Jason McAteer

Jason McAteer
McAteer (2008)
Personnel
Surname	Jason Wynn McAteer
birthday	18th June 1971
place of birth	Birkenhead ,  England
size	179 cm
position	Right midfield
Men's
Years	station	Games (goals) 1
1990-1991	Marine FC
1991-1995	Bolton Wanderers	114 (8)
1995-1999	Liverpool FC	100 (3)
1999-2001	Blackburn Rovers	72 (4)
2001-2004	Sunderland AFC	52 (5)
2004-2007	Tranmere Rovers	81 (4)
National team
Years	selection	Games (goals)
1994-2004	Ireland	52 (3)
1 Only league games are given.

Jason Wynn McAteer (born June 18, 1971 in Birkenhead , England ) is a former Irish football player .

As a central midfielder , who could also be used in the position of right winger and full -back, he was used in five professional clubs during his career: Bolton Wanderers , Liverpool FC , Blackburn Rovers . the Sunderland and most recently at the Tranmere Rovers . The 52-time Irish international announced on June 12, 2007 that he was withdrawing from his active football career.

Athletic career

Entry into professional business (1992-95)

When MacAteer was playing in his home country for the lower-class amateur club FC Marine at the age of 20, he was discovered by the scouting department of the Bolton Wanderers. In the years between 1992 and 1995 he came with the Bruce Rioch trained "Trotters" on more than 100 missions and finally moved in the early stages of the 1995/96 season for a transfer fee of 4.5 million pounds to Liverpool FC. A decisive factor in the transfer was McAteer's good performance in the 1995 league cup final , in which he lost 2-1 with Bolton against his future employer, but his willingness to run in midfield aroused the interest of Liverpool coach Roy Evans .

McAteer had also been an Irish international since 1994. He made his debut in March 1994 for the selection of his country against Russia and was then nominated for the 1994 World Cup in the United States , which took place shortly afterwards . There he was used in four games, including three substitutions after an hour each and failed with his team in the round of 16 against the Netherlands .

Liverpool FC (1995-99)

At Liverpool FC, to which he had already been attached during his early childhood, Evans initially put him in a slightly more defensive right midfield position, as the duo of John Barnes and Jamie Redknapp were already considered seed in the center . At the same time, McAteer ousted Rob Jones , who from then on served as left defender . On the right, he quickly formed an effective partnership with Steve McManaman and was often involved in his team's offensive actions. In the end, however, his form waned a little and at the FA Cup final against Manchester United , McAteer suffered a first slight career setback. During the reception leading up to the final, the team appeared in cream-colored Armani suits. McAteer, Jamie Redknapp, David James , Steve McManaman and Stan Collymore gave the public the impression of showing off their new celebrity as stars of the Premier League and exploiting them with model contracts such as Top Man , Hugo Boss and Armani earned the derogatory nickname "Spice Boys". In sporting terms, Liverpool lost 1-0 to Alex Ferguson's team and McAteer also revealed weaknesses in his flank runs, which are otherwise feared by the opponent .

In the following years, McAteer was initially a regular player, but then found himself on the bench more often in the last two years until 1999. Especially after the arrival of the former French national coach and subsequent technical director Gérard Houllier , whom the club had signed after the 1998 World Cup , there were increasing signs that McAteer should no longer play a role in the future plans of Liverpool FC. He came in the 1: 2 four-round defeat in the FA Cup against Manchester United again as a substitute for Paul Ince and then moved in January 1999 for four million pounds to the Blackburn Rovers. There he rose at the end of the 1998/99 season in the second division.

Blackburn and Sunderland (1999-2004)

From then on, McAteer played in the second-rate First Division for two seasons and was able to celebrate his return to the Premier League with promotion in 2001. After that, however, he was no longer considered in the team supervised by Graeme Souness , so that the Rovers let him move in October 2001 for a million pounds in the direction of Sunderland .

With the "Black Cats" he immediately became a central player and with his new club just secured relegation in the Premier League. McAteer was also able to celebrate a personal success, through which his name was to be permanently associated with the Irish national team, in a World Cup qualifier against the Netherlands on September 1, 2001, when he scored the decisive goal for the 1-0 victory - their own team only played with ten men. This paved Ireland's way to the final round of the 2002 World Cup , which led to great cheers at home - for example, Bono from the rock band U2 wrapped himself in the Irish flag during a concert at Slane Castle and shot one during the song "New Year's Day" Ball into the audience with the words "Close your eyes and imagine it's Jason McAteer". Before the start of the World Cup itself, however, he was injured in a preseason game against Izumo's Hamayama knee and was unable to sufficiently regenerate the tournament - in the first game against Cameroon , he was replaced at half-time and remained from then on, except for a brief appearance against Saudi Arabia , disregarded.

Also in Sunderland he came in the 2002/03 season to only eight appearances in the championship and rose as bottom of the table once again in the second division. He stayed at the Stadium of Light for an additional year , completing the two games of the play-off semi- final against Crystal Palace and at the end of the 2003/04 season he was cleared for the free transfer to another club.

The end of your career (2004-07)

McAteer stayed without a club towards the end of the season before he decided to return to his home town of Birkenhead, where he signed a two-year contract with Tranmere Rovers and in the future gained his first experience as a kotrainer in order to prepare for the time after his active football career. He received from coach Brian Little the captain's armband and led the third division into the play-off semi-finals, in which the club lost to Hartlepool United on penalties .

After the end of his two-year contract, the Rovers continued to employ him as a free agent in the role of assistant coach and player. Another year later, the club's management decided not to take up the option for a continued commitment, to which McAteer reacted a short time later with his resignation as a football player.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ "McAteer opts to hang up his boots" (BBC Sport)

Web links

• Profile page on Liverpoolfc.com
• Information on LFChistory.net
• Jason McAteer in the soccerbase.com database