en Stephen Bradley (footballer)

Stephen Bradley
Personal information
Date of birth	19 November 1984 (age 40)
Place of birth	Dublin, Ireland
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
0000	Lourdes Celtic
0000	Chelsea
0000–2004	Arsenal
Senior career*
Years	Team
2004–2005	Arsenal
2004–2005	→ Dunfermline Athletic (loan)
2005–2007	Drogheda United
2008	Falkirk
2009–2010	Shamrock Rovers
2011	St Patrick's Athletic
2012–2013	Limerick
International career
2000	Republic of Ireland U16
2004	Republic of Ireland U21
Managerial career
2016–	Shamrock Rovers
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Stephen Bradley (born 19 November 1984) is a retired Irish footballer, he has been the manager of Shamrock Rovers since July 2016. Besides the Republic of Ireland, he has played in England and Scotland.^[1]

Playing career

Bradley represented Republic of Ireland national football team at U14, U15, U16 and U21 levels. In October 2000, Bradley played for the Republic of Ireland national football team U16s in a qualifying tournament in Riga for the 2001 UEFA European Under-16 Championship where he came up against Andrés Iniesta. He played schoolboy football with Lourdes Celtic and Chelsea before joining Arsenal where he became captain of the club's reserve side, without ever breaking into the senior side. After a loan spell at Dunfermline Athletic, where he made five appearances, he returned to Ireland and signed for Drogheda United in March 2005.

In his first season at United Park Stephen picked up an FAI Cup winners medal as Drogheda beat Cork City 2–0 in the final at Lansdowne Road. He was also part of the side that won the league title in 2007 but he left Drogheda at the end of that season having made 29 league appearances and scoring seven goals. Bradley made three appearances in the UEFA Cup for the Boynesiders.

In January 2008 Bradley signed for Scottish club Falkirk^[2] and made four appearances for the 'Bairns' before being let go in July 2008.

In January 2009 Bradley signed for Michael O'Neill at Shamrock Rovers^[3] and made his debut on the opening day of the 2009 League of Ireland season in a 0–0 draw away to Bray Wanderers.^[4] He made 30 league appearances in his first season with the Hoops and made 16 more in Rovers' title winning season of 2010. He made three appearances in the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League.^[5]^[6]

At the end of the 2010 League of Ireland season Bradley was released by the Hoops and moved across the M50 to join Pete Mahon at St Patrick's Athletic. In 30 league appearances during 2011 he scored three times from the penalty spot and also played a key role in the club's run to the third qualifying round of the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League.

Managerial career

Shamrock Rovers

In 2016, Bradley became caretaker manager of Shamrock Rovers and was named as the new head-coach in November 2016.^[7]

In 2019, Bradley guided Shamrock Rovers to finish in second place in the League of Ireland Premier Division, finishing 11 points behind first-place Dundalk FC. In the 2019 FAI Cup, they saw better success, reaching the final against Dundalk and winning 4–2^[8] on penalties to claim their first national silverware in eight years, and their first FAI Cup win since 1987.

In 2020, Shamrock Rovers won their 18th league title under Bradley, winning the title with four games to spare. In 2021 Bradley's Rovers team retained the title, winning the league by sixteen points. The three in a row was achieved in the 2022 League of Ireland Premier Division season as well as group qualification for the 2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League. In the 2023 League of Ireland Premier Division season, Bradley guided Rovers to a fourth consecutive title.