Ronnie O Brien

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ronnie O'Brien (born January 5, 1979 in Bray, Ireland) is an Irish footballer who currently plays right midfield for Toronto FC of Major League Soccer.

Time Magazine stunt

In August 1999, Time Magazine in the United States conducted an internet poll to find the Person of the Century. Mischievous friends in Bray sent an e-mail urging Irish people to vote for Ronnie O'Brien. O'Brien vaulted his way to the top of the standings, beating out such notables as Albert Einstein, Martin Luther King and Bill Clinton. Then there was a computer crash, which Time said was a result of too many people voting online at once. Instead of being named Person of the Century, O'Brien was taken out of the running, because Time officials said not enough people had heard of him. The official rules stated, "whimsical candidates will not be counted."[1]

Similarly, O'Brien was also voted Juventus's best ever player, even though he never played a game for the club. An email was sent around between Irish students who propelled O'Brien to the number one position in the poll. He received 32% of the vote

[edit] Playing Career

O'Brien's footballing career began very promisingly, when at the age of 18 he signed a contract with Middlesbrough of the FA Premier League. Although he played little at Middlesbrough, he had great success with Irish national team youth sides, winning the European U-16 championship alongside players like Damien Duff and Robbie Keane. After two years with Middlesbrough, O'Brien was released on a free transfer. Incredibly, Italian giants Juventus offered 20-year-old O'Brien a 5 year contract, which to this day remains one of the most bizarre transfers of all time. O'Brien, however, had trouble getting playing time on such a talented side and was loaned out to Lugano of Switzerland, Dundee United of Scotland, and Crotone and Lecco of lower Italian divisions. After several years of disappointment, O'Brien was released from his contract with Juventus in 2002.

In search of consistent playing time, O'Brien, made the unconventional decision to move to America to join the Dallas Burn. O'Brien made an immediate impact, scoring on his debut for the club in a U.S. Open Cup match. He finished the 2002 season with two goals and two assists in 11 games but had proven himself one of the more dynamic players on the team. O'Brien entered the 2003 season with great expectations, but these were cut short early in the season. In the Burn's third game of the season, a tackle from D.C. United's Dema Kovalenko broke O'Brien's tibia, effectively ending his season. O'Brien returned to the team in 2004 and was one of the team's offensive leaders - he started 29 games, registering two goals and 10 assists, was named to the MLS Best XI, and helped revitalize a Burn team that had recorded one of the league's worst records ever in the previous season.

In 2005, O'Brien repeated his Best XI form, finishing the year with six goals and 12 assists. During the 2006 season, O'Brien clashed with FC Dallas' head coach Colin Clarke all season. His form was poor and he finished with only one goal in 27 games. At the conclusion of the season, O'Brien was traded to the expansion club Toronto FC with a gentlemen's agreement that Toronto FC would not draft any other FC Dallas players.