Gary O’Neil is a professional English footballer, who was born on May 18, 1983 in Bromley. He married Donna Guerin in 2006, and they were blessed with a daughter in May 2007. While Gary O’Neil was a kid, his grandfather, Ron, used to take him to Millwall every week, which inspired him to become a footballer. He idolizes Roy Keane, former Irish footballer, as Keane is the perfect modern day central midfielder.
Gary O’Neil has been a part of the England national Under-21 football team and has played 9 matches. He also took over as captain of the U-20 team in the 2003 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Youth Championship and is one of the English footballers who are eligible to play for the Republic of Ireland national team.
Gary O’Neil started playing football at a tender age while studying in Bromley. He started his professional football career when he joined Portsmouth club as a trainee in 1999, before playing for Valley Valiants and Charlton. On January 29, 2000, when he was 16, he became the youngest player of Portsmouth and made his debut as a substitute against Barnsley in the First Division. Gary O’Neil netted his first goal in the fifth match, a crucial match for Portsmouth, in his second season with the club. In the 2001-02 season, when he was still a teenager, he scored a volley against Millwall, and earned reputation to become one of the important players in the Portsmouth F.C. At the end the 2001-02 season, Harry Redknapp became the manager of Portsmouth and in his first season, Gary O’Neil scored 3 goals in 11 league appearances, earning plaudits from the manager.
At the start of the 2003-04 season, Gary O’Neil was loaned out to Walsall to obtain first team experience. His exceptional performances won him a recall to Portsmouth in November 2003, making him a part of the starting XI. In his Premiership debut against Leeds United at Fratton Park, he scored two goals in his team’s 6-1 win.
Gary O’Neil was loaned to Cardiff City in the beginning of the 2004-05 season, and his excellent performances with Cardiff City won him a recall to Portsmouth in November that season. He made a comeback in a match against Southampton, which was one of the biggest matches of the season. Gary O’Neil scored in his next match against Manchester City, which was the turning point in his career. Subsequent to that match he became a regular, right midfielder for Portsmouth, in the 2006-07 season. Notwithstanding the fact that he scored only one goal, Portsmouth finished 9th, which was the club’s best in the Premiership.
On August 31, 2007 Gary O’Neil signed for Middlesbrough and proved his football skills as a right-midfielder and rarely in the centre. He went on to become a successful Boro player and a much impressed manager of the club, Gareth Southgate, credited him for doing a fantastic job on the right hand side. He also added that he has been an admirer of Gary O’Neil and expected much from him in the future. Gary O’Neil has represented Middlesbrough in 3 matches at the Football Association (FA) Cup in the 2007-08 season and as of August 2008, has made a total of 26 appearances.
