On This Day – 19th January
On this day in 1969, former Republic of Ireland defender Steve Staunton was born.
Staunton made 102 appearances for the Republic between 1988 and 2002, becoming the first player to get 100 caps for the country.
He began his career at Dundalk in Ireland before moving to Liverpool in September 1986. He spent time on loan at Brentford before making his Liverpool debut in September 1988. He scored his first goal for the club three days later.
Staunton won the FA Cup in his first full season at Anfield in 1988/89 and the League Championship the following year. Liverpool didn’t win anything in the 1990/91 season and he left for Aston Villa in the summer of 1991.
His time at Villa was a successful one and he picked up a League Cup Winners medal in 1994 and 1996. He also qualified for the 1994 World Cup in this time with the Republic of Ireland.
The left-back moved back to Liverpool in 1998 before again joining Aston Villa on a free transfer in December 2000.
He moved to Coventry City in 2003 on another free transfer deal and stayed at Highfield Road for two seasons before joining Walsall when his contract was up at City.
Staunton would only play ten times for Walsall before retiring in 2005. He made a total of 557 club appearances in his career, scoring 29 goals.
His career for the Republic of Ireland was during the countries most successful period. Staunton played in the 1990, 1994 and 2002 World Cup Finals.
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