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Michael McCarthy (born 7 February, 1959) is a former professional football player in Britain and Europe who moved into club management with Millwall F.C., the Republic of Ireland and Sunderland A.F.C.
He is known for his straight-talking, uncomplicated air, and has also worked as a television pundit.
Playing career
Born in Barnsley, England, McCarthy made his league debut for Barnsley F.C. in 1977. A strong central defender, after 272 appearances for Barnsley he went to Manchester City F.C. (1983-87), Celtic F.C. (1987-1989), Olympique Lyonnais (1989-90) and Millwall F.C.
His father being Irish, he was eligible for selection for the Republic of Ireland's national team; he made his international debut for them in 1984. He won 57 caps up to June 1992 and was the well-respected captain for his side, possibly the biggest feat for "Captain Fantastic" was in the second round penalty shoot out win over Romania in Italia '90 which lead to a crunch tie with the hosts in the quarter final. Although Ireland were beaten 1-0 they were resilient opponents and were unfortunate to lose the game.
He joined Millwall in March 1990 and became player-manager in 1991, succeeding Bruce Rioch. After relative success at Millwall on February 5, 1996 McCarthy was appointed successor to Jack Charlton as the Republic of Ireland manager. Millwall went on to be relegated that season under Jimmy Nicholl.
Manager of Ireland
Despite failure to qualify for the 1998 FIFA World Cup or McCarthy held his job. Ireland qualified for the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea and Japan, but their tournament was overshadowed by a very public and bitter spat between McCarthy and the team's star player Roy Keane, who was sent home by the manager without having kicked a ball.
McCarthy was criticised by some (although certainly nowhere near all) for his handling of the player. Despite this he had a relatively successful campaign, reaching the Second Round to be eliminated by Spain in a penalty shootout.
The media's vilification became increasingly intense and personal after a poor beginning to their qualifying campaign for ; eventually, on November 5, 2002, McCarthy resigned from the post.
While his record as the national manager was good - of 68 games his team won 29, drew 19, and lost 20 - unfortunately it seems likely that memories of his tenure as Ireland manager will always be more about the Keane affair (The Saipan Incident) than his teams' pitch performances.
Sunderland
On 12 March, 2003 he was appointed manager of struggling Sunderland as an immediate replacement for Howard Wilkinson, who was sacked after six successive Premiership defeats left the club facing near-certain relegation. McCarthy's hiring did not stop Sunderland's slide, and the Black Cats were relegated at the end of the season.
However, he largely escaped blame for the relegation, and was retained as manager. The following season, McCarthy brought Sunderland into the First Division promotion playoffs, but lost in a penalty shootout to Crystal Palace F.C. after Palace had scored a disputed stoppage-time equaliser. This was a remarkable achievement considering the players sold and huge debt that the club were in.
McCarthy completed the miracle recovery of the club in the 2004/2005 season. The Black Cats secured automatic promotion to the Premiership on 23 April, 2005, and six days later clinched the Championship title.
After a disappointing season and with the club 16 points from safety with only 10 games remaining, Mick McCarthy was sacked as manager of Sunderland on 6 March, 2006. Many commentators didn't believe the problem lay with McCarthy, instead believing it lay at board level with Bob Murray and his reluctance to release funds to survive in the top flight. Kevin Ball was appointed caretaker manager for the remainder of the 2005/06 season.
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1959 births | Living people | People of Irish descent in Great Britain | Roman Catholic sportspeople | Millwall F.C. managers | Republic of Ireland football managers | Sunderland A.F.C. managers | Republic of Ireland footballers | Barnsley F.C. players | Manchester City F.C. players | Celtic F.C. players | Olympique de Marseille players | Millwall F.C. players
"Mick McCarthy"