Shaun Maloney

At 41 years old, Shaun Maloney has this physical status:

Shaun Richard Maloney (born 24 January 1983) is a Scottish former professional football player who now works as a mentor for Belgium's national team.

During his playing career, he competed for Celtic for more than ten years.

Maloney has also played for Aston Villa, Wigan Athletic, Chicago Fire, Hull City, and Scotland's national team as an attacking midfielder or winger.

Maloney has worked for Celtic and Belgium's national team as a coach since retiring as a player. Maloney started his career at Celtic, appearing in 215 games throughout all leagues and winning awards, including five Scottish Premier League titles and five Scottish Cups.

He was the first player to win both the SPFA Player of the Year and the SPFA Young Player of the Year awards in the same season, winning both the SPFA Player of the Year and the SPFA Young Player of the Year accolades in the same year, and he did so in 2005/06.

He spent a brief time in the Premier League with Aston Villa before returning to Celtic for his second spell.

Maloney returned to English football with Wigan Athletic in 2011, helping them win the 2013 FA Cup Final.

Maloney played for Chicago Fire for a short time.

He played for Hull City for two seasons before withdrawing due to injury in 2017.

Maloney made his senior international debut for Scotland in 2005, earning 47 caps and seven goals.

Early life

Maloney was born in Miri, a coastal city in north-eastern Malaysia, on January 24, 1983. He spent his infancy in Malaysia while his father, a helicopter pilot and armoured forces veteran, served as a flying instructor there. Since his father accepted a job in Aberdeen, Scotland, the family returned to Britain when Maloney was five years old. "Although I am Scottish and play for Scotland, Malaysia will always be a special part of me."

Maloney attended St Joseph's Primary School and Cults Academy in Aberdeen.

He had joined Kincorth Boys' Club at the age of ten, his first football club. He moved from Culter Boys' Club to Albion Boys' Club at the age of 12, and then at 14 years old, to Albion Boys' Club.

In 2013, it was revealed that Maloney had been playing tennis regularly against future World Number 1, Andy Murray.

Source

Playing career

Maloney made his first team debut against Rangers at Ibrox Stadium on April 29, 2001, defeating Celtic by 3–0. He spent the majority of his time as a substitute during the first few years attempting to break into the first team. Despite not playing regularly, Maloney developed a reputation for being a free kick specialist. Maloney appeared several times for Celtic during their bid to the UEFA Cup Final in 2003, winning 3-1 over VfB Stuttgart in the Round of 16.

Maloney sustained a cruciate ligament injury in February 2004. He returned from the injury late in the season 2004-05, playing just one game in that season.

After being moved from a striking position to the left of midfield by manager Gordon Strachan, Maloney's return to Celtic in the 2005–06 season was on display. His performances earned him accolades from players, followers, and the media throughout his year, as well as the SPFA Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year awards, the first time a player has been coveted both in the same year. In a season that saw him score 16 goals and provide 28 assists from midfield, he also named Celtic Fans' Player of the Year and Players Player of the Year.

Celtic decided to give Maloney a new contract, despite his deal being overturned at the end of the 2006-07 season. However, labor talks lasted for months, with occasional breakdowns between the two teams due to differences between the two sides. Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell said that the "cannot keep players at any cost," while Maloney warned that "both sides must be completely satisfied with the result" in situations like this one." He also stated that the long-term contract talks would not influence his football career and that he did not want to think about leaving the club in the future.

Maloney would have been able to leave Celtic for free in the summer of 2007 after completing a pre-contract deal with another club. Celtic had no new deal, and they had later agreed to a £1 million transfer to Aston Villa. Maloney made 139 appearances for the Hoops in his first season, scoring 37 times.

Maloney signed a pre-contract with Aston Villa right before the transfer window closed on January 31. Villa coach Martin O'Neill, who supervised him at Celtic, was keen to bring Maloney to Villa for the second half of the season, but the Midlands club announced a fee of £1 million right before the deadline. In a victory over Reading on February 10, 2007, Maloney scored his first Villa goal, turning the wall into the goal's bottom right.

Maloney had trouble settling into the team, but after a slow start to his Villa career, he began to show his best form. Maloney has admitted that his football career was suffering, but he was optimistic about his future at the club: "Homesickness has affected my performance." I haven't been able to play in the team, and I think that has changed, so hopefully now things will change." Despite rumors linking O'Neill and teammate Stilyan Petrov, who were both at Celtic during Maloney's time there, both expressed their desire for Maloney to stay at the club.

In a 4–4 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Boxing Day 2007, Maloney scored a brace for Aston Villa. However, Maloney did not appear in many games as a result of his last season appearances, and he also said he would like to return and play in Scotland one day.

Celtic reported the signing of Maloney on a four-year contract for a fee of £3 million on August 22, 2008. Maloney's return to action in his first match after being sent off the bench for Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink in a 3–0 victory over Falkirk at Celtic Park with a Man of the Match appearance and two assists. Maloney scored his first goal after his return to Celtic in a 4–2 away win over Motherwell and his second in a 3–1 away win over Kilmarnock the following week. He had five goals on the season, bringing his total Celtic goals total number to 42.

Maloney was involved in 17 of Celtic's first 18 games of season 2009-2010, according to new manager Tony Mowbray. Following the 2–1 loss to Rangers on October 4, 2009, however, he started having problems with his Achilles tendon. Maloney then played four more games after that, but they were forced to call off at halftime in Celtic's League Cup loss to Hearts. He was diagnosed with Achilles tendinitis and did not play another game that season, according to the author.

Maloney started the 2010-11 season off with goals against St Mirren, Hearts, and a brace against Hamilton. Maloney was given the short-term captaincy of Celtic in the absence of Scott Brown due to injury. However, fitness issues for Maloney erupted in November 2010 when he broke his ankle during a league match against Inverness CT. He had to recover from ankle surgery in December and didn't return to the first team until April 2011. Maloney appeared in eight of Celtic's remaining games, scoring against Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup semi-final and then against Motherwell in the final league game of the season.

Maloney signed a three-year contract with Wigan Athletic in the Premier League on August 31. In a 2–1 loss to Crystal Palace in the League Cup on September 13, he made his debut on September 13th. He had trouble breaking into the first team, appearing three times as a replacement during the first half of the 2011–12 season. When he joined the club, Maloney admitted that his fitness "was lacking a little bit," and that Maloney's boss, Roberto Martnez, wanted Maloney to settle-in. He made his first Premier League appearance in nearly five months on March 11, 2012, as a substitute against Norwich City. In the following game against West Bromwich Albion, his performance was described as "outstanding" and he was rewarded with his first league debut for the club. He scored a penalty against Liverpool at Anfield on March 24, 2012, his first goal for the club. Maloney capped off this campaign with a brilliant curling goal against Manchester United on April 11th, moving his side out of the relegation zone for the first time since October with a 1–0 win. Maloney scored Wigan's third goal in an emphatic 4–0 home victory over fourth placed Newcastle on April 28, 2012, then.

Maloney signed a new deal with Wigan Athletic on January 17th, 2013, keeping him at the club until 2015.

Maloney scored his 94th minute free kick goal seconds from the end of the QPR match at Loftus Road, giving Wigan Athletic a huge advantage in their fight to reclaim Premier League relegation. Maloney scored Wigan Athletic's first goal in the FA Cup semi-finals against Millwall on April 13th and was named man of the match, leading Wigan Athletic to their first ever FA Cup Final six days later. Maloney won the FA Cup with Wigan on May 11, 2013, playing the whole game and contributing the only goal of the game in a 1–0 win over Manchester City. However, Wigan were relegated from the Premier League just three days later after losing 4–1 at the Emirates Stadium to Arsenal.

Maloney signed for the Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer on January 25, 2015, for an undisclosed fee. He was signed as one of the team's Designated Players. Maloney scored his first goal for Fire in a 3–2 victory over Toronto Park on April 4, 2015, and went on to win MLS Player of the Week awards on Monday.

Maloney began working with Hull City on August 27, 2015, after just eight months in Chicago. Maloney was paid for an undisclosed amount.

In the home match against Preston North End, which City defeated 2–0 on August 29, he made his debut on August 29, 2015. Maloney scored his first goal on November 21, 2015, beating Bristol City 1–1.

Hull's deal came to an end at the end of the 2016–17 season. Maloney negotiated terms with Aberdeen, but a hernia injury prevented him from signing. He then told Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes that he might resign and become a coach.

For Scotland Under 21s, Maloney made 20 appearances and netted six times.

In Scotland's 1–0 loss to Belarus at Hampden Park on October 8, 2005, Maloney made his full international debut as a halftime replacement. In a 2–0 victory over the Faroe Islands in June 2007, he scored his first international goal, a free-kick in the Svangaskard Stadium.

Maloney scored five goals in UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier Group D, including the champion in Scotland's home tie against the Republic of Ireland.

Coaching career

In August 2017, Celtic announced Maloney to a coaching position with their under-20 development staff. Maloney was hired to the Belgium national team's coaching staff in September 2018. He left Celtic to join Belgium on a full-time basis later this month. Maloney served for Belgium during the postponed UEFA Euro 2020 tournament, in which they lost to Italy, the eventual winners, in the quarter-finals.

In December 2021, Maloney was elected manager of Hibernian's Scottish club. They won their first two matches as boss, but they fell into the bottom half of the 2021–22 Scottish Premiership, where they were second in 13 league games. Maloney was fired by Hibs on April 19, 2022, just days after being defeated 2–1 by Edinburgh derby rival Hearts in a Scottish Cup semi-final.

Dundee began discussions with Maloney in May 2022 with the intention of him becoming their manager, but they were unable to reach an agreement.

Source