		4	0	3
2001/02	Celtic		20	10	9
2002/03	Celtic		30	5	12
2003/04	Celtic		23	6	7
2004/05	Celtic		3	0	2
2005/06	Celtic		43	16	24
2006/07	Celtic		15	0	6
2006/07	Aston Villa		8	1	3
2007/08	Aston Villa		25	6	5
2008/09	Celtic		24	5	6
Total			183	49	76

[edit] Major honours

Celtic

• Scottish Premier League (2001, 2002, 2004, 2006)
• Scottish Cup (2001, 2004, 2005)
• Scottish League Cup (2001, 2006)
• UEFA Cup runner-up (2003)

Personal

• Scottish PFA Player of the Year (2006)
• Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year (2006)
• Celtic Fans' Player of the Year (2006)
• Scottish Players Player of the Year (2006)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Shaun Maloney career stats at Soccerbase