As David Healy celebrates his 47th birthday today, we look at some of his best moments playing for Northern Ireland.
A famous winner against England and a hat-trick against Spain. Those are the goals scored by David Healy that most Northern Ireland fans remember – and will never forget.
However, Northern Ireland’s record goalscorer (men’s team) netted lots of other memorable goals during his international career as he won 95 caps and scored 36 goals.
His goalscoring exploits in the green shirt started with a bang. In February 2000 the striker made his senior debut for Northern Ireland and scored twice. The game was a friendly against Luxembourg and Healy helped his country to a 3-1 victory at Stade Josy Barthel.
He scored his first competitive goal in October 2000 in a Euro qualifier. He produced a sensational strike from well outside the area in a 1-1 home draw against Denmark.
In September 2005, in a 2006 World Cup qualifier against England, he scored the only goal of the game in Belfast. It was a sweet finish and the 1-0 victory for Northern Ireland was their first against England since 1972.
A year later he produced some more magic against a strong Spanish side in a Euro 2008 qualifier. His hat-trick helped the team secure a famous 3-2 win in Belfast.
Healy finished the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign with a record 13 goals in 12 matches. And he received a special award from UEFA.
The striker began his career as a trainee with Manchester United. He turned professional in 1999 but only played one game for the Old Trafford club before moving to Preston North End following a short loan spell.
During his time with Preston (2001-2004) he netted 44 goals in 137 appearances – and he made 13 appearances for Norwich City in two loan spells. In the summer of 2004 he moved to Leeds United where he scored 29 times in 111 appearances across three seasons.
He then played for Fulham for a season before switching to Sunderland. During his time with the Black Cats he had loan spells with Ipswich Town and Doncaster Rovers.
The forward subsequently signed for Rangers in January 2011. He helped the Light Blues to the SPL title in 2010-11 and he also won a League Cup with the Ibrox club. His final stint as a player was with Bury for a one-season spell in 2012-13.
He began his management career with Linfield in October 2015. In his time with the Blues he has won six NIFL Premiership titles, two Irish Cups and three League Cups.
The hat-trick against the Spanish was not his only treble for Northern Ireland. He also netted three goals in a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier against Liechtenstein in Vaduz (4-1 win) in March 2007.
His final and 36th goal for his country came against Azerbaijan in a FIFA World Cup 2014 qualifier in November 2012. The game in Belfast ended one apiece.
During Healy’s time with the national team (2000 to 2013) his scoring prowess was essential to Northern Ireland’s success.
Happy Birthday David!
