Darron Gibson Beatiful Picture

Darron Thomas Daniel Gibson (born 25 October 1987) is an Irish footballer who plays as a midfielder for Manchester United and the Republic of Ireland national team. He has also played, on loan, for Royal Antwerp and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

In 2007, Gibson, who was born in Derry, Northern Ireland, was at the centre of a dispute between the Football Association of Ireland and the Irish Football Association, after he opted to play for the Republic of Ireland instead of Northern Ireland. The issue was referred to FIFA and was discussed in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Darron Gibson

Darron Gibson

Full name Darron Thomas Daniel Gibson
Date of birth 25 October 1987 (age 23)
Place of birth Derry, Northern Ireland
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position Midfielder

Darron Gibson

Darron Gibson

Darron Gibson

Darron Gibson

Early career

A former pupil of St Columb's College, Gibson played junior football in the Derry and District League, and then with Institute before joining Manchester United in 2004. He made his senior debut for United on 26 October 2005 in a League Cup game against Barnet, coming on as a substitute for Lee Martin. During the 2005–06 season he played regularly for Manchester United Reserves, helping them win a treble. He made 19 appearances, scoring twice. In May 2006, he won the prestigious Jimmy Murphy Award as United's youth player of the year and then played regularly for the United senior team during their pre-season summer games.Together with Dong Fangzhuo, Jonny Evans, Fraizer Campbell and Danny Simpson, he was one of several United players who spent the 2006–07 season on loan at Royal Antwerp.In October 2007, he was loaned out again, this time to Wolverhampton Wanderers, where he spent the majority of the 2007–08 season. At Wolves he scored once, against Burnley on 8 December 2007.

Darron Gibson

Darron Gibson

Darron Gibson

Breakthrough

Gibson made his Premier League debut on 15 November 2008, appearing as a second half substitute against Stoke City, before making his UEFA Champions League debut ten days later, coming on as a substitute for Darren Fletcher against Villarreal on 25 November 2008. In December 2008, he travelled with the United squad to the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan, where, despite not making any appearances, he picked up a winners' medal. On 4 January 2009, Gibson scored his first goal for the club, firing home United's third in a 3–0 victory over Southampton in the FA Cup Third Round. He then got another in the Fifth Round of the competition, scoring United's second goal in a 4–1 win away to Derby County on 15 February 2009, winning the "man of the match" award in the process. On 1 March 2009, Gibson started in the centre of midfield alongside Paul Scholes against Tottenham Hotspur in the 2009 Football League Cup Final at Wembley Stadium, playing the full initial 90 minutes before being replaced by Ryan Giggs at the start of extra time. The match finished goalless at the end of extra time, and United went on to win 4–1 on penalties, granting Gibson the second cup winners' medal of his career. On 24 May, he scored his first league goal for Manchester United in the last game of the 2008–09 Premier League season against Hull City. From the left wing, Federico Macheda played the ball to Gibson on the edge of the penalty area, and the Irish international fired the ball into the far side of the goal from around 25 yards. In response to performances during the season, Gibson was rewarded with a three-year extension to his Manchester United contract, tying him to the club until at least 2012.

Gibson was one of a number of young United players who came under some fire when they lost a four-year unbeaten home record in Europe, losing 1–0 to Beşiktaş at Old Trafford. On 1 December 2009, six days on from their embarrassing defeat in the Champions League, Gibson responded to the criticism by scoring both of United's goals in a 2–0 win against Tottenham to send United through the semi-finals of the League Cup. On 5 December, Gibson went on to score his third goal in a week, netting a long-range shot in a 4–0 away win against West Ham. He scored his fourth goal of the season on 27 March 2010, coming off the bench to net the final goal in a 4–0 away win over Bolton. On 7 April, Gibson was granted a starting place in the Champions League second leg quarter-final tie against Bayern Munich and scored long range shot after only 3 minutes. This was his first ever goal in Europe, but despite eventually winning the game 3–2, they were knocked out by Bayern on away goals with the aggregate score ending 4–4.

On 28 July, Gibson netted his first goal of United's pre-season tour of North America, scoring their third in a 5–2 win in the 2010 MLS All-Star Game with a 20-yard free-kick. He scored his first goal of the 2010–11 season as he netted the first of United's goals in a 5–2 away win over Scunthorpe United in the League Cup. In February 2011, Gibson's national team manager, Giovanni Trappatoni, told him that he must leave Manchester United in order to further his career. Gibson scored United's second of a 4–1 home win over Schalke in their second leg semi-final tie on 4 May. They ended the tie 6–1 on aggregate to seal a place in the final against Barcelona.