by Ziggy Keane

Created on: May 24, 2009

Republic of Ireland and Manchester City goalkeeper Shay Given is one of the top shot-stoppers in the English Premier League. Standing at 6'1", he is an assured and confident figure for both club and country.

He started his career in the Celtic youth team after impressing with local Irish side Lifford Celtic, but never managed to make a first team appearance for the club.

Despite this, Kenny Dalglish, then manager of Blackburn Rovers, decided to bring him to England. Once again, however, his playing time at Blackburn was limited, as he only made two first team appearances over a 3 year spell with the club.

Importantly though, Given went out on loan to Swindon and Sunderland, and it was while on loan with the latter that he began to impress as a professional. During a 17 game stint with the Black Cats, Given led his loan team to the top flight of English football.

Ironically, it was North-East rivals Newcastle who took note, as Kenny Dalglish, now at St. James' Park, signed Given for 1.5 million pounds. He immediately established himself as first choice keeper, and it was at Tyneside that Given began to build his reputation as one of the Premier League's best keepers.

In the 1997-98 campaign, Given led Newcastle to the FA Cup final, but it ended in heartbreak as league champions Arsenal won 2-0.

Given would go on to make an incredible 480 appearances for Newcastle United from 1997-2009, and was named in the Premier League Team of the Season for the 2001-02 and 2005-06 campaigns. He also captained the team on occasion when injures or suspensions ruled out club captains, which underlined his influence and his leadership attributes.

On the 5th of February, 2009, Given left struggling Newcastle for the riches of Manchester City, as Mark Hughes wanted to solidify his side's goalkeeping situation. He made an immediate impact, as he kept a clean sheet and was named Man of the Match in a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough on February 7th.

For his country, Given is also a key figure. He is the most capped goalkeeper in Ireland's history, and its third most capped player overall. He was the starting goalkeeper for Ireland in the 2002 World Cup, and played every minute of every match.

Given continues to be a key figure for Ireland, and is assistant captain to Robbie Keane. Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni has compared him to World Cup winning goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, stating that he is just as good.

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