33 Legends The football almanac
‹ Ireland's 33
Shay Given
Photo: Tomasz Przechlewski · CC BY 2.0 · edited (crop, resize, colour toning, WebP format) · source
11 / Ireland · 1996–2016

Shay Given

GK leaderclutch
Caps · Republic of Ireland
134
Goals · Republic of Ireland
0
Life
1976
Clubs
Newcastle United, Manchester City, Aston Villa
#11
Editorial rank of 33 for Ireland
–
The people's rank, live from duel votes

One of Ireland's most capped players, Given was a dynamic shot-stopper whose agility and consistency graced the Premier League for two decades. Career record: 134 caps and 0 goals for Republic of Ireland; club career at Newcastle United, Manchester City, Aston Villa.

Career sourcesCareer dates · checked 4 October 2026
Identity and career · Wikidata Q215812
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Career record

1994–1994Swindon Town
1994–1997Blackburn Rovers
1996–1996Sunderland A.F.C.
1996–1996Swindon Town
1997–2009Newcastle United
2009–2011Manchester City
2011–2015Aston Villa
2013–2014Middlesbrough
2015–2017Stoke City
—Celtic
Republic of Ireland134 caps, 0 goals

Sources

Shared the era

Ireland legends whose careers overlapped Given's

The world's great GKs

Around Given in the almanac

One rank above: Johnny Giles at #10.

One rank below: Steve Heighway at #12.

Ireland's editorial top five: Roy Keane · Liam Brady · Johnny Carey · Paul McGrath · Denis Irwin.

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