Mick McCarthy

At 65 years old, Mick McCarthy has this physical status:

Michael Joseph McCarthy (born 7 February 1959) is a professional football manager, pundit and former player who is currently the manager of the Republic of Ireland.

Born in Barnsley, England with an Irish father, he played for the Republic of Ireland on 57 occasions scoring two goals. McCarthy began his playing career at Barnsley in 1977, and he later had spells at Manchester City, Celtic, Lyon, and finally Millwall, retiring in 1992. He went on to manage Millwall, and then the Republic of Ireland.

He guided Ireland to the knockout stage of the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan.

He later managed Sunderland, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Ipswich Town.

He has also been a television pundit and commentator, including for the BBC and for Virgin Media Television.

He began a second tenure as manager of the Republic of Ireland football team in 2018.

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Club career

McCarthy, a young boy from Barnsley, Yorkshire, made his league debut against Rochdale on August 20, 1977. He spent two years in the basement league before the club gained promotion. The team returned to the (old) Division 2 two years later. He was a good central defender for his hometown club but he left in 1983 for fellow Division 2 team Manchester City.

In McCarthy's first full season, the Maine Road club won promotion, and he finally had the opportunity to play at the highest level. His first season in the top flight was a success, but the club was relegated the following year. McCarthy did not face the drop, though he went to Celtic in May 1987.

In his first season, he earned the league and cup double. McCarthy won a Scottish Cup champions medal again this season, but the club had to settle for third place in the league.

McCarthy, a three-year employee, joined Lyon in July 1989 and began a new country.

However, life did not turn out for the French defender, and he returned to England on loan with top flight Millwall in March 1990, despite the fact that his international prospects were in jeopardy. Despite being relegated during his loan period, McCarthy did well enough to get a move and he was signed permanently in May 1990 for £200,000. His appearances in the next two seasons were often limited due to injuries, and he effectively retired from playing when he took over as manager of the club in 1992.

International career

McCarthy, the son of an Irish-born father, Charlie, has been an Irish citizen since birth. McCarthy made his Irish international debut against Poland on May 23, 1984, and he made his debut in a goalless friendly against Poland on May 23. McCarthy was a first-choice player and appeared in all three of Ireland's games at Euro '88. He went on to become a captain, earning the nickname "Captain Fantastic" in honor of his autobiography.

McCarthy's international career culminated in his victory over Romania in the 1990 World Cup finals, with the second-round penalty shoot-out victory over Romania. This culminated in a dramatic match with hosts Italy in the quarterfinals, where Ireland's first appearance in the finals came to an end, losing 1–0. McCarthy was the player with the most fouls in the 1990 tournament.

McCarthy scored two goals against Yugoslavia in April 1988, the other against the United States in May 1992.

Managerial career

McCarthy took over Millwall as player-manager in March 1992, replacing Bruce Rioch. He was still registered as a player in his first full season (1992–93), but made only one more appearance (in the Anglo-Italian Cup) before becoming solely a manager.

After a solid third-place finish in 1993-94, he led the team to the play-offs, but the team lost out to Derby County in the semi-finals. McCarthy was the prime candidate for the vacant Republic of Ireland manager's job during the 1995–96 season, following Jack Charlton's resignation. McCarthy was officially appointed on February 5, 1996, two days after he resigned at the club after a protracted period of rumors. Despite being 14 points clear from the relegation zone at the time of his release, Millwall would see the decline after McCarthy's departure (by virtue of goals scored).

Sergei Yuran and Vassili Kulkov from Spartak Moscow, who each received a £150,000 signing-on fee and were being paid five times more than the rest of the team's wages, would later be cited as one of Millwall's main reasons under Jimmy Nicholl's tenure.

Following Jack Charlton's resignation, McCarthy became the new manager of the Republic of Ireland football team in February 1996. On Saturday, his first game in charge was a friendly international against Russia, which resulted in a 0–2 loss.

McCarthy won the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan after two narrow victories against Iran that qualified for the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000. McCarthy was involved in a public and tense feud with actor Roy Keane, who was banned from the tournament the day before it started. Keane had doubted the quality of the kits and facilities that the team was using at the time, and the attack took place.

Despite this uproar, McCarthy's team made it to the second round of a penalty shoot-out, but Spain was eliminated by Spain in a penalty shootout (after having already missed and scored a penalty in normal time). Despite this, the Keane issue remained, with the percentage of blame undecided. Many in Ireland sided with Keane, particularly after a televised interview in which the entire idea of poor preparation was revealed – and demanded McCarthy's resignation both before and after the tournament. An independent inquiry into the company's handling of the squad's preparations later contracted by the Football Association of Ireland produced a damning report, resulting in general secretary Brendan Menton's resignation.

After a slow start to Ireland's qualifying campaign for Euro 2004, criticism of McCarthy in the media became more vehement. His patience with many players and tactics that some seemed to be ineffective, as did a 4–2 away loss to Russia and a 2–1 home loss to Switzerland. McCarthy resigned from office on November 5, 2002, despite mounting pressure. The Republic of Ireland defeated 29, drew 20 and lost 19. During his 68 games as Prime Minister Leo Varadkar's reign as Prime Minister Leo Varadkar's reign as Prime Minister of Ireland.

McCarthy was installed as the club's immediate replacement for struggling Sunderland, who was fired after six consecutive Premiership losses left the club facing near-certain relegation. He led Sunderland to the First Division promotion play-offs after relegation, but lost in a penalty shoot-out to Crystal Palace after Palace had scored a stoppage time equalizer.

McCarthy aided in the club's revival in the 2004-2005 season. The Black Cats were crowned Champions of the Football League Championships in the Premier League, amassing 94 points. He was released on March 6, 2006, after a poor season and with the club 16 points down with just ten games remaining.

McCarthy was appointed manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers on July 21, 2006, replacing Glenn Hoddle, who had resigned a fortnight earlier. He tied for a 12-month rolling contract The team made the promotion play-offs in his first season, when they lost out on two legs to local rivals West Bromwich Albion over two legs, losing 3–2 at Molineux and 1–0 at The Hawthorns, who lost in the first round.

He brought the team up to within a single position in a play-off finish in 2007, ending seventh, losing the coveted sixth position to Watford by a minus of only one. He had previously been linked with South Korea's international positions as well as his previous work as the Republic of Ireland's chief.

McCarthy's 2008–09 season got off to a promising start, winning the August Championship Manager of the Month Award after his team got to the top of the table and then go on to beat Wolves' record start to a season (equaling the 1949–50 seasons). McCarthy received the Manager of the Month Award for November, retaining their position at the top of the table for the next three months. McCarthy's Wolves secured promotion to the Premier League after beating QPR 1–0 on April 18, 2009, winning promotion to the Premier League for the first time since October. Following a 1–1 draw at his hometown team Barnsley, McCarthy clinched his second Championship as a boss this week. At the end of the season, he was named Champion of the Season Award, with his team winning the table for 42 of 46 games.

McCarthy played for Wolves in the Premier League for the first time in three attempts. With two games to spare, the club maintained their best league finish since 1979–80, and their first-ever resurrection in the modern Premier League. Wolves and McCarthy were fined £25,000 for fielding a weakened team for a game at Manchester United, effectively breaking Premier League rule E20. The Premier League also stated that the club had failed to fulfill its obligations to the league and other clubs in the highest possible faith, thereby in breach of Rule B13.

The majority of the 2010-11 campaign was marred in the relegation zone, yet the team managed to beat the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, and Chelsea. The Blackburn Blackburn's last day put them in danger of relegation, but the team's results elsewhere placed them just barely in 17th place, one point behind relegated Birmingham and Blackpool. McCarthy was the first Wolves manager in 30 years to hold the team's top-tier ranking for two seasons in a row.

McCarthy's 2011-2012 season started well, and his side won the Premier League by 7 points after three games. However, the results fell off, and the team had relegation issues by January, after nine games without win. McCarthy was fired as Wolves boss on February 13, 2012, after a string of poor results that culminated in a 5-1 loss to local rivals West Bromwich Albion.

McCarthy was appointed manager of Ipswich Town in England on a two-year and half-year deal on November 1, 2012. McCarthy's appointment came in the aftermath of Paul Jewell's resignation by mutual consent. McCarthy won his first match in charge as Ipswich chief on November 3, 2012, away at Birmingham, 0–1. This was the first match winless in the league, with 13 matches in all competitions. McCarthy led Ipswich past Burnley on Friday, the first home victory since March, after a late DJ Campbell winner. The game came to a close 2–1. McCarthy had a triumph over Nottingham Forest in late November, his sixth game under new ownership, and had successfully guided Ipswich out of the relegation zone. Ipswich, McCarthy's Ipswich, ended Millwall's 13-match unbeaten streak with a 3–0 home win on December 8th. McCarthy's assistant Terry Connor supervised a 4–0 victory over Middlesbrough on February 2, 2013, after McCarthy was ill. McCarthy led the Ipswich to safety, finishing in 14th place. McCarthy had signed ten new players before the 2013–14 season. McCarthy's first full season as president of Ipswich ended with the club finishing in ninth place.

McCarthy and Terry Connor also agreed to a new three-year contract with Ipswich on June 30, 2014. With a sixth-place finish, he brought the team's first appearance in the Championship playoffs in ten years, before losing to rival Norwich City in the semi-finals. McCarthy and assistant Terry Connor renewed their terms for a second two seasons, with the possibility to extend until 2020. In his third full season at Portman Road, McCarthy led Ipswich to a 7th-place finish. McCarthy's fourth full season as coach ended in a 16th-place finish.

After discussions with owner Marcus Evans, Ipswich Town announced on March 29, 2018 that McCarthy and assistant manager Terry Connor will leave the team at the end of the 2017-18 season. McCarthy's final season with the club was marred by a fractured friendship between him and the club's followers, with several supporters expressing dissatisfaction with McCarthy's defensive style of play and McCarthy branding them "numbskulls." On 10 April 2018, he left the club earlier than expected following a 1–0 home win over Barnsley.

McCarthy was named as the head of the Republic of Ireland for the second time in his career on Friday, succeeding Martin O'Neill. Robbie Keane, a legend for the national team, was named as one of McCarthy's assistant coaches alongside Terry Connor, who had previously worked with McCarthy at both Wolverham Wanderers and Ipswich Town.

McCarthy won his first two games in charge by beating both Gibraltar and Georgia in Group D of the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers in Group D by 1–0. The national team drew 1–1 away from Denmark in June 2019 before defeating Gibraltar once more, this time by 2–0 at the Aviva Stadium; four days later, McCarthy guided them to the top of the Group D table after four games.

McCarthy's side came from behind to draw 1-1 with Switzerland on September 5, 2019, putting them at the top of their qualifying group with three matches remaining. McCarthy resigned as boss on April 4, 2020, but Stephen Kenny, who had been in charge of the nation's under-21s, was immediately replaced by him.

McCarthy signed APOEL, the Cypriot First Division team, as boss on November 2, 2020; he was not expected to serve until 2022. He was fired by the club on January 5, 2021, after a string of 2 victories, 1 draw, and 5 losses in his eight games as coach.

Following Neil Harris' dismissal of Neil Harris, McCarthy was appointed as the manager of Cardiff City on January 22nd. He has been on a lockout until the end of the season. Barnsley and Millwall – two of his former clubs from his time as heroes – got off his season with games against two of his former teams from his playing days; both of which ended as draws. Cardiff's first victory as manager was evident in the following game, a 2–0 win over Bristol City. McCarthy, who was off to a winning streak during his time with the club, has signed a new two-year contract with the club on March 4 2021. Cardiff finished eighth in 8th place for the season.

Despite losing just one of their opening 6 matches, Cardiff suffered a brutal run of results that culminated in a disappointing finish. Cardiff fell to 21st in the table last season. McCarthy departed the club by mutual consent on October 23, 2021, after suffering a club record eighth consecutive loss of the season at the hands of Middlesbrough.

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