John Giles was born in Dublin on January 6th 1940. When he was 15 years old, he left Home Farm in Dublin to join Manchester United. However, it was not until 1959 - when he was 19 years old - that he made his debut for United. He made a total of 98 League appearances for United before signing for Second Division Leeds United in the Summer of 1963. The fee was in the region of £35,000 and it was a big surprise for many - Leeds were a huge rival of Manchester United but they were also considered to be a vastly inferior side at the time. However, the following season Giles won a Second Division Championship medal. Leeds went on to become one of Europe's leading sides and - under manager Don Revie - Giles became a pivotal figure in that success.

John Giles in action for Ireland.

Giles made his debut for Ireland in the match against Sweden on November 1st 1959. It took him just 16 minutes to make an impact on the International scene - a 30-yard shot past the Swedish goalkeeper showed the 40,000 crowd at Dalymount Park what this new 19 year old stocky midfielder was capable of! Ireland won the match 3-2 (a victory that was some achievement considering that Sweden had only days earlier beaten the English at Wembley). Giles went on to win 59 caps for the Republic of Ireland - 30 of those were as captain.

Giles' main strengths were in his speed of thought rather than his actual physical speed. He'd make the right decision in the heat of an intense midfield battle with steel-like consistancy; Indeed, his decision-making abilities were another of his strengths - choosing to pass, shoot, or to carry the ball forward, Giles always played the right ball. His passing itself was of the highest calibre; he is - to this day - widely considered to be one of the finest passers of a football to have ever worn the green jersey.

John Giles (on the right) alongside Mick Kearns, Don Givens, and Paddy Mulligan.

Although Giles continued to play for the Republic of Ireland until 1979 (he won his last cap for Ireland against West Germany on May 22nd 1979), he took over the position of team manager in October 1973, although the reasons he gave for accpeting the job are interesting: "The only reason I agreed was because, if I did not do it, it might go to someone I did not rate that much...I was not even keen on it [the job]". As a player, Giles had one or two run-ins with the Irish team's selection committee and was one of the leading players in bringing that antiquaited practice to an end. By 1973 the selection of the team was left to the manager - not the selection committee. However, at 32 years of age, Giles was a young coach with great promise who was very highly respected within the game.

Under John Giles as team coach, the Irish team grew into a formidable side at home; away from home the team were far less of a threat and lacked the confidence to perform well away from Ireland. However, despite this, Giles brought the Irish team very close to qualifying for the 1976 European Championships and then the 1978 World Cup. In July 1977, Giles announced the he was to become the player-manager of Ireland club side, Shamrock Rovers. He hoped to transform Rovers into a major European force. This he did not achieve - only winning the FAI Cup in 1978. Giles soon became the victim of critics in the media as well as the supporters themselves (his name was booed when it was read out at some home internationals). John Giles retired as manager of the Republic of Ireland in 1980. He now works in the Irish media as a football pundit.