O'Dea: Darren

2011-2012 (Leeds Player Details)(Player Details)

Centre Back

Born: Dublin, Republic of Ireland: 04-02-1987

Debut: v Southampton (a): 06-08-2011

6’1” 13st (2011)

O'Dea was educated at St Aloysius' College, Glasgow, and Clonkeen College, Dublin and played for Home Farm at schoolboy level but signed for Celtic as a trainee in August 2005, and signed professional forms on 20th July 2006. He first broke into the Celtic team in 2006-07 when he made his first team debut in a Scottish League Cup 2-0 home win over St. Mirren on 19th September 2006, making his League debut on 18th November 2006 as a sixtieth minute substitute for Gary Caldwell in a 3-0 home win against Inverness Caledonian Thistle. His starting League debut came on 10th December 2006 in a 2-1 away win at Dunfermline Athletic and his first goal came in the seventy-eighth minute of a 2-2 home draw with Dundee United on Boxing Day 2006 after he had replaced Bobo Balde in the thirty-ninth minute. In the season he scored three goals in twenty-one games of which seven were as a substitute. The games included three games in the European Cup, the away leg at FC Copenhagen and both Legs against AC Milan when Celtic went out in extra-time in the last sixteen, and the Scottish Cup Semi-Final win over St Johnstone. His form was such that he was given a new three year contract on 13th March 2007 and an option of a further year. He represented Ireland at Under-Nineteen level and gained a Scottish League Championship medal in 2006-07. He continued his progress with Celtic in 2007, when he played six League games one Scottish Cup game and two European Cup games. At International level he scored once in ten Under-Twenty-One games. O'Dea was seen as a future leader and captained the Celtic Reserves but was not a regular in 2008-09 and scored twice in sixteen games in all competitions. He did pick up a Scottish League Cup winners' medal, when on 15th March 2009 he scored a goal in the first minute of extra-time as Celtic beat Rangers 2-0 in the Final at Hampden Park. On 1st September 2009 he went on loan to Reading for the rest of the calendar year and while there he quickly made eight starts, with his debut coming on 12th September 2009 in a 0-0 home draw with Doncaster Rovers but did not play after his eighth game in a 1-4 defeat by Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road on 20th October 2009. He had made seven starts and one substitute appearance but saw no future in sitting on the bench and returned to Parkhead on 13th December 2009. He had been noticed by the Irish selectors and on 8th September 2009 had made his full International debut as a sixty-first minute substitute for Paul McShane in a 1-0 win over South Africa. He played his first game for Celtic after his return when he started against Falkirk in a 1-1 draw at Celtic Park. He scored once in twenty-three games in all competitions and was appointed acting captain. He gained his second Irish cap on 28th May 2010, when he replaced the injured John O'Shea in the thirty-sixth minute of a 3-0 home win over Algeria. On 18th August 2010 Roy Keane took him to Ipswich Town for the rest of the calendar year and he made his Ipswich Town debut on 21st August 2010 in a 2-1 win at Crystal Palace. His loan was extended to the end of the season, but after talks of making the move permanent O'Dea decided to return to Celtic and fight for his first team place. While at Portman Road he made seventeen starts and three substitute appearances in the League and one start in the F.A. Cup and four in the League Cup. In the 2010-11 season he made a further seven appearances for the Republic of Ireland. He started in the 1-2 home defeat by Norway on 17th November 2010, but was replaced by Kevin Foley in the sixty-seventh minute and he came on as a substitute for John O'Shea with just five minutes left on the clock in the 3-0 home win over Wales on 8th February 2011. He then played a full game in the European Championship on 26th March 2011 as Ireland beat Macedonia 2-1 at home. Three days later in a home friendly he played another full game as Uruguay won 2-3. He also started the home game against Scotland on 29th May 2011 but was replaced by Kevin Foley after sixty-six minutes in a 1-0 win. There was another full game in the European Championship away leg in Macedonia which Ireland won 2-0 on 4th June 2011 and three days later in a friendly in Italy there was another start in another 2-0 win, but he was replaced with seven minutes to go by Stephen Kelly. Back at Celtic Park things did not go to plan and he was not included in the first team for the start to the 2011-12 season and so he was loaned out to Leeds United on 4th August 2011 for the whole season. He made his debut at left-back in the opening day of the season defeat at Southampton on 6th August 2011. United's second fixture was a League Cup tie at Elland Road against Bradford City and this clashed with Ireland's home friendly with Croatia. O'Dea came on as a seventy-fourth minute substitute for Glenn Whelan in a game that finished 0-0. He was again left-back for the home game with Middlesbrough on 13th August 2011, but an injury to Leigh Bromby saw him in central defence for the home game with Hull City and this marked a long run in that position, which was hindered only by a few games out with injury or a couple of suspensions. He was on duty for Ireland in two European Championship games in quick succession. On 6th September 2011 there was a trip to Russia for a 0-0 draw and a full game and a month later on 7th October 2011 there was another full game in a 2-0 win in Andorra. He scored his first goal for Leeds on 18th October in a 1-1 home draw with Coventry City and four days later he repeated the feat in a header in a 3-2 away win at Peterborough United. In the away game at Birmingham City on 26th October 2011 O'Dea had taken a knock to the head in the closing stages and Manager Simon Grayson reluctantly picked hom for the next game at home to Cardiff City four days later. It was his error that gave Cardiff their goal in the seventeenth minute and after complaints of dizziness he was taken off after thirty-two minutes and replaced by Patrick Kisnorbo. It was not until 19th November at Burnley that he played his next game after Andy O'Brien had refused to play. He was replaced by Tom Lees in the eighty-second minute, but was not available, due to suspension. He did not get his place back in the squad until 10th December 2011 at Watford when he was an unused substitute and home game with Reading, one week later again saw him on the bench for the full game. He was restored to the team for the Boxing Day clash with Derby County at Pride Park and once again he became the regular choice in central defence. He was called up for his thirteenth Irish cap and his final one with Leeds United in a 1-1 home draw in a friendly with the Czech Republic on 29th February 2012. O'Dea had accumulated ten yellow cards and was forced to miss the 31st March home game with Watford and the 6th April visit to Reading. He came back into the side for Derby County's visit to Elland Road on 9th April and also played in the home win over Peterborough United on 14th April and the Bloomfield Road encounter with Blackpool on 17th April 2012. The visit to Blackpool proved to be his final game for Leeds as he was sent off after getting his second yellow card in the game with five minutes to go. The suspension meant that he could not play for Leeds for the rest of the season and Manager Neil Warnock sent him back to Celtic and added that Leeds had no interest in signing him on a permanent basis. On 27th May 2012 he played his fourteenth game for Ireland in a 1-0 home win over Bosnia & Herzegovina in a friendly in which he played a full game. Celtic released O'Dea when his contract expired in June 2012 and did not exercise their one year option. He joined Canadian MLS side Toronto FC on 3rd August 2012 and made his debut on 18th August in a 0-1 defeat by Sporting Kansas City. He started nine games in the 2012 season. He scored his first goal on 3rd July 2013 in a 3-3 home draw with Montreal Impact. He had scored once and started seventeen games in the 2013 season, and had been appointed club captain, when he could not agree terms for an extension of his contract and was released by the club on 13th July 2013. He immediately signed for Ukrainian Premier League side Metalurg Donetsk on a three year contract and made his debut for them in a 1-1 home draw with FC Karpaty Lviv on 21st July 2013. He started the game but was substituted at half-time. He score his first goal for the club in the forty-ninth minute of his second game in a 2-1 away win at FC Vorskla Poltava on 28th July 2013. His third game for his new club came in a Europa League game at KS Kukesi of Albania, in which he was substituted in the thirty-fourth minute in a 0-2 defeat on 1st August 2013. He went on to scored twice, in nine starts and came off the bench in seven more games in the League and he also started once in the European Cuo and once in the Ukrainian Cup without scoring. On the International front he took his international appearances to nineteen, with further appearances in a 0-0 draw with Serbia in Beograd on 16th August 2012, a 2-1 win over Kazakhstan in Atana on 8th September 2012, a 1-6 defeat by Germany at the Aviva Stadium Dublin on 13th October 2012, a 4-1 win over Faroe Islands in Torshavn, Streymoy for days later, in which he scored his first International goal in the eighty-seventh minute, and a 0-2 defeat by Spain at the Yankee Stadium, New York on 12th June 2013. He gained his twentieth cap on 14th August 2013 in a 0-0 draw with Wales in Cardiff, when he replaced John O'Shea after one hour. Due to the unstable atmosphere and threat of conflict in Donetsk, O'Dea was released from his contract and was said to be training with Celtic, but is presently without a club.