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Irish Senior International

Don Givens
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D.O.B. :09/08/1949
Place of Birth :Limerick
With a record of 19 goals in 56 games, Don Givens' stands fourth in the list of international goalscorers, behind Robbie Keane, Niall Quinn and Frank Stapleton.
A natural goalscorer, Givens played for Manchester United, Luton Town, QPR, Birmingham City, Sheffield United and Neuchatel Xamax with varying degrees of success before moving into management, originally while still as a player with Neuchatel and then the Republic of Ireland Under 21s.

But it was his performances in a green shirt which have made him a hero to anyone who attended Dalymount Park and Lansdowne Road between 1969 and 1981.

He made his debut against Denmark in Copenhagen in May 1969, and scored his first goal for Ireland one month later in a 2-1 defeat by Hungary at Dalymount Park. Within a year, he was firmly established in the Ireland side having scored four goals in his first seven matches and his record of scoring regularly was something that he continued to do throughout his Ireland career.

Despite Ireland struggling in the early seventies, Givens produced some memorable displays like in 1974, when he scored a hat-trick as Ireland beat the Soviet Union 3-0 at Dalymount Park, or a year later at the same venue when he scored four against Turkey to equal Paddy Moore's record of four goals in one game for Ireland.

In the following game against Poland in Poznan, Givens' brace equalled and then broke Noel Cantwell's Irish goalscoring record of 14 goals and further goals against Bulgaria, Denmark, the USA and Switzerland meant that by the time he waved goodbye to the Irish fans against France in 1981, he had set a record of 19 goals which would stand for nine years until Frank Stapleton broke it in 1990.

When Givens stopped playing he became coach at Neuchatel, before joining the youth setup at Arsenal in 1997 under Irish team-mate Liam Brady. He remained in the post for three years, overseeing an FA Premier Academy League U18 win in his first season, before being appointed Republic of Ireland Under 21 manager in 2000.

In 2002, he briefly became caretaker manager of the senior squad in between Mick McCarthy's sacking and Brian Kerr's appointment, managing the team for a goalless draw against Greece.

Although he has failed to guide the side to any major championships, he has overseen the development of players like Colin Healy, Gary Doherty, Steven Reid, Clinton Morrison, Andy O'Brien, John O'Shea, Aiden McGeady, Kevin Doyle, Alan O'Brien, Wayne Henderson who have all gone on to earn regular places in the senior panel.

Givens is currently preparing his team for the 2009 UEFA Championship qualifying group competition against Portugal, England, Bulgaria and Montenegro.




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Don Givens's playing record
Season Openin. Subst. Goals Yellows Reds
1969 6 0 3 0 0
1970 4 0 1 0 0
1971 2 0 0 0 0
1972 4 0 1 0 1
1973 5 0 0 1 0
1974 5 0 4 0 1
1975 5 0 4 0 0
1976 5 0 2 0 0
1977 4 0 1 2 0
1978 3 1 0 0 0
1979 3 2 2 0 0
1980 4 1 1 0 0
1981 1 1 0 0 0
Total 51 5 19 3 2
By season | In opening squad | Substituted in | Goals | Yellow cards | Red cards



Don Givens's full debut
27.05.1969 at 00:00 World Cup Qualifier A Denmark 0 - 2


Last 10 games where Don Givens started | Show All
24.02.1981 at 20:00 Friendly / Prog H Wales 1 - 3
15.10.1980 at 16:15 World Cup Qualifier / Prog H Belgium 1 - 1
10.09.1980 at 18:00 World Cup Qualifier / Prog H Holland 2 - 1
16.05.1980 at 19:00 Friendly / Prog H Argentina 0 - 1
30.04.1980 at 19:00 Friendly / Prog H Switzerland 2 - 0
22.05.1979 at 00:00 Friendly / Prog H Germany 1 - 3
19.05.1979 at 00:00 European Cup Qualifier A Bulgaria 0 - 1
02.05.1979 at 00:00 European Cup Qualifier / Prog H Denmark 2 - 0
25.10.1978 at 00:00 European Cup Qualifier / Prog H England 1 - 1
24.05.1978 at 00:00 European Cup Qualifier / PROG A Denmark 3 - 3


Last 10 games in which Don Givens scored.
30.04.1980 at 19:00 Friendly / Prog H Switzerland 2 - 0
29.10.1979 at 00:00 Friendly / Prog H USA 3 - 2
02.05.1979 at 00:00 European Cup Qualifier / Prog H Denmark 2 - 0
01.06.1977 at 00:00 World Cup Qualifier / Prog A Bulgaria 1 - 2
26.05.1976 at 00:00 Friendly A Poland 2 - 0
29.10.1975 at 00:00 European Cup Qualifier / Prog H Turkey 4 - 0
20.11.1974 at 00:00 European Cup Qualifier A Turkey 1 - 1
30.10.1974 at 19:30 European Cup Qualifier / PROG* H Soviet Union 3 - 0
11.06.1972 at 00:00 Tournament N Iran 2 - 1
06.05.1970 at 00:00 Friendly A Poland 1 - 2


Games in which Don Givens was a Substitute.
14.10.1981 World Cup Qualifier / Prog H France 3 - 2
19.11.1980 World Cup Qualifier / Prog H Cyprus 6 - 0
21.11.1979 European Cup Qualifier / Prog A N Ireland 0 - 1
29.10.1979 Friendly / Prog H USA 3 - 2
20.09.1978 European Cup Qualifier / Prog H N Ireland 0 - 0
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