SHAY GIVEN is one of the game's good guys: An Irish hero and Premier League marathon man whose goalkeeping career has spanned three decades.
He has played in World Cups and FA Cup finals; shared a dressing room with football greats like Roy Keane, Alan Shearer and Robbie Keane and worked under celebrated managers like Kenny Dalglish, Bobby Robson and Martin O'Neill.
But Shay has had to show courage and strength of mind to get where he wanted in life. At four years old, he cruelly lost his mother to cancer at the age of just 41. Mum Agnes's dying wish was that Dad Seamus would keep the family together. Seamus kept his word and the Given clan watched with pride as Shay forged a record-breaking career in the sport he loved.
From Donegal to Saipan, Glasgow to Wembley and Tyneside to Paris, it's been some journey. Shay has seen it all. Glorious highs and desperate lows. Dressing room wind-ups and team-bonding punch-ups. Brutal injuries and crippling self-doubt.
Along the way, he has made so many friends. When one of his closest pals Gary Speed died suddenly in 2011, he was devastated. He played on, doing the only thing he knew to get him through the pain pulling on a shirt and a pair of gloves. Shay loves football for him, nothing can beat the buzz of a Saturday afternoon or the thrill of a big match night under lights. But he has never lost touch with the fans who make the game what it is.
Entertaining, opinionated and inspirational, his long-awaited autobiography ANY GIVEN SATURDAY features a stellar cast of famous football names from the past 25 years. It tugs at the heart strings, bubbles with banter and lets slip secrets behind the big stories. This is a rare journey behind the scenes as told by one of our own.
BORN in Lifford, County Donegal in 1976, Shay Given is a Republic of Ireland legend. Domestically, no one in the game has played under more Premier League managers. When Given appeared for his country against Belarus in 2016, he became the longest serving Ireland player by timespan, surpassing John Giles. He is the second most capped Irishman of all time behind Robbie Keane. Mick McCarthy awarded Given the first of his 134 caps in 1996. He would represent Ireland for 20 years, keeping 52 clean sheets and appearing in the 2002 World Cup and the infamous Thierry Henry game of 2009. He announced his final retirement after Euro 16. Given started his club career at Celtic. He was signed by Blackburn Rovers in 1994 and after loan spells with Swindon Town and Sunderland, he moved to Newcastle in 1997. He stayed at St James' Park until 2009 when Mark Hughes signed him for Manchester City, where he picked up an FA Cup winner's medal. Spells at Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Stoke City followed in a domestic career that has seen him make more than 600 appearances.
