Derek Riordan

Derek Riordan
Personnel
Surname	Derek George Riordan
birthday	January 16, 1983
place of birth	Edinburgh ,  Scotland
size	180 cm
position	striker
Men's
Years	station	Games (goals) 1
2001-2006	Hibernian Edinburgh	123 (54)
2003	→  Cowdenbeath FC  (loan)	2 0(3)
2006-2008	Celtic Glasgow	24 0(5)
2008-2011	Hibernian Edinburgh	102 (36)
2011	Shaanxi Chanba	9 0(1)
2012	St. Johnstone FC	4 0(0)
2012	Bristol Rovers	11 0(0)
National team
Years	selection	Games (goals)
2005-2009	Scotland	3 0(0)
1 Only league games are given. As of December 26, 2012

Derek George Riordan (born January 16, 1983 in Edinburgh ) is a Scottish football player . Most recently he was under contract with the Bristol Rovers .

Start of his career at Hibernian

Riordan signed in 2000 with his favorite club Hibernian, where he made his first debut in the first team the following year. Only after a few years of apprenticeship was Riordan able to establish himself as a regular with the Hibs . In January 2003 he was loaned to the lower class Scottish team Cowdenbeath .

Towards the end of the 2002/03 season, Riordan then played regularly for the Edinburgh and was in the following years with 18, 23 and 20, the team's top scorer of the Hibs .

For his performance he was named Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year in 2005 and played his only international match for Scotland to date .

The Rudolf Skácel case

Riordan was heavily attacked in the press when a video surfaced in which he denigrated Rudi Skácel , who was then playing for local rivals from Edinburgh, Heart of Midlothian . The video was recorded by a fan with a mobile phone and shows Riordan, drunk, singing about Skácel as a “fucking refugee” with fans after a derby win against Hearts . In fact, this is of course wrong, as Skácel, as a citizen of the Czech Republic, is legally allowed to settle in Scotland.

After the scandal, Riordan publicly apologized to Skácel.

Transfer speculations

Towards the end of the 2004/05 season, Hibernian rejected a contract extension. The club officials then put him on the transfer list. In August 2005, the club had already agreed with Cardiff City on a transfer over the transfer fee of one million pounds, but the transfer failed because of Riordan's veto.

In January 2006, the Rangers from Glasgow offered £ 450,000. The clubs agreed, but the player refused to move.

Switch to Celtic

Although many clubs such as PSV Eindhoven , RSC Anderlecht , 1. FC Kaiserslautern , Crystal Palace , Leeds United and Charlton Athletic were interested in his services, Riordan signed in June 2006 for 200,000 pounds with Celtic from Glasgow. The transfer fee was later reduced because Riordan's contract with Hibernian would have expired in October 2006 and he has signed a preliminary contract with Celtic anyway, which would have brought him to the Hoops in January 2007 for free .

First difficulties

Riordan had big problems getting a place in the Celtic squad after moving to Celtic Park . He made his first game from the start in the League Cup against St. Mirren , when coach Gordon Strachan mainly used players who did not belong to the first line.

Riordan has already publicly announced his disappointment at not getting more bets and was already speculating with a transfer before the switch deadline on January 31. In November it was announced that former Celtic player and current Norwich City coach Peter Grant would be happy to sign him.

Riordan's first goal for the Hoops was against Motherwell on December 30, 2006.

In 2008 Riordan returned to his old club, Hibernian Edinburgh.

International career

Riordan has played three full senior caps for Scotland so far . The first game took place in Graz in August 2005 against the Austrian team when he was substituted on. In autumn 2009, two more missions against Japan and Wales .

Web links

• Derek Riordan in the database of weltfussball.de