Stephen McManus

Football player infobox
playername = Stephen McManus


fullname = Stephen McManus
height = height|ft=6|in=2
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1982|9|10
cityofbirth = Lanark
countryofbirth = Scotland
currentclub = Celtic
clubnumber = 4
position = Centre back, Left back
youthyears = 1997-2000
youthclubs = Celtic
years = 2000-
clubs = Celtic
caps(goals) = 152 (17)
nationalyears = 2006–
nationalteam = Scotland
nationalcaps(goals) = 016 0(1)
pcupdate = 3 September, 2008
ntupdate = 20:33, 10 September 2008 (UTC)

Stephen "Mick" McManus (born 10 September 1982 in Lanark) is a Scottish international footballer who plays in defence and is captain of Celtic F.C. in the Scottish Premier League. McManus is a product of Celtic's youth academy and has risen through the ranks to become first team captain ahead of the 2007/2008 season. Hall of Famer and former Scotland captain Colin Hendry described him as "the last of an ancient breed", in the sense that his no-nonsense defending style is hard to come by in modern football. He is currently, joint along with John Kennedy Celtic's longest serving player with 8 years at the club.

Personal life

McManus was born in Hamilton, Lanarkshire. He attended Holy Cross RC Secondary School in Hamilton, the school which club and international team mate Paul Hartley also attended. He is a close personal friend of Rangers captain and fellow Lanarkshire man Barry Ferguson .

Club career

McManus came through the ranks at Celtic and signed a professional contract on the same day as fellow defender John Kennedy. He made his debut for the first team, under Martin O'Neill, in the 2003/04 season and he has since established himself as first choice central defender at Celtic during Gordon Strachan's managerial reign.

In the 2005/06 season, McManus scored 8 goals (7 of which came in the League). He was made captain for the first league game of the 2006/07 season, in the match against Kilmarnock due to regular club captain Neil Lennon being suspended. Since that game he repeatedly deputised as Celtic captain throughout the 2006/07 season. After Lennon left Celtic to join Nottingham Forest, McManus was announced as Celtic's new captain on 31 July 2007 and signed a four-year contract. He said:

On 3rd October 2007, McManus scored to put Celtic a goal up against A.C. Milan at Celtic Park in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League. The match ended 2-1 in Celtic's favour with Kaká equalising for Milan before Scott McDonald scored a late winner for Celtic.

McManus lifted his first trophy as Celtic skipper on May 22, 2008, when Celtic won the 2007-08 SPL Championship following a 1-0 win over Dundee United at Tannadice Park on the last day of the season. Before the beginning of the 2008-09 SPL Championship it was announced that McManus would wear the No.4 shirt, previously worn by Adam Virgo, after Virgo left the club in July 2008. [ [http://www.celticfc.net/news/stories/news_100708165942.aspx New squad numbers for title heroes] , "Celtic FC Official Site", 8 July 2008]

International career

McManus earned his first cap at international level for Scotland on 11 October 2006, coming on as a substitute in the 2-0 defeat to Ukraine at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev. His first start in the dark blue of Scotland was against Georgia in the first match of the Alex McLeish era, which resulted in a 2-1 win for Scotland as Craig Beattie hit a dramatic late winner. McManus scored his first goal for Scotland in a 3-1 win against Lithuania on 8 September 2007, acrobatically turning a Shaun Maloney cross into the net to put Scotland 2-1 up.

He captained Scotland for the first time on 26 March 2008 in a friendly match against Croatia at Hampden Park in absence of regular captain Barry Ferguson and is now vice-captain of Scotland under George Burley. He said being selected captain of Scotland and Celtic were great honours. The game finished 1-1 with Kenny Miller scoring for Scotland and Niko Kranjčar for Croatia.

On the 10 September 2008 (his 26th birthday), McManus was sent off for a deliberate handball in a FIFA World Cup qualifier against Iceland at Laugardalsvöllur in Reykjavík. He used his right hand to tip the crossed ball over the crossbar to stop approaching Icelandic striker Heiðar Helguson from scoring a certain goal, with Scotland were leading 2-0. The penalty kick was dispatched to make the score 2-1, which was the final score.

International goals

:"Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first."

Honours

*Scottish Premier League: 2006, 2007, 2008
*Scottish Cup: 2005, 2007
*Scottish League Cup: 2006

References

External links

*soccerbase|id=38074|name=Stephen McManus
*SFA Profile|id=24305|name=Stephen McManus