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Neil Farrugia

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Neil Farrugia
Personal information
Date of birth (1999-05-19) 19 May 1999 (age 25)
Place of birth Paris, France
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Shamrock Rovers
Number 23
Youth career
St James' Athletic
St Joseph's Boys
Belvedere
2015–2017 UCD
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2019 UCD 34 (2)
2019– Shamrock Rovers 97 (10)
International career‡
2017 Republic of Ireland U19 3 (1)
2019 Republic of Ireland U21 1 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13:16, 17 October 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15:30, 15 June 2023 (UTC)

Neil Farrugia (born 19 May 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for League of Ireland Premier Division club Shamrock Rovers. Born in France, he has represented the Republic of Ireland at youth level.

Club career

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Youth career

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Born in Paris, France to a French father and Irish mother, Farrugia moved to Dublin aged 7, where he played with St James' Athletic, St Joseph's Boys and Belvedere before moving to the youth academy of UCD in 2015. He attended secondary school in St Andrew's College in Blackrock, Dublin and was named the FAI Schools Player of the Year for 2016–17.[2][3]

UCD

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On 24 February 2017, Farrugia made his senior debut for UCD in the opening game of the 2017 League of Ireland First Division season, in a 1–0 win away to Cabinteely.[4] He scored the first goal of his senior career on 13 July 2018 in a 3–0 win away to Wexford at Ferrycarrig Park.[5] Farrugia was part of the team that won the 2018 League of Ireland First Division title, gaining promotion to the Premier Division.[6] His first ever Premier Division goal came on 25 February 2019, when he opened the scoring in an eventual 2–1 loss away to reigning champions Dundalk at Oriel Park.[7] Farrugia went on trial with the Manchester City U23 side during the summer transfer window but opted to remain in Ireland to complete his degree in biomedical science at University College Dublin.[8]

Shamrock Rovers

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On 26 June 2019, it was announced that Farrugia had signed for Shamrock Rovers.[9] On 3 November 2019, he came off the bench in the 2019 FAI Cup Final, as his side won the trophy after a penalty shootout win over Dundalk at the Aviva Stadium.[10] He was part of the squad that won the 2020 League of Ireland Premier Division, his first time winning the title.[11] His first few years at the club were blighted with injuries, resulting in a large amount of fixtures being missed, with 17 appearances being the highest amount he made in a season up until 2022.[12] After an impressive campaign in 2022 and continued good form in 2023, Farrugia's form saw him called up to the Republic of Ireland squad for a training camp in May 2023.[13]

International career

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Farrugia is eligible to play for France, Republic of Ireland, Spain and Malta, but opted for Ireland during his youth career and turned down approaches from Malta for an international callup.[3] Farrugia represented both the Republic of Ireland U19 and Republic of Ireland U21 teams, scoring on his debut for the U21s in a 3–0 win over Luxembourg U21 at Tallaght Stadium on 24 March 2019.[14] In May 2023, former U21 manager Stephen Kenny called him up to the Republic of Ireland senior squad for the first time, for a training camp in Bristol, England,[15] before putting him on standby for the June 2023 fixtures against Greece and Gibraltar.[16]

Personal life

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Farrugia completed a degree in biomedical science at University College Dublin, graduating in 2020.[17]

Career statistics

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As of match played on 6 October 2024[1]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
UCD 2017 LOI First Division 5 0 1 0 0 0 — 0[a] 0 6 0
2018 11 1 4 0 0 0 — 0[a] 0 15 1
2019 LOI Premier Division 18 1 — 1 1 — 0[a] 0 19 2
Total 34 2 5 0 1 1 — 0 0 40 3
Shamrock Rovers 2019 LOI Premier Division 3 0 1 0 — 0[b] 0 – 4 0
2020 14 1 1 0 — 2[b] 0 – 17 1
2021 11 0 0 0 — 0[c] 0 0[d] 0 11 0
2022 23 3 3 0 — 11[e] 0 1[d] 0 35 3
2023 27 4 0 0 — 0[c] 0 1[d] 0 28 4
2024 19 2 1 0 — 9[f] 1 1[d] 0 30 3
Total 97 10 6 0 – 22 1 3 0 128 11
Career total 123 10 11 0 1 1 22 1 3 0 168 14
  1. ^ a b c Appearance(s) in the Leinster Senior Cup
  2. ^ a b Appearance(s) in the UEFA Europa League
  3. ^ a b Appearance(s) in the UEFA Champions League & UEFA Europa Conference League
  4. ^ a b c d Appearance in the President of Ireland's Cup
  5. ^ One appearance in the UEFA Champions League; four appearances in the UEFA Europa League; six appearances in the UEFA Europa Conference League
  6. ^ 4 appearances in the UEFA Champions League; 4 appearances, 1 goal in the UEFA Europa League; 1 appearance in the UEFA Conference League

Honours

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UCD

Shamrock Rovers

References

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  1. ^ a b "Republic of Ireland - N. Farrugia - Profile with news, career statistics and history". Soccerway.
  2. ^ "Neil FARRUGIA named Republic of Ireland Schools Player of the Year | FAI Schools". www.faischools.ie.
  3. ^ a b Cooney, Gavin (8 February 2019). "UCD prospect Farrugia picks Ireland ahead of Malta, France and Spain". The 42.
  4. ^ "League Report: Cabinteely 0 - 1 UCD". extratime.com.
  5. ^ https://leagueofireland.ie/news/report-wexford-03-ucd/id-1902
  6. ^ "UCD top of the class as they make return to Premier Division". The Irish Times.
  7. ^ "League Report: Dundalk 2 - 1 UCD". extratime.com.
  8. ^ "Ireland's top young prospect star turns away from Man City move to finish university studies - Extra.ie". 20 June 2019.
  9. ^ Cooney, Gavin (26 June 2019). "Shamrock Rovers announce signing of highly-rated UCD winger Neil Farrugia". The 42.
  10. ^ Leahy, Ed (3 November 2019). "Shamrock Rovers hold their nerve to end 32-year wait" – via www.rte.ie.
  11. ^ "Shamrock Rovers crowned 2020 LOI Premier Division champions after Bohs defeat to Harps". Independent.ie. 24 October 2020.
  12. ^ Fennessy, Paul (29 October 2021). "2 years ago, he was attracting Premier League interest. Now, he just wants to play". The 42.
  13. ^ O'Donoghue, Conor. "Shamrock Rovers star Farrugia called up to Ireland's four-day training camp". The Irish Post.
  14. ^ "Stephen Kenny starts Ireland U21 tenure with a win as Adam Idah impresses against Luxembourg". Independent.ie. 24 March 2019.
  15. ^ Dempsey, Andrew. "Neil Farrugia among League of Ireland trio called up to Ireland training camp". extratime.com.
  16. ^ "'I'll have my boots with me' – Hoops ace Neil Farrugia ready for call-up". Independent.ie. 11 June 2023.
  17. ^ Ferris, Macdara. "From FAI Cup Final to Biomedical degree finals for Neil Farrugia". extratime.com.
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