Jason McAteer

Jason McAteer

Personal information
Full name	Jason Wynn McAteer
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Position(s)	Midfielder (retired)

Jason Wynn McAteer (b. 18 June 1971, Birkenhead, England) is a former Irish international football player. He announced his retirement from professional football on 12 June 2007.

His primary position was in centre midfield, though he was an able left winger and full back. During his career, McAteer played for five professional clubs: Bolton Wanderers, Liverpool, Blackburn Rovers, Sunderland and finally Tranmere Rovers, as well as winning international caps for the Republic of Ireland, his total transfer values reach over £9 million.

Career

McAteer got his big break aged 20, at local non-league team Marine, when he was discovered by scouts from Bolton Wanderers. He would go on to amass well over 100 appearances for the Trotters over his three year stay. Early in the 1995/96 season, Liverpool captured the midfielder in a £4.5 million deal. He would appear 139 times for his boyhood heroes, scoring 6 goals for the Reds, but was black listed for bad behaviour together with several of his colleagues like Jamie Redknapp, Robbie Fowler and Steve McManaman at the time for their collective culture of being "Spice Boys" - a derogatory term that signified the team of that time as underachieving playboys in the game.

Towards the end of the 1998/99 season he joined Blackburn Rovers, for £4 million and would help them to promotion to the Premiership in his first full season the following year.

In U2's live DVD, U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle, during the song New Year's Day, Bono wraps himself in an Irish flag and says "Close your eyes and imagine it's Jason McAteer" as McAteer had just scored a goal for the Irish National Football Team (against Holland, 1 September 2001). The crowd reacts to Bono's statement with a great amount of cheer and excitement.

In October 2001 he also got married to Kristina Delaney from oxford, at Slane Castle, in a lavish ceremony attended by all Jason’s former team mates from Liverpool and the couples friends and family. He moved on again, to Sunderland for £1million. He made 27 appearances that season, but was unable to prevent the Black Cats' relegation to the First Division in 2002/03. McAteer remained at the Stadium of Light for another year, playing in both legs of the play-off semi-final against Crystal Palace before being released at the end of the year.

Left without a club for the majority of the close season, he then made the decision to head back to Birkenhead, signing a two-year deal with Tranmere Rovers, hoping to play out his career with his hometown club, and trained as a coach ready to embark on a career in that department after his retirement. He was made club captain by manager Brian Little, skippering the side to the League One, play-off semi-finals, where they eventually lost on penalties to Hartlepool United. He was released by Tranmere in May 2007 and announced his retirement shortly afterwards.

McAteer is widely remembered in Ireland for his part in a televised Head & Shoulders advertising campaign in which he promoted the product whilst in the shower, and a subsequent campaign for Carlsberg when he dreamed about scoring the winning goal in the World Cup. His successes include winning two promotions and reaching a League Cup final in three seasons with Bolton, reaching an F.A Cup final with Liverpool and winning promotion to the Premiership with Blackburn. McAteer scored the goal at Lansdowne Road when the 10 man Republic of Ireland team beat the Netherlands, which put Ireland on course for qualification for the 2002 World Cup.

External links

• Jason McAteer at Soccerbase