Ronnie O'Brien
Personal information
Full name	Ronnie O'Brien
Date of birth	January 5, 1979 (1979-01-05) (age 28)
Place of birth	Bray, Co. Wicklow, Ireland
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Toronto FC
Number	6
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1997-1999 1999-2002 1999 2000 2000-2001 2001-2002 2002-2006 2007–	Middlesbrough Juventus AC Lugano (loan) Crotone (loan) Lecco (loan) Dundee United (loan) Dallas Burn/FC Dallas Toronto FC	0 (0) 0 (0) 8 (0) 4 (0) 1 (0) 8 (0) 101 (12) 1 (0)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17 November 2006. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 7 April 2006. * Appearances (Goals) January 5 is the 5th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the song by the Smashing Pumpkins, see 1979 (song). ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 53. ... Statistics Province: Leinster County Town: Wicklow Code: WW Area: 2,024 km² Population (2007) 114,676 Website: www. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Ireland_(bordered). ... A foot (plural: feet or foot;[1] symbol or abbreviation: ft or, sometimes, ′ – a prime) is a unit of length, in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... An inch (plural: inches; symbol or abbreviation: in or, sometimes, ″ - a double prime) is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... The or meter (see spelling differences) is a measure of length. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Canada_(bordered). ... Year founded 2006 League Major League Soccer Nickname TFC, Biancorossi Stadium BMO Field Coach Mo Johnston Owner MLSE First Game C.D. Chivas USA 2-0 Toronto FC (Home Depot Center; April 7, 2007) Largest Win TBD Worst Defeat New England Revolution 4-0 Toronto FC (Gillette Stadium; April 14... Image File history File links Flag_of_England_(bordered). ... Middlesbrough Football Club are an English football club, commonly known as The Boro, that currently plays in the FA Premier League. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... Juventus Football Club (from Latin [1] iuventus: youth, IPA: ); (pronounced yoo-ven-toos) also known as Juventus Turin (or Juventus Torino), Juventus F.C., Juventus, or simply Juve, is a football club from Turin. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Switzerland. ... AC Lugano is a Swiss football club based in Lugano. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... Crotone Football Club is a football club based in Crotone, Italy. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... Calcio Lecco 1912 is an Italian football club, based in Lecco, Lombardy. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Scotland. ... Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club located in the city of Dundee. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Year founded 1995 as Dallas Burn League Major League Soccer Nickname Hoops, FCD, Toros Stadium Pizza Hut Park Frisco, TX Coach Steve Morrow Owner Clark Hunt First Game Dallas Burn 0–0 San Jose Clash (Cotton Bowl; April 14, 1996) Largest Win Dallas Burn 5–0 Kansas City Wizards (Cotton... Image File history File links Flag_of_Canada_(bordered). ... Year founded 2006 League Major League Soccer Nickname TFC, Biancorossi Stadium BMO Field Coach Mo Johnston Owner MLSE First Game C.D. Chivas USA 2-0 Toronto FC (Home Depot Center; April 7, 2007) Largest Win TBD Worst Defeat New England Revolution 4-0 Toronto FC (Gillette Stadium; April 14...

Ronnie O'Brien (born January 5, 1979 in Bray, Ireland) is an Irish footballer who currently plays right midfield for Toronto FC of Major League Soccer. January 5 is the 5th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the song by the Smashing Pumpkins, see 1979 (song). ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 53. ... The term footballer is ambiguous, as there are several games known as football. ... The Midfield in relation to the football positions In association football, a midfielder is a player whose position of play is midway between the attacking strikers and the defenders (highlighted in blue on the diagram). ... Year founded 2006 League Major League Soccer Nickname TFC, Biancorossi Stadium BMO Field Coach Mo Johnston Owner MLSE First Game C.D. Chivas USA 2-0 Toronto FC (Home Depot Center; April 7, 2007) Largest Win TBD Worst Defeat New England Revolution 4-0 Toronto FC (Gillette Stadium; April 14... Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada. ...

Playing Career

O'Brien's footballing career began very promisingly, when at the age of 18 he signed a contract with Middlesbrough of the FA Premier League. Although he played little at Middlesbrough, he had great success with Irish national team youth sides, winning the European U-16 championship alongside players like Damien Duff and Robbie Keane. After two years with Middlesbrough, O'Brien was released on a free transfer. Incredibly, Italian giants Juventus offered O' Brien a 5 year contract, which to this day remains one of the most bizarre transfers of all time. O'Brien, however, had trouble getting playing time on such a talented side and was loaned out to Lugano of Switzerland, Dundee United of Scotland, and Crotone and Lecco of lower Italian divisions. After several years of disappointment, O'Brien was released from his contract with Juventus in 2002. Middlesbrough Football Club are an English football club, commonly known as The Boro, that currently plays in the FA Premier League. ... For the Scottish equivalent see Scottish Premier League The FA Premier League (often referred to as the Barclays Premiership in England and the Barclays English Premier League or just simply The EPL internationally) is a league competition for football clubs located at the top of the English football league system... First international Italy 3 - 0 Ireland (FAI) (Turin, Italy; 21 March 1926) Biggest win Republic of Ireland 8 - 0 Malta (Dublin, Republic of Ireland; 16 November 1983) Biggest defeat Brazil 7 - 0 Republic of Ireland (Uberlândia, Brazil; 27 May 1982) World Cup Appearances 3 (First in 1990) Best result... The UEFA U-17 Championship is an annual football competition organised by the sports European governing body, UEFA. From 1982 to 2001 it was an Under-16 event. ... Damien Anthony Duff (born March 2, 1979 in Ballyboden, Dublin) is an Irish footballer. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Middlesbrough Football Club are an English football club, commonly known as The Boro, that currently plays in the FA Premier League. ... Juventus Football Club (Latin for Youth, pronounced yoo-VEHN-toos) is one of Italys oldest and most successful football clubs, based in Turin. ... AC Lugano is a Swiss football club based in Lugano. ... Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club located in the city of Dundee. ... Crotone Football Club is a football club based in Crotone, Italy. ... Calcio Lecco 1912 is an Italian football club, based in Lecco, Lombardy. ...

In search of consistent playing time, O'Brien, made the unconventional decision to move to America to join the Dallas Burn. O'Brien made an immediate impact, scoring on his debut for the club in a U.S. Open Cup match. He finished the 2002 season with two goals and two assists in 11 games but had proven himself one of the more dynamic players on the team. O'Brien entered the 2003 season with great expectations, but these were cut short early in the season. In the Burn's third game of the season, a tackle from D.C. United's Dema Kovalenko broke O'Brien's tibia, effectively ending his season. O'Brien returned to the team in 2004 and was one of the team's offensive leaders - he started 29 games, registering two goals and 10 assists, was named to the MLS Best XI, and helped revitalize a Burn team that had recorded one of the league's worst records ever in the previous season. The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is an American soccer competition open to all United States Soccer Federation affiliated teams, from amateur adult club teams all the way to the professional teams of Major League Soccer. ... Year founded 1995 League Major League Soccer Nickname Black-and-Red Stadium RFK Stadium Washington, D.C. Coach Tom Soehn, 2006— Owner D.C. United Holdings First Game San Jose Clash 1–0 D.C. United (Spartan Stadium; April 6, 1996) Largest Win D.C. United 8–0 Joe Public... Dema Kovalenko (born August 28, 1977 in Kiev, Ukraine) is a Ukrainian soccer player, who played midfielder for the Chicago Fire and D.C. United of Major League Soccer between 1999 and 2005. ... In the United States, Major League Soccer (MLS) has selected a league Best XI since its inception in 1996. ...

In 2005, O'Brien repeated his Best XI form, finishing the year with six goals and 12 assists. During the 2006 season, O'Brien clashed with FC Dallas' head coach Colin Clarke all season. His form was poor and he finished with only one goal in 27 games. At the conclusion of the season, O'Brien was traded to the expansion club Toronto FC with a gentlemen's agreement that Toronto FC would not draft any other FC Dallas players. Colin Clarke (born October 30, 1962 in Newry) is a former Northern Irish football (soccer) player, who is currently the head coach for F.C. Dallas of Major League Soccer. ...

Time Magazine stunt

Excerpted:

In August 1999, Time Magazine in the United States conducted an internet poll to find the Person of the Century. Mischievous friends in Bray sent an e-mail urging Irish people to vote for Ronnie O'Brien. O'Brien vaulted his way to the top of the standings, beating out such notables as Albert Einstein, Martin Luther King and Bill Clinton. Then there was a computer crash, which Time said was a result of too many people voting online at once. Instead of being named Person of the Century, O'Brien was taken out of the running, because Time officials said not enough people had heard of him. The official rules stated, "whimsical candidates will not be counted."[1] (Clockwise from upper left) Time magazine covers from May 7, 1945; July 25, 1969; December 31, 1999; September 14, 2001; and April 21, 2003. ... Albert Einstein( ) (March 14, 1879 – April 18, 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is widely considered to have been one of the greatest physicists of all time. ... “Martin Luther King” redirects here. ... William Jefferson Bill Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III[1] on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. ...

See also

• List of current MLS players