Aoife Mannion

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Aoife Mannion
Aoife Mannion BCLFC 2015 (22147891741) (cropped).jpg
Mannion in 2015
Personal information
Full name Aoife Mannion
Date of birth (1995-09-24) 24 September 1995 (age 26)
Place of birth Solihull, England[1]
Height 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)[2]
Position(s) Defender
Club information
Current team
 Manchester United
Number 5
Youth career
Birmingham City
Aston Villa
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2013 Aston Villa 13 (0)
2013–2019 Birmingham City 93 (8)
2019–2021 Manchester City 7 (0)
2021– Manchester United 11 (0)
National team‡
2010 England U15 2 (0)
2010–2012 England U17 15 (0)
2012–2014 England U19 21 (0)
2014 England U20 3 (0)
2015–2016 England U23 10 (0)
Honours
Representing  England
UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship
Runner-up 2013 Wales
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15 January 2022
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20 August 2019

Aoife Mannion (born 24 September 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for Manchester United in the FA Women's Super League. She has been capped for England at youth level and received her first senior call-up in August 2019.[3]

Early years[]

Mannion was born in Solihull and attended St Peter's Catholic School, where she was a classmate of fellow footballer Jack Grealish.[4] Mannion began playing football at the age of six for Celtic Reds under the management of Mark Fogarty, captaining the side to a Warwickshire County League title. In 2006, she left Celtic Reds under-10s to join the Birmingham City Centre of Excellence.[5] Her father would also take her to St Andrew's to watch the Birmingham City men's team play, citing Robbie Savage and Roy Keane as childhood inspirations.[6] Mannion also played Gaelic football growing up.[4]

Club career[]

Aston Villa[]

Having joined the Aston Villa Centre of Excellence, Mannion was promoted to the first team in July 2012 by Joe Hunt, who had managed her in the academy.[4] The team played in the second-tier FA Women's Premier League National Division. Mannion made 21 appearances in all competitions as Aston Villa won the 2012–13 FA Women's Premier League Cup, beating Leeds United on penalties in the final.[7][8]

Birmingham City[]

Mannion was signed for Birmingham City in August 2013 by David Parker.[9] She made her Birmingham debut on 16 October 2013 against Finnish side PK-35 Vantaa in the first leg of the 2013–14 UEFA Women's Champions League round of 32.[9] Birmingham defeated PK-35 Vantaa 1–0 and advanced to the round of 16.[10] Forging a partnership with Kerys Harrop, Mannion played every minute of the 2014 and 2015 FA WSL seasons, with her performances leading her to be named to the 2015 PFA Women's Young Player of the Year shortlist, but lost out to Leah Williamson.[11] She signed a new contract ahead of the 2016 season.[12][13] In 2016, Mannion continued her ever-present run, starting all but the final game of the season, ending a run of 44 successive WSL starts. In 2017, Birmingham reached the FA Cup final for the second time in their history. Held at Wembley Stadium, Mannion started the 2017 FA Women's Cup Final as Birmingham lost 4–1 to Manchester City.[14] Under Marc Skinner, Mannion was selected in back to back PFA Team of the Years for 2017–18 and 2018–19,[15][16] before departing the club when her contract expired on 30 June 2019, declining a new deal to stay at Birmingham.[17]

Manchester City[]

On 9 July 2019, Manchester City announced the signing of Mannion on a two-year deal ahead of the 2019–20 season.[18] She made her competitive debut for City on 7 September 2019, starting in the season opener as City beat Manchester United 1–0 in the first professional women's Manchester derby in front of a then-record 31,213 crowd.[19] She scored her first goal for the club on 12 September 2019, a penalty in a 7–1 Champions League round of 32 first leg victory against Swiss side Lugano.[20] Mannion injured her anterior cruciate ligament in a Champions League game against Atlético Madrid on 19 October 2019.[21] The injury kept her out for 16 months, finally making a return to play as a 72nd-minute substitute in a 4–0 win over her former side Birmingham City on 28 February 2021, 498 days since her last appearance.[22] She made her first start since the injury against Tottenham Hotspur on 4 April 2021, stepping in for the withdrawing Alex Greenwood having originally been named as a substitute. She played the full 90 minutes as City won 3–0.[23][24] Mannion left Manchester City at the end of the 2020–21 season upon the expiration of her contract having made 11 appearances in all competitions.[25]

Manchester United[]

On 26 July 2021, Mannion signed a two-year contract with Manchester United.[26]

International career[]

Mannion is eligible to represent both England, as the country of her birth, and Ireland, where both her parents are from.[27]

Youth[]

Mannion represented England at under-15, under-17, under-19, under-20 and under-23 level.[9] She played during 2011 and 2012 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship qualification as England reached the second round both times but failed to make the finals.

Mannion was called-up to represent England at the 2012 and 2013 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship. She played every minute as England reached the final of the latter before losing to France.[28] Despite the loss, the result qualified the team for the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Canada.[29] Mannion again played every minute as draws against South Korea and Mexico before defeat against Nigeria saw the team finish third in the group and eliminated.

In May 2015, Mannion was named to the under-23 team for the Nordic Tournament.[30][31] In March 2016, she played for the under-23 team at the La Manga tournament.[32]

Senior[]

In August 2019, Mannion received her first senior England call-up for friendlies against Belgium and Norway but did not make an appearance.[33] She was recalled to the squad for the following set of fixtures against Portugal and Brazil but was again an unused substitute in both games.[34]

Career statistics[]

Club[]

As of 15 January 2022[35]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Continental[a] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Aston Villa 2012–13[36] WPL National 13 0 3 0 5 0 — 21 0
Birmingham City 2013 FA WSL 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 6 0
2014 14 1 2 0 3 0 4 0 23 1
2015 14 1 2 0 7 0 — 23 1
2016 15 1 1 0 4 0 — 20 1
2017 8 0 0 0 — — 8 0
2017–18 18 3 2 0 4 0 — 24 3
2018–19 20 2 0 0 6 1 — 26 3
Total 93 8 7 0 24 1 6 0 130 9
Manchester City 2019–20 FA WSL 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 7 1
2020–21 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 0
Total 7 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 11 1
Manchester United 2021–22 FA WSL 11 0 0 0 4 0 — 15 0
Career total 124 8 10 0 33 1 10 1 177 10
  1. ^ Includes the UEFA Women's Champions League

Honours[]

Aston Villa
Birmingham City
Manchester City
England
Individual

References[]

  1. ^ "Aoife Mannion". ManCity.com. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  2. ^ "Aoife Mannion - Player Profile". Eurosport. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  3. ^ Doyle, Paul (19 March 2016). "New Women's Super League season brings new squads and a new intensity". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  4. ^ a b c Brown, Paul (13 July 2012). "Mannion: Mixed gaelic football games toughened me up". avfc.co.uk. Aston Villa FC.
  5. ^ "Football: Aiofe signs up for Blues after starring for Reds". thefreelibrary.com.
  6. ^ "Interview: Aoife Mannion - Maple from Canada". maplefromcanada.co.uk.
  7. ^ a b Campeau, Aaron (6 May 2013). "Aston Villa Ladies bring home trophy". 7500 To Holte.
  8. ^ "Aoife Mannion, FA Women's Premier League Cup final". Getty Images.
  9. ^ a b c "Aoife Mannion". Birmingham City Ladies FC. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  10. ^ "Birmingham Through to Last 16". She Kicks. 16 October 2013. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  11. ^ "Women's PFA Young Player of the Year". PFA. 16 April 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  12. ^ Carpenter, Steve (11 February 2016). "Defender Aoife Mannion commits her future to Birmingham City Ladies". Solihull Observer. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  13. ^ "Birmingham City Ladies: Mannion and Sargeant sign new deals". BBC. 11 February 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  14. ^ "2017 FA Cup final: Birmingham 1-4 Man City". www.thefa.com.
  15. ^ "Chelsea Ladies dominate Team of Year". BBC Sport.
  16. ^ "2018–19 PFA WSL Team Of The Year". www.thepfa.com.
  17. ^ "Aoife Mannion opts to exit Blues". bcfc.com. Birmingham City FC.
  18. ^ "City sign Aoife Mannion". mancity.com.
  19. ^ Oatway, Caroline. "My Favourite Game: Aoife Mannion". mancity.com.
  20. ^ "Man City Women hit seven in Lugano rout". BBC Sport.
  21. ^ "Aoife Mannion: Manchester City Women defender damages knee ligaments". BBC Sport. 19 October 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  22. ^ Oatway, Caroline. "Mewis at the double as four-star City march on". mancity.com.
  23. ^ Oatway, Caroline. "Mannion: Sometimes you have to be thrown in the deep end!". mancity.com.
  24. ^ "Barclays FA Women's Super League report: Tottenham Hotspur 0-3 Manchester City". womenscompetitions.thefa.com.
  25. ^ "Three players leave City". mancity.com.
  26. ^ "Aoife Mannion signs for United Women". Manchester United (Press release). 26 July 2021.
  27. ^ "My First Kit - Aoife Mannion, Manchester City Women". National Football Museum. 8 May 2020.
  28. ^ "France's glory as Toletti ends England resistance". UEFA.com. 31 August 2013.
  29. ^ "England squad named for Women's U20 World Cup". www.thefa.com.
  30. ^ "Squad changes for Women's Under-23s ahead of Nordics". The Football Association. 1 June 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  31. ^ "Women's U23s squad named for Nordic Tournament". The Football Association. 12 May 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  32. ^ "U-20 WNT Defeats England U-23 1-0 on Ally Watt Goal in La Manga". U.S. Soccer Federation. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  33. ^ "Lionesses: Phil Neville names four debutants in squad for friendlies". BBC. 20 August 2019.
  34. ^ "Nobbs back in England squad after injury". BBC Sport.
  35. ^ "Aoife Mannion player profile". Soccerway. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  36. ^ "Aoife Mannion – Player Stats 2012–13". fulltime.thefa.com.

External links[]

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