Stephen John Finnan (born 24 April 1976) is an Irish former

international International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

. He is the only player to have played in the World Cup, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup, Intertoto Cup, all four levels of the English league football and the

Football Conference The National League of English Football Clubs is a professional Association football, football league in England that consists of 72 teams, divided equally between the National League (division), National League North and National League South ...

. Among the honours won during his career was the

2005 UEFA Champions League Final The 2005 UEFA Champions League final was the final match of the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League, 2004–05 UEFA Champions League, Europe's primary club Association football, football competition. The showpiece event was contested between Liverpo ...

for

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. Finnan was known for his attacking role and ability to cross the ball. He played 52 internationals for the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

from his debut in 2000, scoring twice. He played for them at the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

Club career

Early career

Finnan was born in the Janesboro area of

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

, and moved to

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Colchester and Southend-on-Sea. It is located north-east of London ...

, England, at a young age. He began his career playing in

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

youth system In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team if they show en ...

, but he joined

non-League Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

club Welling United in 1993 after being released at the age of 16. Finnan turned professional when he signed with

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

in 1995, who paid a

fee A fee is the price one pays as remuneration for rights or services. Fees usually allow for overhead, wages, costs, and markup. Traditionally, professionals in the United Kingdom (and previously the Republic of Ireland) receive a fee in contrad ...

of £100,000 to Welling United to acquire his services. He scored his first professional goal against

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

Notts County

Finnan made a

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

switch to

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

in March 1996, making his debut in a 2–1 victory over

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

and scoring his first goal a month later in a 4–2 victory over Bristol Rovers. He appeared in all of Notts' games for the remainder of the season, helping the team finish fourth in the Second Division and qualify for the

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

play-offs. In the first leg of the semi-finals held at the Alexandra Stadium he scored against

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

, with the match ending 2–2. The return leg at home saw Notts win 1–0, winning 3–2 on aggregate. In the play-offs final against

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

, Notts County lost 2–0. He returned to Birmingham following the conclusion of the loan deal. During the following season, 1996–97, Notts County signed Finnan for a fee £300,000 on 30 October 1996. He played his first match as a permanent player for Notts County after being introduced as a substitute against

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1886, the club were inaugur ...

. The season was not a successful one for Finnan as Notts County finished 24th in the table and were relegated to the Third Division. In the 1997–98 season, his first full season at the club, Finnan established himself as a key member of the team and was an ever present, appearing in 51 matches, helping the club win the Third Division title with record points and time. The other notable record Finnan established with Notts County during this season was a streak of 10 consecutive victories; a club record and one which still stands today.

Fulham

After strong showings for Notts County in the 1997–98 season,

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

manager

Kevin Keegan Joseph Kevin Keegan (born 14 February 1951) is an English former footballer and manager. Nicknamed "King Kev" or "Mighty Mouse", Keegan was recognised for his dribbling ability, as well as his finishing and presence in the air, and is regard ...

paid £600,000 for his services in November 1998. He made his Fulham debut against Chesterfield on 21 November 1998 and scored his first goal for Fulham against

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

on 20 March 1999. While at Fulham, he also became a favourite among the fans. His first season with the club was a success, with Fulham winning the Second Division championship and being promoted to the First Division. Finnan finished ninth with Fulham the following season under new manager

Paul Bracewell Paul William Bracewell (born 19 July 1962) is an English former professional association football, football player and manager. Bracewell played as a midfielder. He was a member of the Everton F.C., Everton side that won the League title in 19 ...

, despite promising early season form and an unbeaten run lasting over two months. Bracewell was replaced with

Jean Tigana Amadou Jean Tigana (born 23 June 1955) is a French former football player and manager. A central midfielder, he was renowned as one of the best midfielders in the world during the 1980s. He spent his entire playing career in France, and made 5 ...

in May 2000, and under him in the 2000–01 season, Fulham won the First Division championship, winning promotion to the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

, with Finnan appearing in all but one of the league matches. In his debut season in the Premier League, he helped Fulham qualify for the

UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was dis ...

, was voted into the 2001–02

Professional Footballers' Association The Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) is the trade union for professional footballers in England and Wales. Founded in 1907, it is the world's oldest professional sports trade union, with approximately 5,000 current members each seaso ...

team of the year and was also voted as the Fulham player of the year. Fulham then went on to win the Intertoto Cup, giving Finnan his first taste of European football. Next season saw Jean Tigana replaced by Chris Coleman, Finnan's fourth manager in five seasons. By April 2003 with few games to go, Fulham were close to the relegation zone but picked up 10 points out of a possible 15 to stay in the top-flight, finishing in 14th position. In the summer of 2003 Finnan found himself courted by many of England's top clubs, and eventually Fulham agreed to sell Finnan to Liverpool for a fee of £3.5m.

Liverpool

Finnan made his Liverpool debut against Chelsea on 17 August 2003. His first season was disrupted by injury, but in 2004–05, he established himself as the first-choice right-back and a firm fan favourite. The season was a highly successful one for Finnan. He scored his first and only goal for Liverpool against

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

, played in the League Cup final, and was in the starting eleven as Liverpool won the Champions League Final, though a thigh injury meant he was substituted at half time. Finnan's goal against WBA meant that he became only the second player to score in each of the five highest divisions of English football; the first was Jimmy Willis. In the 2005–06 season, Liverpool broke their record for number of points in a Premier League season, finishing on 82 points with Finnan being ever present. At the end of the season he picked up another medal with Liverpool, winning the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

. Finnan played for Liverpool as first-choice right-back for the 2006–07 season despite heavy competition from newly arrived teammate

Álvaro Arbeloa Álvaro Arbeloa Coca (; born 17 January 1983) is a Spanish former footballer, currently manager of Real Madrid Castilla. He predominantly played as a right-back, and occasionally on the left side. He started his professional career with Real Ma ...

. He started in the

2007 UEFA Champions League Final The 2007 UEFA Champions League final was the final match of the 2006–07 season of the UEFA Champions League, Europe's primary club football competition. The showpiece event was contested between Liverpool of England and AC Milan of Italy at ...

and was subbed off after 88 minutes, Liverpool went on to lose the game 2–1. In July 2007, Finnan agreed a new two-year contract to remain with Liverpool. The following season, Liverpool's success continued as they finished third in the League and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League. Finnan took his total appearances for Liverpool past the 200 mark and also made it into the top 100 capped Liverpool players of all time. Finnan featured in 35 games, but lost his starting place, manager Rafa Benítez often preferring Arbeloa to start. In the summer of 2008, after the arrival of fullback Philipp Degen at the club from

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, often known simply as Borussia Dortmund () or by its initialism BVB (), or just Dortmund by International fans, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...

, Finnan was linked with a move away from

Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...

. He was offered by Liverpool as a makeweight in a deal to sign

Gareth Barry Gareth Barry (born 23 February 1981) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Mid Sussex League Championship side Hurstpierpoint. He made 653 Premier League appearances for Aston Villa, Manchester City, Everton and ...

from

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

; the player accepted the move but the clubs were unable to agree a fee. He made a guest appearance in Jamie Carragher's testimonial match in September 2010.

Espanyol

On transfer deadline day, 1 September 2008, Finnan signed a two-year deal with La Liga club Espanyol for an undisclosed fee. Injuries limited his first team appearances, and rumours of a return to the Premier League in the January 2009 transfer window with

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

were dismissed by Espanyol's sports director Paco Herrera and by coach Mané, who considered him an important member of the team. By mid-January, Espanyol were "surprised" that a move to Hull City did not proceed, apparently for medical reasons. In July 2009, Espanyol and Finnan agreed to mutually terminate the remainder of his contract.

Portsmouth

Finnan signed a one-year contract with Premier League side

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

on 31 July 2009. He made his debut for the club on 3 October in a 1–0 victory against

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

at Molineux, and played regularly in the second half of the season, but with the club in

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...

and relegated to the Championship, he was not offered a new deal. His last appearance for the club was the 2010 FA Cup Final against Chelsea.

International career

Under-21 international, Finnan stepped up to the senior side in 2000 against

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. He cemented his place in the Irish starting XI during the 2002 World Cup qualification matches, supplying the cross for Jason McAteer to score the only goal in a crucial 1–0 home win against the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

in September 2001. Finnan appeared in all three of Ireland's group E games in the 2002 FIFA World Cup against

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

. Ireland progressed to the second round of the tournament for only the third time in their history where they faced

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. The match ended 1–1 in extra time and went to penalties. Finnan took a penalty and scored, but Ireland eventually lost 3–2. Injury disrupted Finnan's participation in the unsuccessful attempt to reach the

Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. Th ...

finals. He was a regular choice in the 2006 World Cup qualification games but Ireland failed to qualify for the finals. He was again a regular selection in the 2008 Euro qualification games but Ireland did not qualify for the finals. He scored his second international goal in the group game against

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

in a 1–1 draw. He then announced his retirement from international football on 22 January 2008 after making 50 appearances for the

. Tempted by the prospect of working with the newly appointed Ireland manager

Giovanni Trapattoni Giovanni Trapattoni (; born 17 March 1939), popularly nicknamed "Trap" or "Il Trap", is an Italian former Association football, football manager and former player, considered the most successful club coach of Football in Italy, Italian football ...

, Finnan came out of retirement in August 2008 to be included in the squad to face

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

in an international friendly.

Personal life

Finnan was arrested in June 2005 after running over an 81-year-old man from Liverpool, who later died of his injuries. Finnan faced no charges over the man's death, despite travelling more than twice the speed-limit at the time. In 2015, he was living in London and working in property development.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Republic of Ireland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Finnan goal.''

Honours

Notts County *

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 Football League, 1920–21 and again from 1958–59 Football League, 1958 until 1991–92 Football League, 1992. When the FA Premier League ...

: 1997–98 Fulham *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third tier ...

: 1998–99 *

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was the top division of the Football League in England from 1888 until the end of the 1991–92 season, when its teams broke away to form the Premier League. From 1992 to 2004, the name First Division was g ...

: 2000–01 *

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

Liverpool *

: 2005–06 *

FA Community Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is Football in England, English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

FIFA Club World Championship The FIFA Club World Cup (FIFA CWC) is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contes ...

runner-up:

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

runner-up: 2004–05 *

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

: 2004–05; runner-up 2006-07 *

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup Association football, football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's offic ...

Portsmouth *

runner-up: 2009–10 Individual * Football League Second Division PFA Team of the Year: 1998–99 * Football League First Division PFA Team of the Year: 2000–01 * FA Premier League PFA Team of the Year: 2001–02 *

Team of the Year: 2001–02 *Fulham Player of the Year: 2001–02

References

External links

Profile
at the Liverpool F.C. website * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Finnan, Steve 1976 births Living people Association footballers from County Limerick Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of Ireland men's international footballers Republic of Ireland men's B international footballers Men's association football fullbacks Welling United F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Fulham F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players RCD Espanyol footballers Portsmouth F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players La Liga players 2002 FIFA World Cup players Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Irish expatriate sportspeople in Spain Irish expatriate sportspeople in England UEFA Champions League–winning players