Richard Dunne

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Personal information
Richard Dunne
Full name	Richard Dunne
Date of birth	September 21, 1979
Place of birth	Dublin, Ireland
Height	6 ft 2 in
Nickname	Honey Monster, Dunninho
Position	Defender
Club information
Current club	Manchester City
Number	22
Professional clubs*
Years	Club	Apps (goals)
1996-2000 2000-	Everton Manchester City	60 (0) 192 (5)
National team**
2000-	Ireland	29 (4)
* Professional club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of September 3, 2006. ** National team caps and goals correct as of September 3, 2006.

Richard Dunne (born September 21, 1979 in Dublin) is an Irish football (soccer) defender, who currently plays in the English Premier League for Manchester City. His nicknames include "honey monster" because of his size and also "Dunninho" because of his occasional flashes of skill.

Dunne started his career in 1996 with Everton, making his debut at the age of 16. In the autumn of 2000 he was signed by Manchester City for a fee of £3 million. City had signed both Dunne and Laurent Charvet as replacements for right back Richard Edghill who had suffered from a dip in form. Despite playing his first few games in a blue shirt as a right back it was in the centre of defence where Dunne made his biggest impact on the team. Dunne had various partners in the centre of defence in his first season at the club and for a few games he played in a three man defence with Andy Morrison and Steve Howey. His first season saw City relegated into the first division and acquire the services of a new manager, Kevin Keegan. Disciplinary problems in 2003 resulted in a club suspension, and his time at Manchester City looked to be over. However, Dunne returned to the first team following an intensive fitness programme, and within a few months gained an international recall. A number of consistent performances resulted in Dunne receiving Manchester City's Player of the Year award for 2004/05. He has been capped 28 times for the Republic of Ireland, scoring four goals (as of July 2006). Dunne was part of his country's squad at the 2002 FIFA World Cup though he did not play any football at that tournament.

As of the end of the 2005/2006 season he had made 217 appearances for Manchester City, scoring five goals.

On 20 July 2006, at the age of 26, Dunne was appointed club captain, taking over from Sylvain Distin, amidst rumours of Distin leaving City. [1]

Dunne scored, and was later sent off during Ireland's 2-5 defeat to Cyprus in a Euro 2008 qualifier on October 7, 2006.

	Republic of Ireland squad - 2002 FIFA World Cup
1 Given \| 2 Finnan \| 3 Harte \| 4 Cunningham \| 5 Staunton \| 6 Roy Keane \| 7 McAteer \| 8 Holland \| 9 Duff \| 10 Robbie Keane \| 11 Kilbane \| 12 Kinsella \| 13 Connolly \| 14 Breen \| 15 Dunne \| 16 Kiely \| 17 Quinn \| 18 G. Kelly \| 19 Morrison \| 20 O'Brien \| 21 Reid \| 22 Carsley \| 23 A. Kelly \| Coach: McCarthy

Manchester City F.C. - Current Squad
1 Isaksson \| 2 Richards \| 3 Thatcher \| 4 Jordan \| 5 Dabo \| 6 Reyna \| 7 Ireland \| 8 Barton \| 11 Vassell \| 12 Weaver \| 14 Dickov \| 15 Distin \| 16 Onuoha \| 17 Sun \| 18 Mills \| 20 Samaras \| 21 Hamann \| 22 Dunne \| 24 Beasley \| 25 Hart \| 26 Mills \| 27 Trabelsi \| 28 Sinclair \| 30 Corradi \| 33 Johnson \| 39 Laird \| 43 Miller \| Manager: Pearce